“I caught one,” she whispered and beamed at him.
Austin watched her more than the lights, captivated by the way the glow illuminated her face in fleeting flashes and the curve of her cheek when she smiled. Her green eyes sparkled. He stepped closer, reaching past her to coax another firefly towards the jar. Their arms brushed slightly, and the contact lingered.
“Now you’ve caught two,” he said softly.
She glanced at him. “You’re surprisingly gentle for a man.”
“Only when it matters,” he replied playfully.
Another firefly drifted between them. Deena reached; Austin did too. Their fingers met around the glow, trapping it gently in the cage of their joined hands. For a heartbeat, neither moved as the light pulsed against their skin, mirroring the sudden thrum of her pulse beneath his thumb where it rested against her wrist.
He didn’t release her immediately. “Three,” he said finally, guiding the insect into the jar with deliberate care.
Deena’s breath came shallower. “We should catch more.”
“We should,” he agreed, but his gaze stayed on her face.
They moved together through the grass, silent except for the occasional soft laugh when a firefly evaded them or landed unexpectedly on a sleeve or curl. Each near brush of hands, each shared glance when a particularly bright one drifted past, tightened the coil of awareness between them.
Deena broke the quiet first. “Our bargain begins tonight, doesn’t it? You promised secrets I could publish.”
Austin glanced at her, amused. “Eager, are we? You’re getting ahead of yourself, Dee. You’ve yet to provide a single introduction to a suitable bride. I’ve caught nothing but fireflies and your brother’s meaningful looks.”
She lifted the jar between them, where three lonely lights pulsed. “I’m working on it. But a deal is a deal. Share something scandalous.”
He slowed his step. “Tit for tat, then. You first.”
Deena’s brow arched. “I’ve already told you I’m being blackmailed.”
“Something personal,” he pressed. “Something no one else knows.”
“I…I’m not sure what to tell you.”
“What about the scandal that sent you to Paris? The one everyone whispers about, but no one understands?”
Deena hesitated. “But it is you who needs to spill his secrets, not me.”
“If I do hand you a secret that could ruin me. And if betrayed into the wrong hands, I’d lose everything. My title, my estates… all of it. So, it’s only fair, isn’t it? One truth for another. And I am a gentleman, so…ladies first?” he coaxed her gently.
Deena exhaled. “Fine. But only if you swear it stays between us.”
“On my honor.” He placed a hand over his heart, mock-solemn.
“The scandal that sent me to Paris… it was nothing. Truly.”
Austin stopped in his tracks.
“It does not sound likenothing. Go on?” he encouraged her.
She let out a slow breath, as if the memory still weighed on her lungs.
“I’d slipped into the library during my debut ball,” she began, quietly but steadily, “to read, yes, actually read, because the evening had become unbearable. Too many people, too much noise, and too many eyes watching my every step. I thought a few minutes alone with a book would calm me.”
Austin watched her closely. “What were you reading?”
A faint, rueful smile touched her lips. “A volume of Byron. Rather ironic, in hindsight.”
He gave a low chuckle. “Poetry in a ballroom. Scandal already brewing.”
