Marrying Mr. Darcy (Love Manor #2) - Kate O'Keeffe Page 0,65

become such good chums, you could break the news to Sebby.”

“We didn’t have a cozy chat.”

She shoots me a look that tells me she doesn’t even begin to believe me. “Emma, I understand. Believe me, I do. Chris Hampshire is a hard man to resist.”

What?

“But I didn’t need to resist him,” I protest.

Her eyes bulge. “Oh? Now you’ll have to tell me everything, but it’ll need to wait until after the fundraiser. And I also need to say that I’m upset on behalf of Sebby, too, of course.”

Exasperated, I reply, “You’ve got the wrong end of the stick here. I meant there was nothing to resist because I didn’t need to resist him.”

I’m confusing myself now.

“What I mean is I’m in love with Seb.”

“Of course you are. But you know, ladies of the British aristocracy have been having affairs for years. It’s quite accepted in some circles, even expected, I dare say.”

Frustrated, I reply, “Argh!” as I throw my hands in the air. “There was no ‘cozy chat,’ no flirting, and certainly no affair!”

“This sure sounds like an interesting conversation,” a deep voice says behind me.

I squeeze my eyes shut before I turn around. I know exactly who it’s going to be, and his timing is just perfect.

“Hey, Chris,” I say with a stuck-on smile, hoping he doesn’t realize we were talking about him—and suspecting he absolutely does.

“If you do decide to have an affair with anyone, Texas, be sure to give me a call,” he says smoothly, his suggestive smile stretching across his face.

“Oh, no. I wasn’t saying that at all. I was…err…you know, talking hypothetically.”

Smooth, Emma.

“It’s too early to be thinking about affairs, anyway. I would have thought you’d need to have been married to the stiff for at least six months first.”

The stiff?

“If you’re referring to Sebastian, I’ll have you know he’s not ‘stiff,’ as you so politely put it.”

“Well, that is unfortunate for you,” he replies with a cheeky glint in his eye.

I open my mouth to reply then it dawns on me what he means. I promptly close it again.

His eyes glide up to the fascinator hat clipped onto my head. “That’s quite a hat you’ve got there. I see you’ve taken the Kermit conversation we had at the café to heart.”

“It’s not a lily pad,” I reply in exasperation. “Tell him, Jilly.”

“Of course it’s not. It’s a hat by renowned London designer, Paul Henri. It cost a small fortune. It’s awfully de rigueur.”

I shoot Chris a satisfied smile even though I’ve got no idea what de rigueur means. Something to do with oil rigs?

“See? Nothing to do with frogs.”

“I was gonna add that it was a super sexy lily pad, but if you insist it’s not…”

Does this guy never give up?

I choose to ignore his comment. “Chris,” I say firmly with an I-mean-business tone. “Do you think it’s a good idea that you’re here? I mean, you and Seb aren’t exactly friends these days, right?”

He waves my concern away with a flick of his wrist. “It’s fine. There are so many people here, I doubt he’ll even notice me. And anyway, that’s all ancient history. If he’s got a problem with me, he should just come out and tell me.”

I scrunch up my nose. Today is a big deal for the family, and the last thing I want is for Sebastian to see Chris and feel uncomfortable. “Is it, though? He didn’t look exactly pleased to see you at the opera that night.”

“Texas, no one’s pleased to be at the opera. You of all people should know that.”

I let out an exasperated puff of air. This guy is the limit!

He places his hand on the bare skin of my arm, and I instantly tighten. “Look, Emma. You’re real sweet worrying about how your boyfriend—”

“Fiancé.”

“—fiancé is going to react to seeing me here this afternoon, but trust me, he won’t care.”

“I think he will.”

“Why?”

“Because of the what happened with Jilly.” I look to her for confirmation. “Right?”

“If I can move on from that, so can Sebby,” she says.

I’m aware Chris hasn’t removed his hand, and I pull my arm away. “I guess.” I look up to see Sebastian making his way through the throngs of people with Kennedy, smiling and chatting with people.

“Emma, there you are,” he says as he sidles up beside me. “We’ve been looking for you.” His face drops when his eyes land on Chris. “What are you doing here?” he says, clearly thrown.

Chris, on the other hand, looks completely unfazed. He