Evie frowned after him. They’d meddled together in bringing his brother Con and his estranged wife, Sabrina, together, but that wasn’t typical for Evie. It was for Lucien, though, and while he’d promised to try to refrain after the situation with Con—despite the fact that their meddling had resulted in a delightfully blissful marriage—he hadn’t been entirely successful. He just couldn’t seem to keep himself from…helping others. If he had any notion that she’d conducted an affair with Gregory, he’d be relentless in his pursuit of a match—if he thought Evie loved him. Which she did not. She did, however, care for him a great deal and had meant what she’d told him on Christmas Day. Their liaison had been more intense than she’d anticipated. She enjoyed his company far too much.

She needed to keep her distance. Yet here she was helping him. She could do that without becoming involved.

Why, then, did she have a troubling suspicion she was fooling herself?

Chapter 10

Gregory had spent a great deal of time working with Ash on walking together so that when he took the pup out in London, he would not run off. He’d tried to get Ash used to walking near a moving vehicle, having his groom drive his gig next to them. Over the past three weeks that they’d been in town, Gregory had watched Ash’s behavior improve until he could accompany Gregory on a walk without dashing off.

And so it was today that Gregory felt confident enough to walk with him in St. James’s. Or perhaps it was that Gregory was overcome with waiting to try to catch a glimpse of Evie.

He wasn’t sure which house was hers on Charles Street, so his intent was to walk up and down it a few times. It was unlikely they would see her, but he was, of course, ever the optimist.

Walking closer to the street than Ash, Gregory kept his eye on the dog. He’d grown quite a bit in the last month since Evie had seen him. As much as Gregory longed to see her for himself, he was also anxious for Ash to see her. Though dogs couldn’t really communicate, Gregory knew he’d missed her.

On his way back toward St. James’s Square, he recognized a gentleman coming toward him: it was Lord Lucien. As they neared one another, Lord Lucien smiled. “What a marvel to run into you here, Lord Gregory. I trust you have been well, though perhaps it’s been a difficult time these past months.”

“Thank you. I am quite well and glad to be back in town. And you?” Gregory was anxious to hear why their meeting was a “marvel.”