Scandalous Summer Nights Read Online Free PDF Page B

period and the earliest known civilizations. (2) Very old, as in
    A girl on the marriage mart at the ripe age of two and twenty was widely considered to be ancient.
    A t the sight of James, Olivia’s breath caught in her throat—as usual. Each time she saw him, he grew more attractive. A fanciful notion, and yet the proof stood before her. James’s snug buckskin breeches showed off his narrow hips and muscular thighs. And his backside was perfectly formed: taut, well shaped, and… utterly squeezable.
    Recalling that her brother also stood in the foyer, she reluctantly lifted her gaze from James’s trouser area.
    Fortunately, he was handsome all over. His sandy brown hair curled slightly at the ends, begging her to rake her fingers through it. His full lips, slightly parted, invited thoughts of kissing.
    Soon, she thought, he would be hers—to kiss, to hold, and to love.
    Except… something seemed amiss.
    She and Rose had been expecting James to come looking for her in the drawing room after his meeting with Owen. Olivia had practiced several poses—gazing out the window, looking studiously at a book, poring over sheet music at the pianoforte—all so that she would appear mildly yet pleasantly surprised to see James when he sought her out.
    But he hadn’t.
    On the contrary, he had his hat in hand and appeared to be on the verge of… of
leaving
.
    Olivia glanced at Owen. Lord knew, he could be intimidating. If he had dissuaded James in any way, balked at the idea of him asking for her hand…
    Well, she would require at least a year to forgive him.
    In any event, she couldn’t let James leave before she had a chance to speak with him.
    Before he could take one more step toward the door, she said, “Could I persuade you gentlemen to join Rose and me for tea? We were just about to ring for some.”
    James opened his mouth to reply, but Owen cut him off. “Thank you, but Averill is in a hurry. I fear I’ve monopolized too much of his time already.”
    “Really? For what reason?” she asked rather boldly—even for her.
    “A business matter,” Owen said. “And it’s all resolved, isn’t it, Averill?”
    “Yes. For now.”
    Olivia looked from James to Owen and back again. How
dare
they refer to her as a business matter? And why wasn’t Averill fighting for her? Fighting for
them
?
    Rose placed a gentle hand on Olivia’s arm. “We shouldlet Mr. Averill be on his way.” To James, she said, “I hope we shall see you again soon. Perhaps you could join us for dinner tomorrow evening?”
    “I’m afraid I cannot.” Although James was replying to Rose’s invitation, he cast Olivia an apologetic look. “I’m leaving town for a while.”
    And then she
knew
.
    James’s visit had nothing to do with her. No proposal was forthcoming. In fact, he’d been about to leave London—without even saying good-bye.
    Mortification washed over her, heating her cheeks. Weakly, she asked, “Where?”
    “The Lakes,” he said vaguely.
    Apparently oblivious to her misery, Owen gestured for Dennison to open the door.
    “A pleasure to see you, Lady Rose, Lady Olivia.” James gave them each a perfunctory bow, and a moment later… he was gone.
    Owen headed toward the stairs. “I’m going to spend the afternoon with Anabelle and the baby. I’ll see you both at dinner?”
    “Of course,” Rose answered. When Owen was out of earshot, she slipped her arm around Olivia’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Liv. Let’s go sit and have some tea.”
    “I just want to go to my room,” Olivia said, amazed she hadn’t already crumpled into a weeping ball of pink silk. “It was silly of me to assume—”
    “No,” Rose said emphatically, “it wasn’t.”
    “In any case, I need a little time to think.”
    “I’ll go with you and help you out of your dress.”
    Olivia shook her head and attempted a reassuring smile. “I can manage.”
    Rose sighed. “Very well, but I must tell you one thing. You know that I am quite fond of