The Earl who Isn't (Wedgeford Trials Book 3) by Courtney Milan

The Earl who Isn't (Wedgeford Trials Book 3) by Courtney Milan

Author:Courtney Milan [Milan, Courtney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Femtopress LLC
Published: 2024-07-30T00:00:00+00:00


13

Lily could watch the course of discovery chart across Andrew’s face: a few rapid blinks of confusion, followed by paling skin and widening eyes as he realized what she had found. The book had left a faint pink oblong mark on his forehead, and it gave her enormous satisfaction.

Then—slowly, so slowly—his mind seemed to turn back on, and she could imagine him sorting through his own emotions, one by one, searching for one that fit. His eyes moved rapidly from side to side. Finally, something seemed to occur to him and his eyebrows drew down. An angry flush pinked his cheeks, and he finally met her eyes.

“Do you mean to tell me,” he said in a low voice, “that you trusted me so little that you kissed me as a distraction?”

She jumped to the ground, hands curling into fists. “Trust? You want to talk about trust right now? You hypocrite. You stole the logbook from my underthings. You pretended to care! You went through all that rigmarole with me—you took me to Bristol as a sham! And you didn’t once think to talk to me instead?”

“Oh, yes, let’s talk about the gentle art of conversation. How long have you suspected that I stole the log?”

She rolled her eyes. “I knew immediately.”

“Immediately?” He looked shocked by this. “How?”

“You’re not good at lying.” Lily tossed her head.

“No, I’m not, but…” He frowned at her. “You’re not good at knowing when someone is lying.”

“That was true seven years ago,” she gritted out. “I have learned.”

“So, why didn’t you say anything?” he demanded.

“Because I was…” Lily’s hands clenched into fists. “Trying to be patient, you dolt. To let you decide when to tell me. I didn’t need the whole truth. Even just a ‘Lily, I didn’t want to be an earl’ in the beginning would have sufficed. You just had to say something to show that you actually valued me as a person.”

“Oh, are we talking about how we value one another?” He turned to her. “How about how you let me pour out all my feelings to you just so you could take advantage of my distraction with a kiss?”

“I?” Lily stared at him a moment. “Take advantage?” The world made absolutely no sense at the moment. “You are joking?” That was the only explanation she could imagine him making. That’s what people usually said about stunningly painful remarks. It’s a joke, Lily. Don’t harp on a mere jest.

“I wish it were a joke.” He looked upward. “You kissed me to distract me. I feel…” His hand tensed, then stretched at his side. “I feel used. I thought for one fleeting moment that what happened when we were younger meant something⁠—”

“Absolutely not.” Lily shook her head. “We are not changing the subject to the time that we⁠—”

“Absolutely yes,” Andrew replied grimly. “We are talking about it. We are going to talk about the time I made love to you.”

She could feel her cheeks heat.

“I fucked you,” Andrew said. His words felt blunt, without a hint of misdirection.



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