Page 59 of Winning Her Duke

In her mind, it seemed quite lovely. Better than the two other kisses she’d had hence. Those other boys had bumbled their way through it, while Hale was a man and handled the exchange with skill and confidence.

She decided maybe she did want to speak to Lydia about it. The woman had been married. Certainly, she knew a good kiss from a terrible one. Gia wrapped her dressing gown around her and padded down the hall toward Lydia’s room.

Lifting her hand to knock, she jumped back from the door when she heard a man’s voice from within. Not any man, either. It was her father.

She couldn’t make out his words, but she knew the rumble of his voice well enough.

Whatever he’d said must have been amusing because Lydia giggled.

Giggled? The woman was rarely prone to smiling let alone giggling.

“Oh, God.” Gia froze as all the droplets of information collected to form a deluge of evidence. Turning, she hurried back to her room as fast as her bare feet would allow her to go and only when she was inside, safely behind her closed door, did she contemplate what had just occurred.

She ran through a number of emotions. Revulsion being first and foremost. Her father was in Lydia’s bedchamber. And the woman was giggling.

But as Gia managed to put the memory of the giggling to the side, she considered that her father was a charming, handsome man and Lydia was an elegant, beautiful woman. They had been friends for a long time. An attraction seemed expected.

By the time she finally settled back in her bed she found she was happy for them. So long as she never needed to think about the giggling again.

Ever.

Chapter Seventeen

Hale spent most of his time working with Godspell. He’d decided to put him in the Newmarket race even though he wasn’t completely ready, it would be a good test to see where he was so far.

He’d thought of reaching out to Gia for her opinion several times, but then he remembered he couldn’t. Shouldn’t.

He wasn’t hiding in an attempt to avoid speaking of their kiss. He was staying away out of concern for her. He’d never been so swept away by a kiss before and he worried if he was with her, he might kiss her again without any care as to where they were or who might see.

He needed to make sure it was safe before he put himself in that situation. Until then… well… he was hiding after all.

Rather than stay in town and wish he could see her, he would be leaving the next day to journey to Suffolk for the race.

He did wonder if she might be there. The possibility made his blood race.

He had only settled in his study a few minutes when he was interrupted by his butler.

“You have a caller, Your Grace,” Hutchinson announced while Hale was reviewing his estate books for the third time that week. Everything was in order, but he needed the distraction and one couldn’t be too careful when leaving for a few days.

“I put her in the parlor.”

Her? Hale’s heart was pounding. He wanted it to be Gia. No doubt if she was calling it was to give him a piece of her mind and he would accept it gladly as deserved. But he didn’t move toward the door.

If it was Gia, he would send her away. He would tell Hutchinson to make an excuse. He feared seeing her again would churn up all the feelings and desires he’d worked so hard to control. Or attempt to.

“Who is calling?” he managed to ask.

“Pardon, Your Grace, it is Lady Tomison.”

Lady Tomison? Perhaps Gia was ill or worse, and Lydia had come to give him the grave news.

“Is she wearing black?” he whispered.

“Black? No, Your Grace. I believe she is wearing a green frock today.” If Hutchinson thought it an odd question, he didn’t show it.

“I’ll see her.” If for no other reason than curiosity.

He paused long enough to take a breath before entering the room with a smile fixed upon his face that he hoped looked sincere. Not that he didn’t like Lady Tomison.