Page 21 of Discovering Her Earl

Had he not spent a restless night in his bed, staring up at the ceiling while thinking of her? The fullness of her lips pulled up in a smile. He wondered if the curves of her body would match up to his since she was taller than most women.

Her openness and humor. Her intelligent conversation and flirty quips.

To find out she despised him to this level made him want to lash out so she wouldn’t know how badly it hurt him.

“I don’t want to like you,” she admitted without looking at him. “And I fear spending another day talking with you will put me that much closer to doing so.”

For whatever reason, her twisted explanation made him feel better, though repeating it in his head didn’t help him find a particular compliment in her words.

“Perhaps if you could tell me why you don’t want to like me, we could come up with a solution,” he suggested.

“Perhaps we could just travel in silence today.”

“Very well.” He pressed his lips together but watched her as she squirmed on the opposite bench. After stealing glances at him a few times she let out a sigh and spoke.

“Do you have to keep looking at me like that?”

“How am I looking at you?”

“Just…” She waved her hand in the direction of his face. “Looking. With your eyes.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle at her disgruntled pout.

“Pardon me, for looking with my eyes. Do you want me to sit here in silence with my eyes closed? Maybe that would solve the problem—not that I know what the problem is exactly because you haven’t really said.”

“Nor will I, because I’m beginning to understand how ridiculous it sounds.”

She rubbed her forehead in what he could tell was utter embarrassment.

He realized then he was standing at a crossroad with this woman.

He could either push her and risk her retreating completely, or he could let it go and never know why she disliked him so much.

Neither option felt appealing. As with most things, he leaned on his charm to guide him.

“I have a proposition for you,” he said and watched as she peeked from behind her hand. She was a curious one, which would work in his favor. Or at least he hoped.

“Since I do not suffer the same affliction as you when reading in a moving carriage, perhaps I could read your book aloud. It would serve to entertain us both and I daresay won’t do anything to change your feelings toward liking me or not.”

And yes, his offer might have had something to do with his curiosity in discovering what she was reading.

“You would grant me such a kindness, after I was so horribly rude to you?”

“Of course.”

“You see, this is the exact thing I feared. How can I not like you when you are being so generous?”

“I feel as though I should apologize, but I’m not quite sure what I’d be apologizing for. So sorry to not be a boar, maybe? Apologies for being utterly magnificent?”

She scowled, but unlike before, this gesture was utterly playful in nature.

“Yes, perhaps magnificent is rather grand,” he allowed.

“I don’t understand you,” she said with a frustrated wave of her hand. “That is, I thought I did, but perhaps I’ve been wrong all this time.” She seemed utterly perplexed, but he had no idea how to assist.

All this time? How long ago had it been that he’d been charged and found guilty of whatever crime she’d assigned to him?

“I am quite pleased to hear that,” he answered before planning to speak. “Not so much that you were wrong. It would be ill-mannered of me to mention that. But to hear you are befuddled by me. Because I surely don’t understand you in the least.”