Her Gentleman Thief Read Online Free PDF Page B

Lord, my parents forbade it.”
    He nodded and walked away from her. He’d thought Annalise had been so desperate to rid herself of him, she’d thrown herself at a common thief, but she’d merely been protecting her sister. Sacrificing her own reputation to salvage that of her beloved sibling. Perhaps that meant there was hope for them, for their future. If she decided to marry him. But damned if he wouldn’t have fought harder for her had he known the truth.
    The wedding was a mere thirty minutes away and Griffin did his best to keep his own nerves from being rattled. Still he’d seen no sign of Annalise.
    “Where is she?” his mother whispered from behind him.
    “She’ll be here,” he said, willing it to be true. He would give her another hour and if she didn’t come, he’d go after her. Tell her how he felt, that he loved her and that he could wait until she learned to love him too. Though he tried not to be hurt and disappointed, he kept longing for the sound of a carriage rolling over the hillside.
    And as if his heart had created that sound for him, he heard wheels crunching against rocks and hooves beating against the road. Annalise’s family continued to argue and speculate and do everything they could to be as insensitive and annoying as possible. Griffin stepped outside of the church, allowing the heavy door to slam behind him. He cared not if he was rude. All he cared about was whether or not she’d returned to him, and decided to marry him after all.
    The carriage rounded the curve at the top of the hill and came in full view. It was definitely one of his, the Benning crest emblazoned on the door.
    His heart thundered. He felt very much the eager schoolboy as he wiped his palms against his breeches.
    Finally the carriage came to a rolling stop. He stepped forwards. The door opened. One delicate ankle stepped on to the step, then another as Annalise emerged from the carriage.
    She’d come. Griffin fought the urge to run to her, to throw his arms around her and kiss her senseless.
    “You came,” he said quietly as she walked towards him.
    “I did.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me that Penny was in the carriage with you?” he asked.
    “It didn’t matter.”
    “The hell it didn’t. It means everything. It means that you weren’t choosing a dangerous thief over a life with me. You were protecting your sister.” He paused. “Does this mean you’ll marry me?”
    “I have a question first,” she said. She swallowed visibly and her lovely brown eyes looked up at his. “Why do you want to marry me, Griffin? I know my parents offered you Penny. Why would you choose me instead?”
    He searched her face, looking for meaning behind her question.
    She chewed at her lip. Her expression was so heartbreakingly vulnerable he fought the urge to pull her to him.
    “I wanted to marry you because I love you,” he said.
    Her mouth opened in a silent gasp. She gave him a shy smile. “You do?”
    “Yes, Annalise, from the moment I first saw you in that dress shop on Bond Street. You so effectively put Lady Henwick in her place, I’d never seen anything like it. You intrigued me, amused me, your boldness, your fearlessness. I sought you out the following evening.”
    “The Draper Ball,” she said.
    “Yes. You looked perfect in your lavender gown.”
    She frowned. “I didn’t know you remembered that.”
    “I remember everything about you.”
    “Then why? Why all that time during our engagement did you ignore me? Why did you spend so much time chatting up my parents while not so much as passing me a glance?” she asked.
    He smiled. “Because I knew that if I spent too much time with you, I would not be able to keep my hands off you.”
    “Truly?”
    He pulled her to him, close to him, and inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. “Truly.”
    “I love you, Griffin,” she said.
    He squeezed her tighter. “Even though I’m boorish?”
    She smacked his arm. “Yes, despite that, I still love you.”