Flirting with His Forbidden Lady--A Regency Family is Reunited Laura Martin (bill gates best books .TXT) 📖

her eyes down his toned body. He was tanned all over and she wondered how much time he spent with his top off back home as his chest had that bronzed glow that hinted at months of summer sun, even though it was a little faded now.

Gripping her hand, he tugged her gently into the water, smiling as she gasped in shock as the first wave splashed above her knees.

‘It’s really not that bad once you’re in.’

Beth rose up onto her tiptoes, holding her body rigid as the water lapped at her and then, steeling herself and taking a deep breath, she dived under the next big wave.

The shock of the cold took her breath away and she struck out in a fast swim to try to warm her protesting muscles. From swimming in the sea as a child she knew it was better just to submerge and swim as fast as you could until your body started to warm from the exertion. Annabelle had always stood on the shoreline, unable to force her body to commit to the water, and Beth always thought she stayed colder that way than Beth when she dived in.

She was halfway along the length of the beach, swimming parallel to shore, before she stopped and glanced behind her. Josh was keeping up with long, easy strokes and seemed to like chasing her through the water. Quickly she struck out again, laughing as his fingertips touched her toes before she pulled away.

The chill had left her skin by the time he caught her, looping an arm around her waist and pulling her to him, their feet scrabbling on the sandy floor. Beth’s chemise was floating in the water, only clinging to her skin on the part of her chest that was above the waves. It felt heavy and she longed to have the courage to fling it off, but her upbringing won out and she instead tried to put it from her mind.

‘The water is glorious,’ she said as they bobbed in the salty water.

‘I love the freedom of swimming in the sea, of being able to float and ride the waves with so little effort.’ Josh was relaxing with his head back as if reclining in an armchair. One of his arms still rested underneath her back and the movement of the water meant it brushed lightly against her skin, sending wonderful shivers down her spine.

‘I like that when I was swimming in the sea here off the coast of Sussex you might have been swimming in your ocean in India.’

He turned to her, straightening and putting his feet on the ground so he could move closer.

‘Never again,’ he said quietly. ‘We will either be swimming in the sea together in Sussex or the ocean in India, but never half a world apart.’

‘How?’ Beth knew he had asked for time to work things out but she needed to know. She wanted to be sure of the practicalities before letting herself get carried away with the fantasy.

‘If your mother and sister were taken care of, if you knew their futures were secure, would there be any other barriers to you coming back to India with me?’

Beth considered for a moment, knowing this was one of the most important conversations of her life. It was perhaps not ideal to be having it floating in the sea, but they needed to have it now before she was torn apart by worry over the future.

‘No. If they were provided for, if I knew they were not going to be thrown out of the house, if they were safe, their futures were safe.’

‘I do not have the available funds to pay off your family’s debts, Beth,’ he said quietly. ‘If you marry me then I do not think we will be able to save Birling View.’

She nodded, expecting to feel as though she had been punched in the stomach but in reality it was what she knew was coming. Josh wasn’t the heir. From everything she had heard he was going to take over a very successful business, but that didn’t mean he had a lot of disposable income just lying around.

‘But there is still a way. If Birling View was sold it would pay off most of the debts. I’m sure my funds would stretch to a modest annual income for your mother if she didn’t have enough left over from the sale of the house.’

‘What about Annabelle?’

Josh shrugged. ‘She could choose. We could provide a small property for her and your mother if she preferred or she could come to India with us.’

Beth felt the relief wash through her. There was a way for everyone to be, if not happy, then at least looked after. Her mother would grouse and moan at having to sell Birling View, but Beth was starting to realise that she hadn’t put her family into debt, it wasn’t solely on her shoulders to get them out. Her responsibility was to look out for her family, and that could be achieved without entering a loveless marriage just to save the family home.

‘Annabelle could come with us,’ she repeated, feeling her heart soar. She loved her sister dearly and couldn’t imagine starting a new adventure in her life without Annabelle there to enjoy it with. In India she could make sure Annabelle was happy and even slowly encourage her to build on her recent forays out of the house. It might be a fresh start for both of them away from their mother’s critical eye.

‘Of course. I have a house high in the hills. It has eight bedrooms in addition to the master suite, plenty for her to choose from.’

‘You wouldn’t mind?’

He looked at her then, staring into her eyes until Beth felt as though he could see her soul.

‘I wouldn’t mind in the slightest. I would invite the devil himself to stay if I thought it would mean I was even a fraction more likely to persuade you to come with me. And