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‘To be perfectly frank with you, Sophie, I never know quite what you are going to do next.’ His bemused gaze heated as he too clearly remembered all she had instigated then frogmarched to completion. ‘You are a vexing enigma who is doing her level best to avoid talking to me about last night.’
Her stomach fluttered as she floundered, so she bit her lip hoping the right words would miraculously appear despite eluding her all day. ‘About that...’
‘No!’ Archie’s disgust tore through the charged air as his puppy lurched away from the cluster of Marys next to his feet. ‘Here, boy!’
‘Stop cheating, Lord Archie.’ Walpole wagged his finger. ‘You cannot make up the rules and not apply them to yourself. Miss Gilbert and your brother are sticking to them to the letter. You, young man, are not.’ Because both the butler and Archie were now staring at them she used the situation as an excuse to avoid Rafe a bit longer by wandering to the youngest Peel and wrapping her arm around him.
‘He has to choose his own name, Archie, and you have to be patient while he does it. Just remember, whichever one he chooses, you also chose too and at least he is avoiding the dreadful Attila so I am inclined to trust your dog’s sensible judgement.’ As the young man lay his impatient head against her shoulder, she could feel his brother’s intense stare all the way to her soul.
The puppy gingerly sniffed several names but did not put his paw on any of them. Finally, after hovering over three of them, he rubbed his tiny black nose on one then scampered off with the paper clutched in his teeth until he tripped over it.
‘What did he choose?’ Like a tiger stalking his prey, Rafe sauntered over and took up the space beside her which Archie had vacated in his mad dash towards his dog, who was now in the process of tearing the sheet of paper to shreds with his little razor teeth. While his brother was distracted trying to piece it all together, he folded his arms all nonchalance and leaned towards her ear, so close the vibrations from his warm breath were like a silken caress. ‘And precisely when tonight shall we talk about last night, minx? For be in no doubt we are going to talk about it before this day is done.’
‘It’s Fred!’ As if that had been the name he had been rooting for the entire time, Archie beamed from ear to ear. ‘Isn’t that the perfect name? I thought he looked exactly like a Fred the first moment I laid eyes on him and it has four letters too. F. R. E. D.’ He punctuated each letter with a kiss on the puppy’s nose and then rolled around on the floor giggling as the little thing responded by licking his face to death.
‘Wasn’t Fred your choice?’ That soft murmur sent ripples of awareness to all the intimate parts of her that he was now so intimately aware of.
‘It suits him.’
‘So you’ve said. This morning if I am not mistaken. At Ned’s.’
‘Can I take Fred up to bed to sleep with me, Rafe?’ Soulful blue eyes, the exact shade of his distracting big brother’s, widened into manipulative saucers. ‘You did promise.’
‘Yes, I did, and a promise is a promise.’ He slanted her a pointed glance in case she tried to use his brother’s retiring as another excuse to evade him. ‘Goodnight, Archie. Goodnight, Fred.’ He caught her fingers and hid them behind his back so the other two could not see, and the urge to lace hers within his was overpowering. ‘And goodnight to you too, Walpole. Miss Gilbert and I will turn out the lights.’
Trapped and her heart racing in a combination of panic and desire, Sophie remained rooted to the spot while Rafe ushered the others out of the room. As the door closed with a decisive click he leaned his back against it. ‘Well?’
