A Rake's Ruin (Devilish Lords #1)(37)

Would she too say that she had no regrets because it meant she would be his bride?

Doubtful.

The realization stole his anger and left him empty. He’d like to think he’d been making great strides toward winning her heart these past weeks, but had he really? Or was she just making the best of a bad situation?

But if he had found love, didn’t that necessarily imply that she felt the same? Or that she would someday?

Oh blast. At moments like this he wished he had a sister to confide in. Unfortunately, his sisters were much older than him and had little interest in befriending the little hellion in the house. But what he would not give for a female in his life who was most decidedly not his stubborn, marriage-minded mother and who could help him to decipher the deeper intricacies that came with falling in love.

Like, how exactly did one know if it was reciprocated love or if it was that unrequited varietal he’d heard so much about in poetry.

Jed was still glowering at him, waiting for him to continue with his denial but he found he could not. His head was too full of questions to focus on Jed at the moment.

“Whether you intended to or not does not matter, now does it?” Jed finally said, sinking back into his seat with a weary resignation. “All that matters now is that your careless actions have led to my sister—my pure, kind, untouched sister—being forced to marry or be ruined.”

Jed was shaking his head, his gaze filled with judgmental criticisms that might have been humorous coming from him if they didn’t rankle so.

After all, the only reason he’d been in that alley in the first place was because he’d been trying to help Jed get himself out of yet another mess. True, Jed’s vices had typically fallen in the realm of gambling rather than seduction, like Galwin, but if anyone should know the overblown nature of devilish reputations it was Jed.

Both of their families had suffered from scandal thanks to their fathers, and both gentlemen had suffered from personal scandal as well. He and Jed had always had scandal in common, but now when that dastardly reputation might harm Claire it was a whole other story.

Galwin wearily rubbed at his brow as he thought of Claire with her sparkling gaze and her subtle yet delicious wit. Could he really blame Jed for wanting more for her than to be saddled with a known rake for a groom?

Hell, even though he wanted her as his own, for her sake he wished she had her pick of men. Only in his most selfless moments could he summon up that feeling, but it was there. She deserved a man free from scandal after suffering in the wake of her father and then her brother’s poor decisions.

And now she’d be saddled with his past on top of it all. It wasn’t fair, yet Galwin saw no other way out of it.

Apparently Jed had, however. Leaning over the desk, his fair-haired friend resembled a righteous angel as he pleaded with him. “Let her go, Galwin. She’s not the woman for you and Lord knows she deserves a chance at true happiness for once.”

Galwin stared at his friend. He shouldn’t be so hurt by the words. His friend was merely looking out for Claire, and for that he could be grateful. She’s not the woman for you. Those words coming from this man who knew him so well, better than most, they gave him pause and made him doubt.

For that he grew angry, hurt pride mingling with resentment that his friend had judged and found him lacking.

“There may be a way out of this,” Jed said, his gaze wary as though Galwin might jump across the desk and strike him.

To be fair, he was battling an urge to do just that. His best friend felt Claire deserved more than him. Was this fate’s way of telling him he had gotten it all wrong? Maybe it was too late to change his colors, too late to begin anew.

Maybe he had already set his course and someone as good as Claire would never be for him.

These were thoughts he wanted to dismiss. He wasn’t that old, for heaven’s sake. He could still change. The term reformed rake had not been invented for nothing. It had happened before, so why not to him?

Love conquered all, wasn’t that what they said? There was no more transformative power than love. He’d heard all these trite sayings before but never given them much credence. Likely because they were trite sayings. But now they seemed to be absolute truth.

But Jed’s judgmental gaze made him consider a different perspective. Perhaps Claire could transform him into the man he wanted to be. But what could he do for her? What did she want out of life that he could give?

Perhaps real love meant thinking about what he could do for her rather than how she could save him.

The thought was jarring and he found himself staring at Jed without seeing him. Not until his friend continued speaking. “Lord Swattle has financial difficulties.”

Galwin’s eyes focused on his friend and he narrowed his gaze as the words registered. “Pardon?”

Jed cleared his throat, shifting in his seat. “I know the baron from the gaming hells.” His friend’s gaze dropped to the desktop as he fidgeted with some papers. “He and I move in the same circles. I despise the man, of course, but we have common acquaintances.”

Galwin’s body stilled as his heart rate increased. He had an idea where this was going and everything in him wanted to storm out of there like a child, refusing to hear the words that might mar his happiness with the woman he loved. But he found himself sitting there silently because he owed it to Jed.

He owed it to Claire.