Free Forget Me Not by Melissa Lynne Blue Page A

rolled the ring between thumb and forefinger, reaching for her left hand. “You should wear it for as long as we’re pretendin’ to be married.”
    Lydia’s breath caught as he slid the ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand. Slowly he stroked a thumb across the band, his grasp gently tightening on her fingers. “All right,” she breathed unable to tear her gaze from their joined hands. Suddenly she was overtly aware of just how tall he was, of the little tingles dancing up her arm. She looked up. “All of my jewelry was stolen, why was this not taken as well?”
    “It’s worthless.”  Abruptly he released her hand, and jerked the door open.
    She shook off the thrill running up her spine and followed. “Oh, and Brian?”
    He glanced back to her, expression impossible to gauge.
    “A bit of both.”
    “Excuse me?” he quirked a brow in obvious confusion.
    “To answer your question, I should like you to be a bit of both gentleman and rogue.”
    He grinned, and tossed her a mischievous wink. “Good answer, Lydia, a very good answer.”
    The smell of food wafted through the small house and Lydia decided no more enticing scent had ever tickled her nostrils. It was all she could do to smile politely at Harvey and Anna as she took a seat opposite Brian and wait to be served. Fortunately her grumbling stomach did not have to wait long and the fare was delicious. Never before had she thought of mutton stew as divine, but she reckoned there is first time for everything, and ate with voracity.
    “Hungry, love?”
    She raised her eyes from the plate to see Brian biting back obvious convulsions of amusement. She dropped the spoon, mortified by her display of poor manners. “I am so terribly sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Baker, my manners are not usually so slovenly.”
    “On the contrary,” Brian grinned, “I have never seen anyone, much less a woman, eat with such speed accompanied by impeccable manners.”
    She glowered across the table at him, thoroughly annoyed. How dare he mock her?  They’d already imposed upon the hospitality of his friends enough. Her cheeks would now be flaming for a month.
    “Anna,” Harvey ignored the exchange, “why don’t you fetch us some of that pie and Brian can tell us the tale of how these young lovers came to be on our stoop with nary a possession to their name.”
    “Please, let me help.” Lydia instantly began to rise.
    “Non-sense, child, you sit and rest, I can see to the pie.”  Anna bestowed her with a genuine smile for the first time that day, and bustled cheerily from the room.
    Harvey kicked back in his chair and glanced conspiratorially between Brian and Lydia. “Now, before I hear your telling, let me have a go at guessing what ails you.”  A wide grin split his jolly face. “I’d wager the pair of you went to Scotland to get married, and you had not a farthing to your name because her old man—” he jerked a thumb toward Lydia, “—caught the two of you, shall we say, together .”  He waggled a suggestive brow toward Brian who responded with a sheepish shrug. Harvey howled with laughter. “My old friend Brian Donnelly had to run off to get married after being caught with his trouser around his ankles!  Ho!  I never would have thought it, my boy, not in a hundred years.”
    “Well, Harvey, ye thought wrong.”  Brian splayed his hands as though the facts were plain as day. “Of course, what with the wee one on the way, I really had no choice.”
    Lydia spluttered in protest, mouth flopping open in blatant disbelief. For once the heat drained from her cheeks. “How, how dare you!”
    “Come now, me lovely, ye can’t expect to keep the babe a secret forever.”  Brian proceeded to regale the Baker’s with tales of their exploits, weaving an entertaining yarn of how they’d met and narrowly escaped her father’s murderous rage to be married. Mortified, Lydia did her best to spear him with daggered glares, but he only grinned across the table,