I swallowed, daring a glance in his direction. He looked up at the exact second I did and, for the briefest of moments, our eyes met.
Someone walked in front of my table, cutting the moment.
“Don’t you think so?” Aunt Cat prodded, looking curiously at me. “You can’t blame Eva for—”
“Stop it. I know what you’re doing, and you need to stop it. Right now.” I pushed my chair back from the table but leaned into her without getting up. “You know full well what the matter is, but instead of asking me, you’re beating around the bush. You know this is making me uncomfortable and you know why. Stop winding me up.”
I swept my glass from the table and gathered my skirt to one side so I could walk through all the people and the tables without accidentally ruining it.
Now, I really did need some air.
I’d never been a fan of slinky dresses. I preferred a nice skirt that I could swirl around like a princess, and I usually felt like one.
Not tonight.
I excused myself past the couple talking in the doorway, pausing only to share a greeting with the future Earl and Countess of Pembrokeshire. I’d grown up as good friends with Owain and Pippa, but thankfully, they didn’t stop me.
I clearly looked like a woman on a mission.
I knew this hotel like the back of my hand, so I navigated through the lobby to the hallway that would take me outside. The air had cooled significantly since we’d arrived, and a chill danced across my skin in the form of ten thousand goosebumps.
The garden here was beautiful. The large flagstone patio was as old as the house, and its age showed in the cracks and dents and stains that only added to its allure. Rose bushes that were alive with numerous blooms filled the brick flowerbeds, and given the slope of the immediate gardens, the patio was surrounded by a carefully carved stone wall.
I gently navigated my high heels down the steps to the wall and finally let go of my skirt. It fell to just below my knee, billowing around my legs.
“Gabi?”
I set my glass on the wall.
“Are you all right?” Adelaide asked, coming up behind me. “We haven’t seen you all night, and you came out here as soon as dinner was over.”
“I’m fine. Just a small headache. I need some fresh air.”
“Funny how wine is your medicine of choice.” Eva chuckled and appeared on the other side of me. “Anything you want to talk about?”
“Not really.”
“Since when have you never told us anything?”
Since I didn’t want to. “There’s nothing to tell,” I lied, sipping from my glass. “I have a headache.”
“And I’m a virgin,” Addy replied sarcastically. “It’s Miles, isn’t it?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I told you!” She reached over behind me and nudged Eva. “You went too far putting him on our table!”
Eva stepped back and held her hands out. “How else am I supposed to talk to him? It’s about to turn into a rave in there!”
I sighed and faced her. “Look, if you like Miles, just say so.”
“Like Miles? Whatever gave you that idea?”
“Oh, Jesus!” Adelaide pinched the bridge of her nose. “Flirting at the garden centre. Inviting him tonight. Sitting him at our table instead of Gabi’s. Talking to him and only him all night.”
Eva frowned. “But I was—”
“I know that. She doesn’t!”
I looked between them both. “Know what?”
Addy crossed her arms, dangling her wine glass between her fingers, and gave her twin sister a very pointed look.
I was sure I’d seen their mum give that same look more than once.
“Fine. All right, I’ll explain myself.” Eva shifted from one foot to the other and looked at me. “Yes, I will admit that I do find Miles incredibly attractive, but you know that.”
I didn’t say anything.
“And I will admit that I did deliberately flirt with him a few days ago when we saw you in the garden centre,” she continued. “It really didn’t take me long to realise that it was a fruitless endeavour and a complete and utter waste of my very precious time.”
I went to say something when she held up one finger.
“It was pointless, Gabi, because I’m quite sure I could have thrown myself on top of him in nothing but nipple tassels and a suspender belt, and you would have been the only woman in the room as far as he was concerned.”
“I don’t understand,” I said quietly.
“He likes you,” Adelaide explained. “He was nothing but perfectly polite to us, yet he teased you like you’ve been friends your whole life. And, I don’t know. There was something in the way he looked at you.”
I looked between them, then shook my head. “No, there’s no way he—” I paused. “We’ve only just become friends, and I—”