Page 15 of The Baron's Return
She made a soft sound of protest when he tore his mouth from hers. When she tried to close the space between them again, he placed his hands on her shoulders to stop her.
“I don’t think we’ll have any difficulty with the physical side of our marriage.”
His voice wasn’t quite steady, but she didn’t seem to notice. When he released her, she slid off his lap and sat next to him.
“I apologize for getting carried away.” She wouldn’t meet his eyes.
He took her chin between two fingers and turned her to face him. “I don’t know if I have it in me to forgive you for what happened in the past, but there is no reason we can’t move forward. We were scarcely more than children then, but we’ve both grown.”
She nodded, her slight smile tremulous. “Of course.”
There was a soft knock at the door, and Cranston moved to the chair.
Amelia bade the person to enter, and the door was opened by the butler. He gave no indication that he was scandalized by the fact Amelia was entertaining a gentleman behind closed doors.
If Cranston was correct in his assumption that the man had already guessed he was Gemma’s father, he’d know they’d been intimate in the past. Still, a small part of him couldn’t help but wonder if this was a regular occurrence with Amelia. It was possible she hadn’t been truthful with him about her lack of sexual experience.
He hated the way jealousy clawed at his belly at the thought and tried to dismiss his doubts. He’d have heard rumors if Abigail liked to entertain men privately. But it bothered him that his feelings toward her weren’t entirely in the past. If he truly thought she was lying to him, he should be feeling anger and not jealousy.
“Excuse the interruption, my lady, but Miss Phillips was wondering if you’d be joining them this afternoon.”
A hint of heat crept into her face. “Of course. Please tell her I’ll be up shortly. And let her know that I wish to introduce the two of them to someone.”
“As you wish, my lady.” He left the room with a small bow.
Cranston rose to his feet when Abigail stood. She took a deep breath, and he resisted the temptation to glance down at her breasts. The ones that had been pressed against him just moments ago.
Damn, he had to drag his thoughts away from that or he’d be hard for the rest of the day.
“About the wedding,” he said, returning to the practical matter at hand. “I was thinking we could have it in one week’s time.”
Her brows drew together. “So soon? I thought you’d want to wait until Lord Ashford was back from his wedding trip.” Her frown deepened. “Will he be returning to London after that, or will they be staying in the country?”
He wanted to take her into his arms and ease that frown from her face. Instead, he clasped his hands behind his back. “Ours isn’t a love match, so there’s no point in waiting. He’ll understand.” Ashford would be shocked to learn about his marriage, but he wouldn’t be hurt. His friend knew that Cranston had little interest in romantic nonsense.
She nodded. “I understand. Will Lord and Lady Lowenbrock be there?”
He couldn’t imagine being able to keep them away. “I’ll invite them, yes.”
She seemed relieved at the idea. Which made him wonder about just how close Abigail had become with his friends’ wives.
“Then there’s only the matter of introducing you to Gemma. If you’d like, we can do that now.”
He’d known this was a possibility today, and logically there was no point in putting off the introduction. Still, a small part of him worried that his daughter wouldn’t like him, especially after their first meeting.
“You don’t want to tell her first and then introduce me later? It will come as a shock.”
Abigail smiled. “Gemma likes to meet people. She’s asked me several times about the man who visited the other day.”
He grimaced, remembering how curt he’d been. “I hope she doesn’t hate me.”
“I told her that you were late for another appointment and had to leave. She accepted the explanation.”
He let out a breath. “Are you going to tell her who I am?”
He expected her to say no. To make some excuse about how his daughter would need to adjust to his presence in her life first before she told Gemma the truth. But she surprised him by nodding.
“I think the time for lies is behind us.” At his frown, she amended, “Behind me. I think anyone who knows her can tell just by looking at you that the two of you are related. I don’t want her to be the last person to learn the truth.”
