CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE – SYLVIE #2
Heath nodded. “Yes, cleaning was completed there this afternoon. The main menu will be cooked in the larger commercial kitchen, and the gluten-free menu will be taken care of in the smaller staff kitchen to prevent the cross-contamination. The main kitchen is the only one that will be in use since they were cleaned.”
I unlocked my tablet and scrolled through my spreadsheet, marking that particular one as done. I continued on through the things I needed done until a good chunk of my list was checked off.
And I could breathe a sigh of relief.
All we needed to do now was two things: get through the rehearsal without any major mishaps and get through one night of sharing a bed with my sister.
The night was going to be harder than the rehearsal.
We’d shared but a few words since this whole fiasco had started, and we still hadn’t resolved our previous disagreement from a week ago.
The last thing I wanted was to have bad blood between us during the wedding tomorrow, and we were sharing the bridal suite room tonight as bride and maid of honour.
I had every intention of clearing the air—I just needed to figure out how to do that.
“How will you be participating in the rehearsal, Miss Sylvie?” Louise asked, sidling up next to me. “You’re the maid of honour, aren’t you?”
I smiled down at her. She really was as cute as a button, and if I were ever really sick in hospital, I’d want her nursing me for sure. “I am. I’ll be participating the same as everyone else, but I’ll also be in work mode. Honestly, I’m a bit nervous.”
“You are? You don’t look it!”
“That’s sweet of you to say.” I patted her arm. “I’ve never been a participant in a wedding I’ve planned, let alone such a huge role.”
“I’m sure the duchess will help if there are any issues tomorrow.”
“Oh, of course.” I forced a smile. “Don’t tell my sister this, but I’m prepared for everything that can go wrong, to go wrong.”
“You’re so pessimistic.” Thomas wrapped his arms around my shoulders from behind and rested his chin on top of my head.
Louise took a step back, and I swore I saw her blush.
“Please let go of me,” I said. “This is highly inappropriate.”
“Is it?”
“Yes. I’m working.”
He sighed, but he loosened his grip and stepped next to me, leaving one arm wrapped around my shoulders.
Fine.
Whatever.
I was reasonable. I could compromise.
I wouldn’t be happy about it, but I would do it.
“This wedding has had its fair share of misfortune—there’s no way anything else can go wrong,” Thomas said, tilting my tablet screen towards him. “Hey, you’re all on fire. I guess you don’t need my help.”
“The rehearsal is starting in an hour. What help could you possibly be?” I turned my face towards him. “Just sit in the corner and look pretty.”
“Aw, you think I’m pretty.”
“Don’t flatter yourself so much. It’s unbecoming. And stop flirting with me in public. Your mother is getting the wrong idea.”
“I think you’re the only one with the wrong idea.” He grinned. “Everyone else is on the same page as me.”
I sighed and shrugged out of his embrace. “Heath, is there nothing for this nuisance to do? Can we put him on the door to greet the guests coming for the rehearsal?”
Heath stroked his chin. “Unfortunately, Miss Sylvie, I’m unable to tell His Grace what to do. The only person he’ll presently listen to is his mother. Until he gets a wife, that is.”
“That poor nameless woman,” I said flatly.
“Nameless? I’m pretty sure her name is Sylvie Harding,” Thomas said into my ear.
“I see you’re hoping for a Christmas miracle, Your Grace,” I shot right back. “That or we need to see a doctor because you’re hallucinating.”
He clutched his chest dramatically. “You just keep breaking my heart.”
“Not enough, clearly.” I met his eyes, fighting back a smile as I softened at his theatrics. “I really am working, you know.”
“I know, I know. Is it a crime to say I miss—”
“We’ll be in Thomas’ office while I find him something to do,” I said to Heath. “Please let me know when everyone starts arriving.”
I barely waited for his response before I grabbed Thomas by the wrist and dragged him out the ballroom, away from all the prying eyes of the household staff.
They were dreadful at being discreet.
Then again, so were we.
I wasn’t fooling anyone.
I pulled him all the way to his office on the other side of the house and shut the door behind us with a heavy sigh. “You can’t do that stuff in front of the staff. Especially not when I’m working.”
Thomas plucked my tablet from my hands and set it on his desk, then wrapped his arms around me. With his face buried in my hair, he said, “You’re living at my house, and I’ve barely seen you for two days. It’s a crime.”
We were literally sharing a room.
The man spent eight hours a night clutching onto me like I would disappear if he let go. What on Earth was he on about?
“You’re so needy,” I said.
“So would you be if you were me.”
“I highly doubt I would cling to me. I know me too well.”
“Hmm.” He pulled back and looked into my eyes. “Thankfully, I have much better taste than you.”
“Is that so?” My lips twitched into a smile. “That’s somehow both an insult and a compliment at the same time.”
Thomas dropped his head back with a laugh. “I suppose it is. Do you have much else to do tonight, or can I steal you away when it’s done?”
“Sorry, I’m busy all night. The rehearsal is starting soon, then we have the rehearsal dinner at the restaurant, and I’m spending the night with Hazel.”
“Will you be all right?”
“Yes, I’m sure of it. I want to clear things up between us before tomorrow, and I haven’t had a chance to. Besides, we always planned to spend this night together anyway. I want to keep my promise to her.”
His bottom lip jutted out a little bit.
“Are you… pouting?”
“Dukes don’t pout.”
I squeezed my hand up between us and gently pinched his lower lip. “This duke is pouting.”
“Watch where you’re putting that.” He snatched hold of my hand and kissed the inside of my wrist, sending a shiver darting up my arm. “I can’t believe I’ve barely seen you.”
“You’ve hardly been here yourself, you know,” I pointed out.
He huffed, linking his fingers through mine as he tightened his grip on my waist. “Then surely you can spare me five minutes right now. I rushed back in time for this rehearsal.”
“I didn’t ask you to,” I murmured when he lowered his face until our noses touched.
“I’d never expect you to, even if you wanted me here.” His lips brushed mine. “So, can you give me five minutes of your time?”
“If I don’t, you’re going to beg me until I do, aren’t you?”
“Dukes don’t beg.”
“It seems you’re applying an awful lot of blanket rules to dukes, especially when you most certainly do do the very things you claim you don’t.”
“Mhmm. If you say so.” Thomas pulled me even closer, releasing my fingers to cup the back of my head. “Come on, five minutes. It’s Christmas.”
“December twenty-third is not Christmas,” I protested, slipping my arms around his neck. “As far as this year goes, not even tomorrow is Christmas.”
“The longer you argue, the longer I’m going to keep you here to demand five precious minutes of your time.”
“Let me do you one better,” I said, clenching his shirt in my fists. “You have until someone knocks on this door for me.”
“Which means it could be one minute or fifteen minutes.”
“Exactly. Why are you still talk—mmph!” My words were cut off by his emphatic kiss, one that sent goosebumps erupting over every inch of my skin.
Our bodies were pressed so tightly together than not even a sheet of paper could separate us. It amazed me that one simple kiss from him could wipe away all my stress and frustrations, and they dissipated one by one as he pulled me further into the room and spun me around.
A hard surface bumped the back of my legs, and I squealed at the feeling of Thomas’ hands grasping my thighs to lift me up.
“Wait!”
“It’s just my desk.” He nudged his way between my thighs, immediately bringing his lips back to mine and putting an end to the conversation.
I wrapped my legs around his waist as he deepened the kiss. His groan reverberated across my lips, sending a shiver down my spine, and I leant into him, pressing our bodies ever closer together.
For a moment, nothing else mattered. Not the wedding, not my sisterly drama, not the fact I had a rehearsal to oversee in a mere matter of minutes.
There was just… us.
Kissing. Slowly. Hungrily. Deeply. Holding each other tighter until it was physically impossible for us to be any closer.
“Bet you wish you didn’t have to go now.” Thomas’ words were a breathless taunt against my skin as he kissed his way along the curve of my jaw. He angled his hips and slipped his hand between us, rubbing my clit through the material of my trousers.
I groaned, tilting my hips towards him, quietly pleading for more of his touch.
“Sylvie!” The frantic call of my name by my mother was followed by equally panicked knocks. “What are you doing? The rehearsal is going to start! You need to be doing your job!”
This time, my groan was not one of pleasure, but one of utter exasperation.
“I’ll be there in a minute,” I called, resting my head against Thomas’ chest.
“You’re needed now!”
“I said in a minute!” I snapped, even making Thomas flinch.
Silence.
Then, the sound of my mother walking away.
I huffed out a breath, sagging against the firm chest in front of me. “Is this all over yet?”
He wrapped his arms around me, laughing gently as he pressed a soft kiss to the top of my head. “Soon. Very, very soon.”