Page 44 of An American in London

“I think she was in love with him from the start,” the duchess says. “I know they were strangers when they first got engaged, but it was like she always saw a different side of him than anyone else.”

“I think it might be my favorite movie of his. I wasn’t expecting to like it; I didn’t think I’d appreciate Daniel De Luca in britches. But he can make anything look good.”

The duchess laughs a full, throaty laugh, and I catch the duke smiling to himself as he watches her. “Some men are like that. I always tell George he should buy his suits from Marks & Spencer because he could make them look just as good as the suits he has made on Jermyn Street.”

I shrug. “You’re right. Some men can look good in a garbage bag.” I squeeze Ben’s hand. There’s not a bone in my body faking anything at that moment.

“You know they had to move the bed in your room to get the shots of the kiss. They built a camera track in a circle.”

“It must have been so awesome to get to see it all. Did you get to talk to the actors?”

“Absolutely,” she says. “Both Daniel and Avani have come to stay with us since, and we occasionally meet up with Daniel in town. He’s a lovely man. Very thoughtful.”

I’m sitting opposite a person who has sat opposite Daniel De Luca. Maybe Melanie was right and the duchess will introduce us, and we’ll fall wildly in love and get married.

“I’m such a huge fan,” I say. “Tomorrow, could I take some pictures of the places where they filmed?”

“Of course. I can give you the full film tour.”

If the ladies attending the convention back at my hotel could only see me now. Who’d have thought that pretending to be an almost-stranger’s fiancée would have led me on another journey closer to Daniel De Luca?

Sometimes, you just can’t escape fate.

Chapter Fifteen

Sitting on the bed while I wait for Ben to finish in the bathroom, I take in the blue silk wallpaper. I can’t believe I get to sleep in the bedroom where Daniel De Luca kissed Avani Tudor inA Duchess for a Duke. It was such an iconic scene because it was the first time the duke let his cold exterior thaw a little. The thaw quickly became a flood, and he kissed her.

Daniel De Luca and Avani Tudor’s chemistry was electric in that movie, and there were lots of rumors swirling during filming that the two of them were having a torrid affair. If they weren’t, they should have been. I love to imagine the sparks between the actors on screen spilling over to real life; it makes watching so much more exciting. I’m still convinced Josh Lucas and Reese Witherspoon are destined to be together.

The bathroom door opens. My gaze falls on it like I’m lost and Ben is a homing beacon, but he doesn’t come out right away.

My stomach flips in anticipation.

I really didn’t think this through. Wearing a white tank top and white sleep shorts, I feel entirely naked. I hop into bed and sit up against the headboard, but I pull the covers over my bare legs just as Ben comes out of the bathroom. He definitely planned better for this moment, because he’s fully covered in navy PJ bottoms and a tight white T-shirt, which I’m appreciating the hell out of. Any stranger seeing Ben in street clothes could tell his chest is broad, but seeing it like this is a treat. He’s gorgeous.

“You’ve been making use of that home gym, I see,” I say, and then immediately want to die. I’ve basically just told him I’m ogling him.

The corner of his mouth lifts. I’m not sure if he’s pleased at the compliment or trying to cover a cringe. Maybe both.

I just can’t stop digging. “We had a gym in the basement of the apartment complex, but I was convinced it was a home for serial killers and therefore, quite logically, refused to go.” I need to get off the subject before he starts checking out my lack of abs. “Anyway, how was dinner?”

“We?” he says, pulling a couple of the pillows from the bed and a comforter that’s arranged across the end of the mattress and tossing them onto the couch.

“What?” Not for the first time, I’m not following his train of thought.

“You said,wehad a gym. You and Jed?”

I sigh. “Yeah, me and Jed.” When I left New York, the breakup was so fresh it felt like a big gaping wound that would never heal. Now, the pain has subsided quicker than I expected. What’s weirder is my memories of him and us and our life together are ... blurry. Like one of the watercolors that line the walls of this very grand house. Maybe it’s the ocean between us.

“Do you miss being awe?” he asks, and even though he’s asking me about my feelings, it’s like we’re studying facts on our questionnaires. He’s so focused on the answer.

“Not here in England,” I say. “You’re mywehere.” My heartbeat trips in my chest at what I’m saying, not because I’m embarrassed but because it’s true. Ben and I feel like awe. “I should be asking you if it’s weirdbeingawe. I know you don’t typically like a girlfriend cramping your style.”

I don’t expect him to answer the question, but he does. “It’s not as weird as I thought it might be.” He sits on the couch, his legs apart, his arm draped across the cushions on the back. I follow his movements, unable to look away from the lean, long lines of him.

“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” I say, and I tilt my head, wondering what his lips would feel like on my neck.

He nods but doesn’t say anything. I wish, not for the first time, that I could read this man’s mind. He has such a physical effect on my body, like I’m a firework waiting to light up whenever he’s around. I’m drawn to him—the sea pulled toward the moon. I want to know if he experiences the same reaction to me.

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