The last thing he needed was Vivian trying to weasel her way back into his life. No more fortuitous a time to cut ties with her than prior to Jasmine’s arrival. The split was difficult, along with every aspect of their relationship.
There were two sides of him—the side he shared with his family, and the darker side he had only shown Vivian. She indulged his every whim in bed, but he didn’t like who he was when he was with her. He kept going back because at least it wassomething, and if he closed his eyes…
No.
He wouldn’t think of what he imagined when he closed his eyes, how easily he succumbed to fantasy, or how filthy it made him feel. But he didn’t have to settle for fantasy. He had Lord Dorchester’s permission, assuming he hadn’t rescinded it. And if he did, Matthew wasn’t above alittlemanipulation—he had a trump card after all. He had taken liberties with Jasmine, and he wanted to take themagain.
But more than anything, he wanted her heart.
He could make her fall in love with him with enough time, but that was the one thing he didn’t have. And the clock was already ticking. He would have to make the most of it.
“Zeke, I’ll be out for the rest of the day.”
Zeke gave him ayou-can-do-itnod. “Good luck, Lord Lincolnshire.”
Matthew stood from his desk then gathered his coat. He was wasting time at the office.
He had a woman to win over.
Chapter Six
“It wasonekiss!”
Matthew had shouted it from the training room. The words echoed in the alley, as they did in her mind now. How her heart raced—and then dropped.
“She should have stayed in Spain!”
A sentiment she shared.
When Matthew followed her, bounding after her with the fit body of a fighter—shirtless, cheeks red, skin slick with sweat—her thoughts went blank, then flooded with devastating anger. She didn’t have it in her to withstand this back and forth with him.
It hurts too much.
Having not planned on an outing, Jasmine borrowed one of Cassandra’s more fashionable bonnets. Made of white silk with a lace trim and a mint-colored ribbon. She twisted the ribbon around her finger until her fingertip turned red, then released it and let the blood flow return.
Caroline’s suitor would arrive any minute, and then they would promenade. Upstairs, Caroline was dressing and Cassandra was finishing up with Rose’s nanny.
Jasmine focused on the ticking of the clock, calculating how much time she had before she needed to return home. A few hours at best, and she would spend every one of those hours away from her mother. She was sure to get a stern lecture for it, but she didn’t care.
I shouldn’t even go.
All she wanted was to be left alone.
A walk through Hyde Park on a Saturday seemed like less social interaction than going home to the legions of foreign dignitaries Jasmine had spent the ship ride trying to avoid. She couldn’t hide away alone in Cassandra’s house all day either.
The front door opened, the sound followed by an echoing of conversation between a deep voice and Mr. Davis’ muted replies.
That must be Caroline’s suitor.
Jasmine placed her bonnet on the settee and stood. Eager boots clipped down the hallway, getting louder with each step. Jasmine sighed once more. She prepared to don her mask of politeness and turned to greet the newcomer.
Matthew stood in the doorway, breathing hard.
Sweat beaded along his hairline. His coat hung over his arm, but he had no gloves or hat. With scuffed boots and an askew cravat, he looked as though he’d thrown himself together and sprinted there.
He looked at her as if she were an answered prayer. “Thank God.”
Before she could say anything, he held up a hand and entered the room. “Give me one minute.” Matthew’s voice wavered as he begged, “Please, let me speak first.”