Read To Catch A Spinster (The Reluctant Bride Collection) for Free Online Page B

Rufus. He sat forward in his chair, listening in rapture to the music. She wished she could hear what he so obviously enjoyed, but she hadn’t a musical bone in her body. The only one of her sisters who could sing at all decently was Eugenia, and that was only through hours and hours of tortuous practice.
    Give her the beautifully silent stars any day.
    Olivia peeked at Nathaniel, half afraid he was in bliss himself. Though why she should care was beyond her. He wasn’t really courting her. She wouldn’t have to spend years accompanying him to the opera if he did enjoy it so.
    Nonetheless, she let out a sigh of relief at his carefully neutral face.
    He glanced at her and Olivia couldn’t help but feel they shared a moment of complete understanding and togetherness. She felt a twinge of regret that it could not last, but then shook herself. She would not poison this experience. Even if this had been a true courtship, it would end anyhow. She had enough married sisters to know that the thrill would fade. She would simply enjoy it while it lasted.
    She was startled when Nathaniel’s hand found hers in the darkness. His thumb began to draw lazy patterns on her glove and she suppressed a shiver. She glanced at him but found he was suddenly quite fascinated with the show.
    All of a sudden she was finding it quite exciting as well.
    The beating of her heart drowned out all other sound as he continued to fondle her suddenly sensitive fingers. Her breath came faster and her stomach flipped and flopped. She fanned herself vigorously; the room had become inexplicably warm. She noticed a slight smirk on Nathaniel’s face; the man needed a taste of his own medicine.
    She began to fondle his fingers- stroking the long lengths, encircling the thickness. His breath hitched and she feared there was a little smirk on her face now. She glanced at him and met his eyes. His were bright and shining and he smiled a little at her. His own fingers once again sought to take control of the situation and she choked back her laugh as they fought for fondling dominance.
    The longer she and Nathaniel courted the more she thought how well suited they were together. He was quite the most wonderful gentleman she’d ever gotten to know. They had the same interests, the same non-interests, and he made even the most head-pounding evening fly by. Every once in a while she thought it was a shame this was not a real courtship. Would they suit for real?
    Of course, it wouldn’t be very fair to him if she started thinking and acting like this was a real courtship. They had a deal and marriage wasn’t part of it. She had propositioned him, so it wasn’t likely he still thought her a proper young lady fit for a gentleman.
    Intermission came quickly enough. Nathaniel’s hand fiddling had kept her quite occupied, but she still begged Mary to leave early when they visited the lady’s withdrawing room. Hand fiddling, while quite exhilarating, could not silence the interminable screeching.
    “No. You asked us to accompany you, and Rufus has been so excited to come. We can’t leave half-way through.”
    “I don’t understand how he can be so passionate about it.”
    “None of us can understand what you find so all-consuming about the stars, yet we let you get on with it.”
    Olivia could think of quite a few instances where her family had not left her alone in peace to study her stars. Yet, she knew that Rufus felt quite passionate about music and she wouldn’t want to deny him the pleasure. No matter how much it made her want to yell.
    “Besides, aren’t you enjoying sitting so close to your Mr. Jenkins?”
    “I am. But he doesn’t seem to be enjoying himself so much either.”
    “At least you have that in common. You won’t have to attend with him in the future if neither of you enjoys it. Rufus says Mr. Jenkins prefers the country; you two can squirrel away to the countryside and be happy forevermore.”
    “The stars are clearer in the country.