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I can't help it. I grin too, just like a silly schoolgirl.
Hugh and I lead the way up the wide stone steps, past the guardian lions, straight to the double doors that form the entrance. Hugh doesn't knock. Well, duh, it's his house. He pushes one half of the doors open and walks right in.
A butler rushes toward us. "Sir, I was waiting for you to ring the bell."
Hugh halts near the poor butler, who seems frazzled by Lord Sommerleigh's abrupt arrival. "Relax, Kendall. This is hardly the first time I've entered the house without ringing the bell."
"No, sir, but it is the first time you've brought guests."
Hugh has never invited anyone to his home? I'll need to ask him about that later, when we're alone.
"Kendall, meet Derek and Avery Hahn," Hugh says. "Derek is Avery's brother, and she's my…girlfriend."
Hugh glances at me as if he's not sure whether he should've said that. I smile to let him know I'm fine with it.
"Girlfriend?" Kendall says. He breaks into a wide grin. "That's wonderful, sir."
My boyfriend averts his gaze and scratches his neck. Not sure if he's uneasy because he just declared I'm his girlfriend or if it's because the butler keeps calling him "sir." Since the day I met Hugh, I've gotten the impression his title and the deference it grants him make him uncomfortable.
"Where is Mum?" Hugh asks.
Kendall turns sideways to us, spreading an arm as if inviting us to go first. "Lady Sommerleigh is in the solarium. Shall I announce you?"
"You know how I feel about all that propriety rubbish. Mum will be shocked if I let you announce me."
"Of course, sir."
Hugh guides us down a long hallway to a room at the end and pushes the door open. Derek follows us into the cozy yet elegant room known as the solarium. Since I've visited other English mansions before, I knew what this room was before Hugh opened the door. It's a glass-enclosed porch with furniture appropriate for such a space, things like outdoor chaises and rattan chairs with puffy cushions.
Lady Sommerleigh sits on one of those chairs near the windows, but she leaps up when we enter the room. The elegant and ever-ladylike mother of the viscount rushes over to hug her son and kiss his cheek. "Hugh, darling, I'm so glad you've come home."
His brows lift slightly. "Yes, Mum, I'm glad too."
Lady Sommerleigh clasps my free hand since Hugh still holds onto the other one. She glances down at our intertwined fingers, then smiles at me. "I'm not at all surprised that my son has fallen in love with you, Avery. You're precisely the sort of woman he needs."
"We're not in love," Hugh tells his mother in a surprisingly level tone. "We're dating. Let's not jump to conclusions."
"Of course not. But women realize these things long before men do."
I haven't realized what she hopes I have. I like Hugh a lot, and I'm his girlfriend. That's all.
Kendall pokes his head through the door. "Lunch will be served in ten minutes."
"We shall be on time," Lady Sommerleigh says. "Parrishes are never late. But first, I need to meet this gentleman my son has brought with him."
Hugh moves aside so his mom can see Derek, who had been loitering behind us. "Mum, this is Derek Hahn, Avery's brother."
She rushes toward Derek and clasps his hand while beaming at him. "What a pleasure it is to meet you, my dear. Avery is such a lovely woman that I'm sure you must be an equally lovely man." She rakes her gaze over his body. "You certainly have a beautiful face and physique. Do you like older women?"
"Mum!" Hugh snaps. "Honestly, what happened to decorum and all that properness rubbish?"
"Oh, tosh." Lady Sommerleigh waves a dismissive hand. "I'm in my own home with my family—and new friends. I can tease this beautiful man you've brought home. Do you work with your sister, Mr. Hahn?"
"No, I'm a bodyguard."
"Derek owns his own company," I say. "He's a very impressive man."
"I can see that," Lady Sommerleigh says. She hooks her arm around Derek's. "You will sit beside me at lunch. We need to get better acquainted—'we' meaning you, Avery, and I."
