Page 26 of How to Seduce a Duke this Autumn
He sighed. “She’s not the type to hold grudges,” he muttered, more to convince himself than to argue with Jack. But he knew, deep within, this wasn’t about grudges.
Jack raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “Is she not? You think it’s that simple?”
Adam shifted uncomfortably. “It’s not about simplicity. It’s about—” He broke off, not sure how to finish that thought.What could he say? But damn it, he didn’t have any experience mending such broken fences.
Jack didn’t seem to need any more prompting. “Adam, my friend, in my experience, when a woman has been hurt to that degree, you should either let it go or be prepared to grovel for the rest of your life, and in your case, you’ll be groveling in your brother’s stead. Do you really want to do that?”
Adam paused.
“Let’s not forget,” Jack went on. “You share the same face.”
“And that’s all we have in common.” Adam’s jaw tightened, the familiar ache of frustration gnawing at him. True. No matter how much he wanted to, that was one thing he couldn’t change. “I don’t want it to be easy.” He let out a slow breath. “But I can’t let it end like this.”
“It ended a whole year ago.”
“Exactly,” Adam said. “So let’s start something new. Something fresh.”
Jack was silent for a long moment, studying him.
“I’m not saying you can’t try. But you have to be prepared that she may not want anything to do with you. You may be hitting your head on a brick wall with no result.”
“Then I’ll hit my head against a brick wall. But I won’t stop trying.” Adam reached into his waistcoat pocket. The faint crinkling sound reassured him. The apology he’d written for her was still there. And perhaps he could finally deliver it now. “I need to speak to her again.” Adam let go of the paper. He’d carried the burden of the unspoken and undelivered apology for far too long. He’d allowed too much to happen before his eyes, but as duke, he wouldn’t be so lenient with David. And he’d most certainly protect Charlene from him. He’d find David and send him away. Most importantly, he’d speak to her again.
“Well, don’t look now, but your little bird just fluttered off to another man.”
Adam’s head whipped around, his body stiffening as he watched Charlene smile up at another man. The man smiled back and held out his arm, which she took before he led her to the dancefloor.
It’s just a dance.
A dance didn’t mean anything. Nothing more than a polite social ritual. Liar. It didn’t mean something until it meant something. Then a dance was the most intimate thing in the world. The way she met his eyes, the way she let him take her hand, the way her body swayed…
Adam cursed.
Her dancing with someone else after being with him stirred something deep inside Adam that he had no desire to confront. A primal, almost instinctual possessiveness that would serve no purpose or benefit. So, he shoved it back into its cage.
“Not looking too well there, old chap.”
“Be gone,” he muttered under his breath, his jaw tightening as he stood rooted to the spot, watching her glide across the floor with another man. Blast it. It was merely a dance. She had every right to enjoy herself.
But the damn thing gnawed at him. No dance was ever just a dance, even if it meant nothing. It was at least a fleeting moment of flirtation. He knew that much. He sensed it with this dance. He could see it in how she held herself and allowed that man to guide her with an ease she hadn’t permitted with him.
“Is that Henry Grafton?”
“Her brother’s friend from Oxford, yes.” Jack’s voice broke through the haze of annoyance building in his mind. “Don’t cut in.”
“Cut in? Don’t talk nonsense. I would never do that.”I would take over.
“Tell that to the look on your face.”
“I’m wearing a mask.”
“You still have that look,” Jack said with a shrug, his tone dry. “It’s bleeding into the very air around you.”
Adam wanted to argue, but there was no denying it—Jack was right. Again. His legs were practically wired to spring into action at any moment. But damn it, watching Charlene smile and dance with another man, all while the same feelings of longing, guilt, and regret twisted in his chest, made him want to pummel something. He wanted to be the one to hold her, to share the intimacy of a dance, to be near her again.
“Patience.”
Adam stiffened. “What?”
