Dating the Duke (The Aristocrat Diaries 2)

Timothy stepped into the lift with a wide smile on his face. “Adelaide. Fancy running into you here.”

The worst opening line ever.

“Timothy. It’s lovely to see you again.”

“You look beautiful.”

My cheeks flushed. I wasn’t good at the complimenting thing. “Thank you. You look great yourself.”

He grinned at me. “What are you doing with yourself lately? I heard you were staying with Alexander at Bentley Manor.”

“I am. I’m tutoring his daughter this summer,” I explained.

“Do you still write?”

I was impressed he remembered that. “I do. I try to, at least, but I think I might have gotten over a pretty severe case of writer’s block, finally.”

The lift shuddered to a stop, and when the doors opened, he gestured for me to go first. “You’ll have to tell me more about it later over a drink, if you’d like?”

It really wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. He was exceptionally handsome with his short black hair and vibrant blue eyes, and he was tall and built like a person who visited the gym on a regular basis.

Also, it wasn’t like I had any other options on the horizon, was it? A drink wouldn’t hurt.

“I would like that.” I smiled.

“I’ll come and find you after the auction.”

“I’ll keep my eye out for you.”

Timothy reached for my hand and pressed a soft kiss against it. “I’ll see you later, Adelaide.”

“See you later.” I stepped away, into the lobby, to look for Alex.

Where were the butterflies?

Timothy was handsome. He was gracious. He was a real gentleman. I was attracted to him.

So why hadn’t I felt anything when he’d kissed my hand?

I sighed and looked up, catching sight of Alex. He was leaning against the back of a sofa, legs crossed at the ankles, staring at his phone in front of him. His shoes were shiny, his black trousers perfectly pressed, and the velvet suit jacket he wore was so perfectly tailored to him that it might well have been a second skin.

And the little bow tie that peeked out from under his dipped chin—

Oh.

Look.

I found the butterflies.

Sigh. This was going to be a long evening, wasn’t it?

As if he could feel me staring, he peered up and caught my gaze. Slowly, he lifted his chin and lowered his hands, still gripping onto his phone tightly, and I thought all the breath might be snatched from my body when something unidentifiable flashed through his eyes.

It was slow and torturous, the way his gaze glanced over my body, taking in everything from the heels on my shoes to the clinched waist of my dress and the dark curls that were styled to sweep over one shoulder.

The lump in my throat was thick and heavy, and I forced myself to swallow it back. Anything to distract from the fact I had goosebumps trailing up my arms.

Alex pushed off the sofa and tucked his phone in his trouser pocket as he walked towards me with long, purposeful strides. He stopped only a couple of feet away from me, and the blue of his eyes seemed momentarily overwhelming.

“Adelaide.” His voice was lower than usual—it was gravelly, grittier than I was accustomed to hearing. “You look…”

What? I looked what? Bad? Good? Was the dress too much? Was my hair wrong? Was my lipstick smudged?

When he didn’t say anything after a moment, I said, “Do I look okay? I was worried the neckline was too much, but Eva and Gabi didn’t really give me a choice, and I wasn’t entirely sure if a shorter dress was acceptable as I didn’t have the dress code but—”

“Breathtaking.”

“What?”

Alex smiled. “You look breathtaking.”

“Oh.” I pushed some hair from my face as my cheeks flamed. “Thank you.”

He didn’t say anything, but his smile kept widening.

My heart was pounding.

Why was my heart pounding?

My heart had no business doing that. Nor did the butterflies in my stomach have any reason to be fluttering about so recklessly. This wasn’t the man who was supposed to make me feel good tonight.

But here I was.

Feeling something for Alexander that I had absolutely no place feeling.

“Well, don’t you scrub up well?” Eva said from behind me, her heels clicking against the tiled floor. “Look at you and your little velvet jacket.”

“Eva,” I said sternly.

She grinned and kissed him on the cheek. “Won’t you look like quite the gentleman entering with three ladies on your arm tonight?”

Oh, good.

She was in her flirty, playful mood.

No man in that room would be safe from my man-eating sister. She needed to come with the occasional warning.

“I thought you were wearing the pink dress?” I said, looking in confusion at the cream jumpsuit with flared legs.

“I was going to,” she mused. “But my boobs looked better in this one.”

Gabi sighed. “She changed four times. You didn’t have to wait for us, you know. We said we’d meet you inside.”