Why, in this vast sitting room, was the only seat left next to Sienna Smythe? To not take it would be a pointed insult, and although she was the most deplorable woman he had ever met, Nolan had not been brought up to be a boorish oaf. If only Ash’s friend Adam hadn’t walked beside him after the port, he could have slipped away to the peaceful privacy of his own room.
His feet longed to march him away from the happy, friendly crowd with whom he would never truly fit. He refused to give in to the impulse because he liked Amelia and Ash, even though they misguidedly thought he would be a good match for Amelia’s sister, Sienna. Three Seasons of watching her beautiful smile directed at anyone but him proved that she was not. There were no two people in the world who could be less well matched.
He liked numbers and figures. Mathematics, he understood; women, he did not.
‘Here,’ said his hostess, ‘take this cup of tea and have a seat. We have an announcement to make.’
That sounded very ominous indeed, but he couldn’t refuse. Amelia was extremely gifted when it came to stocks and shares, and he enjoyed conversing with her on the topic.
The journey across the room seemed to take forever. As he neared the settee, Sienna took an avid interest in the animated discussion between Hawk and his whiskey heiress, Maggie, the woman he’d met at the oft-talked-about Lady Bulphan’s ball. That she wasn’t involved in the conversation was clear, as they were waxing lyrical about whiskey, but she put up a good show. He lowered himself into the seat next to her, careful to keep his distance. He didn’t want to give anyone, at any stage, any suggestion that he was interested in her in the slightest. It wasn’t easy because his body was so long and her soft, blue dress spread over the cushions, encroaching on his side, but he managed it.
When the married couple began a softer, more intimate conversation, it became evident, even to Sienna, that she could not continue to pretend to be involved in their discussion.
‘I trust you enjoyed your port,’ she said.
‘I did,’ he responded. There was a weighted pause where she clearly expected him to say something witty but in which he didn’t. Not for want of trying, but his mind remained stubbornly blank. This was why he hated social engagements.
Thankfully, he was saved by Ash, calling for silence while he made an announcement. Nolan didn’t listen, too distracted by his seating companion. There had to be something wrong with him; surely it wasn’t normal to be so aware of the rise and fall of someone’s chest as they breathed. It was only when Sienna groaned softly that he became aware that Ash was still speaking.
‘What is it?’ he asked quietly. It was rude to talk while someone else was speaking, but he didn’t think his friend would mind.
‘Tomorrow’s entertainment is a scavenger hunt.’
Damn it. Why did Ash and his wife insist on everyone enjoying themselves while visiting their house? And why did Sienna look so despondent? She turned to him and he momentarily forgot everything. Even at rest, there was something captivating about her face. He could not understand why she was not yet married.
‘You know who they are going to pair together?’
He blinked; he’d forgotten what they were talking about but… Oh. She was miserable because her family, in their ill-advised matchmaking attempt, would put them together. ‘I shall get us out of it,’ he said, sounding harsher than he’d intended, but really, must she look so horrified by the thought?
She stood up abruptly, the soft silk of her skirt brushing the backs of his fingers. ‘Very well,’ she said before walking away from him.
He’d been trying to do the right thing, but he couldn’t help but feel that somehow he had gone extraordinarily wrong.
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