Page 53 of The Duchess’ Little Miracle

“You say ‘were’,” William noted, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Has something changed?”

“Well... my world appears to be expanding. There is you. There is Alice. There is Norwyn Manor and the staff. I can no longer claim that my sisters are my only anchor.”

The softest of smiles laced William’s face. His hand resting at the small of her back tightened noticeably... almost possessively as he pulled her a fraction of an inch closer against his chest, sweeping her through a long glide across the parquet.

“I am glad to hear you say that,” he murmured softly.

Seraphina cleared her throat instantly, her cheeks suddenly aflame as she hurriedly resurrected her mental cadence.

One, two, three. One, two, three.

“Tell me, Seraphina,” William said, breaking her focus once more, a dangerous smile playing on his lips. “Are you not the least bit curious about the theory I mentioned earlier? The one I intend to prove?”

Seraphina tilted her head, maintaining her posture. “Ah, yes. I don’t think you told me exactly what that theory is.”

“I believe you are attracted to me,” he stated plainly.

Seraphina’s foot caught the hem of her inner petticoat. Her knee buckled, a gasp slipping from her lips as her balance completely vanished.

Before she could fall, William’s grip turned to iron. His hand on her waist caught her weight seamlessly, his arm locking her against his frame so smoothly that to any onlooker in the ballroom, it appeared as nothing more than a dramatic, swooping flourish of the dance.

“Careful,” William murmured near her ear, his breath warm against her skin as he effortlessly restored her to her feet without missing a single beat of the music. “I anticipated you might lose your footing at that declaration, so I was already prepared to catch you.”

Seraphina opened her mouth, her eyes wide with mounting indignation, but William cut her off before she could speak.

“I know precisely what you are about to say,” he continued smoothly. “You are about to deliver a highly structured lecture denying it. You will claim it is environmental stress, or nerves, or the size of the crowd. But I am a businessman, Seraphina. I did not rebuild the Norwyn fortunes by ignoring clear, recurring patterns.”

He looked down at her with penetrating intensity. “I took full control of my father’s estate when I was barely out of my youth, so much so that men called me the Duke in all but title long before his passing. A man does not succeed at that level without an exceptional ability to read human behavior. I know when a person is pulling away out of dislike, and I know when they are pulling away because they are terrified of what they feel. I strongly believe you are developing an acute interest in me, and your vehement denial of it only confirms my hypothesis.”

Seraphina stopped trying to march her feet to one, two, three. She stared up at him, her mind completely reeling under his relentless, confident scrutiny.

“So, what are you saying?” she asked.

“You are attracted to me,” he answered, searching her eyes.

As soon as the words left his mouth, a blinding light shattered the confusion in her brain.

‘Of course!’ she thought, a wave of relief washing over her internally. ‘What an utter fool I have been!’

As a woman dedicated to the application of empirical science, she had committed the most cardinal error a scholar could make.

Bias.

She had been so terrified of breaking her personal vow, so utterly consumed by the dread of falling into the illogical, messy trap of romantic love, that she had locked herself into a binary line of thinking. She had assumed it was either a terminal heart ailment or romantic love.

It was neither.

She had completely overlooked the intermediate biological phase.

Attraction.

According to standard natural philosophy and human behavioral texts, human interaction progressed through distinct, measurable stages. Initial sensory attraction, emotional bonding, and deep attachment. She was not in a state of romantic love at all. She was simply experiencing high-level physiological attraction. An entirely basic, primal bodily function triggered by an exceptionally well-built male specimen.

It explained everything. It explained why she had felt the sudden urge to hug him when he promised to protect her. It explained why her pulse spiked when his hand rested on her waist. Attraction was merely a temporary reaction, an involuntary response to a handsome man. The best part about simple physical attraction was that it was finite. It was an urge that could be acknowledged, managed, and eventually neutralized.

“I think you are right,” Seraphina interrupted clearly.

William’s eyebrows pulled together, a look of profound shock breaking through his usual cool demeanor. “I beg your pardon?”