Victoria’s instantaneous attraction to Dr. Oliver had been heady, and breathtaking, unlike anything she’d previously experienced, although it had frankly confused her for she’d certainly seen handsome gentlemen before-handsomer gentlemen. His own brother, Lord Sutton, who’d stood not ten feet away from her, was by far the handsomer of the two, and appeared much more gentlemanly and proper.

Yet while she was at a loss to explain her reaction to Dr. Oliver, there was no denying it. There’d been something about him… perhaps his hair was a bit too long, his cravat just a bit mussed, the hints of mischief lurking in his gaze and the corners of his lovely mouth that had captured her fancy. Made her want to touch his hair, smooth his cravat, and ask what he found so amusing.

But mostly it was the way he’d looked at her that had set her heart fluttering and arrowed heated tingles of pleasure to her toes. He’d gazed upon her with a combination of warm amusement and an unabashed flirtation that skimmed the borders of propriety. She should have been appalled, but instead was entranced. He was unlike anything or anyone she’d ever before experienced, and when he suggested that she give him a tour of the portrait gallery, she’d instantly consented, rationalizing that it wasn’t really improper. Her aunt and Lord Sutton would be in the next room. The adjoining door would be ajar…

Once alone with him, however, Victoria’s normal aplomb deserted her. To her horror, her efforts to impress Dr. Oliver with her maturity, new gown, and conversation went completely awry. She found herself chatting in a breathless, nonstop manner she couldn’t control. Everything she’d ever learned about deportment seemed to flee her head and she babbled like a river overflowing its banks, unable to stop the nervous torrent of words bubbling from her. Her mind told her mouth to cease, to raise her chin and gift him with nothing more than a long, cool stare, but for reasons she couldn’t understand, her lips continued to move and the words to spill out. Until he’d silenced her with a kiss.