He smiled, but just as he was about to step away, Lorna came close, leaned up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. He turned to face her before she’d gone down again, and their mouths were only a breath away. Looking into her bright brown eyes, he saw everything. He saw happiness; he saw a future, and he saw a way to get out of the mire of sadness in which he’d found himself.
And yet, she was not his. “Thank ye,” she said finally, moving back, her hands sliding away from where they’d settled on his chest. “Ye were very kind tae me taeday, and ye didnae have tae be.”
Snorting, he replied, “Ye had just seen a dead body. What else could I have done?” His body was still trembling from their closeness.
“Ye could have been cruel and unkind and lacking in understanding. Ye were nae. Thank ye.” She bowed her head and sat down.
“Good night tae ye, lass.”
“Good night.” She pulled a book into her lap and settled herself. It was time to leave and yet Bryce found that his feet felt like solid rock pegged to the floor. There was so much more he wished to say and yet he didn’t have the words just yet.
After a few more seconds, he was able to pull his feet from the floor, leave the library, and hasten to his room before he’d have to come down for dinner. Nothing else good could come of that evening, for his brain was full of scattered thoughts and hopes. As he opened the door to his chamber, he touched a hand to his cheek where the warm imprint of her lips lingered.
