Read One Night to Remember for Free Online

open wide. “Is this decent enough?” she asked, feeling the chill of the hall lick up her robe.
    “Good Lord, woman.” Thomas pushed into the room and quickly shut the door behind him. Elizabeth gave a little laugh as he spun around, and awkwardly folded his arms over his chest. “There’s been an accident,” he blurted. “We’ve struck an iceberg.”
    “What?” That must’ve been the shudder she felt. “Is the captain calling for passengers on deck?”
    “No, passengers have been instructed to head back to their rooms.” He slowly paced the cramped corners of her stateroom, the air about him calm and collected. “Officers are assessing the damage as we speak. We should be on our way shortly.”
    “Thank God,” Elizabeth said, relaxing the drumming of her heart. It was a good thing the Titanic was unsinkable; they could’ve been in real trouble.
    “There is nothing to fear, Elizabeth, I assure you.” He brushed his hands over her shoulders. “The berg was enormous—I saw it with my own eyes—but it glanced off the hull of this ship like it was nothing…we’ll be fine.”
    “Is that why you came here? To tell me the news?”
    “No.” His gaze drifted to the lace collar of her robe and for a breath Elizabeth thought he might’ve come back for a second affair. “When we scraped the berg, it dropped chunks of ice on the forward deck. A group of second class passengers are kicking it around, playing some sort of game. I thought you might be interested in watching a bit.”
    He wanted to spend time with her. Outside of the stateroom. She kinked her neck to the side, eyeing him carefully. “What of Lady Grace’s clutch?”
    “I returned it to the Master at Arms on the way here. He’ll be delivering it to its rightful owner.” Thomas’s jaw ticked to a clench. While talking of icebergs and collisions, he remained composed. One mention of Elizabeth’s proposed guilt and Thomas was a tightly wound spring. He’d tried to play it cool. Like letting her go free was no big deal. From the sharpness of his tone and the pallor of his cheeks however, Elizabeth could tell that it was.
    “So you have decided not to take me into custody after all?”
    “I’ve gone on break.” His eyes shone the color of rich driftwood, one of her favorite shades to use while designing. “And I’m afraid I’ve forgotten my cuffs.”
    There was the playful side she’d witnessed before.
    “Pity,” she said, perching on the edge of her bed. “They provided much entertainment.”
    Thomas sat beside her, mere inches away. Elizabeth could smell the spiciness of his cologne. The salty sea breeze flowing off his clothes. Something about him had changed. He was stronger, his jaw tight, his shoulders pulled back.
    Confidence , Elizabeth realized. That’s what it was. He’d grown certain of himself and wore it well.
    “Tell me something.” He swiveled on the bed, just enough to face her, and crossed his leg, ankle to knee. “This clothing company you own…where is it located?”
    “Boston. Why?”
    “Do you design clothes or make them?”
    “Both.” Her gaze narrowed. “Where are you going with this?”
    His hand found her thigh. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. You are a mystery to me, Elizabeth. A puzzle that I’m struggling to put together.” He paused as if trying to find the right words to say. “I hardly know two things about you, yet can’t get you out of my head. I’m trying to make sense of this…of you.”
    “That’ll not be an easy feat.” Laughter bubbled out of her. “I’m not like other women.”
    “That’s precisely the problem. I’ve never met such an honest thief.”
     “Thomas, you don’t have to know every detail about me to validate what happened between us. You can leave it as a great,” unbelievably amazing, “affair I’ll not soon forget.”
    “What if I don’t want to leave it?” he asked, boring into her with those mesmerizing hazelnut eyes. “What if I