She looked at him in confusion as he continued. “I was such a fool. I never told you I loved you. I had so many opportunities, yet I remained silent. I was too afraid to discover that you might not love me.
“But Jillian, I love you more than I have ever loved another person in my life, and I refuse to let you go, and I refuse to let you do what you think is best for me by leaving me.”
She stared at him in wonder, letting his words wash over her. “You love me?” Her voice was a mixture of hope and joy.
“Do you doubt it?” he asked, burning her with the intensity in his eyes. He crushed her lips to his, kissing her searchingly and with so much passion it left them both breathless. “Yes, I love you!” he shouted, whirling her around.
“Stop!” she laughed. “You’re making me dizzy!”
He slowed and pulled her up against him once more and then kissed her tenderly.
“Justin, because I love you is precisely why I can’t let you do this,” she said painfully.
“Listen to me,” he said firmly, taking her hands in his. “I can’t offer you marriage and I can’t offer you a title or a grand manor to live in. I can’t even offer our children legitimacy, but what Icanoffer you is a lifetime filled with love and laughter.
“If you leave, we will give up far more than I will have gained by going back to my life as the Duke of Whittington. I wantyou, not a title or wealth, or any of the things that go along with it.
“Say you’ll stay, Jillian. I don’t want to live without you.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks as she threw herself into his arms. “I love you,” she whispered. “I’ll take everything you are offering.”
He let out a whoop and then captured her lips again.
###
“Well,” Case said, smiling as he watched the two silhouetted in the morning sun. “I am assuming we can leave now without Jillian.”
“I’d say you were right,” Hawk replied. “Shall we go then? Somehow I don’t think we are needed here anymore.” He turned to walk back to the house.
Case stood staring at the two a moment longer. “Goodbye Jilly. Justin,” he whispered. He turned away and followed Edward and Hawk to the waiting carriage.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Cornish Coast
April 1820
Perched on the cliff’s edge, Jillian stared out over the great swells crashing below. A warm breeze washed over her, and swirled the long strands of her hair against her waist. Spring had arrived, and the air was scented by the many flowers scattered out over the landscape.
She smiled as she felt strong arms wrap around her and gentle hands splay over her swollen belly. Warm lips nuzzled her neck.
“How is the beautiful mother-to-be?”
She turned her head slightly to look up at him, and he captured her lips in a long kiss. She let out a satisfied sigh. “I love you.”
“And I love you,” he said softly.
An invisible hand squeezed her heart. Her reaction was the same, even after hearing the words so many times.
He rested his chin on top of her head. “Case will be here soon.”
Brief sadness claimed her. As happy as she was with Justin, she missed Case terribly, and she knew Justin missed him as well. In the year since they had fled London, they hadn’t seen or heard from Hawk or Case. Then, a week ago, they received a letter from Case telling them of his imminent arrival.
She prayed he would not bring upsetting news. The secluded haven she and Justin had created had given them both a measure of happiness, though she still worried that Justin missed his home and his life as a duke.
To his credit, he had embraced their new life, learning to do everyday chores that a servant had always done in the past while she set about learning to cook. Her attempts had been a source of amusement for many weeks, and Justin swore he had lost over a stone in weight. But she had persevered and had gotten adept at preparing their meals.
In the evenings they would gather in the small kitchen and talk while she cooked. Then, they would retire to their bed where they loved with an intensity that left them sated and fulfilled.
