Newport Summer by Nikki Poppen Read Free Book Online Page A

danger.
Too bad. He was quite charming, and she’d have liked to
spend time in his company if the situation was different.
    “Please, it is not necessary that you stay. You may go
back to your dinner,” Audrey urged. If he was out here too long, her mother would be quietly reserving Grace
Church for the fall.

    Gannon peered at her in the darkness. “I find I am
not convinced that you’re feeling better, and I fear I
may be the cause of your upset. Have I done something
to bother you?”
    “Done something?” Audrey’s frustration broke, finally able to be directed at someone, something. “You
didn’t tell me who you were on the beach”
    “I told you my name. I did not lie to you”
    “You did not tell me you were an earl!” Audrey replied,
her voice low and strident in her accusation.
    Gannon’s voice remained unsatisfactorily even and
logical. “You did not tell me you were an heiress-‘the
richest girl in the room,’ according to my sources tonight. You can imagine my surprise.”
    “That’s different,” Audrey huffed, although for the life
of her she couldn’t figure out why at the moment. “One
does not talk about money in polite conversation.”
    “What would you have had me do, Audrey? Introduce
myself as a titled Englishman after you’d espoused such
a distaste for them? I, for one, was having too good a
time to ruin it.”
    That brought her up short and effectively quelled her
brewing tirade. The truth was, she’d been having fun
too. She’d liked talking to the Englishman on the beach,
so much so that she’d been willing to overlook the obvious about his presence in Newport. It wasn’t fair to
blame him entirely. “I think I liked it better when we were just Gannon and Audrey,” she sighed, “instead of
the heiress and the earl.”

    Gannon laughed in the darkness, a rich, mellow, comforting sound. “Perhaps we can work on that.”
    He was so unfailingly polite, so unswervingly sincere,
that Audrey found herself dissembling in a most unladylike fashion. “Oh, no, you don’t know my mother. You
have to go back in right now for your own good. The
longer you’re out here with me, the more my parents will
get their hopes up” She could hear the panic return to
her voice. One would think she was on a run for her life,
from the fear her voice emanated.
    “Hopes about what?” Gannon asked.
    “Don’t be obtuse,” Audrey scolded, hardly believing
the man could be so dense. “What do you think parents
get their hopes up for when their daughter goes outside
with a handsome earl?”
    “Ah. We’re speaking of matrimonial hopes, I take it?”
Gannon paused. “You don’t want to marry me?” Light
teasing colored his words.
    “I hardly know you.” Audrey was in no mood for
banter in spite of Gannon’s efforts to the contrary. She
couldn’t let him through her defenses so easily, even
though she was tempted. For all her reservations, she
was undeniably drawn to the Englishman.
    “But you said I was handsome,” he pressed.
    That got a laugh from her. “Well, everyone says so.
The girls have talked of nothing else tonight but your
divine good looks.”

    “So is it me you’re opposed to, or just marriage in
general?” Gannon asked once the laughter between
them faded.
    “You mustn’t take it personally,” Audrey supplied
quickly, not wanting to hurt his feelings. He’d been quite
nice, and he deserved better from her. “I simply don’t
wish to be married”
    “Especially to an Englishman,” Gannon filled in. “I recall your specific points on the subject. I have an excellent
memory, along with my posture”
    Audrey blushed in the darkness, remembering her
harsh words about drafty houses, empty pockets, and
slouching physiques. “You must pardon my bluntness
on the subject. In no way did I mean to impugn your
Camberly Hall or your visit.”
    Awkward silence sprang up. “You’re not the one who
needs pardoning,” Gannon