Gregory lifted his head in surprise, his expression quickly turning to concern.
“That was for the wager,” I said quietly. “You should have won.”
He quirked a brow. “Then this is for everything else.”
He lowered his head and our lips met again. His lips were warm and tender, almost hesitant. I didn’t pull away. I pressed against them. I never wanted to be apart from him again.
His kiss turned insistent, possessive, as though he felt the same way. His arms wrapped tighter around me and I moved closer, wanting more, needing more, needing him, and was gratified to hear a strained murmur of my name escape him.
A throat cleared behind us. Suddenly recalling where we were, I jerked away, but Gregory tightened his arm around my waist so the most I could do was turn my head. “Why are we always interrupted?” he groaned quietly.
My father stood not far from us. “This is not quite the scene I expected to find.”
My cheeks flamed with embarrassment and the lingering warmth of Gregory’s lips. “Father, I. . . .” There was nothing to say, no excuse to make. Except that I couldn’t be sorry.
Gregory relaxed his grip, one of his hands sliding down my arm to my hand. “Mr. Brinton, I have asked your daughter to marry me. She has consented.”
My father murmured something that sounded suspiciously like, “Finally.”
“Father!”
He chuckled, then stretched out his hand to shake Gregory’s. “I offer you my congratulations.”
“Thank you, sir,” Gregory replied, a wide smile on his face.
“Shall we return inside?” my father asked. “I believe the company is about ready for supper.”
I glanced up at Gregory, who smiled down at me. “Yes.”
He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it again, then wrapped it around his arm. We paused just outside the door and he assisted me with Alice’s ribbon. As he tied the bow, he leaned toward me and whispered, “It appears I need to teach you the waltz in private, to ensure we are not interrupted again.” He moved back to my side and again placed my hand on his arm, his smile curving suggestively.
Excitement shivered through me. “I believe that is a very good idea.”
Forty-Five
18 Months Later
“Are you ready?”
The warmth of Gregory’s whisper brushed my ear, sending chills of pleasure down my back.
I glanced behind us to where the back of Gregory’s house—our house—stood like the backdrop to a play. The morning sun threw most of the garden in shadows, but the parts of the river that showed through the trees sparkled like mirrors reflecting the light.
Turning back, I took in the lake stretching before us, the white of the stone gazebo on the tiny island at its center barely visible through the light mist rising from the water. Low black clouds threatened in the distance, plunging the land beneath them into darkness.
He had built it for me. My family had come for the ground-breaking, including Louisa, who was now at home for her lying-in. Alice, fully recovered in health but not quite in spirit, had stayed to watch the progress. We were all hoping that a change of scenery would bring back the excitement and easy laughter that had disappeared with her illness. She would join us for the formal ceremonies celebrating the completion of the lake this afternoon—if it didn’t rain.
But this morning it was just me and Gregory.
“I’m ready.”
He stepped into the boat, took my hand, and helped me in. I settled on the seat across from him as he untied the rope.
The boat jerked when he pushed off the dock, then eased into a slow, rocking movement. I leaned back to admire the way his coat bulged as he strained at the oars.
“It’s going to rain,” I said.
He looked over my head into the distance. “The storm is some way off yet.”
Tilting my face to the rising sun, I closed my eyes.
“You’re going to end up with freckles,” he said.
I opened one eye and squinted at him. A breeze ruffled his hair. His tanned skin made his blue eyes even more stunning than normal, and his smile revealed a small crease—not quite a dimple—in his cheek. My heart began to race.
I shrugged, knowing it would do nothing to hide the way he affected me but hoping to convey indifference all the same. “I’ve already caught a man. He’s bound to me, freckles or no.”
Gregory frowned. “Poor chap.”
Dipping my hand in the water, I brought it up quickly and splashed him.