“No, I’m the one who should apologize. Knox and I should never have been talking about you.”
“He’s worried about you.”
Despite Linc’s rejection, her body continued to rumble with hungry impulses. While her brain screamed, What were you thinking? her body shouted, Why did you stop?
“I think he’s more worried about you,” Linc countered, his deep voice reverberating with regret.
“Why? You’re his friend. If anyone stands to be hurt, it’s you.”
Linc cocked his head. “How do you figure?”
“Your reputation.”
“To hell with my reputation. That’s important to my mother, not to me.”
“But your mother is important to you. Imagine how something like you being discovered sleeping with your housekeeper would hinder her mission to find you a suitable Charlestonian woman to marry.”
Linc expelled his breath on a derisive snort. “My mother has weathered bigger scandals just fine. Besides, what she wants for me is not necessarily what I want for myself.”
“You mean you don’t want to marry a girl from a good family and start having children?”
“I want to marry a woman I love. I don’t care what sort of a family she comes from.”
While his determination was sexy and thrilling, Claire knew that his engagement to London had strained his relationship with Bettina.
“That’s all well and good,” she said, “but your mother does care, and in the end, you know that matters to you.”
And there was no way Bettina Thurston was going to approve of her son getting into any sort of relationship with his housekeeper.
Six
Claire’s words infuriated him because he knew she was right. But he didn’t want it to matter that his choice of a fiancée had upset his mother when he and London were engaged.
“I like to think she’d eventually come around if she knew it would make me happy.”
“Your mother is a strong matriarch who believes she knows what’s best for you.”
Linc couldn’t argue with that. She’d certainly recognized that London wasn’t the girl for him. He eyed Claire. No doubt his mother would have an even stronger aversion to his starting up with his housekeeper. He raked his fingers through his hair, utterly at war with himself over what he wanted and what he knew to be the best thing to do.
Before Linc could fall victim to his conscience, he reached out and curved his fingers around the back of Claire’s neck. Her hand came up between them, the side of her fist resting lightly against his chest. He expected her to push him away and was surprised when her fingers wrapped around his lapel and tugged him toward her.
Dipping his head, he grazed his lips over hers, noting her soft murmur of pleasure. For a second, she leaned into him, her slight weight a sensual blow that knocked his thoughts askew. His heart pumped like he’d run a mile full-out.
“Claire.” He went back for a second taste, lingering over her soft lips.
But before he could kiss her yet again, she set her fingertips against her mouth and ducked her head.
“I’ve been dying to do that since last night,” he admitted, setting her free and taking a step back. His hands shook, so he shoved them into his pockets. What was this strange power she had over him that a single chaste kiss turned him inside out?
“I thought it was just me.”
Thoughts flitted through his head, none lingering for more than a second.
Mistake. Again. She wants this. I want this. No. Yes.
But what it came down to, what kept him from reaching for her a second time, was the consequences for both of them. She had Honey to think about. He didn’t want to jeopardize her future if he pushed forward with this attraction between them.
He needed to know if he was just reacting to something forbidden, or if she was as desirable as he imagined. In truth, he wasn’t sure if he could answer any of these questions. In his younger days, he’d never had to pursue women. They had just fallen into his lap like overripe fruit. Nor had London given him a run for his money. Things between them had been easy and familiar right off the bat. In fact, he couldn’t think of a single woman he’d ever chased. He was too busy putting all his energy into baseball.