Heat rushed over her and she could hardly draw breath as she lowered her gaze from his potent one. What on earth was he thinking? To seduce her? Although, 'twouldbe her fantasy come true, she couldn't let herself be drawn into the emotional entanglement, for the closer he got to her the more he would learn about her. And there were some things he could never learn.
Moving closer, he tipped her chin up, practically forcing her to meet his arresting gaze. He lowered his face to hers.
Chapter Ten
Heart pounding in her throat, Calla placed a finger againstRebbie'slips, preventing him from kissing her. "I cannot do that," she whispered. But, Lord, how she wanted to.
"Why not?" he murmured around her finger.
"Elena, of course." Her voice was more breathless than she would've liked. Strangely, she was glad for the excuse.
He drew back, an annoyed frown slanting his dark brows. "I told you, I'm not marrying her. I don't care what the contract says. As soon as I get my hands on the paper, I'm going to rip it to shreds and burn it."
"'Tisyour decision, but I don't want to be the cause. Elena is smitten with you and she would never forgive me."
Rebbie snorted and shook his head. "How can she be smitten with me? She kens naught about me. She said she wanted to live in London." He scowled. "I'll not be leaving Scotland."
Calla nodded, glad he preferred his homeland, though she didn't know why she cared. Something within her wanted him to be close at hand, though such a thought was daft. She needed to be as far away from him as possible.
"I should've already broken it off," Rebbie muttered. "And I would have the second day I was there but…" He glanced at her and clamped those appealing lips tightly together. She could've sworn she heard his teeth grinding. He glanced away, toward the garden wall. "I'll have to pay her father compensation, 'haps a lot of money. The man will be livid. I may even make an enemy of him."
"What is it about Elena you dislike? She's beautiful, is she not?"
Rebbie'sfrown deepened. "Are you trying to convince me to marry her?"
"Nay, I was simply curious." Of course, she didn't want him to marry Elena, but what she wanted mattered not at all in this situation.
He shrugged. "Though she is lovely, she did not catch my eye. Or maybe 'twas the tantrum she threw when first we met. I'll not marry a child who throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way."
Callabit her lip to keep from chuckling. "She is a wee bit spoiled."
"Truer words have ne'er been spoken, m'lady," he announced dramatically and she couldn't help but smile. He sobered. "I know not why, but she is not the woman for me. You ken I value my freedom, and being married to her would be like… a prison sentence." He paced deeper into the orchard and she followed. Abruptly, he turned to her. "My father has been married four times."
"Indeed?"
Rebbie nodded. "My mother was his first wife. She died a couple of years after I was born. I don't even remember her. He told me the second was a trial marriage that didn't please him. His third wife left him for being unfaithful and then died of a fever. The fourth lives on one of his estates, but he only sees her every few months, and then only because of my four young sisters."
"Oh." That did indeed sound dismal. Although if Stanbury were still alive, she'd prefer to see him once every few months. Or not at all.
"I cannot live my life like that," Rebbie said.
Calla frowned, trying to decipher the meaning behind his words. He'd said freedom was important to him; she could see that. At the same time, she sensed he didn't want to be alone. He enjoyed people, his friends. Since he didn't want a marriage—or rather marriages—like his father had, that had to mean he wanted a wife he could be close to, perhaps a wife who enjoyed freedom just as much as he did. Mayhap he had seen what Lachlan had with Angelique and somewhere deep inside, craved the same.
Although she couldn't be sure she was reading him right, she knew he was a good man. He'd risked his life to rescue her, after all. He was going to make some lucky woman a wonderful husband. She was not naïve enough to dream that she could be that woman. He had to be one of the most sought-after bachelors in Scotland.
He caught her staring at him. "What?"
She glanced away, toward the trees. "Naught."
"Tell me more about you," he said, giving her his undivided attention. More attention than she wanted, in truth, for he might see beneath her surface to the secrets lurking there.
She lifted a shoulder. "There's little of interest to tell."
"I doubt that. I find everything you say fascinating."
At the flattery and the friendly expression in his eyes, heat stole over her. Was he teasing her?
"Tell me about your son," he said.
