The following day, Christopher did not visit Miss Godwin’s cottage.It was the first break in their routine since commissioning her as his matchmaker.
It could not continue.The dynamic between them was too charged.
They were each other’s worst possible match, and they knew it.Yet he could not focus on other women while she was about.He shoved a hand through his hair and stared out the guest chamber window at the late-afternoon sun.
He needed a new matchmaker.Or no matchmaker at all.He ought to drive his chariot right back to the Harper stud farm and offer Miss Harper his matched grays as a wedding present.He groaned.
Life was full of ought-to-dos.
If he wanted a distraction from Miss Godwin, all he had to do was wander down into the castle’s common area and walk off with the first woman who approached him.It was what his brother would’ve done.What his father would have done.What a thousand other men would do.
But Christopher didn’t want temporary oblivion.He wanted to wed his perfect match.
If only it was as easy as ordering a telescope.
As the sunset blossomed, he could stand the wait no longer.Miss Harper it was.He marched out of the castle, summoned his carriage from the mews, and headed over to—
Blast.
He had come straight to Miss Godwin’s.
She answered the door.“Did your pocket watch break again?”
He gazed at her, irritated by his own weakness.The smart play would be to cut off all contact at once.Take his telescope back, climb into his carriage, and drive away.
He did nothing of the sort.
“Is the pudding ready?”he asked as he stepped through the door.
The corners of her mouth quirked.“Have you ever made pudding?”
“Don’t throw stones,” he chided.“It didn’t look like you knew what you were doing, either.”
She watched him pass.“Where are you going?”
“To check your work.”
He touched his fingertips to the fragrant cloth as he’d seen her do, and stroked his chin with his free hand as if in thought.
“No,” he announced.“It needs at least another day.”
She lifted her brows.“It needs another month.Once it’s dry, it will last for ages.”
“That’s what I said.”He patted the cloth.“At least another month.”
She burst out laughing.“Shall I save you a portion?”
There.That took the wind out of his sails.
He would be gone in a month.It did not matter how the pudding turned out.Christopher would not be around to enjoy it.
She frowned.“Is something wrong?”
Yes.Many things.
He was in search of a suitable bride.Yet the woman he was most drawn to didn’t match him at all.
He had to put a stop to this.
