Page 58 of Duke's Daring Bookworm
“Isn’t this dress fantastic?” She ran her hands along the top of the dress. “Oh, and get this, they put pockets in it for me!” She reached into layers of tulle and pulled her phone from where it had been hidden.
I couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of me. Thank god she was still Lily.
“I feel like a princess,” she straightened in the seat, smoothing out the skirt of her dress as best she could.
“You look like a goddess,” I said. I’d never seen a more beautiful woman.
“Oh. I like that better.”
I picked her hand up again and kissed the inside of her wrist, right at her jasmine and vanilla scented pulse point.
She stared at me strangely when I pulled away from where I kissed her, and I wondered what thoughts ran through that beautiful head of hers.
She kept me in the dark, though, as she shook her head and looked out the window.
“Wait, is this party at your house?” She asked when she noticed where we were heading. “The big old one?”
“Yes.” I sighed. I didn’t enjoy coming out here, but it was where my grandfather held the party every year, and this year was no exception.
“I haven’t been out there in forever.” She sounded a bit wistful. She had better memories of the place than I did. “Is my dad still obsessing over that hedge maze? God, I can’t remember the last time I tried to go through it. I swear he changes it every few years.”
“He does.” I leaned toward her, unable to resist her allure.
“Bullshit. How?” She laughed at me but looked like she almost believed me.
“Magic, obviously. Didn’t you know your dad is a magician? He waves his wand and bam—new plants.”
Her laughter filled the back of the car while I talked, warm and enchanting.
“Does that make me magic?”
“Absolutely.” I was dead serious about that. Something about Lily had always been magical to me, even when we were children first learning that maze.
Her laughter died, but her smile remained. She looked relaxed and happy, and my heart soared that I made her that way.
“Is there anything special we have to do tonight because it’s your company and your house?” she asked, fidgeting with her skirt.
“No. There will be a speech where I’m officially announced as the new CEO of Penn Industries, but I don’t plan on saying much after, and that will be early in the evening.” I was tempted to reach over and play with a strand of her hair that fell free of the braid and lay almost carelessly across her neck.
She nodded just as we pulled up to the circular drive of the house.
Jenkins opened the door for us. We were still early, being the hosts, and none of the guests had arrived yet.
“You’re going to inherit this someday, aren’t you?” Lily asked as she looked up at the familiar Neoclassical Revival. Built in the early 1800s, one member or another of the Pennington family has owned this house for two hundred years.
“Yeah.”
“I forgot how big it is. It would make such a magnificent library.” She said as she stared at the white columns lit with blue and purple lights for the night.
“Are you saying I should turn my family’s ancestral estate into a library?” I tucked her arm into mine and led her up the wide steps to the entry where a member of the staff had opened the door and waited for us.
“Oh, I guess you’re right. That would be weird.” She waved away her comment, but it burrowed into my brain. I didn’t want to live here, it was entirely too much for just me, and since I had no plans on ever having children, thank god for vasectomies, there were no future Penningtons to preserve it for.
“It’s not a bad idea, actually. Maybe some kind of mixed-use community space, art classes, your dad could teach gardening part time, and books. Lots and lots of books.”
“Wait. What are you saying?” she asked as we walked across the foyer where every surface had been draped in cream flowers. Lily ogled every bit, trying to take it all in. If I didn’t know her better, I’d think she wasn’t even listening to a response.
“Nothing. Just thinking out loud.” I saw my grandfather’s personal assistant directing the last-minute preparations and steered us in his direction to get our marching orders for the evening.
