“Indeed.” As she slipped her hand into his crooked elbow, tingling heat danced up her arm. “Also, in the event you wondered, you were correct.”
“Oh? In what way?” He set them into motion.
She fought off a blush. What was it about him that made her want to melt into a puddle at his feet from the unaccustomed heat she felt in his presence? “There is a bit of an attraction between us. I don’t know why,” she admitted in a quiet voice.
“Ah! I’m pleased to hear you acknowledge it.” Then he lowered his voice to a whisper. “At least now I know I’m not fit for Bedlam.”
That remained to be seen. “I’ve never experienced such a thing before. Sudden and intense attraction, that is. It shouldn’t happen to a woman my age.”
“How old are you, Sarah? Because, if I might say so, you’re hardly elderly.”
The thread of teasing in his tones caused her to miss a step. She clutched his arm in an effort to remain upright. “I turned four and thirty two weeks prior.”
He snorted. “That’s hardly ancient. Hell, I’m forty.”
That was a surprise. “I would have thought you’d have a string of admirers vying for your attention.”
“I kept myself rather aloof from functions where flirting or matchmaking could find me.”
Did that mean he would resent marriage to her? She was too much a coward to ask. “Ah.” What would he think of her, an old maid who’d been on the self so long the dust had settled on her, who’d never been kissed except for earlier when he’d done so? “I trust that means we won’t spend all our time together fighting.”
The rumble of his laughter filtered into her being before the sound burst into the air. It was genuine mirth without being marred by bitterness or anger, and it increased her awareness of him. As she glanced at him, she caught the softening of his jaw and a slight lift at the corners of his mouth. “I’m quite certain we’ll argue and disagree, only there are other, more pleasurable, outlets to funnel those emotions into that marriage allows.”
“I… I don’t know what to say.” Her cheeks heated again. Tingles of foreign need played through her insides.
“Now, that is a first.” Another laugh escaped, as clear and true as the one he’d uttered before. “I’ll need to savor the victory.”
“Arse.” When she attempted to extricate her hand from his arm, he secured her touch. Not that walking beside him was a hardship. He did cut a rather dashing figure when he wasn’t lashing out or making himself difficult. So many thoughts danced about her mind, but she focused on a concern that wouldn’t leave her be. “Does it… bother you to do… that with a woman you hardly know?
He shrugged and his shoulder brushed hers. Hints of his bay rum and lime cologne wafted to her nose. “It is what it is, and we’ll have a week to become more fully acquainted. Tomorrow morning, I shall request the common license.”
“Thank you.” The answer annoyed her for some reason. The wad of it lodged in her chest. Was wedding and bedding a stranger so commonplace in his world that he didn’t think it deserved a concern? “As long as you have what you want,” she muttered beneath her breath. Somehow, security and protection didn’t seem like a fair trade for innocence and intimacy with a man she knew nothing about, especially when the softer emotions weren’t involved.
Then a sigh escaped her. I hope I’m strong enough. But then, nothing in her world would change if she continued doing that which she’d always done.
A challenge, indeed.