Page 92 of Dukes for Dessert

“Don’t you start with that half smile again.” She took a step back. “You’ve said goodbye. Now you should go to bed.”

How he wished that was an invitation. Bed sounded very inviting, especially if she were in it. “Actually, I didn’t.” He couldn’t bring himself to do it. Saying goodbye would make it real. Final.

She exhaled and put a hand on her hip. “It doesn’t matter, because I’m not leaving with Lady Wetherby and Lady Marina.”

A giddy thrill tripped through him. “You’re not?”

“My goodness, you actually look and sound quite relieved.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “What’s gotten into you? In fact, why aren’t you leaving tomorrow?”

“I’d planned to be here for the duration of the party. I don’t like to change plans.”

She blinked at him. “Even if it means staying at a house party when you loathe house parties?”

“I don’t loathe this one.”

“Why?” She sounded incredibly skeptical.

“Because I met you. Now that I know you aren’t leaving, I’m particularly keen to stay so that I may get to know you better.”

She stared at him and repeated, “Why?”

“I should think it was obvious. We kissed earlier. It was quite nice.” He scowled and shook his head. “It was bloody brilliant.”

“How charming of you to curse in reference to my kissing ability,” she murmured. “It was a horrendous mistake. Anyway, I’m leaving day after tomorrow. I wanted to be on my way tomorrow, but Cecilia convinced me to stay.”

“And Lady Wetherby doesn’t mind?”

She narrowed her eyes until they were almost slits. “Lady Wetherby dismissed me.”

“Because I don’t want to marry her daughter?” He swore, and his gaze flew to hers. “My apologies. Sometimes I forget to keep such things in my head.”

“It takes much more than that to offend my sensibilities.”

Another point in her favor. Was there anything about her that wasn’t wonderful? Even her smiling was growing on him. Though, she wasn’t smiling now. “That Lady Wetherby let you go because of my actions says far more about her than it does you.”

“If only everyone thought so,” she murmured. “It doesn’t matter. She was unhappy with how things turned out, and I am the scapegoat.”

“Better she’s unhappy now than her daughter is for a lifetime. Neither of us wanted to marry the other. Lady Marina never failed to look positively tortured whenever she was in my presence.”

Juno shook her head. “You aren’t as self-aware as you think. You looked much the same in her presence.”

He exhaled. “In my defense, I look like that most of the time when I’m in the company of others, especially at an event like this.”

“Is it really torture?”

“It’s…uncomfortable.” He shifted his weight, feeling a flash of that familiar discomfort just from discussing it. “I prefer solitude or smaller gatherings.” He was more than comfortable at the moment in only her presence. “It’s quite taxing to spend so much time with so many people.”

“Is it?” She seemed to contemplate his revelations, which he never shared with anyone. “You’ve described Marina exactly. It’s too bad neither of you could get past that, for you have much in common.”

He arched a brow at her. “Are you still trying to play matchmaker?”

“No. I need to move on, and I am ready to do so. I will search for my next position and hopefully find more success than I did with Marina.” She sounded disappointed.

“I’m sure you did your best. Our failure to match wasn’t your fault.”

“Perhaps. However, I’d hoped to effect more change in my charge than I did. She improved her skills while I was with her, but overall, she’s no more ready to wed than she was when I started.” She pursed her lips. “Lady Wetherby was right in that I didn’t achieve what I was hired to do with Marina.”

“Somehow, I doubt that’s your fault either.”