Classes had ended May tenth, so once the grades were in, Oscar Wilde and Toni flew to LAX. She was excited to take possession of the apartment a little early. Her Jeep was being delivered the next week, but for this week, she had a rental car. And really, since it seemed appropriate for Los Angeles, Toni had rented a little convertible.
If it happened to be Addie’s dream car, that was just a coincidence.
She’d hired a company to deliver the essential things—litter box, linens, groceries, and fresh flowers. The special items were there already, too: a collection of loose rose petals, a premixed pitcher of lemon drops, and a discreet box from a local shop.
“This is it, Oscar Wilde. Your castle for the night.” Toni locked him in the second bedroom, which would be her office for the summer, before she scattered the flowers in a trail from the front door to the bed. Roses weren’t toxic to cats, but she couldn’t trust him to not eat them. And cleaning up cat sick wasn’t exactly the mood she was aiming for tonight.
She put the glasses and the lemon drops in the fridge to chill.
Then she put her boxes in the bedroom—one from her carry-on under the bed and one from the delivery in the nightstand.
When the doorbell rang again, Toni checked herself in the mirror and went to answer it. She opened the door but held a hand up. Addie paused, and Toni lifted her into a bridal carry and carried her into the apartment.
Addie laughed. “Almost a year late, if I recall the date of our marriage.”
“Ten months,” Toni corrected her.
“So you decided to come out to LA two weeks early? Any reason?” Addie teased.
“Oscar Wilde missed you,” Toni tried and failed to say with a straight face.
Addie laughed. “I do love him. So are you leaving him with me so you can go back—”
Toni cut off her teasing by pulling her close and kissing her until Addie was pliant in her arms. That was something therapy had taught her: it was okay to be a little impulsive without it being a sign of being like her father.
When Toni released her, Addie saw the pink and red rose petals on the ground. “Oh my goodness, someone murdered roses in here!”
“They were sacrificed for a good cause.” Toni chuckled. “They were last week’s roses. Dropping their petals, so this is their final mission. It was this or the trash. I thought the florist was going to lecture me all day for my request. They’re the same color as the ones you wore when we were fake-married.”
“Thank you.” Addie leaned up and kissed the side of her throat. “Shall I see where they lead?”
Toni held out a package. “Would you indulge me first? Put this on.”
Addie looked inside the box, where there was a Victorian nightdress. Pristine white cotton with a ruffle at the ankles, it was as close a replica as Toni had found. Without a word, Addie did as Toni asked. She stepped out of the bathroom in it a few moments later, hair braided back. No bra. No panties, either.
Toni took off her blazer and offered it. “You shivered.”
“Because of how you’re looking at me,” Addie countered. “I don’t need to be covered up, though.”
Toni held out a hand as if to shake. “I’m Toni Darbyshire. I’m a history professor. I was here in Scotland to give a talk.”
Smiling, Addie took her hand. “Lady Adelaine Stewart. I was here to watch you, actually.”
Toni poured them each a lemon drop. “Do you suppose I could kiss you, Miss Stewart?”
Addie took a sip and then looked around. “I have a thing for gardens… any chance these roses lead to one?”
“After you.” Toni motioned her forward. Then she set her drink on a shelf outside the room.
At the doorway, Addie stopped. The bed and the floor were littered with roses. The room itself was fairly nondescript, but the petals were everywhere. “Toni!”
“I want youalwayswith me, Adelaine. I want to wake up next to you. I want to go to sleep holding you. I want to come home to find you talking to Oscar Wilde.”
“I want that, too.” Addie looked at her, seeming a little uncertain. “I’ll be here all summer.”
Toni dropped to one knee and held up the little box she’d tucked under the edge of the bed. She opened it to reveal a marquise-cut emerald in a Victorian-style setting with four diamonds—one at each compass point—on a rose-gold band.
“I was thinking a little more permanent than that,” Toni said. “Marry me? For real, this time.”
