Twice the Temptation by Beverley Kendall

remotely as bad as it sounds.”
    Her husband made a sound in the back of his throat. Lucas wasn’t particularly a violent man but he sorely wanted to hit him.
    All eyes were on Catherine and Lucas didn’t take a breath as he waited for her reply. Several tortuous seconds later, she gave a curt nod.
    A relieved breath eased from his throat. Except for the look of gratitude he shot Charlotte before she and her husband took their leave, he scarcely took note of their departure, his attention focused on the woman he intended to make his wife.
    “Would you care to sit?” he asked, gesturing toward the sitting area.
    Arms crossed over her chest, Catherine shook her head. She looked everywhere else but at him. “Please just say what you will.”
    He hadn’t thought it would be easy but he felt as he’d been handed an impossible task, his failure almost a certainty.
    With the truth his only hope, he commenced. “Yes, I once asked your sister for her hand. At the time, I hadn’t known her all that long and she was new to New York as well as America. She claimed she was widowed and expecting a child. She was lovely and innocent and I can only say I felt the need to protect her. I cared for her but I didn’t love her. Not like a husband should love his wife. Thankfully, she was smart enough to refuse my offer as it wouldn’t have been a love match.”
    He watched for signs of any sort of reaction but except for a slight twitch of her lip, he saw none.
    “I would appreciate it if you would look at me.” He needed to look into her eyes when he said the last part.
    After a moment’s hesitation, she slowly turned toward him. Her eyes met his. She blinked and drew in a breath as if steeling herself against something she feared would cause her pain. Which would be him.
    “When I first met you at Sir Franklin’s dinner party, I was surprised to learn Charlotte had an identical twin. That intrigued me and I wanted to know you. By the time I left England, I was smitten. I wish I could’ve stayed longer. I knew I would see you when I returned months later and I got my wish. That’s when my feelings for you became real. I wasn’t simply smitten, I was falling in love with you. Your absence from my life the past year only proved how deeply in love I was. The only manner in which Charlotte is involved in my feelings for you, is that had I not known her first, I may not have had the opportunity to spend the time I did with you last spring.”
    Her eyes flared with emotion at that but she banked it quickly. But he knew he had gotten to her. She may have wanted to be immune to him but she was not.
    He took a step toward her, bringing them well within an arm’s length. He wouldn’t permit her to keep him both at an emotional and physical distance. They would get through this, he was confident of that.
    This time, she didn’t retreat but she visibly tensed at his proximity. Her shoulders drew up and her line down her neck became more pronounced.
    “I never loved her. Not like that,” he said, his voice dropped low as he stared down into her beautiful eyes. “I won’t deny that I was initially attracted to her but then you are two beautiful women. Most men would be but it requires more than a beautiful face to win my love. You did that with your wit, charm, kindness, loyalty, and passion .”
    “You didn’t love her yet you asked for her hand?”
    “I told you, as far as I knew, she was widowed and expecting a child. I was a man of means and nearing his thirtieth year. I had never been in love and perhaps I feared I would never be. For a brief time, I thought your sister would fit the role of my wife.” He gave a helpless shrug.
     
    A s much as Catherine wanted to believe him, she knew better. Everyone preferred Charlotte to her. It had been that way their entire lives. Too be fair, the truth of it was her twin was simply easier to love.
    Charlotte was sweet and generous, where she herself could at times be blunt and