Three Weddings and a Murder by Courtney Milan, Tessa Dare, Carey Baldwin, Leigh LaValle Read Free Book Online Page A

me…” She shrugged. “My father said it didn’t matter whether I’d allowed the boy liberties or merely lied about it. I’d shown poor judgment and a complete disregard for propriety. He believed I’d surely ruin myself at the first opportunity, but he wouldn’t allow me to drag my sisters through the muck. So that’s why I have to wait until all three of them are settled before I can have my debut.”
    Harry raised a brow. “Even now, years later? That’s unduly harsh.”
    “Is it?” She glanced at their surroundings. “Perhaps my father was right. Look at me now. I’m here in a darkened garden, alone with an infamous rake.”
    “Yes. You are.”
    He let his arm brush hers, not-quite-by-accident. Her lashes fluttered, and she dropped her gaze to her lap.
    In an effort to calm himself, Harry drew a deep, slow breath. It turned out to be a mistake. Her honeysuckle scent flooded his senses, and he felt himself lured like a bee. His whole body buzzed with hunger.
    She fidgeted with the ribbon trim of her gown. “I’ve spent years dreaming of my debut. You cannot imagine. I’ve filled whole folios with sketches of silk gowns, and I’ve scribbled fanciful invitations on countless scraps of paper. I plan to drink champagne and dance every set with a different gentleman. And yes, to spin and twirl”—she smiled charmingly—“until I’m dizzied. It will be my night. My triumph, after years of watching life pass me by.
    “But if I valued that dream above my sisters’ happiness, why would I be here right now? You’re more dangerous to me than nightshade, Mr. Wright. The worst sort of man. Scandalous, immoral. Utterly without conscience or scruples.”
    “Don’t forget ancient,” he said wryly. “And penniless. We all know poverty’s my worst failing in most ladies’ eyes.”
    “Not in my view.”
    “No?”
    She shook her head. “No. It’s your presumption I can’t bear. The way you look at me, the way you tease me. The way you touch me.”
    “The way you enjoy it.”
    He wanted to touch her at that moment. Very, very badly. His hand actually trembled with the force of his wanting. He made a fist at his side.
    Not now. Not yet.
    “Do you understand?” Her voice was just a whisper now. Intimate. “I’m risking my dreams, every moment I spend with you.”
    She had no idea. No idea the danger he could pose to her right now. Right here on this bench, thorny hedges and frigid stone be damned.
    “So you see, it’s not self-interest. I truly care for Philippa. She cares for Lord Brentley. If he returns her affections, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be together.”
    Philippa and Brentley? Not those two poetic fools again.
    He shook his head, staring rapt at her soft, pink lips. “You’re still telling yourself you came out here to help Philippa?”
    “Why else would I come find you?”
    “For this, Eliza.” He cupped her face in one hand and caressed her cheek. “Just this.”
    She slid sideways, putting a space between them on the bench.
    He closed the gap. “You spent years dreaming of that perfect debut. It’s time to wake up. Be honest with yourself. You don’t want twelve toadying gentlemen with perfect cravats queuing up for the pleasure of a dance. You want one man. A man who knows you, challenges you. A man who goes after what he wants, even when it’s not proper or right.”
    “There you go again, presuming to know everything about me. It makes me so…” She made a growl of frustration.
    A slow grin curved his lips. “There’s my tigress.”
    This woman didn’t know what she wanted from life. She couldn’t possibly. She’d been prowling that cage for so long, her greatest dream was a romp in the tiny garden she could glimpse through the bars. But beyond it, there were adventures she’d never known to imagine. Vast rivers and mountains and jungles she was born to explore.
    When he looked at her, Harry saw a brave, beautiful, passionate woman in the making. Even if