Chapter 22

George hated sneaking out on a sleeping Sophie in the early hours of the morning, but he did not want to get caught sleeping in the same bed as her. After the talk he had with Matthew the previous night, he had been made even more aware that he needed to be careful around her. Especially if he was going to return to Sweden, leaving her behind…

Which was why he never should have ended up in Sophie's bed last night. Even if it felt absolutely wonderful to be wrapped up in her arms. He had never been so happy in his life, his body had never felt so intense and powerful. He never wanted last night to end, even if it should not have happened at all.

He only wanted to check in on her. To make sure that she was alright. He was not quite sure how they ended up succumbing to the heat that surged between them. George felt wild and a little confused while he left her room… and truth be told, he still did not feel right now that he was walking in the front door to Sebastian's house.

He knew that he was going to have to face the consequences for this, and that was something he was not ready for.

"There you are!" Sebastian called out excitedly the moment he saw his friend. "I have been worried about you. That storm last night was something else! Did you stay with Gregory? Did you manage to do that without killing one another? I cannot imagine you two spending that much time together without it getting ugly."

George chuckled awkwardly. "No, that is not what happened. I ended up staying with Matthew instead, which was good because I have not managed to see him since I have been back here in London."

Sebastian cocked his head curiously to one side. "Then why do you have such a strange look on your face? What happened?"

George had not necessarily been planning on telling anyone anything, but he was exhausted with trying to keep everything to himself. He very much needed Sebastian's advice on what he should do next. Especially because he was feeling so terribly guilty about everything.

"Oh, Sebastian. I might have crossed a line last night, with Sophie."

Sebastian nodded as if he already knew what had happened. "I saw this coming. I knew you were going to struggle to keep things platonic."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, because of the intense spark between you. It is very obvious that there are feelings there, whether you want them to be there or not. There is a fire between you. There always has been, ever since you rescued her from falling off the boat."

George immediately shook his head. "No, it is not that. You know I am only trying to woo Sophie to keep her safe from my brother. I do not want to complicate things with feelings."

Why was he still saying all of these things? Making all of these arguments when he knew it was not true any longer? He could not hide it from his friend, and needed to stop fighting it.

Sebastian chuckled bemusedly. "Then what line did you cross last night?"

George hung his head low. "It started with a kiss in the gardens surrounding my childhood home…"

"And how did it end?" Sebastian was not about to let George get away with this. He rested his hands on his hips and stared at George defiantly.

"Well, Sophie also stayed at Matthew's home with me last night."

"With you?"

George could only nod. "Yes. With me. So now it does not feel like I am only doing this to keep her safe any longer. I do not think I am just doing this to make sure that Gregory does not get to her now. There is more to it."

"Obviously." Sebastian rolled his eyes as if this was so simple, he could not believe George had not seen it before now. "I am grateful that you are finally seeing what is really going on here. Whatever this started off as, you have developed feelings now. I think this has proved it, hasn't it now? It is time to really do something about it, you need to find a way to be honest with Sophie. To tell her the truth."

George swallowed hard as he tried to process this. "The truth about my feelings? Or the truth about what I have been doing all this time?"

"The whole truth, of course."

The idea of telling Sophie that he had started this without the most genuine intentions would be awful. She would most certainly be upset with him if she knew he only wanted to keep her close, to keep her away from Gregory, and she might never wish to talk to him again.

Sure, that would make it easier for him to leave—to head back to Sweden without all the drama that London had to offer—but was that really what he wanted? Could he manage to go back to his life knowing who he was leaving behind now? It was most certainly not the same. Not what he thought it was going to be.

"What if I tell her the truth and it pushes her right back into Gregory's arms? My brother is really trying to charm her, and I am worried that it could work."

"Even after last night?"

That silenced George for a moment.

He was too stunned to speak.

He had never felt as connected to anyone as he had Sophie. Before they ended up in bed together, but especially then. There was a silent bond simmering between them, something that connected them deeply on a level he had never experienced before.

George had never felt this way about anyone before. He had never opened up his heart and experienced such deep and powerful loving sensation. He did not want it to end.

"I think you should tell her, George. I do not see any benefit to keeping all of this inside. If you and Sophie are meant to be together, then she will hear you out and she will understand. Does that not sound better than carrying this heavy burden forever? It is so very clearly pressing down on your shoulders, and it is not pleasant to see. You should do something to make this all much less stressful for the both of you."

George wished that he had the answer for his friend. He wished that he could just agree with Sebastian because it was the right thing to do. But he was too nervous to actually get those words out, knowing it might be the moment that Sophie left him forever.

"I do not think I can tell Sophie anything," George finally said with a little crack in his voice. "I am not keen on the idea of risking losing her to Gregory. If it were to be another man, I would feel much better about it all…"

"Would you?" Sebastian was still not done with George. "Come on, George. You need to be honest with me. With yourself. You would not like the idea of Sophie being with someone else. Gregory or anyone else. You would hate it. I can see that, and I know you feel it deep down as well."

George sighed heavily. He knew that Sebastian was right, but he did not want to admit it. He could not stand the idea of Sophie with anyone other than himself, but how could he claim her for his own? He was a disgraced lord, and she was related to Swedish royalty. She was a lady in every sense of the word, and deserved so much better.

"She needs a noble gentleman," he murmured almost under his breath, but it seemed like Sebastian had picked up on his words anyway. "She needs a man with a title and land. She needs someone who can keep her in the sort of lifestyle that she is accustomed to and wants to continue on with."

"Do you really think that is what troubles Sophie?" Sebastian demanded. "Do you really think that you should speak to her about this before you make decisions regarding her future? Especially after what happened last night. You cannot deny it, everything has changed now. Everything is different. You have spent the night together and that alters everything."

George sighed again, that weight pressing down on him once more.

He knew that he had made mistakes, he did not need Sebastian to rub it in. He did not need to have it thrown at him.

But maybe he did need to have it thrown at him because it was the only way he could truly embrace this and make a move in whatever direction he would end up going. But he did not need to make that decision right now, did he? Not while his mind was all foggy and he was absolutely flooded with confusion.

"I am not too sure," he finally confessed. "I do not know what I should do for the best. Right now, I think I just need some rest."

"Well, you do not have a lot of time to rest," Sebastian reminded him. "The Kershaw family is holding a ball tonight, and I am quite sure you are expected to be there. We all are."

A ball? Another one?

George could not even begin to imagine going to a ball tonight and facing everyone. Most of all Sophie. He was going to have to figure out his feelings before he saw her so he could know exactly how to handle her and what was going to happen next. They both deserved that much.

"Ugh, right. I will sleep right away then. Try and be in my best frame of mind."

"Who knows, George, you might even enjoy it," Sebastian teased. "Stranger things have happened."