The Spy Who Loved Her: Once Upon an Accident, Book 3 Read Online Free Page A

Bridgerton?”
    It took him a moment to detect the worry in her voice. It was enough to snap his mind away from his lust-filled thoughts.
    “Lady Anna.” He bowed. “I have come to beg a dance with you.”
    The first strains of the next waltz filtered over the crowd. From the look on her face he could tell she knew he had timed it on purpose.
    Before she could respond, Lord Smythe decided to speak for her. “Lady Anna is not dancing tonight.”
    The look she shot the idiot would have shriveled any man’s parts, but Lord Smythe was not paying attention. She opened her mouth to blast the earl, but Daniel decided to stop her from verbally smashing the man. He did not have time to listen to the pup make a fool of himself.
    He gave the young viscount a measured look. “Ah, but Lady Anna is considered a close family friend. Indeed, her mother and mine are bosom pals.”
    “Indeed, Lord Bridgerton. I would be happy to share this dance.”
    Her cool tone caught his attention. When he looked at her, he saw a look in her eyes that told him she knew Sebastian had ordered him over there.
    “You honor me.”
    He took her hand and rested it on his as he guided them through the crowd. She said nothing as he pulled her into his arms and whisked her into the waltz.
     
    Anna ordered her heart to stop beating so hard. Surely everyone could hear even over the musicians. She had known the moment Daniel had come upon her group. She had done everything to calm herself down, but nothing seemed to work. It was an embarrassing situation. The one man she seemed to be interested in was the one man she could not stand.
    “No comment for me, My Lady Poppet?”
    Oh, she hated that name. It had been his name for her from the moment Sebastian had brought him home one day on break from Eton. She had loved it at first. What girl would not? Daniel was a charming man, graced with a type of Adonis beauty that belied his true personality. His brown hair had been a bit overgrown and his golden eyes had always been kind.
    When she had come to town, she had been so sure he would treat her with the proper respect. It was her fault she allowed her girlish dreams to build a fantasy that would never come true. She had expected her playmate, a man who could always make her smile no matter how horrible of a day she had. Instead, he had been distant and they had slipped into a strange sort of argumentative friendship. They could rarely be in each other’s presence without a fight ensuing. The truth had crushed her usually exuberant spirit. He thought of her as nothing but a poppet, a child, and always would.
    No matter how many times she told herself to ignore him, she could not stop the way her body reacted. It was most unsettling. Still, she would not back down, because he would know that he had gotten to her. She willed herself to look into his eyes and knew the moment their gazes locked, it had been a mistake. Heat flared low in her tummy, feathering out over her body.
    Oh, bother.
    To save herself from embarrassment, she focused on a point over his shoulder.
    “I know you are doing this for Sebastian.”
    “Indeed?”
    Even without seeing his expression, she knew he had raised one eyebrow. The condescension was easy to hear. But she would know even without that. She knew everything about him. His moods, his expressions, his faults, and even knowing all of that, she still loved him. Or had. Her fantasy had been shattered when she had made it to town. Then she had realized that the façade she had believed in never truly existed. But that was just one of many fumbles she had made in her first years in town.
    She brushed her thoughts aside and concentrated on finishing the dance.
    “Your brother is worried.”
    Of course, how could she forget? He would never ask her to dance if her brother had not asked him to.
    She huffed out a sigh. “He has become a worrywart.”
    Daniel laughed. It was a sound she did not hear often anymore and even as she cursed it, her