The Most to Lose Read Online Free PDF Page A

could have done except issuing a string of words she wasn’t supposed to know.
    “I hope I don’t know the intended target of that angry gesture.”
    “Oh!” Celie squeaked as she spun around to see who had caught her exhibiting such an unladylike display.
    Her breath caught in her throat, and she stared in awed wonder at the man who’d consumed her thoughts the entire evening.
    His voice was deeper than she remembered it being, low and rich and enticingly smooth. His face as he came near her was even more ruggedly handsome than it had been when she’d looked at him across the ballroom. And the smile on his face, when directed at her, tugged at a spot deep inside her that sent hundreds of butterflies soaring in fight.
    “I’m sorry,” he said, taking another step toward her, then another. “I startled you.”
    “No…uh…I…uh…I was…”
    Celie couldn’t find her tongue. Actually, she couldn’t find any of the social graces that had been ingrained in her since birth. She’d suddenly turned into a blabbering idiot.
    The Earl of Haywood took several steps closer, then stopped. He kept himself a comfortable distance from her.
    “I’m not sure what is proper here,” he said, placing the glass he’d brought with him onto the fat railing so both his hands were free. “Ordinarily, I’d beg an introduction from a mutual acquaintance to give you the opportunity to refuse acknowledging me.”
    “Except we are already well acquainted with each other and have been for years. At least you were acquainted with my brother.”
    His brows lifted. “But that was in the past,” he corrected.
    “Yes, but it wasn’t a part of my past.”
    Even though there wasn’t enough moonlight to see the expression in his eyes, Celie thought there was a hint of humor on his face.
    “No, it wasn’t. But it’s a well-known fact that your brother no longer considers me a close friend.”
    Celie wanted to laugh. “That’s probably the understatement of the year.”
    “Then perhaps I need to ask if you share his opinion.”
    “If I do?”
    “Then I will excuse myself and leave you alone to enjoy this beautiful evening.”
    She wished the deep timbre of his voice wouldn’t stir a myriad of emotions that settled heavily in the pit of her stomach. She wished she wouldn’t find herself mesmerized by the broad expanse of his shoulders. But most of all, she wished she hadn’t repeatedly dreamed of being alone with him without a prettier female competing for the handsome Lord Haywood’s attention.
    Being here with him was almost a dream come true.
    “Evenings like this are meant to be enjoyed by everyone. I’d be very selfish indeed if I tried to monopolize Lady Plimpton’s terrace,” she said. “I’d enjoy your company.”
    He smiled and leaned a hip against the balustrade.
    He was taller than Hadleigh, but only by a little, and Celie imagined that if she stood next to him, the top of her head would come to just below his chin. Standing even this close made her feel small and delicate, something that was totally alien to her.
    “I have to tell you how surprised I am to see you here, Lord Haywood.”
    “From the looks of disbelief on the faces of Lady Plimpton’s guests, you weren’t the only one who couldn’t believe their eyes.”
    “The night Melisande died changed futures for several people.”
    “Then Lady Plimpton is to be commended, don’t you think? For daring to invite both of us to the same event?”
    Celie turned her head and looked at him with an expression that said she thought Lady Plimpton’s ingenuity was more deeply rooted. “I’ve known Lady Plimpton for several years, and she’s never struck me as the sort of person who would take the initiative to invite two enemies to the same function simply to see what happened.”
    A broad grin lifted the corners of Lord Haywood’s mouth, and the openness of his smile sent a warm rush to the pit of her stomach.
    “Are you suggesting that someone may