He actually watched the weight lift off her shoulders as they rolled forward. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” he said.
She tilted her head, and now that the worry was gone from her face, he saw how she tried to read him and failed. Vanessa had never gotten closer than any other lady he’d taken to his bed.
“I heard you are married,” she said softly.
He nodded. “Indeed, I am.”
“That came as a shock to me, considering we just ended our affiliation. I had not realized you were courting a lady during our time together.”
“I wasn’t,” he said, rising and stretching his back as he paced away from her. “I met my wife after you and I parted ways.”
Vanessa’s gaze stayed on him. “There is something different about you,” she said.
He faced her. “Ian said the same thing to me today. I feel very obvious right now.”
“You love her?” Vanessa asked, and the shadow of her smile grew wider as he remained silent. “You do. That’s wonderful, Duncan. You deserve nothing less.”
He smiled. “It feels wrong talking about this with you, considering our…our past.”
She nodded. “Of course. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. But I do wish you all the best.” She stood and motioned to the door, granting him the freedom he had been too polite to demand. “I’m certain we will not see each other again, so once more, I offer my deepest thanks for your help. And all my hopes for your happiness.”
He moved with her to the foyer and smiled. “I wish the same for you, you know. I truly do. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye,” she repeated, soft, a little wistful. But she didn’t call him back as he walked away. He felt no desire to turn to face her. She was his past. He was happy to help her—he felt no guilt in that. But he also didn’t want her anymore. He wanted one woman. The one he hoped would be home when he returned.
His wife.
He rode through London, his whole world a little lighter than it had been just a few weeks before. And by the time he got him, he’d already thought of half a dozen ways to woo the woman who had come to mean so much to him. Now he had to make his arrangements so that when she saw him next, there was no doubt that she owned his heart.
