Read Online More Than Charming by Jomarie Degioia - Free Book Online Page B

pressed so closely to her. Not with her heart still racing from his kisses, his touch.
    He seemed to sense her reticence, for a flicker of disappointment appeared in his gaze. “It’s all right, love. Please promise me you’ll give it some thought?”
    She stood perfectly still for a long moment. Finally, she nodded.
    “Yes, I promise I will think about it,” she said in a shaky voice.
    He let out a breath. “Take all the time you need. I want you to be as certain as I.”
    As if to prove his point, he captured her lips once more. His kiss was tender, teasing, and she felt her knees go weak.
    He pulled back and took a few steps away from her. “Why don’t you go back inside, Catherine? Surely you’ll be missed by the others.”
    She nodded and brushed her hands over her gown. She walked over to the glass doors and stopped, turning back to him. “Aren’t you coming?”
    James shook his head and adjusted his jacket in front of him. Maybe he was chilled? “I need a few moments to, um, collect my thoughts.”
    She nodded once more and left him there. As she pulled the doors shut, she thought she heard him utter a prayer.
     

Chapter 6
    His body at last under control, James returned to the house. Would Catherine accept his proposal? Until the moment he’d asked her, he hadn’t realized how much he wanted to make her his wife. He joined the gentlemen in the library and settled himself in a large wing chair, avoiding Paul’s gaze.
    He quickly saw that his friends hadn’t missed his arrival. Chester elbowed Paul to gain his attention. Paul turned from his conversation with Geoffrey and arched a brow in question.
    “What is it, Chester?” James heard Paul ask.
    “It seems Roberts has acquired your habit of brooding, Leed.” Chester laughed.
    Paul glanced over at James and lost his smile, a dark scowl taking its place. James hid his reaction. If Paul knew what James and Catherine had been doing in the garden, he’d do more than scowl.
    “My God, Leed,” Geoffrey said at last. “I daresay Roberts will never master it to your ability.”
    Chester laughed again and loudly. James turned his head, not surprised to find himself the subject of close scrutiny from all three gentlemen.
    Paul stalked over to where James sat and glared down at him. “I’m well aware of what you were about during dinner, Roberts.”
    James came to his feet. “I can’t begin to guess your meaning.”
    “Staring at Catherine. Sitting too close for my sanity. Pray tell me, what are your intentions?”
    James bristled. “It’s out of my hands, Leed.”
    “What the devil does that mean?”
    James looked around the room for a moment. His other friends wore matching looks of interest on their faces. Thankfully, Catherine’s father apparently sensed nothing amiss. James stood and crossed the room to the bookshelves, waiting for Catherine’s brother to join him. Paul shot a glance at Chester and Geoffrey, who hid their grins and turned from them. He joined James, arching a brow in question.
    “I asked Catherine to marry me,” James said in a low voice.
    Paul began to smile.
    “Don’t look so smug, Leed,” James said in irritation. “She has yet to give me her answer.”
    “But how can she refuse you? You were in her room.”
    James turned to leave. “I won’t discuss this with you.”
    Paul caught him by the arm. “I’m sorry to force this on you, Roberts.”
    James fixed his eyes on his friend. “I didn’t propose to her because of you. I asked Catherine to marry me because I wish it.”
    Paul blinked. A wide smile spread across his face. “Then surely you must—”
    “Never mind,” James cut in with a wave of his hand. “I want her for my wife, Leed. That’s all you need to know.”
    Paul simply nodded and left James then. James returned to the wing chair and sat. He recalled the look in Catherine’s beautiful eyes when he’d asked her to marry him. Her fear had been palpable. It galled him to think that her