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Oh God. He’d found out. She refrained from wiping her sweaty palms down her dress and from licking her suddenly dry lips. “Tuesday is my standing appointment with the dressmaker.”
“Not today, my dear.”
She hid her shaky hands into the folds of her skirts. Since she was unable to speak due to the rising panic, she merely stared at him.
He rose from his seat and moved around the desk until he stood in front of her. Reaching out, he cupped her chin and raised her head so she was forced to look into his eyes. “I have an assignment for you today. You will skip your dressmaker visit.”
Chapter 9
Hunter checked his watch for the third time. Emily should have been leaving the dressmaker’s shop by the back door over a half hour ago. Had she changed her mind? Had her husband discovered their tryst? He paced, running stiff fingers through his hair. Until he’d spoken to her, to assure himself she was all right, and that she didn’t need rescue, he would continue to worry, imagining the worst.
On his third sweep of the small space behind the building, the door flew open with a bang. Emily rushed through, her head swinging one way, then the other, panic written on her face. She came to an abrupt halt and drew in a deep breath when her eyes met his. His muscles tightened, not sure what her arrival meant. Had she come to ask him to leave? Forget they’d ever met? So many questions arose, but nothing he wanted to discuss here.
He walked slowly toward her, unsure what she would do. She gripped her fingers together as she watched him come near. As he took the last step, bringing them no more than a foot apart, he held out his hand and gave her a tentative smile. With a sharp cry, she flung herself against him, her body shaking with emotion.
“I thought you had gone. I’m so sorry I’m late.” Her broken speech was shaky, muffled by her mouth against his jacket. He wrapped his arms around her, breathing in her scent, loving the feel of her body against his. Everything protective in him welled up, daring him to turn and run. Leave Galveston behind—with Emily in his care.
“Louis—my husband—” She flushed and lowered her head, casting him a glance under lowered eyelids.
“I know about Louis, honey.”
“He—he wanted me to do something for him. He told me to cancel the appointment I had with Millie. It took me some time to convince him that if I did that, my gown for the formal dance we are to attend next week would not be ready on time.” She shrugged. “How I appear in public means a lot to him.”
He ran his hands up and down her body, feeling her slenderness. “You’ve lost weight.” An inane statement to be sure, but a way to distance himself from the feelings that threatened to crush him at the word ‘husband.’
Pushing all of that aside, he tucked a curl behind her ear and brushed his fingers over the soft skin on her cheek. “We need some privacy. Come with me, I’ve rented a carriage.”
Holding her hand, he led her past the back end of the other stores lining the street, to a horse and carriage standing in a small field a short walk away. He helped settle her in and then climbed in after her, taking up the reins. With a swift motion, he snapped the reins and the horse plodded forward, leading them away from the business district. He shifted so he held the straps in one hand, then wrapped his arm around a shaking Emily and drew her close to him.
She rested her head on his chest, but neither spoke during the twenty minutes it took for the carriage to reach the area he had scoped out the previous day. Several boulders lining the beach provided a small cove, completely private and well hidden from view. With summer and the consequent tourist season behind them, there was no concern about crowds.
Now that he had her in his arms, he dreaded the next step. In his weeks of searching, he’d come to admit how strong his feelings were for Emily. If he didn’t al
ready love her, it was merely a matter of time. If she felt the same way, then whatever complications they needed to sort out they would do together.
But then, a husband was quite a complication.
He parked the carriage a distance from the cove, near a large stable. Aside from the man working in the barn, the area was deserted. Nevertheless, he hurried her down the path to the beach. After helping her climb the first few boulders, he swept her into his arms when it appeared she had problems maneuvering with her skirts.
The cool late autumn wind buffered them as they made their way to the cove. Once he deposited her on a ledge, assuring himself she was safe, he shoved his hands into his pockets and began to pace. Gathering his thoughts at what he wanted to say and where to begin was no small feat.
“Hunter, say something. Please. You’re scaring me.” Emily wrapped her arms around her middle and rocked, her eyes shimmering with tears.
He stopped and placed his hands on his hips. “Nowhere near as scared as I was when you disappeared.”
She lowered her head and whispered to her lap. “You hate me.”
In an instant he was on his knees beside her, gripping her hands. “No, honey, I don’t hate you. I care a great deal for you.”
“You do?”
“Yes. I do. And now I want the entire story. I knew you were keeping something from me, and frankly, I’m hurt at your lack of trust.”
Another flush rose to her face, and she shifted, but didn’t let go of his hands. “I—I don’t trust easily. You have to understand. I trusted my father to take care of me, but he lost all his money on a poor investment when I was a child. Mother was so distraught she took to her bed and was mostly absent from my childhood for years.
“I couldn’t trust my father or mother to take care of me. I always felt I had to take care of myself, even with my parents there. But that tiny bit of security vanished when they died and I turned to Louis.”
He sat back on his heels. “All right, let’s start with Louis—your husband.”
