Frances could not believe how smoothly the conversation had gone. She had been scared to ask him for weeks, thinking that he might refuse. But he had made no objection at all.
Christopher brushed the pad of his thumb against her cheek, bringing her back to the present.
“I like seeing you happy, Frances. I do not want you to have a frown on your face,” he breathed.
He was close enough that his warm breath fanned her face. They were in a secluded enough corner that they could not be spotted by anyone, but still, it felt so strange to be so close like this again.
Her breath hitched in her throat. She expected Christopher to step away from her, but he did not. Instead, he seemed to be moving even closer!
“Christopher,” she murmured, her heart beating wildly.
“Frances.”
They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment.
“I need to tell you something.” Christopher swallowed. Was he as nervous as she was? “I have thought about it every single day for the last month, and I will surely go mad if I do not let you know.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve spent so much of my life hiding from my past, burdened by guilt and fear. But you… you’ve shown me a different way.”
Frances felt like her heart was going to explode. Was this going where she thought it was?
He paused, taking a steadying breath before speaking again. “Frances, I love you. I love you more than I ever thought possible. You’ve become the center of my world, and I can’t imagine my life without you.”
“Oh, Christopher,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I love you, too.”
Was she dreaming? She had surely dreamt of this moment for so long.
The words felt natural, slipping out of her mouth as if she had uttered them a hundred times before.
He leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. It was the first one they had shared after a month.
“You do not know how much I want to do that whenever I see you,” he murmured against her lips, making her blush deepen even more.
“Is that so?”
He kissed her again, a small peck. “It is. I love you.”
They were staring deep into each other’s eyes. But their moment was short lived, interrupted by the sound of tiny footsteps approaching them and then staggering to a halt.
“Eww, are you two going to kiss again?” Edwin’s playful voice rang out.
They broke apart immediately, looking down to see Edwin standing there with a teasing grin on his face.
Christopher chuckled, ruffling his hair affectionately. “What’s this, then? Have you been spying on us?”
He seemed quite unfazed, while Frances was red with embarrassment.
“I was only looking for you…”
“That is enough,” Frances cut in. “Where is your brother?”
Edwin shrugged his shoulders. “I am not sure…”
“Come, let us go find him, then.”
Frances hurried off with him, but not before she could sneak one last glance at Christopher, who winked at her.
