Read Tea For Two for Free Online

“Millie is quite worried about you.”
    Shannah tried to nod, tried to be concerned
over making her friend worry, but she could only find the strength
to keep from staring at his mouth, wishing he’d give her a proper
kiss.
    “Stop that,” he told her.
    She ducked her head in mortification. It was
as though he could read her mind!
    Brendan stood and lifted her onto Cinnamon’s
back before mounting behind her. He urged his horse through the
trees in the direction of his home, his arm firmly around her
waist.
    Shannah used the time to compose herself, to
slow her racing heart and try to make sense of her irrational
thoughts. She told herself it was perfectly natural to be curious
about kissing, and it was only his proximity that caused her to
think about it. She’d had a trying morning, after a near sleepless
night, and certainly she wasn’t acting like herself.
    She hated the idea of making Millie worry,
even if it wasn’t entirely her fault. She also knew that Matt and
the children would think she’d simply gone to work, and would have
no idea what happened to her until she told them. At least that was
a relief. Matthew tended to worry, and she didn’t blame him, but
she was glad to spare him the concern.
    Lord Brendan was a problem, though. She knew
he’d still insist on having that discussion about Royce, and she
was in a poor position to continue her lies about being his mother.
When Brendan demanded the truth, as she knew he soon would, what
could she tell him that wouldn’t end up breaking her promise to
Garnette?

CHAPTER 9
     
    Brendan knew he had to get away from
Shannah—he just didn’t know how to manage it. He was too keenly
aware of how right it felt to hold her close, of how good she fit
in his arms. It surprised him to realize that she wanted him to
kiss her, but her shy looks made that perfectly plain.
    Regardless of what he thought—or even might
feel—toward Shannah, their first priority needed to be that child,
and sorting out the truth of his parentage once and for all.
    For that he’d have to be strong. He would not
be able to distance himself from her yet, something he sorely
needed. Distance, and time, to sort out his jumbled feelings.
    Brendan left Cinnamon in the capable care of
a groomsman and carried Shannah to his study, despite her protests
that she could walk. He didn’t closely examine his motivations for
that as he placed her in one of the high backed chairs, preferring
to believe his actions were magnanimous rather than selfish.
    Millie bustled in before he could ring for
her. “Oh, my lord! We’ve been watching for you. I see you brought
her back unharmed.” She knelt beside the chair. “Shannah, dear, are
you all right?”
    Shannah nodded. “I am now. Lord Brendan and
his men rescued me.”
    “She’d been kidnapped by pirates,” Brendan
said.
    “Oh, my!” Millie turned adoring eyes on her
employer. “Bless you, my lord, for your quick thinking—as if you
knew she was in danger.” She turned back to Shannah. “I’m going to
fetch you some hot tea and biscuits, love. That will make you feel
better.” She hurried away, shaking her head and muttering about
Shannah’s ordeal.
    “She cares for you a great deal,” Brendan
told her.
    Shannah smiled after Millie. “She’s a
wonderful woman. I’m grateful to have her friendship.”
    Brendan turned another chair and sat across
from her. “I know you’ve had a hard time of it, Shannah, but I feel
a sense of urgency about our talk. Do you feel up to a discussion
about your family?”
    Shannah lowered her gaze to her hands. “I
told you all that you needed to know last night, my lord. There is
nothing more to say.”
    “I disagree.” He put a hand under her chin
and gently urged her to look at him. “I’d say there’s quite a bit
more to be said on the subject.”
    “You don’t know what you’re asking,” she
whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
    He should have expected the tears, but for
some reason