Mistletoe and Mayhem - Cheryl Bolen Page 0,293

brother to say something to anyone, least of all to Anne, that Tobias wasn’t yet ready to become known.

“Will you at least admit that you no longer see her as our little sister?” Phineas dared him. “You’ve been talking about little else these past few months. It’s always been ‘Anne here’ and ‘Anne there’. Quite frankly, if you don’t make up your mind soon and ask for her hand, I’ll do it for you.”

Tobias didn’t know if he wanted to sink into a hole in the ground or stride across the room, toss Anne over his shoulder and carry her off. “What if she doesn’t want me?” he whispered, shocking himself by discussing this with his brother of all people. “What if she wants…him?” He all but glared across the drawing room to where Anne was nodding to something Lord Gillingham had said.

“I doubt she does,” Phineas replied with a shrug.

“How do you know?”

“Call it a sixth sense. It’s in the way she looks at him.” He chuckled, “Or rather in the way she doesn’t.”

Tobias felt his hopes rise. “What do you mean?”

His brother sighed, “Well, she looks at you in the same besotted way as you look at her.” Again, he chuckled. “I’d say you’re a perfect match.”

Tobias sighed, afraid to trust his brother’s observational skills. “Honestly, how much can you truly tell from a look? I don’t see a difference in how she looks at me and at him.” Was that true? Or was he simply afraid to hope that there was?

“Well, if indeed, you’re right and she cares for Gillingham,” Phineas stated with a tinge of amusement in his voice, “then you have two options.” Here, he stopped and wouldn’t open his mouth again until Tobias begrudgingly asked him to continue. “One, you can stand by and wait until she agrees to marry Gillingham.” Indeed, Tobias had never encountered a thought more terrifying. “Or, two,” Phineas turned to meet his brother’s gaze, “you could change her mind.” A roguish grin spread over his face.

Running a hand through his hair, Tobias tried to think of anything to say that would distract his brother from his current line of thinking. “What about Lady Louisa?” he asked, noting the way she cast bone-chilling glares in Phineas’s direction. “What happened between the two of you?”

Grinning at her, his brother shrugged. “Nothing.”

“So, she hates you for no reason?”

“I’m certain she has one,” Phineas replied, turning to look at Tobias with that utterly innocent expression on his face that made women swoon at his feet without realizing the danger they were putting themselves in. “However, I’m not aware of it.”

“Why do you call her Lulu? It seems to rile her.”

His brother chuckled, “That is precisely why I do it.”

“Pardon me?”

Phineas heaved a somewhat exasperated sigh, “Have you never known the joys that come from fighting with a woman?”

“Joys?” Tobias asked, eyeing his brother through narrowed eyes. “Are you honestly saying that you enjoy her reaction?” He paused. “Do you care for her?”

For a split second, a muscle in Phineas’s jaw tensed before he shook his head laughing. “No one can deny that she’s a beautiful woman,” he stated, that wicked smirk back on his face, “and spirited as well.” He shrugged. “Of course, I wouldn’t mind stealing a kiss. No one in their right mind would. The lady has a very tempting mouth.” His brows wiggled, suggesting the directions of his thoughts−not that they were in doubt. “Perhaps the two of us meeting here this Christmas will provide such an opportunity.” He glanced at the sprig of mistletoe hanging near the pianoforte. “Do you think she would slap me if I pulled her under that bit of greenery there and kissed her?” Phineas asked with a chuckle as he looked at the lady in question, completely unimpressed by the hateful glare she sent his way.

Tobias laughed, “Oh, please do so for I do believe the lady will do much worse to you than grant you a simple slap.” He grasped his brother’s shoulder and met his gaze. “I cannot rightly say that you would not deserve it.”

Phineas grinned devilishly. “I admit I’m thoroughly tempted.” His eyes moved back to Lady Louisa, and for a terrible moment, Tobias truly thought his brother would stride across the room, drag the lady under the mistletoe dangling near the pianoforte and steal a kiss. Fortunately, Phineas was no fool. He often pretended to be one, but Tobias could see his brother’s thoughts churning behind those dark eyes.

Phineas