Edwin nodded, and half my worries fled with the determination on his face. “Agreed. That said, did you write down what you remember?”
“I did!” I beamed, pleased with myself. “I knew you’d ask for that first thing. Plus, I don’t trust my memory. It gets overloaded sometimes and leaks.”
He snorted a laugh, dark blue eyes twinkling. “I’ve seen it leak a time or two. It’s likely why you couldn’t remember what I had or hadn’t said to you in this life.”
“That’s part of it.” I sighed. Not that I regretted my lapse, since it had led Edwin to me in this life. Still. I really did need to watch myself better around everyone else.
“Where is it? Your list.”
“Oh, it’s the green notebook you’ve seen me carrying around. I can fetch it for you before you go home today.”
“Please and thank you. Half my time at the house is waiting around on the construction crew, so I’ll have time to properly review it. Did you mark what issues you’ve got people working on?”
“Er…I probably should have.” Why didn’t I think to do so? Edwin always caught me off guard with his questions. “But no. Right now, I have a few spies doing things for me, specifically watching both Gillespie and Victor, as I trust neither.”
“Ah. Yes, wise decision. I’ll mark questions in your notebook as I read through it today and see if there’s anything else we should track. Also, on that topic, meet me for dinner in town tonight.”
“Can I stay over too?” I asked eagerly.
“My house is still torn up,” he reminded me. “I’ll stay the night with you.”
“Either way’s fine.” I just wanted to be with him. Always.
“But I want a safe place to ask questions, and if we’re in town, away from the many prying eyes and ears of the palace, it’ll be safer.”
“You’re not wrong. Um…” Part of me felt it foolish to poke this with a stick, but I couldn’t seem to help myself and asked anyway. “What made you change your mind? You were so resistant to my advances before.”
With a soft smile, he picked up my hand in his, thumb smoothing in a gentle circle over the skin. “Well, at first, you came on so strongly, I feared I’d be yet another brokenhearted victim in the wake of royalty.”
Ah. Come to think of it, that had been a bad move on my part. Of course he’d be leery, having seen the fallout of those relationships.
“Then I realized you were sincere, and you truly do see me as your equal. I was attracted to you from the first moment I saw you, but after getting to know you better, I realized you’re very much the type of man I want to have as a lover. I still battled with myself, though. Did I dare walk this path with you? It took me a moment to gather the courage. Like you, I’m tired of denying myself when I want something.”
I gripped his fingers in mine a little firmer. “Yes, I’m very tired of that. Thank you for gathering the courage.”
“Sayingyou’re welcomesounds strange.” His smile stretched from ear to ear, eyes crinkling in the corners. “On that note, shall we get to work?”
“We should. It’s rather late in the morning.”
I had to change clothes, as I was back in the clothes I’d worn yesterday, so a stop by my room was necessary anyway. While walking to my rooms, I dearly wanted someone to walk past us so they could see me and Edwin holding hands and I could startshowing him off. Sadly, we didn’t encounter a soul, which was crushing.
I changed clothes, fetched the notebook, and gave Edwin another lingering kiss before sending him on his way. I wished I could stop working and be there for him as he put his house together. Sadly, too much rode on me getting work done in his absence. Damn reality. So inconvenient.
My staff were already at work in my office, no one thinking much of my later start, as I did occasionally step out and handle other matters before coming in. I sat and did my work, trying to focus and plow through it. Difficult, since my mind wanted to focus on Edwin and the incredible night we’d spent together. I’d only fantasized about having him as a lover. Reality had shown me I had a very lacking imagination. Warm tingles spread all over my body just from the memory. I couldn’t wait until the two of us lived together. I could already anticipate my impatience at not sharing a bed with him every night.
The overwhelming emotion living inside me, though? Euphoria. Bone-melting, soul-lifting euphoria. I finally, finally had a romantic relationship with Edwin. It had taken a lifetime, death, and bargaining with angels to manage it—but I finally had. I couldn’t have been happier if I was handed Paradise again on a silver platter.
Probably just as well Edwin wasn’t in the office this morning, as I wouldn’t have been able to do anything but stare at him. He’d left looking casual instead of all formal in his suit, his hair once again not waxed back. Something about his glasses, too, had always gotten to me. Like a sign of his intellect, which I’d admittedly fallen for. I liked him without glasses as well, though it was rare to see, as he had glasses for a reason. But I thought I preferred him with them on?
What a difficult debate. Which was better, glasses on or off?
Oops, I should be working. Dammit, Edwin was truly distracting for my brain. It was running in circles over here.
Midafternoon, Helena burst into my office, appearing a little wide around the eyes. I paused with pen halfway to paper, alarmed at the look of rage on her face. All my staff glanced up as well and, from their expressions, were trying to gauge if they should duck for cover. I wondered the same.
“What?” I demanded sharply.
“Our mother just informed me I was to stop helping you with any repair efforts. She said, and I quote, ‘Leave that to the men, you’re just getting in the way.’I’m… James, talk me down, I’m on the ledge. I can’t kill my own mother.”
