Suzanna Medeiros by Lady Hathaway's Indecent Proposal Page A

curve of her breasts and her unfashionably plump mouth were the only things about her that were still full. His eyes flickered downward and he remembered with unexpected vividness just how those full lips had felt under his. He’d been with many other women since they’d parted ways, but he’d never enjoyed kissing anyone as much as he had Miranda. Thoughts of how she could put that mouth to another use sent a wave of unwelcome heat through him.
    He’d miscalculated. He’d wanted to set Miranda off balance, but being this close to her was having an unwanted effect on him.
    “Thank you for accepting my invitation,” she said, cutting through the uncomfortable silence. “I know it is early, but I can ring for tea if you haven’t eaten yet this morning.”
    His wayward thoughts under control, he met her emotionless gaze with one of his own. “I think we can dispense with the niceties. We both know this isn’t a social call.”
    Those luscious lips tilted ever so slightly at the corners. “I see you are still as direct as always.”
    “And I can see you’ve taken to hiding behind social conventions. You were never one to dance around a subject. You asked me to visit and, despite my reservations, I came. You clearly have something you wish to discuss with me.”
    He was surprised when she stood.
    “This was a mistake.” She took a step toward the doorway. “Forgive me for inconveniencing you.”
    After a brief moment of hesitation, he rose from the settee and moved to block her path. She stopped but kept her eyes averted.
    “Miranda.”
    She didn’t move. Against his better judgment, he placed a hand under her chin and tilted her face up to his. They stood that way for several long moments, during which he was painfully aware of the small woman before him. The woman who, he now knew, still had the power to make him want her. She, on the other hand, had the appearance of a cornered, frightened animal.
    He dropped his hand and kept his voice even, sensing she was a hairsbreadth away from bolting. “Why did you wish to see me?”
    She hesitated and then he saw the resolve form in her eyes.
    “Very well,” she said before taking a step back.
    She moved around him to the door, and this time he didn’t stop her—he knew she wouldn’t attempt to escape again. He expected her to ring for the tea she’d offered him and was taken aback when she closed the door and turned to face him again.
    He raised an eyebrow in question but said nothing. She leaned back against the door for a moment before straightening and looking at him directly. Just as she used to do.
    “You are aware my husband passed away last week.”
    “Yes,” he said simply. “Please accept my condolences.”
    He should have offered them when she’d first come into the room, but after a nod of acknowledgment, she continued as though she hadn’t noticed his breach in manners.
    “The reason I asked you here has to do with his passing.”
    “Oh? I’ll admit I have no idea why you’d want to see me.”
    Her smile was fleeting. “No, of course not.”
    She moved back to the settee and lowered herself onto it. This time when he followed, he didn’t repeat his mistake of sitting next to her. But if she guessed at his reason for choosing the chair, she showed no sign of it.
    “There is no delicate way to say this, so I must be blunt.”
    Her words, as well as her resolute manner, sent every one of his senses into high alert. He wasn’t sure if she was aware she’d used those same words all those years ago when she’d told him she was marrying someone else. He was starting to regret preventing her from leaving the room.
    “With my husband’s nephew due to inherit the entirety of his estate, I will have to rely on his generosity in future.”
    Andrew had stayed as far away as possible from Hathaway—had tried not to think about him outside of those times he’d had to see him in the House of Lords—so he had no way of knowing if he’d ever met