Read Online Burning Bridges by Nadege Richards - Free Book Online

Maybe.
    “ Not too much fun, ” interrupted Mother. After Father broke away from me and made for his chambers, Mother fixed my lipstick a third time , and then called for a maid to fetch the coach . The whole room glowed with excitement while I stood lost in my own thoughts. Shock, that ’ s what it was. I looked over at Noah from across the room and sighed a sigh of a million words. Yet, there weren ’ t enough words in the world to describe how I felt at the moment.
    The c oach was ready and Mother was pulling me away from my reverie before I knew it. I would have felt better if Noah hadn ’ t slung his arm over my shoulder as we walked out. I probably would have let this whole evening go. He managed to make me feel more uncomfortable than I already was in less than two minutes.
    I sat beside him and watched my mother from the window as the guard shut the door behind me. She had a smile on her face, and though smug and vague, it spoke legions.
    I was to enjoy myself and that was it. No buts or ifs , I could hear her saying.
    “ I know this may not be your ideal first date, ” Noah whispered so that the horseman couldn ’ t hear, “ but do know that I am trying, Princess. ”
    The horsemen readied the horses and began down the stoned path at an easy pace. I turned to face him, barely meeting his eyes in the dark of the evening. The sunset caught his eyes and I noticed then that I was but a breath away from meeting his lips.
    I gave him a smile. From this angle Noah appeared very handsome, making it easy to see why he grabbed so much attention from the girls in town. The only thing that gave him away was that gleam in his eyes that labeled him a womanizer. He had all the other gir ls fooled but me; I knew better. His words were pure venom, good for nothing but spurring lies.
    “ I know, ” I whispered, not trusting my voice to sound legitimate. “ And I thank you. This is a lot to handle, is all. ”
    He nodded. “ That ’ s understandable, but you do understand, don ’ t you? Your family ’ s p redicament ? ”
    Well, it surely wasn ’ t some big secret, no matter how much Mother wished it was. We were losing money, fast, and my marrying Noah was the only way of ensuring our place at the top. “ Yes. ”
    He sighed audibly, then reached into a small compartment on his side of the coach and pulled out a corsage presumably for me. “ Here, ” he said, holding it out for me.
    “ Thank you. It ’ s beautiful. ” And it really was. It was rare, to say the least. Though Thediby was rich and glamorous, it wasn ’ t beautiful. It was quite b oring , actually. The only f lowers I ’ d ever known were the bleeding h earts in my mother ’ s garden. Seeing them perfectly arranged with the Maidenhair Ferns brought back memories I had long since forgotten.
    Noah caught my eye and he fixated his gaze on me intently. He cocked his head as if trying to solve some hidden mystery. “ It is. We could do this. We could make this work, I mean. We ’ re not so different, you know? ”
    “ Is that so? ” I sighed, feeling the heat flood to my cheeks. “ I just don ’ t know how happy this happily ever after will be. I barely know you, yet you will be my husband in twenty-one days. ”
    His chuckle was reassuring and contagious. When the laughter had finally burnt out, he looked at me with a frown. “ We have twenty-one days to fix that then, don ’ t we? ” He reached out to touch me the same moment I had opened my mouth to object. I knew he wasn ’ t so crazy as to kiss me, but we were so close and the moment seemed probable . He leaned forward to kiss me and I quickly gave him my cheek instead. The idea of kissing him made me sick.
    He glanced out the window behind me and smiled. “ We ’ re here . ”
    I suppose the loud ruckus that overtook the silence of the moment should have given it away, but it wasn ’ t until I turned to look outside did I realize that we were here . Siphon ’ s City. I ’ d only