Read Online No Gentleman for Georgina by Jess Michaels - Free Book Online Page A

shift. A determination that fanned the hope in her heart like nothing before. It was as if he had finally made a decision and there was nothing that would stop him now.
    “Georgina,” he said softly, saying her name as an endearment like there was no one in the room but them. “Do you truly love me?”
    She nodded without hesitation. “Yes. I am absolutely, without a doubt, in love with you, Paul Abbot.” Then she bit her lip. “But—but you have never said the same. You told me you cared for me, not loved me.”
    She waited for him to say something, to admit his heart in return, but instead, he turned away from her to her father.
    “Sir, I am not a fortune hunter. I may not have anything close to your annual income, but I have invested well and can keep your daughter more than comfortable. I would never ask for her dowry. In fact, I would insist you keep it. Or at least put it into an account that only she controls. My intentions are the best they can be.”
    Georgina watched her father, but his face was impassive and she couldn’t read his reaction to Paul’s suggestion. His voice was very hard as he said, “Your intentions? How can you speak of me of your intentions when you have her in this club like a whore?”
    Georgina flinched. “Don’t forget, Father, I came here. He didn’t ask me.”
    Paul shot her a glance. “What your daughter says is true, and yet I understand your question of my intentions. After all, I may not have brought her here, but I most definitely went too far. Once I found her here, I should have had the strength to turn her away when she threw herself into my arms. But I didn’t. I-I am in love with Georgina, sir. And that made getting swept away far too easy.” He sighed. “But I did not claim her—I didn’t ruin her. So if you decide that I am not worthy of her hand, despite my feelings for her and hers for me, you needn’t worry that this story will leave this hall. I wouldn’t interfere in her future or ever do anything to bring her grief.”
    She blinked at the tears that filled her eyes. “Except offer to walk away from me when I love you more than anything?”
    “If that would give you the best chance at happiness, I would.” His voice cracked on the last two words and she could see his pain. It mirrored hers. And yet here they waited for her father’s approval. Because Paul Abbot was a decent man and he would not take what was not given freely.
    Even if she tried to force her father’s hand, Paul would not.
    She turned to her father with a long sigh. “Then I suppose you hold my fate, as always. What do you say, Father?”
    He was quiet for a very long time. So long that she nearly broke into tears. He stared at Paul, he stared at her, and finally he asked, “You would marry this man if there were no impediments?”
    She nodded immediately. “If Paul asked me, I would say yes with no hesitation and only joy in my heart.”
    Her father’s eyes fluttered shut. “Oh, Georgina.”
    She moved forward and took one of his clenched fists in her hand. The action forced her father to look at her and she prayed he could see her sincerity and Paul’s as she whispered, “I love you, Papa. And I have truly tried to make you happy, but there has been no man to tempt me in the four Seasons I have trod the London halls. And since I met this man…”
    She released her father and stepped back to now take Paul’s hand. He allowed it and squeezed gently as she looked up into his impossibly handsome, wonderful face.
    “Since I met this man I knew there would be no other for me,” she finished.
    “And you, Abbot, would you marry her?”
    Now Georgina held her breath once more. Paul could deny her in some twisted attempt to protect her, to provide her with a future she no longer desired. A future she knew now she would never take, even if it were offered to her on a silver platter by a duke of the highest order.
    Paul smiled, his expression very soft. “Yes. With your