Read Online Lady Amelia's Mess and a Half by Samantha Grace - Free Book Online Page B

young boy who called out an offer to tend the horses. Dread crept over him as he took in Amelia’s tidy residence. The last time he had visited Verona House had been a disaster. He had never properly apologized for his atrocious behavior that day, but at this point in time, he wasn’t certain he should rehash the event.
    Perhaps he should have allowed Daniel to deliver the shawl instead.
    “The hell I should.” He snatched a bouquet of flowers from the carriage seat and marched up the stairs. Shifting the lilies and shawl to one arm, he raised his fist to bang on the door just as it flew open.
    Amelia’s high-pitched scream scared the devil out of him. He staggered, tripped over his top boots, and landed on a large potted topiary flanking the door. The blasted plant snapped and the jagged trunk poked his side.
    “Good heavens, Mr. Hillary! Are you all right?”
    “I believe so.” Righting himself, he examined the plant. Hellfire. He might be uninjured, but the tree was mangled beyond recognition. “Perhaps it’s salvageable?” He lifted the dangling top sphere, pulled his hand away, and cringed when it flopped back. He met Amelia’s wide gaze. “My apologies for the damage. I’ll replace it.”
    She waved a dismissive hand toward the injured sentry. “It’s simply a plant, Mr. Hillary. I have warned the gardener repeatedly about it being positioned too near to the entry. Perhaps now he will listen.”
    Jake swiped at the cypress needles clinging to his jacket only to have them stick to his glove.
    “Allow me to assist.” Amelia captured his wrist and peeled the glove from his hand. Her light touch initiated a rapid beating of his pulse.
    Egads . What had he been thinking? He wasn’t broken in the least. Amelia set his body aflame simply with her nearness.
    Her blue eyes lifted to meet his. “Would you like to come inside and remove your jacket?”
    “Yes.” His voice had grown husky. Beyond her shoulder, a footman loitered inside the foyer.
    Amelia released Jake’s arm and turned to the servant. “Thank you, Thomas, but I won’t require your escort now.”
    “Yes, milady.” The man left them alone on the front stoop.
    “Please come inside, Mr. Hillary.”
    Jake swept his gaze over Amelia. She wore a lavender walking dress trimmed in yellow along with a matching bonnet. Everything she donned hinted at her curvaceous figure, the contours of which regretfully remained unexplored by him.
    “You’re on your way out,” he stated as he followed her inside and pulled the door closed behind them before removing his other glove.
    “I was.”
    “I shan’t keep you then. Mother found your shawl.” He fumbled the flowers as he tried to free the swath of gauze from his arm.
    “And the flowers? I don’t recall leaving those behind.” The sparkle in Amelia’s eyes raised his spirits. Perhaps he had done something correct for once.
    He held out the bouquet. “I saw them when passing a flower monger.”
    She accepted the offering with a chuckle. “A flower monger just happened to carry lilies in April?”
    “Well, not the first woman I passed, or the second or third.” He tugged at his cravat, which his damned valet had tied too tight again. “Did I say a flower monger? I meant the florist. You do like lilies, do you not?”
    Her grin widened. “The pink ones are my favorite. How did you know?”
    “I overheard you talking once.”
    He knew many things about Amelia, such as how much she had adored Angelica Catalani’s portrayal of Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro . How she ate every bite of dessert if the hostess served bread pudding, but she refused it if the sweet was prepared with nuts. He also knew she possessed a beautiful singing voice, but performing for others made her nauseous. He’d actually discovered that by accident.
    One evening, a few weeks after her debut, her father had implored her to sing for his guests. Jake’s heart had squeezed as she clutched her shaking hands and her voice