Winning the Gentleman (Hearts on the Heath #2) - Kristi Ann Hunter Page 0,88

good at stopping.”

He watched her intently but didn’t move. “I’ve noticed.”

Sophia started shaking again, but this time for an entirely different reason. Gone were the fears over apologizing, over disappointing him. Instead, she was terrified she would misunderstand him. Was he inviting her to kiss him again?

Hesitantly, she reached up to cup his cheek. He slid his hand up her free arm until he was copying her position, bracing her cheek with his palm.

She went up on her toes, his face low enough from his leaning against the wall that she didn’t have to pull him down. This time the kiss was slow and sweet, lighter than the first one they’d shared.

And most definitely shorter as he broke the contact and stepped away, his face once more unreadable.

Had it been bad? Had he changed his mind?

“They’ll have dinner ready at the house.” He stepped backward until he was out of the stall. “Are you hungry?”

Dazed, she nodded. He gestured for her to precede him, and she walked outside and toward the house. Lord Trent and Lady Adelaide were seated on the veranda.

“Sophia?” he asked as they crossed the manicured lawn.

“Yes?”

“It’s Aaron. But maybe only in private, hmm?”

She was so busy grinning as they climbed the veranda steps that she forgot to be afraid.

Twenty-Seven

Aaron hadn’t meant to stay for dinner, but even he knew he couldn’t dump Sophia on the veranda and leave after sharing that kiss with her in the stable. Especially after giving her permission to use his name.

He had to stay away from her and that horse in confined spaces. Something about the way she cared for Rhiannon like she was family ripped through every defense he had. She’d gotten so much pleasure out of the idea that she’d get to ride Rhiannon again. When was the last time he’d taken that much pleasure in something so small?

He hadn’t been lying when he’d said he wanted that joy aimed at himself. Somewhere along the way, everything in his life had become carefully guarded. Even his blunt acknowledgment of his illegitimacy was designed to keep distance between him and other people. Never had he felt delight as strongly as she experienced her happiness, and he’d wanted a glimmer of that splendor for himself.

“Adelaide, I think this is the year we venture out to the courses,” Trent said as they passed potatoes around the table.

“You don’t normally attend?” Sophia asked.

“Not to watch the races.” Trent leaned back in his chair. “I often ride over on race day to get a sweet bun from the baker walking through the crowd. You must try one. Best sweet buns in the world.”

Sophia grinned. “I’ll have to remember that.”

Aaron shouldn’t have worried about Sophia feeling comfortable enough to relax and talk to her hosts. Getting people to talk was Trent’s specialty. Even Aaron said unintended things around the man.

Trent had taken one look at Sophia and asked if she’d be more comfortable if he and Adelaide rolled about in the hearth before dinner. It was a ludicrous statement that no one should have been able to say without being utterly insulting, but Trent had managed.

It had unleashed the woman he’d encountered on their rides—charming, engaging, personable. That she’d felt obliged to repress that light around him made him feel like a boor. No longer. Even if he was uncomfortable, he’d make sure she felt free to be herself.

Was this giddy tingle and irrational absurdity what Graham and Oliver had endured when they’d met the women who would be their wives? Hudson had been a blind fool when he’d first met Bianca, but perhaps he’d experienced this and not identified it until later?

What should he do about it? If this was the beginning of falling in love, shouldn’t Aaron find a way to halt the process? He’d known her a week. While he couldn’t deny he enjoyed kissing her, nothing that grew in such a short timespan should be allowed to overthrow thirty-two years of other plans.

Sophia’s animated face flew from emotion to emotion as she told a story about a baker trading fresh bread in exchange for getting his child a ride on Rhiannon’s back. The silly story about the child’s antics should have inspired little more than a roll of Aaron’s eyes, but the way she told it inspired a smile. She talked so much that the conversation flowed easily around him without excluding him, despite his lack of participation.

This comfortable familiarity would get in the way of sound thinking if he experienced