The Love Match (Entangled Scandalous) Read Online Free PDF

malicious in her amusement, just good-natured teasing. And her eyes crinkled at the corners when she laughed, which he liked. Or when she smiled, which he liked almost as well.
    He was dangerously close to being smitten. He could at least be honest enough with himself to admit that.
    There’d been plenty of women in his life, mostly the women he flirted with and danced with and sometimes broke the hearts of—allegedly—and a few in a strictly sexual capacity. He liked all of them, enjoyed all of them, but hadn’t felt anything more than mild affection.
    That he was becoming infatuated so quickly with Olivia worried him. He wasn’t in control of this relationship. He couldn’t misguide her with flattery or direct the conversation the way he wanted it to go.
    There was something terrifying about losing that control.
    During the last London Season, one of the matrons had asked him when he planned to marry, and his answer had been when he made a love match—simply because he didn’t expect it to happen. His whole life, he’d never felt anything close to love, and he was thankful for that. He’d seen what caring about someone too much had done to his father, and he wasn’t interested in making the same mistake.
    But he was his mother’s son, too.
    And a part of him didn’t know if he was capable of love at all.

Chapter Four
    “She’s so…odd,” Lady Sarah said to William from behind her fan.
    “Of whom are we speaking?” he asked, but he’d already guessed. She had taken an instant dislike to Miss Middleton. Probably a combination of the fact that Olivia was a bit unusual and that Lady Sarah hadn’t liked it when she wasn’t the center of attention during their card game—particularly when she lost that title to someone she thought beneath her.
    “Miss Middleton, who else? Just look at her.”
    He looked. He had to admit he had no difficulty doing so; he’d wanted to look at her for the past hour.
    He nearly smiled. Miss Middleton had managed to sneak a book down with her. She had it resting in her lap, her head bowed low. Anyone who was at a different angle might think she was very focused on listening to the song Miss Ashworth played on the pianoforte.
    He wondered if it was still The Monk or if she’d started something new.
    But Lady Sarah was watching him as he watched Olivia, so he didn’t smile. “She likes to read,” he said wryly. “It’s not a crime, is it?”
    “No,” she admitted. “But there’s a time and place. If she were more personable, I would allow her more liberties. One would think she’s a duchess, how little she deigns to speak to everyone.”
    “Or perhaps she’s just shy,” he commented, keeping his voice mild.
    “Shy,” she echoed, as though she’d never heard the word before. “I don’t know about that. She is plain, though. If I were her, I would not be so quick to separate myself. Her sisters are scandalous. She has no beauty, no talent. She’ll never receive a good offer if she doesn’t make herself amiable.”
    Was Olivia plain?
    William studied her as surreptitiously as he could. A tendril of brown hair had fallen from its pin, brushing the back of her neck like a lover’s caress. And her hair wasn’t simply brown; he noticed glints of blond in it, as though a painter had touched it with gold. Nothing about her face particularly stood out—her nose was a bit long, but other than that, her features were feminine and symmetrical.
    And her lips… His groin tightened as he remembered their kiss. Her lips were pink and curved down slightly, as though she were perpetually concentrating on one thing or another. But, most of all, they were soft and fit perfectly against his own.
    Not beautiful, maybe. But he wouldn’t make the oversight of calling her “plain.”
    He decided to change topics before Lady Sarah said something that angered him to the point where he wouldn’t be able to hide his reaction. So he did what he did best, and what he knew would