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‘But that’s ludicrous!’
‘Why?’ It wasn’t what he had meant to say, but her expression of distaste had sparked a surge of irritation.
‘Because...because it is such an impossible scenario.’
‘Why?’ Rising to his feet, he headed towards the kitchen counter, kept his gaze on hers.
And suddenly the atmosphere hitched up a notch. Or three. The look of aversion faded from her face and morphed into shock as desire ignited in her eyes. Gabe’s mouth dried, and the tick-tock of a clock in the background pounded his eardrums as he moved closer—close enough that those damned freckles caught his attention again.
Her hands gripped the underside of the worktop so tightly her knuckles showed white against the marbled grey. As if the touch had pulled her back to reality she stepped back. ‘It’s impossible because it could never happen.’ The quaver in her voice demonstrated the shakiness of her argument.
‘Really?’ He pulled his phone out and tapped the screen. ‘Look.’
Etta stared at the images, and Gabe could almost see her eyeballs pop from their sockets on cartoon stalks as she swore under her breath.
‘Yup. That’s what I thought.’ Gabe couldn’t keep the smugness from his voice. Because some enterprising photographer had captured the moment he and Etta had met, as she’d emerged from behind the potted plant. There could be no denying the look of utter arrest on their faces.
‘I’ll track down whoever took that and disembowel him,’ Etta muttered, before looking up with a tilt of her chin and challenge in her eyes. ‘Because he is incompetent—clearly the light was odd, or the angle of the lens, or...or...’
‘Or we saw each other and there was a mutual moment of appreciation.’
Her eyes rested on his image and for a heartbeat he would have sworn there was a glimpse of satisfaction on her face at seeing him equally smitten. Then it was gone and she straightened up.
‘I’ll stick to the mistake theory, thank you.’
Gabe raised his eyebrows. Maybe he should have let it go, but her sheer refusal to acknowledge the attraction prompted curiosity—along with his inner devil. ‘Or you could admit the truth. You are attracted to me and vice versa. I don’t have an issue acknowledging it.’ He gestured to the screen. ‘The evidence is right there.’
If the laws of physics had allowed, her laser glare would have shot his phone with its telltale images to smithereens. ‘This may be hard for you to believe, but I am not attracted to you.’
Each word was exaggerated, and issued through clenched teeth, and yet Gabe knew she was lying.
‘You don’t want to be attracted to me.’ And he wasn’t sure why not. ‘That’s different.’
‘Gabriel...’
‘Please. Only my parents call me Gabriel. I prefer Gabe.’
‘Gabe. You are not my type. I don’t go for shallow playboys or men who lead women on and then break their hearts.’
Whoa. ‘“Shallow playboy” I’ll own up to. But I don’t lead women on.’ Ever.
‘What about Lady Isobel? You led that poor woman up the garden path, round the garden and a whole village full of houses. You made her think you’d marry her, then you bailed out in the public eye, broke her heart and humiliated her.’
Anger stirred inside him even as he accepted Etta’s stance—Isobel had played her part to perfection, and most of the country believed in her false portrayal of Gabe Derwent as heartbreaker extraordinaire. In return she’d netted herself a packet and some great publicity. A month after that his sister Kaitlin had spotted her partying on the Riviera. It seemed as if Isobel had decided to break free—rebel against the role of duchess she’d been primed for and go for the money.
But forget Isobel. Right now Etta glared at him, one foot tapping the kitchen floor tiles. Gabriel met her gaze full on. ‘I thought historians valued accuracy and confirmation and didn’t rely on tabloid gossip?’
Heat touched her cheeks. ‘A good historian looks at the available evidence and makes deductions. Are you denying that you led Lady Isobel to think you would marry her?’
‘No. I’m not. But that is one fact. There are a whole host of other facts you are not privy to. Unlike Isobel, I intend to keep them private. However, I give you my word that it did not go down the way she claimed it did. I didn’t break her heart.’
A pause, and then she lifted her shoulders in a small shrug. ‘I accept that I may not know the full story. But I’m still not attracted to you. I appreciate you coming to warn me, and I’ll explain to any reporters it’s all a misunderstanding.’
‘Actually, I have a different solution.’
Suspicion narrowed her eyes. ‘We don’t need a different solution. We don’t need any solution because this doesn’t need to be a problem.’
‘Fine. I have an idea I want to run by you. It benefits us both.’
