He felt like a winner when a smile appeared on Meridith’s face as she took her stance to take her bonus shots. The second hit sent her ball through the hoop.
‘Yes! Nice clean shot!’ Drake said as they moved to start the next set. ‘I daresay that I might have the best croquet partner I’ve ever had.’
‘That’s our Meridith,’ Chesterfield said. ‘She can surprise us every now and again.’
‘I like surprises,’ Drake said, dropping his ball next to Meridith. ‘It’s your turn again.’ He winked at her. ‘Give them another surprise.’
And on it went from there. He kept praising her, and though she remained as quiet as a church mouse on Sunday morning, a smile brightened her face more and more often. The sunny expression made her go from attractive to quite enchanting, forcing Drake to admit that she was most definitely the best-lookingcroquet partner he’d ever had.
By the time they’d made their way through all six hoops, he and Alena had pegged out, leaving just Meridith and Chesterfield left with balls on the course. Chesterfield had an easy shot, but Meridith still had a chance to hit the peg first. Drake discovered that he was holding his breath. For him, a win or loss didn’t matter, but he wanted Meridith to get a win.
The servant called out the score, which had them in the lead. However, Meridith stepped over to the man and whispered something to him. Her words caused the man to relook at the scorecard, and he corrected his announcement: they were tied.
Smart, honest, and beautiful. Drake was impressed.
Meridith stepped up to her ball and the way she angled herself made him smile. Rather than going straight for the win, she was aiming at taking out her brother’s ball. If played right, her extra shot for getting a croquet would put them in the lead, and hitting the peg with her next shot would give them the win.
It was a risk, because if she didn’t hit her brother’s ball, their team would lose for sure. Chesterfield was lined up to hit the peg in one shot.
She hit her ball, it rolled into her brother’s, knocking it out of the way, and while Drake was still clapping and repeating,‘good shot,’she took her second shot and pegged out.
He was so excited for her that, impulsively, he wrapped her in a solid hug. ‘I knew you could do it!’
For a quick second, Meridith hugged him in return, but then, as if remembering herself, she pushed against his chest, breaking the embrace. That made Drake realise what he’d been doing, and he almost apologized. Might have found the words, if his entire body hadn’t been tingling and his heart beating faster than normal.
It had been a long time since he’d hugged a woman, other than his cousins. Maybe the look she’d given him earlier had contained the truth: Drake might just have lost his mind, because a simple game had never made him hug anyone in the past.
‘Thank you,’ she said, taking another step backwards. Her face was quite red, and she cast her gaze upon the ground.
He was fully aware that his actions had embarrassed her. He couldn’t blame her, either. He should have thought beforeacting. However, it also made him understand more about her. She was a shy little spinster, and that made him feel bad. She should be proud of her win. Should be having fun, enjoying her success.
‘Congratulations,’ Chesterfield said, shaking Drake’s hand and then patting his sister’s shoulder. ‘I will declare a rematch. Perhaps after we eat.’
‘That certainly was an exciting game,’ Alena said, smiling brightly. ‘Meridith, you really took a chance at knocking Peter’s ball out of the way. Good for you!’
‘Thank you,’ Meridith replied. ‘It was my only choice. I couldn’t peg out with his ball in the way.’
‘I daresay this will be a day that goes down in history,’ Alena said.
‘I daresay you are enjoying our loss more than our competitors,’ Chesterfield said to his wife.
Smiling at him with glowing eyes, Alena stretched on her toes and kissed Chesterfield’s cheek. ‘Never fear, win or lose, you’ll always be my hero.’ Then she slipped her arm through her husband’s and said, ‘Come now, it’s time to eat. The food was set out while your sister was beating you at croquet.’
Chesterfield shook his head. ‘I may never live this down.’ Still grinning, he said, ‘Join us, Drake.’
‘Of course he’ll join us,’ Alena said.
Drake had every intention of joining them: he and Chesterfield still hadn’t discussed the proposition he’d come here to discuss. He was also glad that Chesterfield didn’t appear to be disturbed by the way he’d hugged Meridith upon their win. Having people believe he was a rake was one thing, but he didn’t want anything to hamper this possible partnership. As the other couple walked away, he offered Meridith his arm. ‘Shall we?’
Her cheeks pinked slightly as she responded with a slight nod, then barely hooked her fingers around his elbow.
‘That was some very good croquet you played,’ he said as they began walking. He found himself in a rather delicate position. On one hand, he wanted to see Meridith happy. His goal had been to make her smile and enjoy the game. On the other, his mind reminded him of the importance of securing the duke’s partnership—a venture that would secure the future of Coastal Shipping Line, which was his lifelong goal.
‘You, as well,’ she replied, not glancing his way.
What had he expected? For her to grace him with that very charming smile he’d seen during the game? A partnership with Chesterfield held a much higher stake than any croquet match, yet he couldn’t deny the genuine joy he’d received when they’d won, or the fact that he truly wanted her to take pride in beating her brother.
Unable to stop himself from trying a bit harder to bring her completely out of her shell, he lowered his voice and teased, ‘I bet you sneak out here at night and practice while nobody is watching.’
