Page 103 of The Infamous Duke
She swallowed. “And my boots, sir?”
He bent to place each leather boot upon her foot. His fingertips played over the laces, and then he tied them snugly for the journey home. “Does that meet with your approval?”
“Yes, thank you, Wade.” As he helped her from her perch, she whispered, “You are always most attentive.”
Now, it washisturn to flush, for their little game had enflamed them both.
It was going to be a painfully long walk home. They were glad to have Simon and Octavia there to distract them. The sisters strolled arm-in-arm, chatting and laughing. The gentlemen ambled on the path, hands jammed in their trouser pockets and sack coats slung over one shoulder.
The foursome formed a merry party as they returned to the house feeling windswept, sandy-hemmed, and sunny-hearted. Wade looked to each smiling face and swore he’d remember this moment as one of the best of his life.
He no longer needed a buttercup meadow, for he carried his place of happy memories with him now—in his heart, in his hands, and forever by his side.
