Can't Help Falling by Kara Isaac

Author:Kara Isaac
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Howard Books

Peter had no idea what to make of the expression on her face. It could have been anything from horror to excitement. Oh, he hoped she wasn’t one of those liberal anti-aristocracy types. Probably should’ve thought to subtly check for that before he brought her home.

“I’m Peter Carlisle.” He refused to be defined by his father’s title. Especially when they’d only come into it by a combination of tragedy and rotten luck.

“Don’t be obtuse.”

“I’m not.” It was his turn to get a bit short, which wasn’t entirely fair. He probably should’ve given her some warning of all this. “You asked who I was. I told you.”

Emelia gave a half roll of her eyes. “Fine. Who is your father?”

“William Carlisle. Also known as Viscount Downley.”

With a click, she’d undone her seat belt and had her head between her knees. Of all the reactions he’d anticipated, this was not one of them.

“You okay?” His shoulder ached from the abrupt stop.

“Give me a minute.” Her words were muffled, directed at the passenger’s foot well.

A horn sounded behind them, and he realized the car had stalled when they’d slammed to a stop.

He restarted the engine and pulled the car over to the side of the road. Fortunately, no one he knew was behind the steering wheel. Emelia’s head remained wedged between her knees, the back of it almost clipping the glove box as he bumped over the grass verge.

Finally, he couldn’t take the silence anymore. “Do you hate the peerage, is that it?”

At that Emelia levered herself up and leaned back against her seat. “No. I don’t hate the peerage. What is a viscount, anyway?”

“It sits between a baron and an earl. Small potatoes in the hierarchy.”

Emelia made a show of looking all around them, finishing with the house. “Call this what you will. But it is not small potatoes.”

“Touché.”

She pressed fingers to both temples. “Sorry for my reaction. I just . . . I was nervous enough meeting everyone. Then you suddenly spring this on me. It’s a bit overwhelming. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Peter shrugged. Why hadn’t he? It wasn’t that he was ashamed of his lineage. Quite the opposite. But he just liked being an ordinary guy. When people found out his background, it always changed how they saw him. As per Exhibit A, sitting right beside him. “We weren’t born into this. It was never meant to be ours. It landed on us through a combination of early deaths and titleholders without children. Dad inherited the title from his cousin when I was ten.”

Emelia heaved out a breath, gathered her hair in a pile behind her head, and then let it fall. “So, what do I call your parents? Am I supposed to curtsy?” A panicked look crossed her face. “I don’t even know how to curtsy. You could’ve at least given me a warning to learn!”

He laughed. “No, definitely no curtsies. If it makes you feel better, feel free to call them Viscount and Viscountess when you meet them, but they’ll tell you to call them Bill and Maggie.

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