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“You tell me, sir. Why would you?”

He paused, drawing a deep breath and lowering his voice. “I wouldn’t. It is as simple as that.”

She scoffed, shaking her head and walking away. “I will not listen to your poor excuses, Mr. Cole. Nor will I entertain a single moment more with you. You’ve received exactly what you’ve wished from me, and I shall give you nothing more but my utter disdain.”

She did not curtsy this time as she turned away from him, fleeing down the street, but Oliver could not allow his actions to be misunderstood a single moment longer.

With swift steps, he caught up with her, seized her by the upper arm, then pulled her down a side alley.

“What are you doing?” she spat out at once.

“Doing what you’ve taught me to do—fight for my way.”

“Unhand me, sir at once! If you think I shall allow a single kiss to occur between the two of us again, I⁠—”

“Shall throttle me, yes, I know,” Oliver stated, his temper getting the best of him as he continued pulling her down the alleyway and around the back corner of one of the shops.

He did not blame her for her anger—he understood it perfectly. But he’d be hanged if he allowed her to continue thinking so poorly of himself.

“Stop, Mr. Cole!” she seethed. “Stop!”

Finally, he did, spinning her around and facing her with a firm brow. “Now listen here, Clara. I⁠—”

“I will not listen to you,” she spat out. “Why should I after all the lies you’ve spilled before me the last few days?”

“I haven’t lied to you,” he shouted before checking his tone. “I haven’t, Clara. Surely you know that. Past all the hurt you must feel and confusion. You must know I wasn’t lying to you.”

Her breathing came in quick spurts as her frown deepened, but to his relief, a flicker of doubt shone in her bright blue eyes—eyes that finally revealed the anguish within them.

Anguish caused by him.

His own frustrations at not having her listen to him fled, the mood shifting to one filled with less tension, though more heartache.

“Clara,” he began softly, “please. I did not kiss Hannah Radcliffe. She kissed me.”

Clara blinked, no longer sending scathing retorts at him, so he took heart.

“I was caught off guard,” he continued. “Miss Bowles had attached herself to me once again at the beginning of the fete and had not relinquished her hold of me, so I slipped down a side alley to give myself a moment’s peace. Hannah appeared at the other end, and before I had the chance to escape, she pressed her lips to mine, knocking my hat to the ground in a kiss that lasted but two seconds before I pulled her away from me.”

That kiss had been even worse than the one he’d experienced with Miss Bowles, for now he had Clara’s affection to compare everything to, and he was fully aware that nothing would ever measure up to kissing the woman he could not help but fall faster for each day.

The woman he desperately needed to believe in him again.

Clara remained silent, mistrust still deep within her eyes.

Please,” he began. “I didn’t...” He swallowed hard, looking at her with the intensity he felt. “I didn’t lie to you before. I have changed. It sounds so ridiculous to admit after only a week of knowing you, but it is true. Ever since we met, I have not been the same.”

Clara looked away, her shoulders lowering. “That is ridiculous.”

She gave him a side-eye, and he realized she was teasing. He released a pent-up smile. “It is,” he fully admitted. “But not so ridiculous that I am embarrassed to admit it.”

She chewed on her lower lip before speaking again. “You’re certain you did not simply concoct this story to make you sound like a well-sought-after gentleman?”

“I assure you, I did not. I believe it is heaven’s attempt to have women I do not wish for throw themselves upon me so I may atone for my own mistakes. To make me realize what my actions were doing. And I fear what they might’ve done to you the other night.”

She shook her head, still hesitant to meet his gaze as the energy between them continued to drop lower and lower. “I was fully willing, Mr. Cole. Surely you remember that.”

His heart skipped a beat. “I do remember. And I haven’t thought of anything since.”