Love According To Lily Read Free Page B

thin.
    Tongue-tied as usual, she gazed up at him and felt instantly lost in the deep blue of his eyes and the playful allure of his smile. He was so beautiful.
    She wished she didn’t feel that way about him every time she saw him. She wished her stomach wouldn’t erupt into a wild flock of frenzied butterflies. She wished she could just see him as a brother.
    “What do you say we sneak in together,” he said, leaning close, “and no one will be the wiser? Come on.”
    He placed his hand at the small of her back and guided her into the room.
    She went, more than a little aware of the fact that she’d not yet spoken a single word. She cursed this effect he had on her. The same thing had happened to her the last time she’d seen him—a few months ago at one of the London balls. He had been flirting with someone else that night, as he always was. That particular night it had been Miss Violet Scott, who had been sure Whitby was going to propose to her. Lily had not enjoyed herself that night.
    “There,” he said. “No one even noticed us.” He nodded at the footman who immediately approached carrying a tray of champagne. Whitby took two glasses and handed one to Lily. “Cheers,” he said, then he took a few deep gulps.
    Once that was done, he gave her his full attention. “So how are you, Lily? You look well.”
    She swallowed hard and tried to smile, but a nervous shiver was scuttling through her, and she felt her lip quiver. “I’m fine… thank you. Fine today. Are you fine?”
    Good God. Someone just smother me with a pillow…
    His eyes glimmered with amusement as he leaned forward ever so slightly—charming and handsome and full of life and exuberance. His lips were moist; it was intoxicating just to look at him. Lily became filled with the old familiar longing that never gave her a reprieve.
    “Fine, thank you,” he whispered in reply.
    He was making fun of her. She should have laughed along with him. She should have tossed her head back and slapped his arm. But she couldn’t. Her stomach was wrenching into a knot. She felt as if she’d just been dropped onto her behind on the cold, hard floor.
    At that instant, James and Sophia appeared beside them.
    “I thought you might have forgotten about us,” James said.
    Whitby turned away from Lily. “Heavens no. I simply wanted to look my best and thought I should take my time.” He glanced over James’s shoulder. “I see Spencer is here. I heard he has a new rifle he wants to show off.”
    “Indeed he does,” James replied. “Come and say hello to him. He’ll tell you all about it.”
    Without so much as a glance back in Lily’s direction, Whitby followed James across the room.
    Lily watched him for a few seconds while the butterflies in her tummy continued to swarm, then she took a sip of her champagne. When she looked up again, Sophia was staring at her.
    “Are you all right?” Sophia asked.
    Lily pasted on a smile. “Yes, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
    Sophia shrugged. “No reason. Your face just looks a little flushed.”
    Wishing she didn’t feel completely mortified, Lily raised a hand to her cheek. “I was late. I had to hurry to get here. And perhaps Aline tied my laces a little too tight.”
    “Lily, my dear,” her mother said, joining them.
    “Come and meet the other guests. There are a few you don’t know.”
    Lily followed her mother to the other side of the room, privately humiliated over the fact that she was still shaken from her brief and utterly insignificant encounter with Whitby. She had promised herself she would forget him. She had wanted to feel nothing, but that had not been the case. Unfortunately, whenever she saw him, she felt everything— every nerve in her body, every emotion in her heart, every impossible wish and every agonizing desire.
    Her mother led her across the room to the gentlemen who were gathered by the piano. There were a few familiar faces, but some new ones, too. One in particular stood