LITMIR.BIZ

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the study door. As their parents’ voices faded into the hallway, Adelaide realized just how close she was sitting to Chris. She slid farther away. He followed her. She turned her questioning eyes on him. He lifted an eyebrow. “I repeat. Why is that?”

      She fluttered her lashes innocently. “Why is what?”

      “Why was it in your best interest that we had no time together as a couple?”

      “Aren’t you hungry? I’m hungry. I think we should...” She tried to stand but he placed his hand on the arm of the settee to block her in. She poked him just below his right rib and had the pleasure of seeing him jump almost a foot. She had little time to smirk over the fact that he was still ticklish because he caught up with her as she attempted to break for the door. He lassoed her waist and drew her in until her back met his chest. Exasperation filled his voice. “How old are you?”

      She had a smart answer prepared, but all that came out was an involuntary giggle as he tickled her elbow. She freed it from his grasp, then jabbed it into his stomach softly enough that it wouldn’t do any real damage. He didn’t even bother to wince. She turned so that she could glance up and properly aim her disdainful look. “The same age as you, apparently.”

      A half smile tugged at his lips. He glanced down at hers. She held her breath. Finally, he shrugged. “Let’s call it even. Now, will you settle down so we can have an honest discussion for once?”

      Her gaze lowered to the top button of his shirt. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

      “No, but I think it’s long overdue.”

      She pulled in a deep breath, then eased from his hold to walk over to the window that looked out onto the back lawn. What did it matter if she told him? Everything had happened so long ago. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to be straightforward with him now. Also, there was no danger of her being persuaded by him to continue their long-dead relationship. Her heart was safe. She sought his gaze as he joined her by the window. “My mother was referring to your previous courtship of Amy Bradley.”

      He frowned. “What does that have to do with this?”

      She stared at him. “Then you don’t deny that you courted her?”

      “Why would I? Everyone in Peppin knows about it, and how she threw me over for the fellow she eventually married. What does any of that have to do with us?”

      “Everything!”

      “Look, if you didn’t want me courting other girls, you should have married me.”

      She gave an astonished laugh. “As if that would have stopped you.”

      Confusion filled his eyes. “What?”

      “Did you or did you not express an interest in Amy while you and I were still engaged?”

      “Of course not.”

      “Did you walk her home from school? Did you take her to the harvest dance? Did you tell her she was pretty?”

      He froze. “Yes. Now that I think of it, I did all of those things. I had to pass Bradley’s Boardinghouse on the way home, so, since you weren’t there, she and I walked with each other. Neither of us had anyone to go to the dance with so I didn’t see the harm in us going together. I doubt I was a very good escort because I spent most of the night playing my fiddle with the band. As for me telling her she was pretty, any gentleman would say the same when a girl gets gussied up to go somewhere with him. I didn’t actually start courting her until after you broke off our engagement.”

      She laughed. “Do you really expect me to believe that you didn’t have any romantic feelings for her while you were doing all of that?”

      “Believe what you want. The truth won’t change. I only had friendly feelings for her until I needed...”

      “Until you needed...?”

      “To get over you,” he finally admitted lowly.

      Drawn in by his appearance of sincerity, she caught herself swaying toward him. She swallowed and forced herself to take a step back. Oh, he is good.

      “Wait a minute.” He searched her face. “Are you saying—is that why you broke our engagement? Because you thought something was going on between me and Amy?”

      She clasped her hands behind her back, then lifted her chin. “Amy and I wrote to each other for a while after I moved to Houston. Like everyone else in Peppin, she didn’t know about our engagement. I suppose that was why she had no qualms about sending me a detailed account of every indication you gave her of your romantic feelings for her.”

      He shook his head, a wry smile tilting his lips. “That sounds like Amy, all right. She was always pretty quick to believe every fellow was in love with her. Well, no matter. She liked being admired, but had no intention of marrying me. Turned me down flat when I proposed.”

      “You...proposed to her, too?”

      “Who haven’t I proposed to at this point?” Frustration filled his voice as he turned away to pace. That was probably a good thing since it took her a moment or two to close her gaping mouth. He ran his fingers through his hair. “I suppose Ruth. She’s the seamstress in town now, but she’s all business. How can you court a woman when you can’t even get a smile out of her?”

      Adelaide held up a stilling hand. “I’m sorry. I can’t help being curious. Exactly who else have you proposed to besides me and Amy?”

      “Let’s see. There was Amy’s younger sister Isabelle. You remember her, don’t you? Before that, I proposed to Maddie, sort of in jest. She nearly dumped a coffeepot in my lap at the mere suggestion. Ellie didn’t let me get as far as a proposal. Helen...you don’t know her, but she married Quinn before I had a chance to ask her.”

      Adelaide shook her head in disbelief. “I thought your proposal to me was sincere.”

      “It was!”

      “So were your proposals to all of these other women, I suppose.”

      “I told you I have to find a wife. I honestly don’t understand why you seem so upset about this. Like I said, if you didn’t want me wooing other women—”

      “I should have married you?” She gave a mirthless laugh. “No, thank you.”

      His jaw tightened. “Yeah, you said that...once before, in a letter. I think I’m clear on that. I also think it was a mistake for me to agree to pre—”

      Seeing a flash of movement near the door of the room, she caught the lapels of Chris’s coat and tugged him closer for a silencing kiss. He stiffened slightly before hesitantly kissing her back. She released him at the sound of a throat clearing behind them.

      Her stepfather glanced back and forth between them with his arms crossed. “I’m not a man who enjoys keeping secrets from his wife. She trusts me to tell her the truth. It took me a long time to build that trust, and I don’t intend to lose it. If I find out the relationship between you is not what you’ve presented it to be, I will tell her. So...” A hint of a sparkle lit his otherwise stern gaze. “You’d better not let me find out, and you sure better not tell me anything you don’t want her to know. Furthermore, this conversation never happened. Is that understood?”

      “Yes, sir,” they replied together.

      He gave them a firm nod before leaving the room. Chris sank onto a nearby chair, then met Adelaide’s gaze with a mix of uncertainty and amusement. “Our parents...”

      She perched on the arm of the settee. “They are something else.”

      “For sure.”

      “I mean, I love them.”

      “Of course!”

      “But...”

      He sighed. “Yeah.”

      She shook her head, then reached across the expanse

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