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Penelope grew very, very stillould be ruined forever," he continued, crouching down near the edge of the sofa so that they were more on the same level "It wouldn't matter that we had never even kissed That, my dear Penelope, is the power of the word"

She looked oddly frozen And at the same time flushed "I I don't knohat to say," she sta happened He realized that he didn't knohat to say, either Because he'd forgotten about rumors and the power of the word and all of that rot, and the only thing he could think of was the part about the kissing, and--

And--

And--

Good God in heaven, he wanted to kiss Penelope Featherington

Penelope Featherington!

He ht as well have said he wanted to kiss his sister

Except--he stole a glance at her; she looked unco, and he wondered how he hadn't noticed that earlier that afternoon--she wasn't his sister

She definitely wasn't his sisterwColin?" His name was a mere whisper on her lips, her eyes were quite adorably blinking and befuddled, and hoas it he'd never noticed what an intriguing shade of brown they were? Al like it, and yet it wasn't as if he hadn't seen her a hundred times before

He stood--suddenly, drunkenly Best if they weren't quite on the same latitude Harder to see her eyes from up here

She stood, too

Damn itwColin?" she asked, her voice barely audible "Could I ask you a favor?"

Call it male intuition, call it insanity, but a very insistent voice inside of hi that whatever she wanted had to be a very bad idea

He was, however, an idiot

He had to be, because he felt his lips part and then he heard a voice that sounded an awful lot like his own say, "Of course"

Her lips puckered, and for ato kiss hiether to for with W W always looked like a kisswWould you kiss me?"