The Earl's Christmas Delivery by Susan Gee Heino

Author:Susan Gee Heino [Heino, Susan Gee]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Laughingstock Publishing
Published: 2014-04-13T07:00:00+00:00

He regretted what happened; she could see that plainly enough in the pained, uncomfortable way he had insisted on bringing the subject up. She'd stopped him from persisting in his apologies, expressing his great remorse at such a lamentable thing as taking her into his arms and kissing her. It was one thing to know his kiss had meant nothing to him, yet it was quite another to hear him vow and promise never to make such a dreadful error ever again. He may as well have run screaming in terror from her.

She shouldn't have let him get so close to her, anyway. What did she know of kissing, anyway? Nothing. She'd lived the sheltered life of a gently-bred girl, raised to be ignorant of such things. If Papa had not suffered such a drastic financial downturn the very year she'd been expecting her come-out, she'd likely have learned about beaux and gentlemen's advances and, perhaps, even kisses. But she'd not had her grand Season that year, then Mama's illness took over their lives and things had gone from bad to worse.

What she'd learned of men over the past six years she'd learned simply for self preservation. She'd learned to avoid nearness and any situation that might give a man the notion she welcomed such actions. Obviously she'd broken all of those rules—and several others, too—with his lordship today. Now even he regretted it.

She wished she could say she did, though. Sadly, as she gave in to his demands that she stop fussing over the ponies and allow herself some much needed rest, she could not deny the fact that deep down inside she had no regrets. She could never regret kissing the earl.

She would never forget it, either. There was little chance she'd ever experience anything like it again, so her memory was all she would have. Her prospects were not good and she was hardly a young miss any more. Without youth, connections or dowry to recommend her, she would not fool herself regarding the future. Lord Bahumburgh's sleep-deprived lapse in good judgment was likely the closest she would ever come to finding herself courted by some dashing gentleman.

And what a dashing gentleman he was, at that. No other man could ever compare. Drat it all, but she had indeed come to feel something most unwelcome for her traveling companion. Despite his airs and his bluster, she'd gone and let herself develop a fancy.

Dear heavens, but she hoped that's all it was! The way her heart pounded at the thought of him and the way her lips still tingled from his touch she could not help but wonder—was this a mere girlish fancy, or had she stumbled into something infinitely worse? She desperately would not let herself answer that question.

She turned herself away from him, going to the pallet he had laid out and unceremoniously making herself comfortable there. She snuggled under the blanket he had laid out and kept her face resolutely toward the wall. Hopefully he

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