“It is hot. I… I got lost in the maze. I think I need a drink.” Jane gently tried to guide her sister away from the maze.
She longed to go back, to speak to Blake, but there would be time later.
We kissed.
She itched to tell Emily, but she held back. She needed time to understand what had just happened.
Her heart seemed to be soaring in her chest, and even amidst her slight panic, she found herself feeling oddly giddy.
“Well, let us get something. I was rather worried when you did not come back.” Emily looped an arm through Jane’s and glanced over her sister’s shoulder.
Jane followed her gaze and was relieved to find that the Duke had not emerged from the maze behind them. “You know what I am like. I just… needed a respite.”
“Have you seen the Duke?” Emily asked.
“What? No. Why would I—No.” Jane hoped that Emily would not notice her color deepening.
“He went in this direction, I thought perhaps you had an argument.” Emily shrugged.
Jane swallowed. “What Bl—the Duke does is no business of mine. Let’s get back to the party, shall we? I am sure His Grace will turn up.”
“Of course.” Emily hesitated. “Are you quite sure you are well, dear sister?”
“Absolutely.” Jane beamed at her. “I am better than I have been in a very, very long time.”
And without explaining further, Jane walked arm in arm with her sister back to the party, humming softly to herself as she did so.
ChapterTwenty-Four
Wedding Vows And Expectations
Blake felt giddy as he moved further into the maze. He could still feel Jane’s lips on his, still smell her perfume in the air. He shook his head, still not quite believing it had happened.
“I kissed her.” He grinned, half tempted to yelp with delight. “She kissed me.”
He shook his head in wonder, replaying their kiss in his mind again and again. He wanted to take her in his arms, to kiss her again.
I want to spend the rest of the day simply looking at her.
Voices drifted across the maze, and as they did, the reality of his situation hit him. The giddiness he had felt now warred with a deep panic. He had kissed Jane. In public.
What if someone had seen us? Oh God, what if Emily had seen us?
“What did I just do?” he muttered to himself, listening to the sounds of Emily and Jane’s voices retreating. “I kissed her. Heavens above! Ikissedher.”
He felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips, but he forced it away. Something hot and wild roiled in his chest. He was tempted to run after Jane, to kiss her again. The other part of him wanted to beat himself for his foolishness.
Selfish, despicable. That is what you are. You are no better than your father.
He slumped into a nearby stone bench, his head in his hands. “Oh Blake, you utter fool. What the hell were you thinking?”
The wind ruffled his hair.
“Perhaps I can speak to her? After all, we were just caught up in the moment. It was just a kiss.”
He tried to make himself believe his words.
“It was only a kiss. That was all. It does not have to mean anything. It does not mean anything.”
