The Sweetest Kiss (Brothers of Worthington Series) Read Online Free Page A

was stuck as their ward until she found a way out. Trey Worthington didn’t even want to listen to her protests. Judith’s parents may have raised her at their country estate, but she was far from being a country girl. They’d taught her everything she needed to know to enter society.
    That wasn’t the reason she resisted. Before her parents’ untimely death, her mother had started to plan Judith’s coming out ball. Once again, tears pricked her eyes and she blinked to dry them. How could she allow the dowager to plan her ball without wishing her mother was still alive to do it herself?
    Knowing the best course of action was to keep her mouth shut so she didn’t cry in front of Lord Trey, Judith spoke not a word until they reached her home. Before she could dismount, he jumped off his horse, hurried to her side, and helped her down.
    Fool. Couldn’t he tell she didn’t want his touch? Her body still remembered his warm kiss, and she cursed her traitorous mind for being unfaithful to Alex—her secret fiancé.
    He grinned. “Miss Faraday? Do you need me to escort you inside to collect your things and your servants?”
    She bunched her hands into fists at her side. “No, my lord. I’m quite capable of doing that by myself. However, if you would like to wait in the drawing room, I shall not be very long.”
    He gave her a nod. “Then you have exactly one hour to ready yourself and your belongings.”
    She marched inside. When the servants ran to greet her, she flipped her hand through the air. “My escort has arrived a day early. Please see to loading the trunks as soon as possible.
    She didn’t stop to see their expressions, but hurried up the stairs and to her room to change clothes. Mixed emotions swam in her head and tightened in her chest. Why hadn’t Alex met her at the cottage? Had something happened to keep him away? Although she considered him her fiancé, their engagement wasn’t legal in any way, shape, or form. So perhaps he didn’t want to marry her any longer. Tears flooded her eyes. She couldn’t let her servants see. They didn’t know about Alex. Nobody did.
    Since she didn’t dare keep Lord Trey or his friend waiting for fear of what they’d do, she hurried with the organizing and met the pair outside not more than an hour later. Thankfully, the servants had spent the week packing, so they were ready. Lord Trey and the man he called Hawthorne, instructed the servants with loading the carriages. One by one, she hugged the few servants who’d be staying, people she’d known as family for several years. Tears burned her eyes as they wished her well. She climbed in the coach, and moments later, it jerked into action, carrying her to her new prison as his lordship rode in front, leading the way.
    Out the window of the departing coach, she watched as her childhood home became smaller and smaller. Sadness welled in her chest and tightened her throat. The pain of her parents’ death was as real today as it had been when they were laid to rest two months ago. Tragic that their lives had been taken so quickly. When she remembered how much in love they were, her chest squeezed with emotion. She wanted to blame someone for their sudden deaths, but the authorities told her it was an accident. Merely an act of God. After contemplation, she realized it was a true blessing they had died together.
    She didn’t know how long it would take to be free of the dowager’s care, but Judith vowed to return home some day and keep the place the way her mother had had it. So many joyful memories were held within the walls, and Judith couldn’t let anything happen to her home. This was where she wanted to live once she married Alex. Would that day ever happen now?
    Leaning back in the seat, she squeezed her eyes closed. If Trey Worthington hadn’t come to the cottage, she would not be sitting in a coach riding toward his home. Why couldn’t she get it through that man’s skull that she didn’t need him? He