Winning the Gentleman (Hearts on the Heath #2) - Kristi Ann Hunter Page 0,89

too much of it. He needed to limit his exposure until he knew what to do.

He didn’t want to. When was the last time he’d felt no need to prevaricate? Whenever it was, the moment had certainly included Oliver and Graham, neither of whom was at this table.

It was even possible that this strange feeling swirling in his gut was him being . . . happy.

DINNER HAD BEEN cleared by the time Jonas arrived, so he retreated to the kitchen to eat. Whether by luck or design, he didn’t reappear before Aaron took his leave. Sophia alone escorted him out to the veranda.

He’d invited a second kiss, given her permission to use his name. The wonder of it all made her forget how to use her voice.

“You’d no end of stories at the dinner table and now you go mum?”

She blinked up at him, mesmerized by the easy smile. It barely tilted up at the corners, but the way his eyes crinkled made it much more real. He’d done nothing at dinner but eat. What had caused such a change in him?

“I’m afraid I don’t know what to say.”

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he looked out toward the stable. “That’s the beauty of it, Sophia. When everything is good with me, you don’t have to say anything at all.” He brought his dark gaze back to her, stealing her breath with its intensity. “But if there’s something you want to say, know that I want to hear it, even if I’m not talking back.”

“Why?”

“Because . . .” He ran a hand behind his neck, looking more nervous than upset or uncomfortable. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”

“Is that good?”

“I think it’s the only way it could be, because I don’t think there is anyone else like you.”

So many thoughts swirled through her brain—emotions, sensations, impulses that part of her wanted to share—but the words were clouded behind the uncertainty.

“Don’t make more of this than it is,” Aaron said with a sigh.

Ah, there was the discouragement she’d come to expect from him. The statement should have been negative, but instead it settled Sophia’s uncertainty and freed her tongue.

“Are you afraid I’ll never leave now that you’ve shown me a bit of kindness, Aaron?” She grinned up at him.

“Why don’t we just see what happens tomorrow, hmm?”

“I can do that.”

He nodded, then headed for the stable. He paused on the second step down from the veranda and turned to look at her over his shoulder.

“What?” she asked after he’d stared long enough to make her toes wiggle in her boots.

“I like hearing you say my name.”

Of all the things he could have said, that was one she’d least expected. By the time she’d gathered her wits, he was halfway across the lawn.

A rustle of skirts indicated she was no longer alone on the veranda. Lady Adelaide waited until Aaron had disappeared into the stable before saying, “Are you ready to see your room? I know it’s late, but I’ve had them prepare a bath for you. I hate sleeping in travel dust.”

Travel dust was a kind way of describing the filth that currently coated Sophia’s person. The last two days had been approximately one month long, and she felt like all of it had accumulated on her skin. She’d cleaned half of Suffolk from beneath her fingernails before dinner.

“That would be lovely, thank you.” Sophia bit her lip and folded her skirt through her fingers. “If it isn’t too much trouble, may I see if one of the maids has a spare night rail?”

“I’ve already had one laid out on the bed in your room.” Lady Adelaide blinked at her, blue eyes looking enormous behind black-rimmed spectacles. “I hope you don’t mind my taking the liberty.”

She should be embarrassed, but she was suddenly too exhausted to care. “I don’t mind.”

“Good.” Lady Adelaide led the way to the first floor and pointed to a door on her right. “We put your brother in that room. He intended to come back down after cleaning up, but the footman said he found him snoring in the bed when he went to clear the water.”

“Understandable.” Sophia could imagine how nice a bath had felt after a week in that cottage.

“This is where you’ll be staying.” Lady Adelaide swung open the door to a room Sophia couldn’t have even dreamed about.

Tasteful elegance covered every surface, from the rose-and-cream-colored carpet, to the gold bed with its green canopy, to the brilliant white