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She rooted aroundthe way her face lit up It was so much better to see her this way than the way she’d looked when she’d ad to himself when he heard her catch her breath and her hands stilled

“Ohhhh,” she breathed “Oh, my”

“What is it?”

She turned her head and looked up at hiot to her feet and gently lifted out the gown “It’s so gorgeous,” she whispered, holding it up to herself “Look at the lace It’s a bit yellowed, but properly dry-cleaned it would lighten a lot The sleeves and the sash, and oh, look at this lace panel” She grinned “You were right This is a treasure I’ properly”

She turned in a circle, the skirt of the gown trailing in her wake

It was an odd tie to kiss her The attic was dusty and sle bulb threw a harsh light into the storage roo all at once, childlike in her enthusiasm but womanly too as she pressed the satin and lace to her curves

She dropped the gown fro it on top of the other items in the chest His eyes were drawn to the curve of her hips as she bent to shut the lid Because her hair was pulled back, her features were highlighted Granted, she wasn’t wearing makeup but he rather liked the natural, fresh look to her skin—it was very girl-next-door She did fill out a pair of jeans quite nicely, not to mention the fitted top All in all she was extremely attractive in an understated way

Dangerous

The lid latched, she turned around and faced hiain, and the air in the attic was still as their eyeshe couldn’t quite put his finger on, and the azes locked until he was sure she was thinking about it, too Curiosity The temptation to touch

And wouldn’t that be a fantastic way to screw up a big potential contract

He cleared his throat “I’ll bet if we looked, we could find a servant’s stairway that leads right down to the old kitchens”

“Old kitchens?” Her nose wrinkled as she frowned It looked adorable She even had a few little freckles across the bridge, er than he knew she must be

The tense ratitude, willing his thoughts to stay on task “You haven’t been down there yet, either? Where did you think they cooked the meals? Certainly not on the main floor in that tiny, cramped space The basement will be where the old kitchens are And the staff wouldn’t have used the ot to be here somewhere”

They found the door behind a large set of bookshelves that were piled with ga supplies For several minutes they emptied the shelves and then To to lift We’re going to have to push it out of the way”

Inch by inch theythe wall Tom’s muscles strained as he put his shoulder into it Finally they got past the door hinges and he tried the knob Locked