“My mother was wonderful, wasn’t she? She’s always liked you.”
“I like her. I like your whole family.”
“That’s good,” she said.
“It is.”
A difficult silence descended. He stared down at the black and white tiles on the floor and wondered how to angle the conversation around to whether one particular member of Serena’s family liked him. More than liked him.
Words banked up inside him. Passionate words. Crucial words. Words that could change a fellow’s life forever. But they all crashed hard against the barrier of his long-held belief that she could never love him.
He straightened and told himself to seize the chance and speak his heart. Damn it, he wouldn’t let his courage fail now. Whatever it cost him.
But still his throat closed tight against what he must say.
A prickling sensation made him turn his head and meet her eyes. Biting her lip, she shoved her handkerchief into her pocket and sat up straight as if making a hard choice.
“Giles,” she said in a very deliberate tone. “Why did you kiss me?”
Moodily he watched the falling snow outside the door. One booted foot kicked at the floor. “Because I couldn’t help myself.”
A quick glance revealed her dissatisfaction with that answer. “I don’t mean just last night.”
“I don’t either. I’ve wanted to kiss you for years.” More than kiss her, God forgive him. “When you gave me the chance, I couldn’t say no, although it broke every rule in the gentleman’s code.”
“The gentleman’s code?” Curiosity lit her eyes, and she studied him, as though he had the answer to every question. Which was ironic when he felt so completely at sea.
With another sigh, he went back to watching the snow. “The code that says you don’t cut out a friend who’s set his sights on a woman. Make that double if he intends to marry the chit.”
“I didn’t know.”
“About the gentleman’s code?”
“No, that you’d always wanted to kiss me.”
“Well, I did.”
Another thorny silence that she eventually broke. “Do you still?”
“Still what?”
She gave a brief hiss of impatience. “Do you still want to kiss me?”
He faced her. “Of course I do.”
“So why don’t you?”
Shock turned him to stone. Then he shook his head. “It’s more complicated than that.”
Her eyes darkened with something that could be disappointment. “Because Paul’s not here to be jealous?”
“Bugger Paul.”
“Then why?”
His mouth turned down. “Because kisses aren’t enough anymore.”
“Because…you’re a rake and you want to seduce me?”