He frowned, and she insisted. “It’s true.”
A sigh escaped him. “I can’t call you Lizzie or duchess?”
She loved that he called her Lizzie, probably too much. It did something to her heart. “I don’t mind the first one.”
“You will always be my Lizzie.”
He stepped closer to her, running his knuckles up and down her arm. She shivered, something delicious coursing through her. Flustered, she moved back. “You are too much and so large.”
He laughed. “You don’t like how I’ve changed.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t say that. I just never envisioned you’d fill out so much.”
A smirk flashed across his face. It gave him a rakish appearance. She sighed. “You were always so bookish and slender.”
Thomas nodded. “It wasn’t intentional, but I think it came with the work I was doing.”
“I can’t believe you’re so famous.”
“It was not my grand plan,” he explained.
Lisbeth, unable to control her tongue, said, “You’ve certainly been enjoying your success recently.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Everything I’ve ever accomplished, it was you who was always on my mind. I would wonder what it would be like if you were with me or what you thought, and if it ever made you regret leaving me.”
Antiquities had been their dream together, and he’d accomplished far more than she ever imagined on his own. “I did follow your escapades, and when I was alone sometimes, I would wonder what it would have been like to be with you.”
He hoarsely said, “I’m glad I wasn’t alone with my torturous thoughts.”
They stood there awkwardly, and then finally Thomas asked, “Are you tired?”
Lisbeth shook her head. He smiled and sat in a wingback chair. “Sit and talk with me.”
Hesitation filled her. She wasn’t sure why—probably because so much had happened in the last week.
“How am I supposed to show you we are meant to be if we don’t talk?”
“You need to decide if you can forgive me. We can’t tell Alice until she is older,” she said, but sat.
Thomas nodded, and sadness seemed to settle on his shoulder. She frowned. “I wish things could have been—”
He shook his head. “We need to move past wishing things were different. They weren’t. We won’t survive if we keep dwelling on what could have been.”
Since the first moment Lisbeth had seen Thomas in Syria, she’d been lost in what-ifs. It was easier said than done. Thomas squeezed her hand. “Tell me about Alice and Jeremy. Would you like a glass of wine?”
Lisbeth nodded, and he rose, heading to a small table with a wine decanter and glasses. An odd sensation pricked her skin. This all felt oddly normal. She kept the thought to herself and took a wine glass from Thomas before he settled back into his chair.
She smiled. “Alice is eleven. She is rebellious and curious. A dangerous combination, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. She loves history. She is fascinated by the finds that are being discovered close to the Amazon River.”
He took a sip of his drink and smiled. “I’ve never been there before.”
Her eyes widened. She’d assumed he had. Thomas added, “I’ve been to Africa, America, Asia, and the Arabian Peninsula, but never there. I wish I had. It could have been my way to win her over.”
“You will eventually,” Lisbeth assured him and then added, “She probably doesn’t want to betray Nicholas.”
Thomas took a large drink of wine. She said, “I’m sorry.”
He frowned at her. “Stop saying that.”
