A Chance to Kiss the Marquess (Charmed By Chance #3)

Chapter 7

7

K al was certain food was served at this dinner. He even knew without a doubt that he’d eaten what was on his plate. But if anyone had asked him what he’d eaten, he’d have been hard pressed to say.

It wasn’t the cook’s fault. It was Ann’s.

As laughter and conversation abounded around him, Kal was lost to his thoughts.

No, lost was a criminal understatement. He was…reeling. At one point he found himself clutching the edge of the table so hard his knuckles turned white.

“Kal.” Albright’s voice was low and steady beside him. “Are you all right?”

All right? No. Not even a little.

Yet, he nodded and that seemed to suffice. But really, his heart was pounding so hard he felt certain everyone at this table could hear. However, when he glanced around him, no one seemed to notice.

Then again, he was usually quiet at social gatherings. He typically preferred sitting back and listening. Occasionally adding a dry remark or a witty aside. He was never the center of the conversation, and now that worked to his advantage, because apparently no one found it odd that he was staying quiet.

His gaze darted to Ann. She was also quiet, her head tucked down and her gaze fixed on her plate.

A smile hovered over her lips, no doubt in response to whatever tale Carver was relating that had everyone at this table smiling and laughing along with him.

That was Carver right there. Always smiling. Usually laughing. Aside from his disastrous first meetings with Meg, he was known for being charming…and this was not by chance. He’d made it his mission to change his title’s long legacy of cruelty, and he’d gone about it by winning over every member of the ton .

And Kal? Well, he hadn’t made enemies , exactly, though he did have his adversaries in politics. But he hadn’t made many friends, either.

Even Albright and Rodrick, who he considered his closest friends, had come to him by way of Carver. And ladies…

Well, he knew that he was considered quite a catch. He wasn’t terrible to look at, and he had good manners. But his true appeal lay in the fact that he was a Marquess.

That was all that mattered to anyone, really, aside from his mother and close friends. To everyone else he was the Marquess first and everything else second. They looked at him and saw what he might do for them. They saw his influence, his power, and his wealth.

But Ann…

He cast a sidelong glance her way again.

What did she see? Or rather… What did she not see?

An unexpected smile tugged at his lips as he remembered the way she’d grown more relaxed hiding behind that fern.

She couldn’t know it, but while she seemed to feel well and truly hidden, he’d been able to see…enough. He’d seen her eyes through a parting in the leaves, caught glimpses of her lips…

His chest felt like it was melting and hardening all at once at the memory of her expressions. The girl might have trouble speaking, but her face and her eyes…

There she was an open book.

He’d never known that sort of sincerity before. No artifice, no hidden agendas, no manipulation. Ann was just…Ann. Sweet and pure and so very stubborn.

She had to be stubborn to overcome all that she had. And while she might not speak often or loudly, when she did she was plain spoken and surprising.

Earlier, her frustration at not being able to explain herself had been so evident, it had taken everything in him not to come around the blasted fern and tug her into his arms.

For comfort, that was all.

And even now, every time he glanced in her direction, his muscles tensed with the desire to touch her. To pull her close and…

Oh, who was he fooling? He let out a shaky breath. He wished he could say he’d like to pull her close just to comfort her, but that would be a lie.

And he was not a liar.

A sweat broke out on the back of his neck and he set the wine back down. What was wrong with him that his heart seemed to have taken on a life of its own?

He resisted the urge to press a hand to his chest to make sure it wasn’t trying to escape. And blast it all, he needed to get a handle on his racing thoughts.

Kal was sensical. Practical. He’d spent the better part of his life shoving aside all thoughts of preference and personal wants for the sake of duty and obligation. And he’d never resented it. How could he when he’d been giving so much in exchange?

It had been a struggle in the beginning, but these days there weren’t many who could match his power or his wealth. But then again…

A loud laugh from the end of the table had Kal looking toward his cousin.

Carver was holding Meg’s hand and they shared a sickeningly sweet smile as the rest of the table laughed along with him.

If there was anyone who could match Kal’s position in society it was Carver. His cousin was a Duke, for heaven’s sake.

Granted, Carver had no political interest and he’d inherited a title that was prosperous and well-running from the start. He’d never had to take such an active role as Kal had. But even so, that was then and this was now. And now …

Now the marquessate was well in hand. He’d long since earned the respect and influence he’d sought in his youth. So why was it that Carver could find this happiness and he could not?

Kal shoved his chair back so he might breathe a little easier.The sharp movement garnered few looks and little attention.

He felt like he was coming apart at the seams at this blasted dinner and no one even noticed. He’d always excelled at hiding his emotions behind an aloof mask, and it seemed even now when his world felt like it was shattering around him, the old habit had kicked in.

“If you’ll excuse me…” Kal murmured the words but few seemed to care that he was leaving. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Ann again.

He wasn’t sure if he could resist the urge to go to her. To drag her out of the dining room so they could finish the conversation that had been interrupted.

The fact that she wanted him to see her as a woman, as a lady one might flirt with and kiss, and yes, a lady one would court…

It was almost comical because the moment he’d so much as thought it, he couldn’t see her any other way.

He could admit that he’d felt that awareness for a while now. Since that day she’d caught him while playing blind man’s bluff, and he’d been so close, able to see her without her trepidation or the wariness she so often wore like a cloak in his presence.

He’d seen her—truly seen her—and he hadn’t been able to see anything else ever since. She occupied his mind and his heart in ways he’d tried to explain away. But here, now, tonight…

It was suddenly so clear.

She cared for him. Few were brave enough for that, and yet it was so oddly fitting that Ann was. She who was brave in so many ways.

And now, as he leaned his back against the doorframe and listened to the easy chatter and laughter behind him, it occurred to him that perhaps she was what he’d been missing. She was the light at the end of the tunnel. She was what he’d been doing all this for.

He’d spent every day and night focused on rebuilding his estate and establishing power. He’d grown his family’s wealth and influence and tried not to ask himself why, for whom, to what end?

The answer was her. He’d done it all for her. He just hadn’t known it until right this moment.

His head fell back against the doorframe with a thud as quiet as his laugh.

For a man who had everything money and power could gain, she was everything he didn’t have—sincerity, kindness, and true affection.

His heart still thudded painfully, but his chest was swelling with hope now.

He’d worked long and hard, but for what if he couldn’t just once have something for himself. Something—or no, some one —he truly wanted.

Maybe not the perfect choice for the marquessate, but the only choice for him.

He’d done his work, had kept his head down and paid his dues, and…

Why not make a choice for himself at long last? Why not be impulsive for once in his life?

His hands clenched at his sides when he heard her voice coming from the other room, soft and quiet, her words slow and thought out. “If you’ll excuse me…”

His heart gave a sharp squeeze.

He’d love nothing more than to be the man who protected her from the harshness of the world. All his hard work would be worth it if his wealth and power could give this sweet young lady the life she deserved.

And it took everything in him not to go in there, scoop her into his arms so he could take her somewhere private and tell her all this.

In the end, it turned out, he had no need to drag her out of the dining room.

She came to him willingly.