This brilliant, brave, beautiful woman loved him, just as he loved her.
“I adore everything about you,” she continued, tone anguished. “Your caring heart. Your quick wit. Your absurdly handsome face. And that ridiculous smile—” She glared, pointing an accusing finger at his face. “Yes! That smile right there.”
Ethan was quite sure The Swooner had never shone so bright. “This one?”
“Yes. You need to wipe it clean. It hurts!” She put her palms up to shield her face, as if he were an attacker.
Laughing, Ethan closed the distance between them, gathering her in his arms once more. “Ye be absurd, love.”
Her eyes snapped to his at the endearment. “Love!Don’t call me that!”
“Why wouldn’t I? I love ye, too,” Ethan confessed.
And then he kissed her. Softly. Tenderly.
A kiss of promise. A kiss of beginning.
This would be the birth of their life together. He was certain of it.
She would stop dithering and refuse Charswood. Together, she and Ethan would take on Kendall.
Yes, they faced obstacles, but surely they could overcome them. If they loved one another, theywouldfind a way.
But Allie returned Ethan’s embrace with anything but tenderness.
She kissed him like a wanderer in the desert, thirsty and desperate, hands threading into his hair and holding him tight.
She tasted of despair.
Pulling back, Ethan attempted to gentle the kiss.
“Hush, lass,” he whispered, voice husky. “I am here. I’m no’ going anywhere.”
She hiccupped again at his words, moving her head out of his immediate reach.
“Sì, you will remain here. But I must leave.” She stepped fully out of his arms. He immediately mourned the loss of her.
“Pardon?” He frowned.
She swiped at her cheeks once more. “I received word from my brother this morning. Kendall arrives in two days’ time to fetch me.”
Oh.
His tired brain was struggling to understand the implications of her words. Kendall arriving did not seem to merit her tears and distress.
“Naturally, I had thought tae have more time,” Ethan nodded, “but ’tis no matter. I will simply return tae London as well, and we can continue our courtship there. Or I could just ask ye now if . . .” He trailed off as Allie tipped her head into her hands, shoulders shaking with emotion.
She said nothing.
An icy chill skated down Ethan’s spine.
“What am I missing here, love?” he finally asked.
Drawing in a stuttering breath, Allie dug into her pocket for a handkerchief. She wiped her cheeks with belligerent strokes.
Splotchy and red-faced, she had never looked more beautiful.
“I will not be in London long,” she replied. “We will leave almost immediately for Charswood’s estate in Derbyshire, as Kendall has planned.”
