“Yes, like the one you gave me,” she said softly. “Unless you don’t want that.”
“Sometimes ladies don’t want to do that,” he said.
“This lady does.”
His pupils dilated and he cleared his throat. “You’re going to kill me,” he muttered, and she thought it was more to himself than to her. “I’ll be dead within a month of being wed. Happily dead, it seems.”
“Nathan,” she said.
He shook his head. “Yes. Of course. I agree to your terms. But what do you want if you win?”
She folded her arms. She did want something, but there wasn’t anything playful or sensual about it. It was a risk to ask, but here they were and this was the perfect opportunity.
“I have told you something very painful from my past,” she said slowly. “If I win, I want to know something about you.”
“Some dark secret,” he said. She nodded. He held her gaze firmly. “You assume I have one.”
“You became a duke and what amounted to a father when you were in your very early twenties. You hide this playful side I’m now seeing under very serious layers. And you protect those you love as if you are afraid to lose them. I know there is a dark secret.”
She saw a flicker of pain cross his face. Just for a moment, but then it was gone. He reached out to catch her hand and lifted it to his lips. “Very well. Your kiss, my secret. May the best person win.”
She smiled. “I already have, Your Grace. Three times.”
His laughter echoed in the room and continued to do so until he caught her waist and drew her in for a kiss that sealed the bargain. And she feared it would one day seal much more. Seal her to him, seal her heart.
And she still wasn’t certain she could allow that to happen.
Chapter 15
Nathan stood on the terrace overlooking his garden with Owen and Rhys flanking him on either side. They were talking, but he wasn’t paying attention to the words. He was staring down below where Pippa, Celeste, Abigail and Ophelia were walking together. Ophelia was smiling, seemingly welcomed fully into the group. That was thanks to Abigail, he knew. Abigail, who had pushed away her own pain to make a place for all the women Erasmus Montgomery had betrayed.
“They seem to be getting along,” Owen said, interrupting Nathan’s thoughts. “That was a concern, wasn’t it? That Lady Ophelia wouldn’t let Abigail close thanks to their mutual connection to Montgomery?”
Nathan frowned. “There are still…challenges. Every chance she gets, Ophelia says she doesn’t like that my future is forced. And she’s standoffish to Abigail. Even now, look at her.”
They all looked toward the women again and watched as Ophelia stepped away so she wouldn’t have to stand next to Abigail. He saw his future wife frown. She was trying and Ophelia was being trying.
“I see. But that’s understandable,” Rhys said. “You two have always been close. You rush to her defense, she to yours.”
“Yes. I just hope one day she will soften to Abigail. Her defenses must be worn down eventually. Abigail has that way about her.”
Rhys turned to face him slowly. “Are you still only talking about Ophelia, Gilmore? Or does that statement also apply to you?”
Nathan shook his head. He didn’t want to talk about that, not even with his two closest friends. “Don’t start.”
Rhys rolled his eyes and Owen laughed. “No one has to start, but you must know that the connection growing between you two is obvious, especially to us.”
“So you will not let it go. Why did I expect it? You two are so very intrusive.”
Owen shrugged. “Intrusive is my occuptation.”
“It’s more of a hobby for me,” Rhys said.
Nathan couldn’t control his laughter at that. “Perhaps there is a softening between Abigail and me. I suppose there must be, given what is coming in just a few days. A wedding. More to the point, a marriage. I will be honest that I have no idea what that will look like.”
Owen clasped Nathan’s bicep. “Talk to her. I’m sure she has the same hesitations and uncertainty. Neither of you planned this and it’s happened so fast—talking to her is the first step toward avoiding misunderstanding and hopefully heartache.”
Nathan glanced down again. It seemed Abigail had recovered from her disappointment at Ophelia’s rejection, for she had her arm linked with Celeste, and the two were talking and laughing as the foursome meandered up the pathway to the house. Soften though she might, she was never as relaxed with him. Never as lit up.
He had to wonder if she ever would be. If they could ever overcome a bad start and make a future worth fighting for.
Abigail walked up the garden path, her arm through Celeste’s, and glanced up at the terrace above. Nathan and the other two men were still there, and he was still watching her. Always watching her. That focused attention sent a shiver of awareness through her that settled in most inconvenient places.
Damn him for having that power. And damn herself for giving it to him.
“It has been such a lovely day,” Celeste said, but Abigail caught her glance at Pippa.
“But?” Abigail said.
To her surprise, it was Ophelia who responded. “How do you know there is a but?”
Abigail fought the urge to crow at even this small bend in her hesitant future sister-in-law. Ophelia was a tough nut to crack, though Abigail understood the reasons and had no intention of giving up on her attempts to win the young woman over.
Abigail squeezed Celeste’s arm. “I’ve known these two long enough to know the little lilt of concern in their voices. Plus they just gave each other the most meaningful look. Oh, there it is again!”
Ophelia’s eyes went wide. “I did see it. They glanced at each other so seriously. Should I step away and let you three talk alone?”
“No,” Abigail insisted, and held her stare evenly. “You are part of our little circle now. There is no escaping.”
Ophelia’s lips parted a fraction, and for a brief moment Abigail saw how much that statement meant to her. But then she straightened her spine and glanced away. Still, Abigail had won a little ground, it seemed. She would celebrate it.
“Go ahead, you two, I have nothing to hide from Ophelia,” she said. “Give me whatever bad news you’ve been hiding all day. I’m ready for it.” She sounded so brave, though her heart had started to race. She was so tired of waiting for another shoe to drop. A year of it was too much.
Celeste sighed. “Did you…did you happen to see the Scandal Sheet paper this morning?”
Abigail caught her breath. “You know, I didn’t. Paisley must have hidden it from me. Which means there was something about me in it. Oh God, what now?”
Pippa took a step toward her. “There was a blind item and it implied…it implied that Gilmore might be marrying you so hastily because he wanted to make sure your child was legitimate.”
Abigail dropped Celeste’s arm and stared. “They implied I was pregnant?”
Celeste nodded. “I’m so sorry to upset you.”
Abigail glanced up at the terrace again and her mouth twitched with a smile as she found Nathan. After three tries, the man had finally won one of their wagers. “Oh, he is going to be insufferable,” she muttered.