“Lord Aylesbury, you’ve done so much courting in your life that I’m quite certain you could manage a bang-up job of it from a solitary cell in Bedlam with nothing more than a handful of weeds and an imaginary hat to aid you, but what I meant was no, as in no you arenotcourting me.I do not wish it, nor will I permit it,” she finished bluntly.
“I believe there may have been a compliment in there somewhere,” Aylesbury said with another smile as he whirled her around the perimeter of the room once more.
Fiona shook her head with a scowl, refusing to be swayed by that alluring smile.“We talked about this.I thought I made myself quite clear on the matter.I cannot forgive.Not now.Perhaps not ever.”
“You made your feelings very clear, but I have decided that I will not be dissuaded.You see, meeting you again has brought joy to my heart.A joy I had forgotten life could give.A joy I had nearly forgottenyoucould give.”
“Balderdash.That isn’t how I remember it at all.”
“How do you remember it?”
“I remember you calling me a spoiled brat,” she said, unable to completely suppress the hurt in her voice.“I remember you telling me to run off like a good little lass and play with my dolls.”
“I apologize.I did say all that,” he admitted.“But only for my own self-preservation.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You really don’t know, do you?You don’t know how hard it was?”Aylesbury smiled ruefully down at her with a shake of his head.“I suppose it was better that way.If you had known, I cannot imagine what lengths you would have gone through to try my sanity.”
“Humph!”
“Did you never wonder why I never asked you to dance again after Vin’s welcome home ball?Ah, Fiona,” he whispered throatily in her ear, sending a shiver of awareness through her.His hand slid downward to settle like a hot brand at the base of her spine, pulling her closer.“I always wondered what it would be like to waltz with you, but I could do nothing more than that.It would have been terrible to hold you like this, to touch you and not have you.”
She stumbled at his words but righted herself quickly with his assistance.Her eyes locked with his now, though she was frowning fiercely.
“I had to fight against you once, but no more.”
Fiona had no idea what he meant, but she refused to allow one iota of confusion pave the way for another broken heart.“You are making no sense at all.”She turned her gaze away from his once more, determined to watch the other dancers rather than him.“You did more than fight against me.You rejected me.”
“You have no idea the impossible situation you put me in, do you?”
“What I do know is that you cannot rewrite history,” she countered to hide the confusion his words had born.“Let’s just get through this dance and be done with one another for good.”
“I have no intention of being done with you.I intend to make up for the shabby way I once treated you,” he assured her firmly.“And I will begin with waltzes, flowers, and walks in the park, my dear.Because I do intend to court you properly now when I could not before.”
“Could not?”she scoffed, though she felt her heart quivering at the promise of his words.“What is that supposed to mean?You weren’tunableto do so.You didn’t want to.It was as simple as that!”
“No, it was not that simple,” he countered tightly, his impatience flaring at her intractability.“What would you have had me do back then?Hmm?You were an unschooled debutante.”
“You didn’t kiss me like one!”Her loud retort the curious glances of the couples around them, but Aylesbury only tossed them a careless grin before returning his gaze to her more seriously.
“No, I kissed you like the torment you were,” he bit out, his fingertips pressing into her spine.“I kissed you with all the frustration that had been building in me since the day I met you.”
“Is that what that was?Frustration?How flattering.”
“Rather.”His tone softened then.“I shouldn’t have done it at any rate.My heart, mind, and body were all in contradiction at that time, but never doubt, Fiona, that I wanted you then as I want you now.”
“No!”She shook her head, denying his words even while her chest tightened painfully.“Don’t do that, Harry.You haven’t the right to come back into my life now when I’m finally happy again and ruin it for me.”
“Are you truly so happy?”
“I am.I don’t need you anymore.”
“What if I were to say that I need you?”
It was a gently phrased question yet utterly heartrending in its impact.Fiona knew that the shock that stole her breath and froze her heart also widened her eyes incredulously.Then, her pulse tore off at a gallop, trampling a wide swath of wild exhilaration, but she reined it in mercilessly.“No.”
“Fiona, I...”
