Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Chloe's nimble fingers fastened the last button on the back of my gown, her chatter a cheerful hum I barely heard.
I'd spent the whole night staring at the ceiling, Leighton's kiss still tingling against my lips, the memory of Magnus's brushing kiss tangled with it like a thorn among roses.
Sleep had not come, and without it, no relief.
No. I couldn't keep this to myself.
If I was meant to marry Captain Leighton Smythe, then he deserved honesty. Better an awkward truth now than a betrayal later. I would tell him.
Today.
It's not like I had been aware that I was kissing a man other than my fiancé at the time. What else was I to think when a handsome man came to me in the garden?
I drew a steadying breath and smoothed my skirts. My resolve felt fragile, like cracked glass, and yet I carried it with me into the dining room.
Both men were already there.
Leighton looked up at once, his smile bright enough to banish the shadows under my eyes. "Lisa," he said warmly, rising to pull out a chair for me. "I trust you slept well? You look—" His gaze softened. "Radiant."
The compliment should have steadied me, but it was Magnus's look that undid me. He didn't rise. He simply watched me, eyes lingering. Assessing me, like he already knew the battle I was waging inside myself. His jaw ticked once, as though he were trying to suppress a smile.
"Did you... rest well, Miss Kruger?" Magnus asked, his voice low and velvety, and I felt it hit me in places I refused to acknowledge.
I swallowed. "Not particularly."
"Not surprising," he murmured, lifting his cup. "New place, unfamiliar walls. One must feel rather... restless."
My cheeks heated.
Leighton seemed unbothered by our interaction as he gestured to the seat beside him, and I forced myself into it. Plates were brought, coffee poured, but my appetite was nonexistent. The air seemed thicker between the three of us than any summer storm.
"Magnus and I were just speaking of the morning's work," Leighton said lightly, buttering a roll. "We've some matters on the vineyard to see to."
I blinked. "You work together on the vineyard, too?" If they were constantly attached at the hip, how was I to find time to talk to Leighton and tell him about the kiss?
Magnus leaned back, his gaze flicking between me and Leighton. "My dear Miss Kruger, Leighton and I do everything together."
Leighton laughed, though the warmth in his eyes didn't fade. All while I couldn't get the picture of both of them together with me out of my mind.
I was going to hell.
Ma had always warned me about the sins of the flesh, and how important it was that I keep my thoughts as pure as my body until my wedding day.
And here I was fantasizing about two men, both surrounding me in bed.
My fork trembled in my hand. I should just tell Leighton the truth, now, before it was too late. But how was I to confess with Magnus watching me like that, his expression a constant reminder of the forbidden spark between us?
"Lisa?" Leighton's gentle voice tugged me back to the present. "You've gone pale. Shall I call for the physician?"
"I—" My throat closed. How could I explain?
Magnus saved me. Or perhaps... cornered me, depending on how one looked at it. "Perhaps she's simply overwhelmed," he said, his mouth curving in that smirk. "Not every woman finds herself so... well attended."
My pulse hammered, and I dared not meet either man's gaze.
What was happening here? Were they truly hinting at what I thought? Or was it my tired, guilty mind twisting things so it would fit my narrative and filthy wants?
"Yes," I forced out. "I think the travel is still weighing down on me. It might take a day or two for me to acclimate." I took a sip of my coffee, though it did nothing to steady me.
The men resumed their conversation, their words light while Leighton continued to include me with small questions and nudges.
They were talking of the latest foals, and how Magnus had lost a sizable wager over the last foal's color while I continued to fret over the secret bubbling inside of me.
"So tell me, Lisa," Leighton said suddenly, turning those bright, earnest eyes on me. "What did you think of the house yesterday, when you explored?"
The coffee nearly caught in my throat.
Explored, he said.
If only he knew.
"It's... beautiful," I managed, setting the cup down with trembling hands.
Magnus's eyes glinted. "It is that, but you should see the grounds, the vineyard, the rest of it."
"Oh yes!" Leighton exclaimed. "What a wonderful idea. Why don't you show Lisa the estate while I deal with the vineyard business? Then, when you're done, you can meet me in the fields and I'll take her on a tour of the grapes so she can get to know the land, too?"
My eyes grew large as I took a deep breath, ready to protest.
"That sounds like a marvelous idea," Magnus responded to his friend before turning to me. "If you're sure you're up for it and not too... overwhelmed."
I swallowed my apprehension. It was now or never.
Leighton must have misread my fear as something else. "Don't mind him, Lisa. If you're not too tired, there is no one better to show you the grounds than Magnus."
My cheeks burned. Heat pooled low in my stomach. I should say no. Come up with any number of excuses.
But I didn't want to. Not really.
And perhaps I could take this moment alone with him to make it clear how very much it would not happen again.
"Yes, I'd like that, thank you, Lieutenant."
Magnus's half smile spread into a full-faced grin, and my breath hitched.
It was magnificent.
"Please, call me Magnus. I have a feeling we'll be growing very close."
I dropped my gaze to my plate, unable to even sneak a glance at Leighton to see his reaction to his friend's words.
If I had, I might have seen their satisfied smiles and the way their eyes promised to do dirty, filthy, naughty things to me.