Page 25 of The Mister I Married

Well, almost nothing.

No, she was lucky because he’d agreed to her terms. Not many men would, especially not those like him—young, wealthy, respectable. His handsomeness was merely an extra helping of clotted cream on an already smothered sponge cake.

“And will you retire with him to the country after the Season?” Miss Letrout asked, leaning forward so her generous bosom rested on the table.

Emmy nodded. “Yes. And I am looking forward to seeing what will be my new home.”

It was very nearly true, anyway.

“Are you?” Miss Letrout asked, her nose wrinkling dubiously. “Even with a recluse living there?”

“Hortense, really,” her sister hissed.

But Miss Letrout only shrugged, apparently unrepentant. “It is hardly a secret, is it? No one has seen the man since his wife ran off with his stable boy or steward or whatever he was.”

“It was one of his grooms, actually,” Emmy said. “And I am looking forward to meeting my betrothed’s father. I understand he has a delightfully ribald sense of humor and plays a mean game of snooker.”

She’d heard no such thing, of course, but Miss Letrout wasn’t to know that, and she’d wanted to wipe that knowing smirk off the annoying woman’s face.

Alex wasn’t her husband yet, but he was her friend, and so was Tess, and she couldn’t help feeling protective of the lot of them.

“Well, shall we resume our game?” Lady Keswick asked, apparently sensing Emmy’s thinning patience.

“Yes, let’s,” Miss Hettie said, picking up her cards. “It is your go, my lady.”

As play resumed, Emmy had trouble concentrating on the game, her mind filled with thoughts of her betrothed with the broad shoulders and striking hazel eyes.

Her betrothed who might not have been.

Alex might have said no, and his hesitation to accept her proposal had worried her, to say nothing of the blow to her confidence.

She could not fault him for it, though. He had good reason for being so cautious and she respected him for it. His dedication to his father was admirable, and she’d meant what she said to him that day in her drawing room. She had every intention of upholding her end of the bargain.

She hadn’t talked much with Alex these last few days since their betrothal was set, only one brief conversation last night at the Hendersons’ ball, and that was it. And as for time spent alone with her husband-to-be, there had been none, a fact which made her feel…what?

Irritated? Disappointed? Both?

Or something else entirely, perhaps. She was woefully out of her depths here.

They weren’t courting, precisely—they were already betrothed, after all, so it hardly seemed necessary—but she wouldn’t mind seeing more of her future husband and getting to know him better.

Truth be told, she was more than a little nervous about meeting Alex’s father, and moving into a new home in an unfamiliar village in an unfamiliar county filled with people she did not know.

Her life was going to change irrevocably in just a few short months, and it would be nice if her betrothed were around to prepare her and assure her all would be well.

She wouldn’t be averse to another kiss or two, either.

Heat bloomed in her cheeks as she laid down the queen of spades, paying only half a mind to the game.

She had liked kissing Alex, more than she would have predicted.

A lot more.

Even thinking back to it now, to his soft lips, the gentle grasp of his hand, the unexpected sweep of his tongue…

The memory sent butterflies swirling and swooping throughout her stomach, and yet it was a pleasant feeling.

Yes, she wanted to kiss him again. But did he feel the same? He must have found her performance acceptable or he wouldn’t have agreed to marry her, but, well, she wanted to rank better than acceptable.