Lady W-J give Lacey a higher score because of it? Damn Lacey and her stupid TV show. I knew my lines, but I also was alternating between wanting to throw up and wanting to cry, both of which were equally awful alternatives, as far as I was concerned.
Once I was dressed in my white day dress with eyelets, an empire-waist, matching white slippers, and a reticule, I hurried downstairs in search of Jeremy. I found him quietly reciting his lines to himself in a corner of the parlor. I glanced around nervously. Thankfully, Lacey and Harrison were nowhere to be seen. I couldn’t take a confrontation with either one of them right now. I needed to concentrate on my scene. Plus, if I saw Lacey Lewis, I just might scratch out her eyes, which would ruin my gloves.
“Hi,” I said to Jeremy, giving him a slight wave and a nervous smile. Butterflies were causing a ruckus in my belly. I’d kissed him last night. It was all I could think about. All the moments I’d spent with him prior to that, perfectly fine, unembarrassing moments, escaped my brain and left me with only the memory of our hot kiss last night and the feel of his hands on my cheeks and the tenderness with which he’d touched me. I’d kissed him. I’d dared him to kiss me. It was totally inappropriate. Plus, I’d been drunk and said a lot of dumb stuff like calling him hot.
But why had he kissed me? Yes, he was fulfilling my idiotic dare, but he could have refused. Had he truly wanted to help me pay back Harrison for kissing Lacey? Besides, Harrison would never know we kissed unless I told him, so it wasn’t much of a payback anyway. Of course, I would have to tell Harrison eventually because...guilt—but oh, obsessing over this wasn’t helping.
“Good morning, Meg,” Jeremy said. He looked spectacular as usual. Today, in addition to his black boots, he wore another pair of skin-tight breeches, a sapphire waistcoat and a matching overcoat with a perfectly white shirt and expertly tied cravat. His top hat was sitting on the table next to the copy of Pride and Prejudice I’d loaned him.
“Hi,” I repeated, rubbing my slipper against the floor and not meeting his eyes. God. I hadn’t been shy since I was a kid. A giggle was lodged in my throat. A freakin’ giggle. Meanwhile, Jeremy probably didn’t even remember we’d kissed last night, or if he did, he didn’t give it a second thought. But here I was, obsessing about it like an idiot. A teenaged idiot.
“How are you feeling today?” he asked, eyeing me carefully as if I might puke on him any minute.
“Pretty crappy,” I admitted with a sigh, “for more than one reason.”
“I got you some Advil and a bottle of water.” He pointed to the pills and the water sitting on the table beside his hat. I hadn’t noticed them before.
“That was really nice of you,” I murmured, moving over to the table to scoop up the pills and open the bottle of water.
“I’m sorry about last night,” he said.
I gulped down the pills and nearly choked. I chugged some water before turning around. “What you do you have to be sorry about? I’m the one who dared you to kiss me.”
“No, not that,” he said with a boyishly handsome smile on his face that made me want to kiss him all over again. “I’m not sorry about that.”
“Oh.” My mouth remained opened in a circle. My eyes were wide.
“I meant I’m sorry you had such a bad night...because of what Harrison did.”
I nodded slowly. If only two wrongs made a right. “Well, I’m sorry I made you kiss me. It was completely unprofessional of me. I’m your employer while we’re here, and—”
“I’m not sorry. It was fun.” He winked at me.
Fun? Fun? Wait. Was it fun? I’d spent so much time obsessing about it, I’d failed to notice whether it was fun. “It was fun?” I echoed.
“Yeah, I mean, didn’t you think so?” he asked in such a vulnerable voice, I wanted to hug him.
“It was fun,” I answered, biting my lip. Too much fun.
“Next time, hopefully it won’t be for revenge,” he said.
Next time? Next time? I opened my mouth to reply, but no words came out. Thankfully, Patsy and her Bloody Mary sauntered into the room, saving me from what was sure to be an inept response.
“Dr. Macomb and his light o’ love are