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“But I cannot.” He walked into the room, closing the door behind him.
“I believe you should open the door. I would not like my reputation ruined at your hands.”
“Not just yet.” He strolled closer to her in a casual manner, but she could sense his frustration. “Why have you been ignoring me?”
She smiled up at him. “Did you forget already that I am not your mistress? I do not have to abide by your demands to call on me when I am not in the mood for company.”
“You are right, of course. However, common courtesy suggests you might have written me a note to that effect.”
Seeing the look of anger in his eyes, she knew she should have done just that. Or at least, let him in so she could be truthful with him. “I’m sorry, Nicholas. You are right, that was dreadfully rude of me. I should have at least sent you a note.”
“Or informed me in person.” He closed the distance between them and pulled her closer to him. “What is really wrong?”
She looked away from him. There was just so much wrong with their situation. She’d spent the week analyzing her feelings for him. The affection she felt for him was swiftly becoming far too much for her to ignore. “This idea that we can be lovers and keep our feelings out of it might be harder than I realized,” she admitted softly.
“Indeed?” He brought his lips down to her ear and kissed the outer shell. “I tried to tell you that.”
And he had. But she hadn’t believed him. “That is why I believe it might be best if we didn’t see each other any longer.”
He raised his head and stared down at her with a bemused look. “Because you might actually feel something for me, it is best to stay apart? That makes no sense at all.”
“Yes, it does.” She drew away from him and sat back down.
“How so?”
Sophie glanced down at her shoes, afraid if she met his gaze, she would never be able to continue. “This way neither of us gets hurt.”
He sighed. “If you already believe you might have feelings for me, then one of us is bound to get hurt.”
“I understand that. But at some point you will need to marry.” She glanced away from him. “I am not certain I can stand by and watch that.” And watch him desert her. “Perhaps you should leave now.”
“Not until after I have said what I came here for.”
“Go on, then.”
He dropped to his knee. He clasped her hand in his, and said, “Sophie, would you do me the honor
of becoming my wife?”
She gasped. “You cannot be serious! We barely know each other! The majority of the time we have spent together has been . . .”
“Well spent,” he interjected.
“I might disagree.”
He smiled up at her, which started her heart fluttering. “And yet, in that time, I have taken your innocence and ravished your body.”
She closed her eyes in an attempt to sense what had caused Nicholas’s sudden proposal. With his emotions running so close to the surface, for once, she had no difficulties determining his reasons. Her lips lifted into a smile. “Nicholas, I know why you are proposing.”
“Dammit, Sophie. I want to marry you.”
“No.” Sophie pulled her hand out of his grip. “Your father wants you to marry. I already told you that I will never marry a man who loves another.”
Nicholas rose and then looked down at her. “There is more to this than my love of Jennette. I know she is married, Sophie. I know she will never love me other than as a friend. I am starting to accept that. If you are as good a medium as you say, then you already know those things. So, what is the real reason you won’t marry me?”
Sophie stood so they were only inches apart. “I do not even know you, Nicholas.”
“You know me better than most people.”
