The Spy Who Loved Her: Once Upon an Accident, Book 3 by Melissa Schroeder Page B

bottom of the stairs and noticed one of the footmen.
    “Lord Bridgerton is in the front parlor, my lady.”
    She wanted to run down the length of the hall just to get there faster, to witness with her own eyes that he was okay. But instead, she forced herself to put one foot in front of the other slowly. When she reached the doorway, she paused and watched him. His back was to her as he looked out the window. Bright sunlight shimmered around him, highlighting the flecks of gold within his hair.
    He was fine.
    She must have made some kind of noise because he turned around. The moment his gaze rested upon her, she found herself mesmerized. There was something in the way he looked at her that made every thought in her brain dissolve. It had been this way since that waltz the week before. It made her aware of everything in her body—her heartbeat, the prickles that moved over her skin and the overwhelming need to be touched.
    “Lady Anna.”
    She shook herself and ordered her feet to move in the room.
    “It is good to see that you are all right.”
    He grimaced when he moved and instantly, she rushed forward. He put his right arm up to ward her off. “I am fine. I just moved it the wrong way.”
    Silence filled the air around them. When he said nothing she finally asked, “Whatever happened to you down there?”
     
    For a moment, Daniel could not get his brain to function. He could truly blame it on the medication he had been on, but he knew it had to do with the woman in front of him. Daniel tried to remember the lie his mother had helped him concoct in the wee hours of the morning. There would be no way hiding his injury from most people. But worse, Anna had seen him injured and there was no way avoiding her.
    “Jack is the nephew of Higgens.”
    “Did Jack stab you?”
    He smiled. “No. He owed some money and I was trying to help him with the money lender.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “But you were dressed oddly.”
    “Well, I could not go down there in my own clothes.”
    “Why ever not? I would think that would help you more.”
    Daniel wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed. His head was still fuzzy from the laudanum. Dealing with Anna in such a state was not a good idea. Even now, with his body aching and his head throbbing, he could feel arousal snake through his blood. She was wearing a simple white day dress with embroidered cornflowers along the neckline. There was nothing truly seductive about it, but that did not seem to matter. It just made him want to peel it away from her body and see what lay beneath.
    “Daniel?”
    He shook his head. “What?”
    “I said, I thought that being dressed in your own clothes would have gained you more respect.”
    The woman was too clever. He was trying to imagine just what she would look like wearing nothing but the sunlight, and she was questioning him as if she were the head of the War Department, Lord Michaels.
    “I did not want to draw attention to us.”
    She didn’t look like she believed him but thankfully she let it go.
    “Are you sure you are all right?” The worry in her voice, along with the concern in her eyes did not comfort him. He did not want to be coddled, to be seen as weak.
    He nodded. “Just a little scuffle and Doctor Timms said it was not serious.”
    “Jack works for your family?”
    “No, he works for…”
    It was then that he realized his mistake. Everyone in the ton thought he was having an affair with Lady Joanna, but for some reason he did not want Anna to think that. But it was too late.
    “Yes?”
    “Ah, he works for Lady Joanna.”
    Anna’s face paled, her expression going blank. Something in the area of his heart pricked.
    “It is not what you think.”
    “I really have no idea what you are talking about.” Ice dripped from her words.
    He hated this, hated lying to her, and in this one thing, he would be honest. “Joanna and I are not…”
    She had moved away, in body and mind. He walked to her and touched her arm.