“Mr. Stallworth.” Abigail cut into his admittedly long story about the last leg of his journey with a tone that was cold even for her.
Sarah shot her a quick look, but Abigail ignored her, focusing instead on the young lady and gentleman who hovered nearby. The young lady still stared at the ground as the man glared at the wall.
Neither seemed particularly happy to be here, and to be honest, Sarah wouldn’t have minded if they’d wandered off so she could talk at greater length with Mr. Stallworth.
Abigail’s smile reminded Sarah of a cat, and the smile did not reach her eyes. “Mr. Stallworth, do you not think we are being rude in ignoring your guests?” Abigail shot her a quick look that Sarah could not read. “Won’t you please introduce us to your fiancée?”
Sarah froze. She must have heard wrong.
She waited for Mr. Stallworth to correct Abigail. She waited for the young lady beside him to do anything but stare miserably at the ground. She waited for Abigail to burst out laughing at her own attempt at a jest.
She waited for...nothing.
None of those things happened and instead she distantly heard Mr. Stallworth’s voice, echoing as though it was coming from a long distance. But even echoey and distant, she registered the words. “...like you to meet my future bride…engaged only recently…”
Her lips parted as she tried to get enough air. Her head spun, and she was only dimly aware of Abigail squeezing her arm firmly in support or perhaps in warning.
She would swoon.
Her heart was racing too fast. Please don’t let me swoon.
And then an arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, and she found herself resting against a solid wall of muscle. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he was saying to the fiancée and the man, who was apparently the woman’s brother. A baron, she thought Everly said.
Everly was the epitome of grace and decorum, as he smoothly negotiated the introductions.
It was that fact that helped her to focus. Her mind slowly stopped spinning and she drew oxygen into her lungs. By the time Everly addressed her, asking her for the next dance, she had drawn herself up to her full height, her dignity and her pride salvaged with a brilliant smile that made her cheeks ache.
“I would be delighted, Lord Everly.”
She turned to the others. “It was such a pleasure to meet you both. Now...if you’ll excuse us.”
She let Everly lead her away...and she never looked back.
6
Theo held her waist as they walked away from Stallworth and his fiancée.
In fact, he’d been holding her from the moment he’d stepped next to her.
From his spot in the corner, he’d seen the scene that was about to unfold. Stallworth had arrived with a man and woman in tow and he’d known just by the way that the other man was shifting and glancing about the room that he was up to no good.
Theo had only arrived at her side just in time. She’d had the dazed look of a woman about to collapse.
And so, he’d wrapped his arm about her to keep her upright.
He’d felt her wobble, the shallowness of her breath, the shake that told him she was in distress.
Under his hand, he’d also experienced the moment her spine had stiffened and her breathing had evened.
Her chin had notched up in that angle that he loved so much, and she’d plastered a smile on her face.
And then she’d turned with him and walked away, never looking back.
Pride swelled inside him as he pulled her just a touch closer.
Good girl, he thought but then shook his head. No. Not a girl. Composure like that was all woman. She’d been glorious.
Had he called her silly and immature? His fingers flexed against her tiny waist as they moved through the crowd. She’d been the furthest thing from it. The average onlooker would have never guessed the inner turmoil she’d just experienced.
Not only had she spared herself embarrassment but she’d saved Max and Marigold from wagging tongues at their wedding celebration.
Reaching the floor, he took her waist in one hand, gripping her fingers tightly in the other. “You’ve got this,” he whispered close to her ear.
Her head gave the tiniest shake. That was the moment she trembled again. Her vibration shook through him. “I don’t know if I do.” Her voice broke on the last word.
He knew her hurt so deeply and so fully that he closed his eyes as he willed her to hear his next words.
“All right then,” he whispered even lower, leaning close to her ear and catching her scent. He drew her in, honey with a hint of spice. “I’ve got you. And I’m not letting go. Let me do all the work.”
She gave a tentative nod, her liquid brown eyes meeting his. Sarah looked lost, her eyes crinkled in pain, her mouth pinched in hurt. “I’ve been such a fool.”
He gave his head a quick shake. “No. Don’t say that. We all make mistakes.”
Her head snapped up then and with his bent so low, she nearly clocked him in the chin, but he jerked back in the nick to time. “What did you say?”
He started moving then as the first strains of music filtered through the ballroom. Effortlessly, he led her through the intricate steps and turns as their bodies moved as one.
His shoes were perfectly safe.
His heart possibly less so.
Because something else was shining in her eyes. Appreciation? Respect? “I said that we all make mistakes.” He turned her again, moving through the dancers. “I myself made a few very similar ones a few years back.”
Her eyes widened as a tremulous smile graced her lips. His chest swelled with pride again.
She leaned closer, her heat radiating through his jacket. “I must hear more.”
He grinned then. Not because he didn’t wish to tell her. For the first time in a long time, the memories didn’t hold their usual sting. “It’s a story for another time. It’s too long to tell on the dance floor.”
“After,” she said, her fingers sliding across his shoulder with an intimacy that made his muscles tighten. “I must hear this.”
“I don’t think—”
“Please,” she dropped her voice even as she cast her gaze down. “It will make me feel better after what I just went through. To know I’m not alone.” She drew in a shuddering breath. “And honestly, it will distract me from my own sad and sorry state.”
How could he deny that?
He wished he could graze her temple with a kiss, hold her close in comfort and in compassion. And perhaps just because she felt so good against him.
He thought back to yesterday morning, the way their bodies fit together when she’d saved him from tripping over that crate.
He’d like to hold her like that again.
He drew in a shuddering breath. Stallworth might have hurt Sarah, but she’d been in love with another man just this morning. Now was not the time for him to develop feelings.
And besides, he didn’t do that sort of thing anyhow.
Not anymore.
Which he’d explain as soon as this dance ended.
Not that he wanted it to. They moved together, weaving through the crowd with an effortlessness that felt so...right.
They’d swayed closer so that their bodies nearly touched even as he maneuvered them closer to the terrace doors.