Read Online A Most Scandalous Proposal by Ashlyn Macnamara - Free Book Online Page A

attention? A chill that had nothing to do with the weather spiked through her gut. No. Julia would never betray her like that.
    “Why have you come?” she asked.
    He blinked but did not release her hand.
    “Forgive my lack of manners,” she added quickly. “You’ve shown me a kindness on two different occasions.”
    “Perhaps I ought to quit while I’m ahead.” Humor sparked in the depths of his dark eyes, and the lines at their corners deepened.
    “What do you mean?”
    One side of his mouth quirked upward. “Only that if I’d been a bit more coldhearted on that first occasion, you might not be in such a predicament.”
    “Oh.” She slanted her eyes down to the side. Herglance fell on their joined hands. “You mean you should have left me insensible on the floor?”
    His chuckle somehow settled deep inside her. Warmth radiated through the leather of his glove and into her hand. How odd. “Quite selfish of me not to, wouldn’t you agree?”
    A smile caught at the corners of her mouth and pulled them up. She lifted her gaze to meet his. “I cannot blame you. You’d have had all the society matrons shouting at you for leaving an obstruction in the middle of the corridor.”
    His smile faded, and a strange sense of disappointment washed through her. If only he’d laugh again.
    She couldn’t recall the last time she’d laughed with a man for the sheer pleasure of it. She’d spent five years dodging potential suitors and worrying about whether she’d run into William, and if so, whether she’d possess the proper wit to capture his attention—so long she’d forgotten how to relax and enjoy herself.
    She wished this occasion might have lasted a little longer.
    “Instead, I managed things so my sister took her venom out on you.” Bitterness infused his tone. “I owe you an apology for her words to you in the park yesterday.”
    “Her words? But how—”
    “She made certain I learned of the incident. Brazen, I believe she termed you.”
    She focused on her fingers resting across his palm. Somehow he made
brazen
sound complimentary. “It was nothing.”
    “It was not, and well you know it.” He drew in a breath. “You must know why I’ve come.”
    She tugged at her hand, but he tightened his grip. With a sigh, she gave up the struggle. “Pray, say your piece so I can refuse you, and we can have done with this farce.”
    “Miss St. Claire.” His tone was so serious, it compelledher to meet his gaze. “You cannot refuse. You must understand that.”
    Again, she strained against his grasp. “Why can’t I? Do you know how many proposals I’ve turned down?”
    “None of them signify. You cannot refuse this one.”
    “Why?”
    “Do you not realize the damage that has been done to your reputation? I do not trust Ludlowe’s companion to keep the matter silent. If you refuse my proposal, you will never get another.”
    “Perhaps I do not want another.” A lie, but a small one. The chances of Ludlowe falling to one knee to beg for her hand were fading as quickly as snowflakes in May. Even she could no longer deny that fact, not when he’d come calling on Julia.
    Julia
.
    All these years she’d wasted on unrequited feelings for the man, and he’d set his sights on her sister. Bile filled her mouth, and she swallowed against its bitter taste.
    She waved her free hand. “I’m nearly on the shelf as it is.”
    “By your own choice.”
    She shrugged. “I suppose so.”
    “How old are you?”
    “Three and twenty.”
    “So young,” he murmured, low enough that she had to strain to hear him. “I suppose it’s natural you do not understand the ramifications.”
    Her breath caught on a gasp. How could she
not
understand the ramifications? To him, she might seem young, but that didn’t make her a simpleton. She yanked her hand from his grip, shot to her feet, and strode away.
    Booted feet crunched down the pea-gravel path behind her. In all her dealings with the
haut ton
, she had yet to meet