If You Give a Girl a Viscount by Kieran Kramer Read Free Book Online Page B

become my wife. Her godmother, after all, is my grandmother. So it seemed perfectly natural, when I realized my obligation as the heir, that we align the two families.”
    Good heavens!
    Daisy felt a pinch on her arm.
    “You’ve never spoken of this,” Cassandra said through tight lips.
    “No,” Daisy whispered, rubbing her arm. “I haven’t.”
    “You don’t act engaged,” Perdita said, her hands clenched into giant fists.
    “Oh, but we are.” Lord Lumley took two steps forward, leaned down, and kissed Daisy right on the lips.
    It was her second kiss, and once again Daisy’s mouth felt scorched. She wasn’t sure if it was a bad or good feeling, but she took no time to wonder because she was furious at the viscount! So furious she could no longer breathe.
    I have to learn how to breathe immediately, she thought, because it’s too late. This kiss is already happening, and unlike the last one, it’s not stopping.
    She also had the fleeting thought, I hate this man. What has he done ? But she had to give that thought up to concentrate.
    The kiss was passionate one second and tender the next, so tender that she was aghast to realize she felt like weeping with the sheer wonder of it. Lord Lumley hugged her tighter, and she put her arms around his neck—his firm, solid man’s neck. The kiss grew passionate again, hot and demanding on both sides, as if they were in a battle of wills.
    Who could kiss better … and longer?
    She couldn’t help responding to the challenge, even though she knew it was in her best interests to stop. Mona, Cassandra, and Perdita were standing right there. They’d tease her mercilessly later; Mona would say hateful things about how she couldn’t kiss worth two cents and would make a terrible hussy (Mona hated all competition).
    But kissing the viscount was like being tickled against Daisy’s will. Her mind screamed no, but her lips—her whole body—screamed yes .
    “Stop it, both of you!” Perdita shrieked.
    Which threw an immediate splash of proverbial cold water on the whole incident.
    Daisy’s and the viscount’s lips came apart.
    Whew . For once in her life, Daisy felt she should be grateful for her loud stepsister. But she wasn’t.
    She was frustrated. Kissing was the best thing she’d ever done. And she longed to try it a third time. The viscount smiled down at her, although the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m the happiest man on earth.”
    He picked up Daisy’s hand—which made her jump—and folded it tightly beneath his arm.
    “There, there, dear,” he said, as she tried to curl her fingers into a fist to better pull away, but he held her in an iron grip. “It’s all right. You’re supposed to find your future husband irresistible.”
    Perdita flapped her arms, which caused a waft of air to stir all her ruffles. “I hate you more than ever now, Daisy.”
    Mona tapped her foot. “How could you keep this a secret?”
    Daisy was afraid to make eye contact with her stepmother, and so she stared at the floor to compose herself as her mind attempted to devise a lie and failed. “I—I was afraid to tell you,” was all she could produce.
    A most feeble story.
    “She’s being kind.” The viscount patted her hand. “The truth is, I told her not to tell you until I was ready. I’ve been doing my best to complete some unfinished business so we can be together, but it’s taken longer than I thought, and—”
    “And what?” Mona asked.
    Daisy’s mind raced.
    “And she missed me,” Lord Lumley filled in. “She missed me so much she’s been crying. Every night. And I had to come see her in person to prove my devotion.”
    Cassandra peered at her. “I have noticed how red and swollen her eyes are lately.”
    “Me, too,” said Perdita.
    God, Daisy hated her stepsisters sometimes!
    Well, all the time, if she were honest.
    “And you missed me, as well,” Daisy said through gritted teeth to the viscount. “So much so that you— you cried every