The Earl's Outrageous Lover Page 0,30

trying to make light of the way she’d basically been dumped unceremoniously onto another man. She glanced at Edward’s retreating back and wished she had something to throw at him. Wouldn’t that be embarrassing, she thought with a secret smile?

“I consider it a huge honor to dance with such a beautiful lady,” he replied, smiling and bowing over Jessica’s hand in a very old fashioned manner.

He took her into his arms and held her about as far away as he could while still touching her and she almost laughed at how ludicrous they looked. “So what do you do, Michael?” she asked, trying to put him at ease.

“I…uh…manage my family’s estate,” he finally said, reacting as if she’d just thrown him off of his count. Which she had, she realized a moment later when the man stepped on her toes, then bent down to apologize profusely.

Jessica felt sorry for the man and smiled, pretending that her toe wasn’t in pain. “And where is your family’s home?”

“In Westchester,” he nodded.

“Do you like it out there?”

“Lovely area,” he replied succinctly.

Jessica finally took the hint and stopped talking. The man really did need to count to the beat of the music in order to dance. She liked him in a sort of wounded puppy sort of way. When the dance ended, Jessica took his hand assertively and thanked him for the dance. “You’re wonderful and I sincerely appreciate your time. I’m off to find Edward again,” she lied and left before he could argue with her, or start up a conversation that might cause him to lose count of his toes this time.

She was heading towards the bathrooms, wanting just a few minutes alone to check on her toes when a man stepped out in front of her. “Michael is an idiot,” the handsome man said. “I’m Jacob Maloney,” he explained and took Jessica’s hand in his warm one. “I apologize for my classmate and hope that you’ll give me the chance to help you recover from his ineptitude.”

Jessica laughed and shook her head. “Whereas Michael might be a wee bit awkward, I believe you might be too smooth for my taste, sir.”

He took it with good humor, and slapped a hand against his chest. “Say it isn’t so! You’re too gorgeous to just ignore though. So give me a chance and maybe I’ll bumble along for a few steps. Will that make you feel better?”

Jessica laughed again, delighted with his charm even though she wasn’t falling for it one little bit. “If you step on my toes, I get to stab yours with my heel,” she warned, putting her hand into his in a non-verbal agreement to dance with him.

He glanced at her feet and viewed her spike heels with trepidation. “You drive a hard bargain but you’re beauty is too amazing for me to not risk personal injury. I accept your terms,” he said and tucked her hand on his elbow, leading her out onto the dance floor once again. They had gone only one circle around the dance floor when Jacob looked over his shoulder. Once again, Edward stood there, looming over the smaller man like a furious mountain.

“Your father is looking for you Jacob,” Edward said and didn’t even wait to be polite but took Jessica’s hand. Without another word, he took Jessica into his arms and danced away from the stunned younger man. No explanation, no teasing to ease the situation, just an abrupt end which left the man standing in the middle of the other dancers, leaving him to awkwardly make his way to the side of the dance floor.

“That was rude!” Jessica snapped at him.

“Jacob is a notorious flirt. He’s completely wrong for you.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She pulled out of his arms and left him standing there just as he’d done to Jacob a moment later.

Edward wasn’t the same kind of man though and she should have known better to try it with him. Edward grabbed her arm and pulled her right back into his arms, locking her in place and continuing the dance. They were getting curious stares from the other dancers, but Jessica didn’t care. She was so furious with him she couldn’t speak for a long moment.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she demanded when he pulled her closer to him.

“Keep your voice down. And realize that we’re dancing if it’s such a mystery to you.”

“We are not dancing! You are dragging me around against my will.