by Calia Read
Rainey swats my hand away, her cheeks turning red.
“I don’t believe you for a second, but that’s not why I’m here.” Serene steps into the room with her hands filled with a large stack of cream paper and envelopes.
“What’s this?” I ask.
Very carefully, Serene places the stack of paper on the desk and takes a deep breath. “These are going to be what the invitations for the bachelor ball are written on. I wanted to ask if you could help Rainey address them in several days time, but I didn’t know if you’d left yet?”
“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Rainey interjects before I have the chance to reply. “I can manage on my own.”
“It’s a lot,” Serene says. “By invitation number fifty your hand will resemble a misshapen claw.”
Rainey appears to be weighing her choices: accept my help or take the risk and have a disfigured hand for the rest of her life.
“It appears as though Rainey is more than okay walkin’ around with a gnarled hand for the rest of her life,” I say.
A frustrated groan slips from Rainey. She throws her hands up in the air. “Fine! He can help.”
“Excellent,” Serene replies. “You two can address all two hundred invitations at Belgrave?”
“My God,” I mutter.
“Wait? Two hundred? What happened to the guest list of seventy-five people?” Rainey asks with shock.
“What happened is the word has spread about this ball, and no one wants to miss it,” Serene says. “You would be surprised the amount of people I’ve had to turn away.”
“Enlighten me,” I challenge.
“Sixty people,” Serene replies, enunciating each word very slowly.
Rainey’s eyes widen. “My word.”
Serene nods, looking very pleased with herself. “Whether people like my idea or not is irrelevant. All that matters is they’re talkin’.”
“But how are they talkin’?” I’m quick to point out.
Serene pointedly ignores me.
“And before I leave, I’ve taken the liberty of updating the bachelor list for you. Just in case you forget who’s who,” Serene says with a smile.
“Oh, there’s no need for that when one has you, Serene,” I say dryly.
Her eyes narrow into thin slits as she looks in my direction.
Rainey murmurs her thanks as she accepts the list and begins to look through it. Her eyes intently scan the names on the list as though she’s studying for an exam.
I snatch the paper out of Rainey’s hands and try to get a glimpse of the names, but Rainey yanks the list back, tearing a small corner of the paper in the process. “Give me that.”
At the beginning of the sixty days she seemed reluctant, almost shy to meet the men. But as each day passes, she grows comfortable with each date she has with one of the bachelors. I think she’s been spending far too much time with Serene.
I peer around Rainey to try to get a glimpse of the names. The next elimination is soon, but names have been crossed through making it abundantly clear who Rainey wanted to continue to pursue and who she didn’t. I read the names that aren’t crossed out, but there’s one that catches my eye and causes me to burst into laughter.
I laugh so hard my sides hurt.
Rainey lowers the list to her side and straightens her shoulders. “What is it?”
I take a deep breath long enough to say, “Taylor.”
“What about him?”
I wipe the tears from the corner of my eyes as the last of my chuckles escape. “For starters his last name is Hiscock. Do you want to be Mrs. Hiscock?” I grab the paper from her, lift it in the air, and peer closely. “This has to be a typo.” Moments later, I lower the paper and grin. “No. He’s still Mr. Hiscock and you’re still Mrs. Hiscock.”
“Stop callin’ me that,” she hisses.
“Rainey, no respectable woman would be Mrs. Hiscock.”
She plucks the paper from my grip. “His last name is of no relevance to me.”
“I’m just tryin’ to help,” I offer.
Rainey clucks her tongue. “Are you, though? Because if you were tryin’ to help you wouldn’t be so arbitrary.”
I shrug. “I don’t know what to tell you. The men are unsavory.”
“No, you’re unsavory so you believe every man is unsavory.”
“All the more reason to value my opinion. I can spot fellow bastards better than most.”
I continue to look over her shoulder. “Grady? What kind of name is Grady?”
“Grady is quite a common name. The better question is, what kind of name is Livingston?” Rainey shoots back.
“It is a family name!” I object.
Rainey shrugs a small shoulder and resumes looking at the list. “My God, is Duncan’s last name Hyman?”
She twists around and appears far from amused. “It’s Hageman.”
“Wow.” I whistle. “That was close.”
“You are incredibly vulgar,” Rainey huffs.
I wink at her. “Thank you, darlin’.”
“Do not call me darlin’.”
I lean toward her. “Why not? I’ve called many women darlin’.”
Sighing, Rainey gives me her full attention. “Maybe that’s why I don’t care for the endearment.”
“But the endearment can and will be used when a man is flirtin’. What are you goin’ do when a man calls you sweetheart?” I challenge.
Rainey’s body freezes, and her eyes flit to the names. After a few seconds, she replies. “I would permit it.”
My blood ices over at the thought of another man calling her sweetheart. It’s not jealousy, but it comes close to it and I don’t care for it. I give her a crooked grin. “Then you should perfect the art of flirtin’, Red Rainey.” I move closer when I know I shouldn’t. “You’re red because you’re embarrassed.”
She looks at me from beneath her lashes. If she was an accomplished flirt she’d realize that action right there was a coquettish act, and enough to get any red-blooded man’s interest piqued. “Oh, please do enlighten me on how to seduce my future husband,” she says, her words dripping with sarcasm.
My tongue and my brain don’t seem to be working, and my eyes have a mind of their own and can’t seem to stop staring at Rainey’s lips. Has her bottom lip always been so plump and soft? And is she wearing rouge? Women don’t have lips such a natural color.
Abruptly, I lean back in my chair, and clear my throat. My thoughts are going down the wrong path. “I’m afraid you’ll have to task out another man for the job,” I grin at her. “I’m already preoccupied.”
Grinding her teeth, Rainey fixes her eyes on the paper. “Oh no, whatever will I do?” she replies dryly.
The idea of Rainey seeking someone else to teach her how to properly seduce a man doesn’t sit well with me and leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. “Which one of these lucky fellas will you see next?” I ask, anxious to change the subject.
“If you must know—”
“Since I’m in charge of your dowry, I must,” I cut in.
Rainey gives me an irritated glance. “The next bachelor I will see is Duncan.”
“And what is it you’ll be doin’ with Duncan?”
Rainey avoids eye contact by repeatedly straightening the papers in her hands. “I’m unsure.”
“Shouldn’t you know?”
“I think the better question is should you know?”
I snort. “I don’t want to know. I’m merely askin’ in case I should leave my car runnin’ where you’re located should my ward need a getaway if Duncan is less than savory.”
Crashing her hands on the table, Rainey faces me, eyes ablaze. “Stop callin’ me your ward.”
Lifting my hands in supplication, I take a step back and lean against the wall. “My apologies. I was simply givin’ you an option out of seein’ this bachelor.”
I was merely jesting when I said I’d be a getaway for Rainey. It’s just fascinating to watch that porcelain skin tur
n all rosy when she’s uptight. All the same, it might not be the worst idea I’ve had. Seeing so many men isn’t safe. One of them is bound to try to take advantage of her, and even though she has Étienne and Serene with her, I know how the two of them can become swept up in their own world and not notice anything around them.
“Your opinion is not needed. I’ve spoken to Duncan before, and he’s been nothin’ but a gentleman.”
I push away from the wall and stand tall. Her answer doesn’t sit well with me. A lot of her answers as of late haven’t been sitting well with me. “When?”
“Two days ago. I was shoppin’ with Serene and just happened to see him.”
“I bet you did,” I mutter beneath my breath. “Since Duncan sounds like prince charmin’ are you plannin’ your life with him? Is your first son going to be named after him, or perhaps you’ll go with Milton in memory of your beloved fish?”
On cue, the corners of her lips curl upward. She fights it. She always does. But she loses and then she laughs. It’s a sound that always strikes me in the gut. A sound I can hear no matter where I’m at. A sound to pull me out of any darkness. If that isn’t the very definition of pure laughter, my God, I don’t know what is.
“I can guarantee you none of my children will have the name Milton. No one can compare to Milton, and the name Milton for a child?” She scrunches her pert nose. “It’s a very stiff name. Fit for someone who’s a butler for a large English estate.”
The corner of my mouth curls upward. “I believe you’re right.”
Rainey smiles back, and whether she realizes it or not, she leans in. There’s no question in my mind, Conrad could burst into the room and she wouldn’t be able to call him by his first name for all the money in the world.
Her plump lips part.
Say you’ve changed your mind. Say you will not see Duncan.
She doesn’t say anything, though. Instead, she folds up the list into quarters and tucks it into her dress. The action allows me a small glimpse of her cleavage. Rainey’s skin is smooth and glows in the room. My blood heats at the small action; so many times I’ve seen her as Pleas’s little sister, and then she does that, and it shows how much she’s grown. Rainey slowly bats her eyes at me, and a half-smirk appears that speaks to every red-blooded male.
“How can I thank you, Livingston, for everythin’ you’re doin’ for me?”
“Dieu aide moi,” I mutter, once I catch my breath.
She taps me on the nose as though I’m a little boy. “And that is how you properly flirt.”
With my heart racing much too fast, I watch the gentle sway of Rainey’s hips as she walks out of the room. Perhaps Serene should consider changing the name of the bachelor ball to The Hunting Season because these men will not make it out with their hearts intact.
Not a one of them.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Livingston
She’s been with him for almost an hour.
Sixty whole minutes.
Approximately thirty-six hundred seconds.
And during that time the infuriating woman cannot go fifteen minutes without inserting her opinion. The fact she’s lasted this long is proof miracles can and do happen on a regular basis.
What are they talking about? I’ve spoken with Duncan. He’s not terribly fascinating. Not a thrill-seeker like Rainey. Or bold like Rainey. He doesn’t have strong opinions like Rainey.
But he does have one thing that Rainey requested: he comes from money.
The common denominator all the men have is money. I don’t believe that’s a coincidence. And I cannot fault Rainey. When she said her family was in financial peril, she was being generous.
There were four weeks left until Pleas’s deadline, and unless a rich mysterious relative of Rainey’s swooped in to save her and her Momma, they were facing the risk of losing everything, including the house that had been in her family’s possession the minute fortune fell into their lap nearly one hundred and fifty years ago.
Even I couldn’t deny the appeal of Rainey’s dowry. It would be the obvious, and painless way. I don’t have the best morals like Étienne, but watching Rainey marry a man she doesn’t love and who’s intentions are less than honorable doesn’t sit well with me.
“Livingston, we’ve been here for quite some time. Can we leave?” my date asks.
For a moment, I forget why she’s here, and then I remember. I asked Georgina to be my dinner companion. I invited her as a distraction and hoped that later, she’d come home with me. If I could be aroused by a mere touch from Rainey and tempted to almost kiss her, perhaps I was cured from my lack of sexual activity. Maybe if I finally slept with a woman, any woman, I wouldn’t be seeing Rainey in the way I have. And everything can go back to normal.
Georgina and I have had dinner before, but tonight, I’ve hardly spoken two words to her. That’s because our table is at the perfect place, angled in such a way where I can watch Rainey with Duncan and hidden from sight where Rainey won’t notice. Although I swear there was more than once were Rainey abruptly looked over her shoulder. Almost as though she could sense my stare. I would shrink lower in my seat and wait until she faced forward.
I knew I couldn’t stay here all night. Besides, their food just arrived, and there’s nothing captivating in watching Étienne devour his food as though it’s his last meal.
I told Rainey I’d stop disrupting her dates, and with her, I always keep my word. In all honesty, I can’t fully get to the bottom of my actions for coming tonight. I want to keep an eye out for Rainey, but with Étienne and Serene overlooking tonight, I can’t justify my actions.
I don’t want her to see me or even know I was here.
There’s no reason in sitting here, attempting to absolve myself for being here. All that matters is Rainey doesn’t catch sight of me as I make my quick exit.
I finish off the last of my drink and give Rainey and her date a final glance before I look at my own. “We can leave.”
I still have the opportunity to spend the evening with a beautiful woman, and I won’t let any more time go to waste.
***
“Did you hear me?”
I look down at Georgina’s fingers crawling up my stomach. She gives me a look that’s meant to be seductive but merely translates as desperate.
As I try to think of what I last heard her speaking about, the clock on the fireplace mantel loudly ticks. How long have we been sitting here? Because I swear it’s been hours, and if it wasn’t for the drink in my hand my body would be far more stiff from sitting here. By now, I expected the two of us to be in my room, but my mind continues to stray. Have Rainey and Duncan left the restaurant? They must have. It’s far too late. But they appeared to be having an enjoyable night, so does that mean Rainey will want to see him again? After all the bachelors were chosen, I discovered Duncan was an acquaintance of Étienne’s. My brother said Duncan hailed from a prestigious family. Graduated from Columbia University in 1904. Started out as an office boy for his family’s small but prosperous business, Blue Stone Industries. I’m half convinced Étienne likes him because he knows Duncan will be good conversation for himself. A fellow businessman to discuss the economy and strategies with...what is not to love?
What I want to know is, if Duncan’s so wonderful, why hasn’t anyone proclaimed him as their own?
He sounds like another bachelor on the never-ending list that isn’t good enough and has suspect motives.
I take another drink to stop the constant barrage of questions running through my head. Between me and my date, we have drank far too much. Yet I have a strange suspicion that nothing will be powerful enough to withstand Rainey.
“Livingston?” my date drawls. “Did you hear me?”
Lazily, I smile at her. “My apologies, darlin’. Can you repeat yourself?”
Georgina places her drink on the table before focusing on me. “I said we must never go this long without seein’ each other.”
“I agree, but I’
ve been busy.”
She mock pouts. Rainey would never pout. She would much rather throw herself in front of a car than pout and appear featherbrained. “With what?”
I lift a shoulder and take a drink. With the number of drinks I’m consuming tonight, it’s going to take three able-bodied men to help me up to my room. But I don’t need my room. I can sleep anywhere. The floors, filthy trenches, in the back of a Liberty Truck. It only took me the ravages of war to learn that sleeping comfortably in the silence with clean sheets, is a luxury most fail to appreciate.
“Livingston!” Georgina whines, but there is a glimmer of frustration in her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” I lean in close and smile. “I’m merely prolongin’ this evenin’ so you won’t leave.”
In reply, she giggles, leans back into me, and all is forgiven.
“The word about town is you’re with the Pleasonton girl.” Georgina taps her index finger against the corner of her mouth. “What’s her name?”
Resting my head against the settee, I look at Georgina from the corner of my eye. “You know her name is Rainey.”
Instinctively, my hand tightens around my glass. I don’t know what Georgina has to say, but it’s impossible for me not to become defensive on Rainey’s behalf.
Georgina scoffs and glances at her nails. “I certainly do not. We didn’t precisely run in the same social circle. When I was intent on makin’ my debut, she was teachin’ the rest of the debutantes curse words.”
I’d never heard that story, but it sounded so remarkably Rainey I can’t help but chuckle. Georgina raises both brows, so I focus on our conversation.
“Is it true?” she asks.
“Is what true?”
“That Rainey is in search of a husband?” Georgina whispers excitedly.
As much as I loathed this entire bachelor fiasco, there wasn’t a single part of me that wanted to discuss this with Georgina. She was here to keep my mind off Rainey, not on her.
