Page 51 of The Duke’s Matchmaker

“I know,” he murmured. “But let me look at the board for a moment.

She sat back in her chair, trying not to let him see how excited she was, how sure she was that the moment of victory was here at last.

Several minutes passed. He studied the board so long that she thought perhaps he’d forgotten it was his turn. She was about to remind him when suddenly his face lit up.

He picked up his king and moved it back a place. “Checkmate.”

“What?” She stared at the board.

“The queen has you here.” He pointed out the path. “If you move here you’re in the way of my rook, and if you move here my king will take you. I’ve got you.”

Dorothy sat back in her chair, stunned. He was absolutely right. After all that, he’d been the one to win.

She looked up at him and saw that he was grinning from ear to ear, his eyes shining.

She couldn’t help it. She grinned too.

“We’ll have to do this again soon,” Nathaniel said as he walked her to the door. “It really was a lovely time.”

“It was,” Dorothy agreed. “I was so glad to get to spend a little more time with Colin. I’m looking forward to getting to know him even better, Nathaniel. Thank you for allowing it.”

“Of course,” Nathaniel nodded. “It clearly means something to him to have you in his life, and I’d be a bad guardian to refuse that. I’m just grateful that you’re so willing.”

“He’s a lovely boy.” Dorothy smiled. “I used to think, when I was younger, that I might have a child one day, and I always envisioned a son for some reason. As I grew older I came to realize that marriage and motherhood weren’t part of what life had in store for me…but it’s lovely that I get to experience a little taste of it like this.” She reached into her pocket and closed her hand around the rock Colin had given her. It was just a regular river stone, but it felt precious, and she knew she would hold onto it for a long time.

“Perhaps next time you’ll be able to beat me at chess,” Nathaniel suggested with a wicked smirk.

“You got lucky,” she laughed. “If I hadn’t been distracted, there’s no chance you would have been able to beat me.”

“Distracted?” He raised an eyebrow. “What was so distracting?”

Why had she chosen that word? It felt laden with meaning all of a sudden, and she wasn’t sure what her intent had been. For that matter, what was he taking away from it? What did he think she had meant?

“It was just…a fascinating conversation,” she said. “Talking about Colin the way we were. And the fact that I remind him of his mother. I wasn’t expecting that.” She paused. “You haven’t got a portrait of her anywhere? I would like to see.”

“I don’t,” he said. “There never was one around the house. I suppose my father would have had them all taken away or destroyed once she left—if any ever existed, that is.”

“That’s awful,” Dorothy murmured. Her heart ached for him. “I mean, to erase your mother from your memory like that. Even though he had his heart broken, she was still your mother. He must have guessed you would want to know her one day. I can’t believe he would make that impossible for you.”

“Well, my father never paid much mind to what I would want,” Nathaniel said with a wry smile. “Don’t trouble yourself, Dorothy. It was all a very long time ago.”

He lifted a hand to her face. “You’ve got a bit of dirt here,” he said softly, pausing just before brushing her cheek. She supposed he was giving her an opportunity to pull back. “It must have happened when we were outside. I noticed it during the game.”

His hand hovered near her cheek a moment longer.

Dorothy felt as if she couldn’t breathe. He was going to touch her again. The heat rose to her face, and she was powerless to stop it.

He brushed the dirt away, cupping her face with one hand and rubbing his thumb gently across her cheekbone. She closed her eyes briefly, knowing that this moment—like the last one—was going to pass, storing up the sensations to revisit later. This was a memory she would want to dwell in, just like she had the last time his hand had been on her face.

His thumb stilled.

Her eyes opened. He was looking at her, his gaze deep and penetrating, full of something she didn’t recognize. Perhaps it was curiosity. But then, maybe it was something else….

He leaned toward her, his eyes closing.

She didn’t understand…and then, all at once, she did.

He’s going to kiss me!