“Tomorrow?” She searched his expression, but all she could find was intent.
He was serious. “I would marry you tonight, this very second, if I could.”
What else could she say to that? There seemed only one rational response. Her heart knew it. Her tongue knew it before her mind had even reached a decision.
“Yes,” she said, “I will marry you tomorrow.”
She would marry him now if she could as well, and it was that realization which propelled her forward. Following her head had never been difficult for her. Following her heart, however, was something new.
Worth it for the chance at happiness. For the chance at forever with Felix and his daughter.
His grin widened, with relief, she thought, and something else—perhaps sheer, unadulterated joy. “You will not regret it, Johanna. I swear to you. From this moment forward, I will do everything in my power to love you and to keep you safe. I promise I will never let anything or anyone come between us.”
She fell headlong into his gaze, and she forgot all about her stomach. There was only one hunger she sought to abate now. “I promise the same, Felix. There is nothing I want more than a life with you and your daughter. I am ready to move forward, into that brave new world with you.”
“You have made me so happy. Happier than I could have ever imagined being again, before you came into my life.” He kissed her forehead with a reverence that stole her breath. “I love you, Johanna. I feel all the way to my soul that I was always meant to love you. That we were meant to find our way to each other. That this love of ours was meant to be.”
Tears pricked her eyes, studding her lashes. “That is how I feel, too. I was afraid to acknowledge it before, because I feared Drummond and what he would try to do to you and Verity. I didn’t want you to be in danger because of me. At first, I was too afraid to trust you—”
“You can trust me, darling,” he broke in. “I have been telling you all this time. If given the choice between duty and love, I choose love. I choose you.”
“I know that now.” She swallowed against a lump of intense emotion. “In truth, I think I have known it always, deep in my heart. But I was so afraid, after the bomb that was planted at your home and the fire…”
“It is in the past now,” he said. “Tonight, we move forward. Together.”
“Together,” she echoed, liking the sound of that.
Lovingthe sound of that lone word and all it encompassed.
“Now let me take care of you. I am certain you must be starving.”
“I am,” she said, blinking away her tears, feeling reckless and bold. She was searching for the light. Reaching for love. ForFelix. “But not for food.”
He raised a brow, his eyes dipping to her lips and then returning to her gaze. “Oh? What is it you are hungry for, my future scandalous duchess?”
“You,” she confessed.
“That is scandalous indeed,” he told her, and then he smiled.
It was one of his truly mesmerizing smiles, the kind that made little crinkles bracket his eyes. She wanted to kiss them. In fact, she was suddenly beset by the urge to kiss every inch of him. He was so beloved to her, and every part of him was perfect, from the blade of his nose to the breadth of his shoulders. To his well-formed calves, the muscles of his chest, his strong arms, his wonderful lips.
If she had not already been in love with him, she fancied she would have fallen in love with him all over again for this night. He had saved her life. And then he had held her in his arms the whole way home. He had come to her with food. With his warmth and his love.
Emotion seized her at the same moment as his mouth claimed hers.
Love.
Such raw, undeniable, frenzied love. His lips were open, hungry. One of his hands found her hair, his fingers tightening in the chignon she had fashioned herself when she had emerged from her bath. Pins were falling. She didn’t care.
Tonight was a celebration of life and love.
They were alive. They were together.
Tomorrow, she would worry about everything else. Tomorrow, she would think about how a scandalous duke and duchess would be received. Tomorrow, she would fret over all the details of today. The pain, the terror, the anguish, the death.
All of the darkness could wait.
She was alight and alive, on fire for this man she loved. This man who loved her in return, against all odds, and despite what it had already cost him. Despite what it would potentially cost him still. They would not have an easy road to travel as husband and wife. She knew that, of course. Her past could not be changed, and neither would she hide it. She was an actress. Some part of her life would always be in the theater.
