She broke away, her breath short, and then she pivoted toward Aiden. As Wren watched, Aiden cupped her cheek and the two of them kissed just as passionately. His body ached as he felt their desire, felt their love for each other, felt the desperation of the parting. When Emilia turned away from Aiden, she caught his hand and drew him closer to Wren.
“Kiss him,” she said, her voice cracking as she looked at Wren. “You’ve always wanted it. This was never about me. It was always about us. And if this is the end, I want toknow, to feel what I’ve always known was there between us. What could have been.”
Wren’s heart was pounding. Oh yes, he had adored and wanted Aiden Edwards for just as long as he’d wanted Emilia, even though they’d never acted on that desire either. But thoughts of the other man kept him up at night as often as thoughts of her…of all of them together. And now, in the heat of this moment that was likely their last, he had no way to refuse.
He stepped forward and pushed his fingers through Aiden’s short, crisp hair. Aiden let out a soft sound of pleasure that was immediately lost on Wren’s lips as they kissed. He was drowning in a desire more powerful than anything he’d ever felt and yet there was a wall there, an end that was coming that tempered the beauty of this moment.
Aiden pulled away first and there was a sparkle of tears in his eyes. One that made Wren’s chest hurt even more.
Emilia stepped back, smoothing her gown. “If we can’t all be together, I-I hope you two?—”
“No.” It was Aiden who said it, though the same answer had been on Wren’s lips.
He shook his head and added, “We said a long time ago if it’s not all of us, it’s none of us.”
“Wren,” Emilia breathed. “Aiden. That was a promise of children, made about sneaking out to fish together. It was not about…not about this. Not about?—”
“If it cannot be all of us, it will be none of us,” Aiden repeated firmly. “Yes, I want Wren. We’ve never been able to hide it, at least not from you. But if it cannot include you, then it won’t be complete. It would be spoiled after a while, a joining of grief, nothing more.”
“We couldn’t be happy without you,” Wren said as he locked eyes with Aiden and saw that he would truly lose everything today.
Emilia bent her head, her breath coming shallow. “I hate this.”
“It’s the way of your world, Em,” Wren said. “I wish we could save you, but the two of us are from another world. The son of a man of affairs and the son of a butler? We don’t have the power, we wouldn’t have it even if we were older, even if things were different.”
She wanted to argue, Wren could see it. Her sense of right, of fairness, meant she judged people by their characters rather than their position in life. It was one of the most remarkable things about her. It was entirely unfortunate that Emilia couldn’t rule the world. And that no matter how she wanted to change it, she had no more power to do so than they did.
“I hate that it’s true. I hate it,” she whispered. “I’ve tried so hard to find a way to make it not true.”
Aiden squeezed her hand. “It’s not your fault. It’s not any of our fault.”
She drew in a short breath before she nodded sadly. She slipped her hand away and then stepped away. “I-I’m going to try to be happy if I can, but you both must know that my heart will always have a place for you. That will never change. It can’t.”
“For me either,” Aiden said softly.
“Nor for me.”
They were silent for a moment and then Wren moved toward the door. “We’ll go so that your father won’t find us here. It will be difficult enough for you without us making it harder.”
He was shaking as she opened the door to let them out but wouldn’t meet his eyes. Perhaps it was for the best, at that. This was painful enough. “Good—goodbye, Emilia.”
She let out a soft sob and all he wanted to do was turn around, hold her, run with her. But he was twenty, with very small prospects, almost no money and no power at all. He could only hurt her by trying to do what was impossible.
So he left her, hearing Aiden say something similar to her behind him. Gentle words of goodbye, of regret. Wren tried not to let them settle in his chest, nor the sound of her crying when Aiden followed behind him. Their horses were on the drive, side by side. Wren could hardly breathe as he turned toward Aiden.
They were silent as they stared at each other for what felt like an eternity and then Aiden shook his head. “We’ll see each other in Town.”
Wren nodded. “I’ll look for you. I’m not going to lie and say I won’t.”
Aiden’s breath exhaled shakily. “But we won’t…we won’t go to each other.”
“If it’s not all of us, it’s none of us,” Wren whispered yet again. “Even if it breaks our hearts. Even if it kills my soul.”
“Goodbye, Wren,” Aiden said, and swung up on his horse.
He rode away and only then did Wren seat himself and whisper, “Goodbye, love. Both my loves. Goodbye.”
CHAPTER1
