Page 16 of On the Ropes of Scandal (With Love in Their Corner #3)

“No, of course not. Perhaps I’m merely being maudlin.

” She shoved gently at his shoulder until he lifted himself away and met her gaze.

“It was amazing.” There was nothing else to do except cling to him, as he held her.

With tears in her eyes, Phoebe hugged his neck, and then peppered the column of his throat, his cheek, his temple with kisses.

“You are going to be the best father.” Why couldn’t she stop herself from perpetuating the lies?

Sooner or later, she would be found out, and they would both be hurt.

“I look forward to the challenge.” When he buried his nose into her hair, she wanted to cry from the trust and intimacy of the gesture. “This was even better the last time we coupled in London.”

She froze, for of course, she had never been with him anywhere except in Cranleigh. “Oh?” Did that mean his memories were slowly coming back?

Then he nuzzled the crook of her shoulder. “You’re a real brick of a woman, Phoebe. Do you truly think I can make a go of working in the bakery with you over laying bricks? What if we need more income than that?”

How confusing. Was his mind like shifting sand, then? What would happen when more of them surfaced, and he began piecing together his life? She refused to worry about that now, for it would ruin what they had just shared.

“That largely depends on what Aunt Bess will pay in regard to an income. If it’s not enough, you could take odd jobs around the village to supplement.”

“True.” When he rolled onto his back, he tucked her against his side with an arm wrapped around her. “We missed dinner.”

For whatever reason, that statement made her giggle. “I made a stew. It’s sitting near the fire to stay warm, so no harm was done.” There was something satisfying about having a man in her life she could take care of. “Oh, and there’s fresh bread and butter.”

The rumble of his laughter sent shivers into her chest. “Food for the belly and a wife to make everything comfortable. What more could a man want?”

“What more indeed.” Yet as she rested a palm on his naked chest and let her eyes drift closed, knots of worry pulled in Phoebe’s belly.

Now that they had coupled and she’d lost her innocence, very real consequences could happen.

What if she truly fell pregnant and he remembered his life from before?

Of course he would want to return to London and his family, which meant he would leave her disgraced and shamed with a babe.

How would she support herself as well as an infant?

A hot wave of panic rose in her chest. No doubt Aunt Bess would encourage her to give the child to an orphanage or to a couple who couldn’t have a baby of their own.

It would no doubt prove the best solution, and she certainly didn’t want to taint the bakery’s business just because she’d decided to lie and live in scandal.

Why did I ever think any of this could work?

“You are tense,” he said, and that graveled voice sent delicious tremors through her insides. “What do you worry about? The babe?”

“Out of everything, that is not a concern.” Of course it wasn’t, since there was no pregnancy.

Perhaps it would be easier on all of them if she concocted a story about losing the babe before everything grew too far out of hand.

“I suppose I’m worrying over the future.

” Which was the truth. She was so deeply imbedded in the web of lies she’d already spun, that she had no way of knowing how to extricate herself.

Or him. It wasn’t fair to him that she’d more or less trapped him into this life not of his own free will.

But to be fair, she had no idea who he was or where he belonged.

“We will meet every challenge together. Don’t fear things that haven’t yet occurred, for they very well might not.

” When he pressed his lips to the side of her neck, tingles shivered down her spine.

“Have I told you how much I adore your body?” he asked into her ear as his stomach rumbled. “I can’t have enough of you.”

Heated curls of pleasure scudded through her lower belly. “So charming you are.”

“Mmm.” His wandering fingers slid down her back to squeeze one of her arse cheeks. “There is every possibility I’ll bed you again by dawn.”

Longing for him throbbed in her core. How could she want him again so soon after what they’d just shared?

It was a mystery, for her mother had never had the chance to discuss such things with her before she’d died.

“You’ll find no argument from me.” There was such a thrill in knowing he desired her.

“There is something so… comforting in knowing I have someone like you by my side. It makes me believe I can do anything.”

Another round of tears welled in her eyes.

It was so unfair that he could be ripped from her life at any moment, and once he realized everything that was between them was a lie?

It would devastate her. “You are quite full of gammon, do you know that?” She rose up on an elbow then leaned over to brush her lips along his.

Dear heavens, the soft look in his brown eyes would break her if she wasn’t careful.

“I’m going to find my night clothes then I’ll serve your dinner. ”

His stomach rumbled again, and they shared a laugh.

“And in that, I won’t argue either.” With an indulgent expression on his face, he watched as she slipped from the bed to retrieve her night dress and wrapper from the floor.

“Seems a shame you intend to cover that body, but I suppose you can’t parade about nude. It might prove dangerous.”

Heat went through Phoebe’s cheeks. “Do stop, William. You’re quite cheeky.”

“Can you blame me?”

With a grin, she shook her head. As she dressed, she wondered what his real name was, and what sort of life he’d led in London.

After she’d covered herself, she went into the common room where she didn’t need to hide her expression from him.

If she wanted to discover where he belonged, who would she ask in Cranleigh?

And how could she explain, especially after this past week, why she wanted that information?

It would ruin her reputation faster than if she truly were pregnant from this coupling, and she couldn’t very well put him on the post coach while she remained in Surrey.

It would ruin her aunt’s business. Only now did she realize everything was connected.

What have I done?