Mrs. Percy had never expected to fall in love with Nathaniel. That was never the plan. He was never to be more than the stable boy who gave her her fun—and maybe a baby she could love, something that Lord Richardson would never be able to. But now, he had become more. And she felt like her heart might break if he left her here, alone in these moors to her cold castle and these frigid winter nights.
There,I thought. This is exactly where we needed to go.
I leaned back, considering what would come next, and gasped. I had done it! I had put words on paper! The dry spell was over! I wanted to call Grady, but I was too afraid I would lose it. So, I kept writing and writing, feeling that warmth spread in the center of my chest.
I had always said that writing was a little like falling in love. And here, now, at this desk, writing for the first time in more than three years, I was falling in love all over again.
Chapter 9
Wondrous View
Lila
As I walked down the beach, sea breeze blowing in my hair, I laughed, thinking about those horrible pages I had just given Elizabeth. The woman was a writer. Good lord, was she ever. The way she had micromanaged me ... Well, at any rate, I hoped this was the push she needed to get back to the page. If I was wrong, if she couldn’t write, I would rewrite them. But I had this sneaking suspicion that this would be the thing that finally got her back to her work. I could scarcely wait for her scolding. I was shocked she hadn’t called me yet.
I was smiling to myself, watching the water lap my toes as I walked, when I looked up and spotted Grady in the distance. My stomach clenched. I had hardly seen him since he told me he couldn’t be my agent. Our personal outings had abruptly stopped, and if he ever showed up at Elizabeth’s, he was curt and professional. It made me sad, but I kept reminding myselfthat you couldn’t lose something you’d never really had. Clearly, any flirtation between us had been only in my head.
Now, I wondered if he had seen me. Could I turn the other way and avoid this awkward interaction? But then he caught my eye. When he saw me, he started running, which was odd. Something must be wrong. So I started running too.
“Are you okay?” I asked when he was within earshot. He had hurt my feelings, but I still cared about his well-being.
He nodded, slightly out of breath, a ring of sweat around his forehead. His linen oxford shirt, untucked, with the sleeves rolled up; khaki shorts; and bare feet was about as casual as he got. He was so handsome I began to feel out of breath too. “Is it finished?” he asked. “The book. Is it finished?”
I didn’t want to tell him about my ruse, and he seemed so panicked. I nodded. “It’s finished.”
“Thank god,” he said, taking my forearms in his hands, making them light up in goose bumps.
I cocked my head. “Were you worried? Did you think I couldn’t pull it off?”
He shook his head seriously. “Never. I knew from the moment I met you that you could do anything you put your mind to.”
He looked so nervous. I had been on cloud nine about my little plan with Elizabeth, but now I had the feeling that some shoe I wasn’t expecting was about to drop.
“Lila,” he said seriously.
An uncomfortable knot was forming in my stomach.Just tell me the bad news already!I thought.
“I couldn’t wait one more minute to tell you that the reason why I can’t be your agent ...”
He paused, and I steeled myself. When you’re a writer, you have to develop a thick skin. But criticism from someone you admire is always hard.
He took a deep breath. “I can’t be your agent because you are all I think about,” he practically blurted out.
The knot instantly dissipated, and I laughed with relief. “I am?” I eked out.
He nodded. “You are beautiful and brilliant, and funny, and have this wondrous view of the world that I can’t get enough of. And these last few weeks, waiting to tell you that while you were working with my mother, have nearly killed me.” He paused. “Have I mentioned you’re all I think about?”
I laughed again and bit my lip. “Hey, Grady. Ever since that day at the historic site ... you’re all I think about too.”
With that, he swept me up in his arms and kissed me in a way that felt like coming home. I realized that I knew Grady now. Over these past couple of months, I had learned that he was kind but tough when he needed to be. He was thoughtful and forthright, always. So, if he was making this move, he meant it. And I meant it too.
He smiled at me. “Was it the Austen-tatious pun?”
I nodded and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him again. When I pulled away, he scrunched his nose in that way I found so utterly charming. I rubbed my fingers over his jawline like I had imagined doing dozens of times since we had met. And now, I could. Because he was mine.
Grady took both my hands in his. “Lila Everwood, will you go to dinner with me tonight?”
“Well, Grady, I’ll have to check my schedule.”
