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Adam cleared his throat and tried to concentrate on punching his brother in the gut instead of a memory of her soft, sweet lips, her innocent, tentative touch, and the look of passion in her eyes.

Smack!

A nice, juicy punch landed against his lips, the pain sending him against the ropes around the ring. Adam welcomed the distraction. And pain. “Ow.”

“Concentrate.” Gage pumped his fists. “You’re too unfocused.”

Adam wiped the blood off his face. “Well, maybe we shouldn’t talk then.”

“Fine,” Gage conceded easily.

Thank God!

“As long as you tell me how things are going with Miss Fowley.”

Adam stifled a groan. “She is fine. I asked Isabel to take her to Gunter’s for ices today.”

“Good,” Gage answered jovially. “She is a simple girl who has never seen London before. I am certain you can easily keep her entertained.”

Adam grimaced. “She is far more complicated than that. She reads. Which means she has ideas.”

“What kinds of ideas?”

Adam shrugged, while a small smile crept onto his face. “She has a list.”

Gage let out a hoarse laugh. “That ought to be interesting. What are the things on her list?”

Adam immediately felt protective over his little bluestocking. He didn’t want a jaded viscount to laugh at her. “Nothing you have to worry about. As I’ve said before, I can take care of it with no problem.”

“I have utter faith in your abilities, brother,” Gage said and sank his right hook into Adam’s jaw.

Chapter 13

Be ready at 3 a.m.

-A

Beatrice reread the note for the hundredth time and glanced at the clock. The clock had struck three, and the minute hand had already moved one digit, yet Adam wasn’t there yet.

Beatrice was wearing a day gown, as she didn’t know what to be ready for. Scribbling a few more words wouldn’t have killed him, would it? Whatever it was, Beatrice was excited for the late-night outing. She was surprised, to say the least, that Adam had abandoned their wager and, therefore, his plan to sabotage her stay in London, and decided to help her with her list. But she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

She would just be happy to get her list back so she could start crossing things off. That was her favorite part!

The clock ticked. Two past three.

She crumpled the note and threw it into the fire. Just a few hours ago, she had thought he’d abandoned her completely. She was disheartened, even though she had quite enjoyed her outing with Isabel—as the marchioness had insisted she call her numerous times—and her daughter. She even got used to Button, who managed to steal her ices from her. And Beatrice didn’t even mind.

But there were reasons why Beatrice wanted Adam to continue accompanying her through the rest of the items on her list. Not the least of which was the fact that he’d lost the wager! He had to fulfill his forfeit.

The sound of horse hooves echoed outside, causing Beatrice’s heart to race uncontrollably.

Damn her foolish heart.

She perched on the bed and took deep breaths to calm herself. She wanted Adam to see a calm, collected, and poised version of herself. Not the loud and overbearing one he’d seen so far. So, she concentrated on her breath as she watched the clock tick by.

Five past three. Six… Seven… Eight.

Out in the corridor, the light, clicking footsteps of booted feet signaled Adam’s approach. Then the door opened, and Adam stepped inside, locking the door behind him.