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Rachel looked over her shoulder, obviously noted the diminishing distance between them, and grabbed for her satchel. The next thing he knew, the damn hard object she’d hit him with—a small revolver—was in her hand and she was pointing it at Cowboy.
“You need to stay where you are, Garrett, and call your dog or . . . I’ll shoot him.”
“Cowboy, chill.” The dog dropped to the ground, watching Garrett carefully. “This is what it’s come to then? You want to get away from me so bad you’re willing to shoot my dog?”
She shook her head dejectedly. “That’s not what I want, but I will if I have to.”
“I don’t believe you, Rach. That dog’s just following orders. My orders. Shoot me if you want to hurt somebody.” Garrett moved a few steps closer.
Rachel laughed scornfully. “Did you miss the part where I tried to leave without anybody getting hurt?”
“No. I get that you’re worried about Peg, Jonathan, and the rest of the people at the lodge, but damn it, Rachel, they love you. They want to understand. They want to help if they can, because that’s what people do when they love someone. They don’t sneak off in the night, leaving their family to wonder what happened.”
“I can’t—” She lowered the weapon until her hand hung at her side. Her eyes closed for a second, then she sat abruptly amidst the grass that bordered the alley.
Garrett walked up to her and knelt down. Prying the gun from her fingers, he placed it back in her bag and zipped it up. “Yes, you can. I’ll help you.” He tilted her chin up so he could see the sheen of her expressive green eyes. “Give me a chance, Rachel. What have you got to lose?”
An Excerpt from
ONE SCANDALOUS KISS
An Accidental Heirs Novel
by Christy Carlyle
When a desperate Jessamin Wright bursts into an aristocratic party and shocks the entire ton, she believes it’s the only way to save her failing bookstore. The challenge sounded easy when issued, but the one thing she never expected was to enjoy the outrageous embrace she shares with a serious viscount.
For the hundredth time, Jess called herself a fool for agreeing to Kitty Adderly’s ridiculous plan for revenge against Viscount Grimsby. Kissing a viscount for one hundred pounds sounded questionable at the time Kitty had suggested it. Now Jess thought perhaps the jilted heiress had put something in her tea.
Initially she made her way into the crowded art gallery unnoticed, but then a woman dripping in diamonds and green silk had questioned her. When the lady’s round husband stepped in, it all turned to chaos before she’d even done what she’d come to do. The deed itself shouldn’t take long. A quick peck on the mouth—Kitty had insisted that she kiss the man on the lips—and it would all be over. She’d already handed the money over to Mr. Briggs at the bank. Turning back now simply wasn’t an option.
She recognized Lord Grimsby from the gossip rag Kitty had shown her. The newspaper etching hadn’t done him justice. In it, he’d been portrayed as dark and forbidding, his mouth a sharp slash, his black brows so large they overtook his eyes, and his long Roman nose dominating an altogether unappealing face. But in the flesh every part of his appearance harmonized into a striking whole. He was the sort of man she would have noticed in a crowd, even if she hadn’t been seeking him, intent on causing him scandal and taking unimaginable liberties with his person.
He was there at the end of the gallery, as far from the entrance as he could possibly be. Jess continued through the gamut and a man snatched at her arm. Unthinking, she stepped on his foot, and he spluttered and cursed but released her.
Lord Grimsby saw her now. She noticed his dark head—and far too many others—turned her way. He was tall and broad shouldered, towering over the man and woman beside him. And he did look grim, as cold and disagreeable as Kitty had described.
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Jessamin turned her eyes down, avoiding his gaze. Helpfully, the crowd parted before her, as if the respectable ladies and gentleman were unwilling to remain near a woman behaving so unpredictably. Every time she raised her eyes, she glimpsed eyes gone wide, mouths agape, and women furiously fanning themselves.
Just a few more steps and Jess stood before him, only inches between them. She met his gaze and found him glaring down at her with shockingly clear blue eyes. Furrowed lines formed a vee between his brows as he frowned at her like a troublesome insect had just spoiled his meal.
She opened her mouth to speak, but what explanation could she offer?
Every thought scattered as she studied her objective—or more accurately, his lips. They were wide and well-shaped but firmly set. Not as firm as stone, as Kitty claimed, but unyielding. Unwelcoming. Not at all the sort of lips one dreamed of kissing. But Jess had given up on dreams. Her choices now were about money, the funds she needed to keep the bookshop afloat for as long as she could.
Taking a breath and praying for courage, Jess reached up and removed her spectacles, folded them carefully, and hooked them inside the high neckline of her gown.
His eyes followed the movement of her hands, and the lines between his brows deepened.
Behind her, a woman shouted, “How dare you!” A hand grasped her from behind, the force of the tug pulling Jessamin backward, nearly off her feet. Then a deep, angry male voice rang out and stopped all movement.
“Unhand the woman. Now, if you please.” He’d spoken. The stone giant. Lord Grim. He glared past her, over her head. Whoever gripped her arm released their hold. Then Lord Grim’s gaze drilled into hers, his eyes discerning, not cold and lifeless as she’d expected.
For several heartbeats he simply watched her, pinning her with his gaze, studying her. Jess reminded herself to breathe.
“Are we acquainted, madam?”
