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One of her shoulders rose and fell. “I don’t want to be tied to a man. Once I am a wife, I am beholden to all of his wishes and wants rather than pursuing my own desires.”
His mouth parted for an instant before he clamped his jaw shut to hide his surprise. He should have known she’d have a more sophisticated answer. Everything about her was more complex than any other woman he’d met before.
For a boy who’d grown up in Cheapside, he dreamed of touching something so amazingly stunning. She was everything his life had never been. Perfect, beautiful, effortless in her grace. But that was exactly why he needed to stay away.
Still, he was, talking with her…alone. With champagne no less. “You don’t want to marry ever?”
She shook her head. “Never ever.” And then, her arm flew out and for no reason, she tipped to one side, a bit of her bubbly drink spilling out of her glass as she righted her feet under her.
A new lovely thought occurred to him as he abandoned his position on the other side of the settee traversed the settee in a few steps to slide a hand under her elbow and steady her. She was tipsy. “Oh dear,” she whispered. “Champagne is deliciously evil.”
He chuckled then, still holding her arm. Because now that he’d touched her, he wasn’t certain he wanted to let go. And she seemed to have lost her weariness and was allowing it and this might be the only time he got to touch something so magical. Who knew if he’d ever had this opportunity again? After tonight, he needed to stay away from Cordelia Moorish.
