Despite his quiet tone, his words seemed to resonate straight to her heart. He was so right. David had been thrilled when she reached out to him.
She thought of how happy he had been, almost giddy, after talking to Colin. He didn’t go full viscount very often but when he did, David could be formidable.
“I also don’t think he would like the idea of you spending even a moment blaming yourself for what happened. I imagine he would want you to go ahead and embrace your life and all the adventures to come.”
She could almost hear those very words coming out of David’s mouth. Tears threatened again but this time she managed to blink them away.
“How did you know I’ve been needing to hear that?”
He smiled. “Lucky guess. Am I wrong?”
“No. I guess I needed the reminder.”
“Good. Which still doesn’t explain why you’re traveling incognito, your Ladyship.”
Oh, she liked him. More with every passing moment. “I have spent my entire twenty-eight years being Lady Gemma Summerhill. There are obviously certain expectations that go along with that. People always treated me differently, from primary school to university to my career. I never knew if people wanted to be my friend because they truly liked me or because my father is the wealthy and powerful Earl of Amherst.”
“You are eminently likeable,” he said, his voice rather gruff.
She could feel her face flush. “Being Lady Gemma in the technology field was more of a curse than a benefit. Every time I was introduced, people would make a big deal about it. After David died, I became not just Lady Gemma but Poor Lady Gemma, which was only about a thousand times worse. When I decided to take the job with Caine Tech, I wanted to be done with all of that. To begin somewhere new without history constantly hanging over me. Does that make sense at all?”
He smiled softly, leaving her feeling lit up from the inside. “Perfect sense. There’s an incredible freedom in starting over without the expectations of the past, isn’t there?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
“I won’t say anything, I promise.”
“Thank you,” she said and was astonished at the complete trust she had in him.
Joshua Bailey was a man a woman could count on. She didn’t know how she could be so certain, but something told her that when he met the right woman, he would do everything possible to make her know she was loved and appreciated every day of her life.
She wanted to be that woman suddenly, with a ferocity that astonished her.
It would be terribly easy to fall in love with him.
The thought should have scared her. Oddly, it only filled her with a strange, bubbly kind of anticipation.
He was the first to look away, glancing down at his watch. “It’s late. Almost two. Toby, I can’t believe you let me keep our guest up this late.”
His dog cocked his head and whined a little and Gemma was charmed when Josh reached down and rubbed the dog’s head.
“You should probably get some rest, especially since we might have to ride Ollie out of here tomorrow.”
“Do you really think things might come to that?”
“I’m hoping the crews are at work clearing the slide away right now but we won’t know the status until morning.”
“If I had to stay another night, I wouldn’t mind.”
She hadn’t meant to say that out loud and could blame it only on her exhaustion and the seductive lassitude stealing through her.
“You wouldn’t?”
At his intense look, she shrugged. “I like your house. It’s quiet here. Restful. I haven’t had nearly enough peace over the past three years.”
He gave a bright, broad smile that again stole her breath. “I’m glad. You’re welcome anytime.”
He led the way holding two of the lanterns through a doorway off the great room. Though most of the room was filled with shadows, a cheery fire burned in the glass-fronted woodstove and the room seemed warm and cozy.
“I need to add another log to the fire so it will burn all night for you.”
“Thank you.”
He pulled a split half log from a basket next to the stove, opened the door on the woodstove and pushed it inside.
She had to admit, she liked him fussing over her.
After closing the woodstove door, he rose. “The en suite bathroom is through that door. I’ll probably sleep out on the sofa so I can keep an eye on the fire out there. Let me know if you need anything.”
You. Does that count?
She managed to swallow down the words before she could blurt them out. “Thank you again for rescuing me and feeding me. I enjoyed the evening very much.”
“So did I.” He paused, looking rather adorably uncertain. “I would really like to kiss you right now. Would that be terribly forward of me?”
Heat flared inside her, a warmth that had nothing to do with the fire crackling inside the stove. She took a step forward. “Not terribly. No.”
With a low sound, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.
This was no gentle good-night kiss. His mouth was firm, hard, with a fierce intensity that left her knees weak.
His arms felt perfect around her, as if she had finally found a safe shelter she had been seeking for a long time without being fully aware of it. With a contented sigh, she wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him back. She wanted the kiss to go on forever, until they learned each other’s every secret.
How was it possible for a man who had been merely a passing acquaintance eight hours ago to become so very dear to her? She didn’t know. She knew only that now she had found him, she never wanted to let him go.
CHAPTER FOUR
ALL EVENING, JOSH kept thinking this whole thing had to be an incredible dream.
This, though. This was beyond a dream. He didn’t have the imagination to make up something so perfectly right.
Gemma Summerhill was actually in his arms, soft, sweet-smelling, delicious.
He was the luckiest
