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Caleb sat with Lord Burrows, his wife, their daughter Lady Eloise, the dowager Lady Burrows, and his family at the theater.

He’d been courting the young woman for the last couple of weeks, and his mother was beside herself with excitement.

He grimaced. Soon, he would have to call an end to it.

Lady Eloise was charming, but he wouldn’t marry her.

He glanced at her, studying the young woman who was only twenty. She was one of the most sought-after ladies on the marriage mart, and he should be thrilled. A union between them would solidify his place in society. Yet, he wasn’t going to propose, no matter how much his mother wished it.

The problem was that he enjoyed spending time with Lord Burrows.

He was one of the most level-headed lords he’d met since arriving.

Caleb’s gaze pivoted to the man’s mother.

She stared back at him, her mouth pinched.

The older woman was a different story. He often found her sneering at his mother.

He didn’t like her at all. He didn’t see the same rudeness in Lord Burrows’ wife or his daughter.

His mother tended to make herself small around the woman. Cordell sighed next to him. “I’m so ready to be back in New York City.”

“You would be doing the same thing,” their sister whispered from behind them.

Their mother shushed them. Lady Eloise smiled prettily at him. “Have you seen this opera, Lord Haven?”

He smiled back at her. “No, my lady, operas are not a favorite of mine.”

She fluttered her eyelashes dramatically. “I just adore them.”

For a moment, Caleb wondered if she was intentionally trying to be annoying. Guilt coursed through him that he would think such a thought. He caught her slyly smiling before facing forward. No, he suspected, the lady didn’t want to marry him either.

His gaze drifted across the theater and skidded to a stop. Celeste sat in a box across the way with several people. She laughed and touched a man’s arm. He’d done his best to forget her after their night together. Yet, jealousy swirled in him. Was the man she beamed at Fitzsimmons?

She turned back, and the smile stayed on her face as she perused the crowd around her.

He should turn away, knowing he decided months ago he would not pursue her.

That vow hadn’t stopped him from thinking about her, unfortunately.

He did that far too much. Her gaze reached the box next to Lord Burrows’.

Caleb leaned back and closer to Lady Eloise, who glanced at him, startled. Finally, Celeste’s eyes locked in on him, and he watched her eyes widen and her lips part. He wanted to curse and rage because the connection he hoped would be gone sizzled and sparked between them.

Lady Eloise leaned towards him. “Did you have a question, my lord?”

He didn’t tear his gaze away from Celeste. Her eyes widened, and she reeled back in shock. She perused the rest of his box, and suddenly she was on her feet and departing.

“My lord?” Lady Eloise prompted.

He stood and said, “If you will excuse me. I need some air.”

Cordell frowned at him. “Shall I join you?”

Caleb shook his head. Everyone nodded, lost in the beginning of the opera. Well, everyone except for the dowager who frowned at him sternly. This would be the last time he made his mother spend time with the woman, he told himself.

He raced to the corridor that connected to the box Celeste had just departed from. She stood leaning against a wall, taking deep breaths. Was she upset? Fury filled Caleb that he couldn’t prevent himself from caring that she seemed distressed.

“For a woman who is attached, you seem upset to see me with another lady.”

Her head jerked up, and her blue eyes flashed. “Go away, Caleb.”

He strode to her. “Are you still with Fitzsimmons?”

“Yes,” she spat.

He pulled her into a smaller room, trapping her between his arms and the wall. “Why, Celeste?”

She sucked in her breath and desire unfurled between them. Conflicting emotions raged in him—fury that he still felt so strongly for her and euphoria to be close to her again. His lips trailed along her jawline. “Leave him.”

Their lips found each other, and he kissed her slowly, wanting to savor the feel of her mouth against his. Celeste couldn’t feel these same emotions with Fitzsimmons. Caleb refused to believe it. She leaned into him, but as his hand slid down her waist, she gasped and pushed him away.

“We have to stop,” Celeste insisted.

“Is the man in your box Fitzsimmons?”

Anger coursed through him, and he demanded again. “Is it?”

“No!” she snapped, stepping further away.

He ran a hand through his hair, looking around. Christ, they were in some type of large closet. What was he doing?

“I have to go.”

“Caleb,” she said.

He stopped, his heart pounding. Hope flared in him, and he turned. She said, “Lord Burrows isn’t a good person.”

The fury in him flared again. “What?”

She swallowed. “He isn’t a good person.”

He stalked back to her. “Who are you to judge others, Celeste? You used me.”

“I didn’t—”

“You did,” he interrupted.

Her lower lip trembled, and he reminded himself that this woman was attached to another man. One who didn’t bother to escort her to any events, it seemed. She deserved more, and it infuriated him.

“I have to go. Don’t worry about me or who I associate with. I’ve moved on, and you should as well.”

He forced himself to ignore the stricken look on her face. She’d chosen someone else over him, and he suspected it was all because he was the Marquess of Haven. He had half the ladies of London throwing themselves at him, but he couldn’t have her. It infuriated Caleb.

***

Celeste took a deep breath, her heart racing. It took everything in her not to race after Caleb and tell him that Heathcliff Fitzsimmons, the Second, wasn’t real, or she supposed he was, but not human. She’d missed Caleb over the last three months.

Still, she didn’t regret sending him on his way.

He’d become the talk of London. He would be married to a proper lady who wanted to be an ornament on his arm.

She wouldn’t do that. Celeste closed her eyes, hating the pain that sliced through her.

He’d been escorting Lord Burrows’ daughter, her half-sister.

She’d wanted to scream at Caleb that he was a fool if he thought Lord Burrows was someone he should associate with.

Celeste couldn’t tell him that, though. She’d never revealed to anyone her connection with the older lord.

Devons and Derry may suspect who her father was, but she’d never confirmed it.

Certain he was finally gone, she left the small room and made her way back to Devons’ box.

Diana and Devons both frowned at her with concern.

She sat and, unable to stop herself, Celeste perused the family who had never claimed her.

Her father had married ten years after she was born and now had a daughter and a son.

She’d heard the son was away on some type of grand tour.

Her eyes roamed over Lady Eloise, and pain pierced her heart.

How badly had she wanted a sister as a child?

She swallowed back the lump in her throat.

Her eyes landed on her father’s wife. She did a great deal of work with those in need.

Celeste wondered if Burrows had ever told his wife about her.

Her eyes connected with harsh blue ones, and she realized that her father’s mother, the Dowager Lady Burrows, was watching her.

Celeste yanked her gaze away. Once when she’d delivered a letter to Burrows, she’d caught the woman sneering at her from a window.

The hate emanating from her caused her to shiver.

She forced herself to focus on the stage and the opera.

Both her business partner and his wife kept whispering and glancing back at her.

Celeste would leave at the intermission.

Her gaze went back to Lord Burrows’ box, and her stomach clenched as she saw Lady Eloise smile sweetly at something Caleb said.

He couldn’t choose her. There were so many ladies available.

Please let her not be his pick, she silently pleaded.

Finally, the curtain went down for the intermission, and she stood.

Diana looped her arm through Lord Tillerson's; the man Caleb had thought was Fitzsimmons.

Devons held his arm out to her, and she rolled her eyes.

The man, while a dear friend, was a nuisance.

They made their way to the area where champagne was being handed out.

“What is going on?” he asked.

She shook her head, not wanting to discuss it. He leaned in and said, “Celeste, you left, and then Lord Haven departed his box. I don’t care about your relationship, but I need to know if he hurt you.”

She looked at him in shock. “No. He would never.”

“Is he courting Lord Burrows’ daughter?”

Pain flared in her chest. He hadn’t denied it or even addressed it, but why else would he be seated next to her at the opera? “I don’t know.”

“I will ban him and Lord Burrows from the club,” Devons bit out harshly.

She smiled gratefully at her friend. He and Derry, along with their spouses, meant so much to her. “I appreciate your concern, but I would rather act as if none of this matters.”

Caleb arrived with his family and the Burrows family. She forced herself not to turn their way. Devons frowned, and his wife joined them. “Smile and laugh, dear.”

Celeste did smile then, thankful for Diana. “I’m fine.”

Devons scowled. “I really liked Haven. I thought he was different.”

“Don’t assume he isn’t. What happened between us, I ended.”

Both Diana and Devons looked at her in shock. She flushed and whispered, “He is a lord. Anything real is an impossibility.”

Diana frowned at her before glancing at Devons. “Some would have said the same thing about Sebastian and me.”

Celeste shook her head. “It is different.”

Laughter erupted from Caleb’s group, and she decided she couldn’t discuss this anymore. Celeste had made her decision; she wouldn’t allow herself to worry about who Caleb was wooing. “I think I will return to the Den.”

Diana and Devons both began to protest, but she shook her head and forced herself to smile. “I will be fine. There is always something that needs to be taken care of at the club.”

Devons sighed but didn’t argue with her. “Shall I escort you to your vehicle?”

She shook her head. “Stay with your wife.”

“Please see her to the carriage, Sebastian,” Diana insisted firmly.

Devons held out his arm. “We can’t argue with my wife.”

She took his arm and forced herself not to look Caleb’s way. Celeste made her decision three months ago. She wouldn’t budge from it, no matter how much her heart ached right now. It was best for everyone.