“Why would they?”
“Perhaps they want to see what sort of collision will occur.”
“Perhaps.”
He started kissing her then, and she heartily joined in. From the moment he’d strutted into her parlor, the air had been charged with yearning. It was probably best to dispel some of it before she departed, for of a certainty, she would have to hide from him in the future.
He wouldn’t like it, but she was only scheduled to perform at the theater for another week, then she’d agreed to attend the house party Simon had arranged. After that, she couldn’t predict where she’d be.
For the next few days, she would have to enlist Fish and the theater manager to keep him out of the dressing rooms. If he became particularly recalcitrant, she would vanish from London until his ardor cooled.
She prayed it wouldn’t end like that. Once he realized she wouldn’t succumb to his advances, he’d likely lose interest very quickly.
As always happened with them, their embrace heated up, and they continued forever. He simply kissed her, then kissed her some more. He didn’t attempt any genuine mischief, didn’t begin grabbing for buttons or laces. He did yank the combs from her hair though, so the lengthy locks floated over her shoulders and he could riffle his fingers through the soft strands.
Eventually, they slowed, then stopped. She rested against his chest, her face buried at his nape as he caressed a lazy hand up and down her back.
“Would you come up to my bedchamber?”
She laughed, but miserably. “I can’t.”
“I’d ask if you’re sure, but I suspect you are.”
She drew away and studied him, committing every detail to memory. She reached out and traced a finger over his nose, cheeks, and lips. He had such a luscious mouth. It was absolutely made for kissing.
“I’m heading to the country tomorrow,” he abruptly announced. “Will you miss me?”
At the news, she was swamped by an enormous wave of disappointment, but she concealed it and grinned instead. “I would never admit that I might miss you. You’re already much too vain, so I wouldn’t dare stroke your massive ego. It doesn’t need stroking.”
“Tell me you’ll miss me,” he insisted. “Say it.”
“All right, you rat. I’ll miss you.”
“That’s more like it.”
“How long will you be away?”
“Almost three weeks. I wish I didn’t have to go, but the plans have been in place for ages. I can’t skip out on any of them.”
She was saddened to hear about his trip, but relieved too. It solved numerous problems with regard to him.
After she concluded her limited run at the theater, she’d leave London too, for the house party. Then she would order Simon not to seek further engagements in town for a while. She’d sneak off to a spot where Luke would never search for her.
Not that she expected he’d search. His attention span for a doxy—as he definitely deemed her to be—would be very short. As the old adage went, out of sight, out of mind. He’d forget all about her.
“What will occupy you for three whole weeks?” she asked.
“I have pressing business at my estate. My deceased brother left a terrible financial mess for me to clean up. I have many issues to deal with there.”
“Will you return to town after you’re finished?”
“Yes. Will you be impatiently waiting for me to arrive?”
“I’ll be here,” she fibbed, “but whether I’ll be waiting for you is another matter entirely.”
“I’ll call on you the minute I’m back.”
At the notion, her pulse raced, proving that she liked him much more than was wise and she’d allowed the situation to spiral out of control.
She sighed. “To what end, Luke? There’s no reason for us to socialize.”
“It makes me happy, which seems like a very good reason.”
“Yes, I suppose it is.”
He brushed a kiss across her lips. “We’ll figure it out. Don’t fuss over it.”
“I won’t.”
“It would be wrong to simply walk away from you.”
“It would be wrong, wouldn’t it?” she said. “We’ve hardly started.”
“Yes, and it will be thrilling to see where this wild ride takes us. I can’t imagine what direction we’ll ultimately travel.”
She could imagine it quite clearly. He’d dote on her until he grew bored, then out of the blue, he’d declare himself to be over her. They’d part, and he’d never ponder her again.
She, on the other hand, would suffer the loss forever. On top of the emotional calamity, she might wind up with a bastard baby thrown into the mix. Then what? She’d have to beg him for assistance, hoping he’d toss her a few coins to help her support her child.
She wouldn’t live that way. She couldn’t.
For him, an amorous fling was all tantalizing sport that was practically expected from a man of his station. For her, it was nothing but peril and disaster. He’d mentioned that Fate must have pushed them together, and she suspected that might be true, but so what?
In a different world, if her young mother hadn’t been insane, Libby might have been the precise girl Luke required. But in her current pathetic condition, she could never be his.
“Now then,” she said, “I’ve had a wonderful afternoon, but I have to be going. I have preparations to complete before my show.”
“I guess I can let you leave.”
She slid off his lap, and she leaned down and picked up the combs he’d plucked from her hair. When she straightened, he was still on the chair, his mood visibly glum.
“Don’t be so morose,” she said. “You’ll see me in three weeks.”
“It’s an eternity, and I’m humiliated to admit that I am devastated by the prospect of our pending separation.”
“It will pass like that.” She snapped her fingers to indicate the brevity.
“I could stop by the theater tonight. We could have supper afterward.”
Her pulse raced again as she imagined the future trysts they could have. She’d never met a man like him, and she didn’t know how to fend off the attraction he stirred. The only method she could concoct was to stay away from him,
