With our bellies full, we venture outdoors to the southeast courtyard, where I finally beg Lucky for a rest.
He lights up.“Perfect.I have a surprise for you.”
It’s impossible to not want to follow him when he smiles at me like that.
He leads me back to the study.“Close your eyes,” he says, and with a thrill, I do.
There’s the creak of a door, and …
“Open.”
Oh my.
From the wooden desk to the soft drapes to the candles, he’s thought of everything.He even hung the map he’d gifted me on the wall.I could very well be transported back home, standing here.And the books … oh, the books.More than I have ever owned.More than I can count.
How did he …
“Do you like it?”he asks.
Yes, I think, looking at him.I really do.
It’s a wonder.
I’m curious about the effort he is going to.Flowers, flirtation.We’re already wed.I’m flattered, truly, but confused.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were courting me.Yet we both know your heart lies elsewhere.”
He gathers my hand in his—always touching so gently—admiring it while he speaks.“I often thought myself ill-formed in pursuits of love, as there always seemed room within me for more than one.”
My heart excites.
“Would it be so difficult to feel affection for me?”he asks.
Not in the least.I wonder, too, about my ability to love more than one.
“It is not difficult at all,” I admit.
He smells of salt and sun, and I step closer.Close enough for him not to mistake my intention.
It has been all too simple to fall now that I think of it.Easy as breathing.
His lips welcome mine eagerly, the sound of my gasp lost between breaths.I’m weightless, a bundle of nerves alight by his presence, his touch.It’s different from what I feel for Sterling, but not lesser.Lighter.The ember of something I already know will grow into more.
The door slams shut, and we tear apart.Sterling is standing there, a mixture of heat and anger in his eyes.
“What cruel plan was this?To demand my presence here, only to watch you take what is left of my heart and crush it?”
I hardly know which of us he’s talking to or about.
Lucky steps between us.“Then you admit you love her?”
“Of course I do,” he roars.“How dare you act as if you have not been aware of that since you walked back into my life?To what end was this destined for?If you meant to kill me without a blade, then congratulations; you’ve managed it.”
He stumbles back as I crash into him, pushing against his chest with both hands.He steps back, never stopping me, letting me take it out on him.How could he?And he knew how I felt.He knew, and he said nothing.
I should carve out his stubborn heart.
He hits the door with a thud.My breath rushes from me, and I follow, clinging to his tunic, crushing our chests together.
