She fell in love all over again on that sidewalk. Barely able to follow the thread of the conversation, she let him lead her inside the bakery.
He turned toward a table, murmuring about getting her fortification.
Coming to life, feeling as though her heart might leap out of her chest just to be closer to him, she tugged him toward a door at the rear of the customer area.
Stepping into the kitchen, she pushed him against the wall next to the door.
“Robert.” His name came out on a sigh. “My savior.”
He snorted.
Shocked, she stared at him.
“My word. If only I’d known how to render you speechless.” He grinned and winked.
She smacked him, smiled, and reached up to yank his head down to hers, kissing him thoroughly to whoops of encouragement from the bakery staff.
He looked up and blushed as he realized they were the center of attention.
“Really?Nowyou blush?” She shook her head. “I need you to explain all that, please.”
“I am on my way to a meeting. In fact, you should accompany me. We can discuss it all more later, but the short of it is that—” He gulped. “—I am in love with you.”
Beth gasped.He is in love with me? He is in love with me!
She struggled to believe that everything she’d dreamed of was within reach. Wanting to jump for joy, she realized he was still speaking.
“I find ’tis more important to be with you than it is to avoid censure.” He cocked a brow, oblivious to her internal circus flips. “Ideally, we can do both most of the time, but I shan’t expect miracles.”
She tried to laugh but instead burst into tears, shocking Robert and herself. No one had ever been in love with her before, and only Althea had ever defended her like that. She’d almost stopped hoping she’d find love. To have the person she’d fallen for months ago return the feeling was beyond her wildest imaginings. And her imagination was no shy miss.
“Peaches? Peaches! Talk to me. You have my apologies. I did not mean to overstep.”
“Oh, shut up. Say it again.”
He chuckled. “Er, which would you prefer?”
She glared at him.
“Right, then. I love you more than—than my privacy.”
She gasped, tears still streaming down her face. Then she threw herself at him, pressing her whole body against him to hug him hard.
“I love you, too. I’ll try to be good. I can’t promise I always will be, but I’ll try.”
“Peaches, I loveyou. Not some well-behaved society miss or a version of you I wish you to be. It simply took me an unfortunate amount of time to realize it.”
“I have so many questions and things I want to tell you.”
“Let us see what sweets Penelope has to offer and hail a hack. You’ll like this meeting.”
Her thoughts were so muddled, her emotions in such turmoil, Beth did not question the meeting’s purpose until they were in the hack.
As she started to ask, Robert spoke. “What did you want to tell me?”
“First, I must apologize for my behavior at the party.” This was more important than the meeting. “I was goading you, thrusting my wishes, or what I thought were my wishes, on you rather than respecting yours. Just as you said.”
His brows twitched, his frown deepening momentarily, but he remained silent, listening as she’d requested.
