My Seductive Innocent Read Free

fingers of brandy while Amelia harangued her brother and Harthorne tried to deflect his sister’s irritation. Nathan could intervene, but it served Harthorne right for trying to dupe him.
    As he was about to put the lid back on the crystal decanter, Harthorne gave him a pleading look. Nathan poured a second glass, then strode toward the arguing siblings and handed the drink to Harthorne before facing Amelia. “When I want to find a lady to marry, I’ll simply announce my intention. I assure you plenty of greedy debutantes will trip over one another to marry me for my money and titles, so you can quit worrying that I will die alone.”
    Amelia arched her eyebrows high as her mouth pressed into a thin line. “I have no doubt you’re correct, though it baffles the mind, really, why women would be such nitwits as to marry a man who clearly does not yet understand what it means to love someone.”
    “I understand perfectly what it means,” he corrected. “I simply want no part of it.”
    “You don’t mean that!” Amelia exclaimed.
    “I never say things I don’t mean, Amelia. Ask your husband.”
    She turned to Aversley and he nodded. “Sad, but true.”
    “Setting that little fact aside,” she huffed, “I’m not worried you’ll die alone, I’m worried you will spend your life lonely.”
    “I do not get lonely,” he replied.
    She frowned. “You’ve been telling yourself that lie for so long now that you have convinced yourself it’s the truth.”
    Nathan took a sip of his drink, contemplated what she said, and dismissed it at once. She was a woman; therefore, emotions ruled her thoughts. He was a logical man. “I hate to disappoint you, but I have no desire to attain someone’s love.”
    “You cannot be serious!” Amelia cried.
    “If you had known my mother you would not say that,” he said, then flinched as his words registered in his mind. This was exactly why he avoided personal conversations. Once one was knee-deep in them, emotions took over and one tended to reveal too much. He cleared his throat. “I’ll eventually marry because I have to in order to carry on my line, but when I do pick a bride, I will do so carefully, after I am certain she meets all my requirements.”
    Tilting her head, Amelia peered up at him. “Goodness, you sound as if you think picking a wife is like choosing a horse.”
    “That about sums it up.”
    She shook her head. “You are worse off than I imagined. You’re utterly trapped.”
    By God, he knew he shouldn’t ask but he was intrigued by what she thought was trapping him. “What is it you think has me ensnared?”
    “Oh, that’s simple. Fear. You are deathly afraid of allowing yourself to want love.”
    “Wrong,” he replied. “I cannot be bothered with love. I fear nothing.”
    Amelia gazed at him as if she was contemplating what he’d said before she spoke. “That’s drivel,” she stated. “Of course, I don’t know for certain why you fear love. Shall I take a guess?”
    Nathan clenched the glass in his hand. He hated talking about personal matters, but he saw no graceful way to exit this discussion without hurting Amelia. Abruptly, he turned to Aversley. “Is your wife always like this?”
    “Indeed. It’s quite entertaining, I assure you. You should be so lucky as to find a woman like Amelia.”
    “Thank you, darling.” Amelia fairly purred at her husband but her eyes were locked on Nathan, and damn if they didn’t hold a knowing look. The way the lady stared, as if disassembling his personal thoughts, was disconcerting. She took her husband’s arm while still looking at Nathan. “You have a kind heart.”
    “Who told you that lie?”
    “I’ve seen it with my own two eyes,” Amelia snapped. “You helped Colin and I come together.”
    “One moment of weakness.”
    She huffed at him. “You danced with Miss Benson when not a single gentleman would even speak with her.”
    “One moment of insanity.”
    “Men!” Amelia growled and