Mistletoe and Mayhem - Cheryl Bolen Page 0,283

which more and more guests were entering the ballroom.

Holding Louisa’s daring gaze, Anne raised her chin, fighting the urge to turn her head.

Leonora, however, did not hesitate for a second. Her head snapped to the side, and a moment later, the hint of a frown began to crease her forehead. “Lord Barrington?”

Anne felt herself pause, then frown. “What? That’s ridiculous!”

Louisa rolled her eyes at her sister. “I quite agree. Phineas Hawke is the last man in the world who would capture a woman’s attention.”

“You truly ought to call him Lord Barrington,” Leonora chided. “It’s a question of respect. After all, he inherited his father’s title more than four years ago.”

Louisa shrugged off her sister’s comment as though it were a ludicrous demand that did not make the slightest sense.

While Anne had grown up with the Hawke brothers, their families’ country estates closely situated, Louisa and Leonora had only occasionally spent time in their company. However, for Louisa, that had been enough to come to detest the eldest Hawke brother Phineas; and it seemed the feeling was mutual. “No, I meant Mr. Tobias Hawke,” Louisa clarified with a smile in Anne’s direction. Then she turned and her eyes sought out the man in question.

“Toby?” Anne exclaimed, wondering how on earth Louisa had come to that conclusion. “You must be jesting.” Her gaze followed Louisa’s and she found herself looking at her childhood friend. As though he felt her looking at him, his head rose, and a second later, his chocolate-brown eyes found hers. A small smile touched his lips, and he winked at her.

“See?” Louisa exclaimed in triumph. “You cannot tell me that he means nothing to you.”

Anne stared at her cousin in utter confusion. “Of course not. Why would you think that? He’s my dearest friend. Of course, he means something to me.”

Louisa crossed her arms over her chest and regarded Anne in that way of hers that said she didn’t believe a word Anne was saying.

“Truly,” Anne insisted. “He’s my friend and nothing more. To me, he’ll always be Little Toby, the boy who pulled on my braids and hid frogs in my bed.” Still, she could not help but smile at the memory, for she’d gotten back at him by hiding his homework, which had gotten him in trouble with his tutor. Toby had been furious when he’d realized it had been her, and he hadn’t simply misplaced it.

“Well, he’s not Little Toby any longer,” Louisa remarked with a sideways glance at Tobias’s tall stature, “and neither are you Little Annie.” Her green eyes became thoughtful for a moment before she took a step toward Anne. “I dare you, dear cousin, to look at Tobias not as the boy you knew but as the man you could marry.”

Anne’s heart stumbled in her chest. “Marry?” she exclaimed, not certain if in horror or something other; something she couldn’t quite name. “I could never marry him!”

“Why not?” Leonora interjected curiously, her watchful eyes going back and forth between Anne and her sister. “I must admit that he, too, possesses most amiable qualities. Judging from both your characters, I’d say the two of you would suit.”

Louisa rolled her eyes at her sister yet again. “Marriage is not a science experiment, Leo,” she snapped, then sighed before a slow smile spread over her face. “It should be about passion. You should choose someone who sets your blood on fire and steals your breath away.” Her smile deepened as she looked at her sister. “Have you learned nothing from Mother and Father?”

Indeed, Anne’s aunt and uncle had gone against convention, against their parents’ wishes and gotten married because they’d been in love. And even today, after thirty years of marriage and six children, they still looked at one another like love-sick youths.

It was…inspiring?

“Lou, I don’t disagree with your notion of passion in marriage,” Anne stated, “however, Toby is my friend. He’s like a brother to me. I could never marry him.”

Louisa laughed, “A brother?” Her gaze moved to her sister and then back to Anne. “Well, considering you don’t have a brother, I can understand that you have no frame of reference. Still−”

“You’re beginning to sound like Leo,” Anne pointed out with no small measure of enjoyment.

Louisa rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Don’t try to distract me, for it will not work. I love you dearly, and I will not see you married to a man who will no doubt make you miserable. You need to follow your heart in all truly important