But I have to ask—are you talking about shared victories because you want me, or because I’m familiar and safe?
I hope it’s the first one.
Liam
P.S.Tell Kitto I noted his artistic genius and appreciated it.And yes, I may have included something for him that’s not sheep droppings.Don’t let the twins get to it first.
Dear Liam,
You asked if I’m choosing you because I want you, or because you’re safe.
Emily has introduced me to half a dozen eligible bachelors in Middlemarch.They were all nice and untouched by my disasters.None of them has seen me fall apart or had their lives upended by my terrible choices.
Safe would be easier.
But I don’t want simple.I want the man who stayed, even when I gave him every reason to walk, the man who didn’t think twice about helping to rescue Sophie.The man who saw potential in my brothers when everyone else saw freaks.
I want you.
Not because you’re familiar, but because you’re you.
And yes, I’ll go to the ball with you.Fair warning, though—I’ve never been to a proper dance.Kitto has been trying to teach me to waltz in Emily’s kitchen.The twins think we’re both hopeless.
I can’t wait to see you again.
Love,
Sienna
P.S.Whatever you sent made Kitto turn three shades of red and mutter something about mountain men and their bloody sense of humor.The twins are now demanding that you send them something equally mysterious.You’ve started something.
The marquee glowed against the November twilight, strings of lights woven through the surrounding trees like captured stars.Music drifted across the paddock—softer, more elegant than the raucous rock from Sienna’s memory of Stoneford town dances.
“I can’t believe we’re actually here,” Kitto murmured, adjusting his collar.In his dark suit with his hair styled to hide his ears, he looked every inch the dapper young gentleman.Only Sienna could see the slight bulge where he’d tucked his tail away.
“You look perfect,” she assured him, smoothing her own nerves as much as the red silk of Emily’s dress.The fabric caught the fairy lights as they approached the entrance, and she felt transformed—not into a princess, but into a woman who made her own rules.
Saber and Emily flanked them like proud parents, but when Saber looked at the dress, something deeper flickered across his face.His gaze met Emily’s, and the smile they shared recalled their first dance, the night everything began between them.
“That dress,” Emily whispered, “brings back some wonderful memories.”
“Best decision I ever made, asking the woman in red to dance,” Saber said.
They joined the queue at the entrance, Sienna’s pulse racing.The scent of crushed grass mingled with perfume and aftershave.Somewhere inside that glowing tent, Liam was waiting.
“There!”Kitto pointed ahead in the line.“I can see him.”
Sienna followed his gaze, and the world tilted.Liam stood near the entrance in a dark suit, scanning the crowd.Even from this distance, she saw how he held himself: confident and alert, as if bracing for something important.
Then his gaze found hers—and the crowd, the music, the lights—all of it faded away.
“Liam,” she whispered.
Chapter 27
Wow.Thereddress.It clung to her curves, impossible to ignore, but when Liam’s gaze lifted to her face, everything else fell away.
Sienna was the scarlet woman, and in that moment, every thought in his head sharpened into one.
