“Perhaps I do,” he replied.
“I am not sure if I should be flattered or insulted by how easily you can read me,” she remarked.
“Flattered, I assure you.”
Lowering the book to her lap, Edwina said, “I assume you sought me out for a reason.”
Miles closed the distance between them and sat on a chair facing Edwina. “I asked Bennett to meet us here.”
A deep furrow formed between Edwina’s brows. “This is going to be a very difficult conversation,” she mused.
“It will be, but we can do it together,” Miles said with determination.
In a hesitant voice, Edwina asked, “Do you think he will believe us?”
“I don’t see why he wouldn’t,” Miles replied. “Besides, I can be rather convincing when I want to be.”
Edwina shifted her gaze towards the window. “What we will reveal to Bennett will no doubt shatter his idyllic life.”
Miles leaned forward in his chair, drawing back Edwina’s attention. “No life is idyllic. Everyone has their own struggles and hardships. Some just hide it better than others.”
A wistful sigh escaped Edwina’s lips as she admitted softly, “My life was pretty idyllic when my father was still alive.”
Miles heard the sadness in her voice and he wished he had the power to wipe away the lingering pain in her heart. He wanted nothing more than for her to be happy- no, heneededit.
Edwina lowered her gaze to her lap. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, almost too quiet for him to hear.
“There is no need to apologize,” Miles said. “I want you to be honest with me about how you are feeling.”
“Sometimes I feel like I take five steps forward but then I take ten steps backward,” Edwina sighed, her voice filled with frustration. “I can’t seem to ever get ahead.”
Miles chuckled. “That is called life,” he stated. “We stumble and fall, but we get back up.”
Edwina regarded him with a curious expression. “How is it that you have become so optimistic all of a sudden?”
“If I am, it is because of you and your tutelage.”
“I do not deserve such praise.”
Miles moved closer, sitting on the edge of his seat and holding her gaze. “You have no idea what you do to me, do you?”
“What is it that I do to you?” she asked.
“You have forever altered my course, for the better,” Miles declared earnestly.
Edwina shook her head. “You would have gotten there eventually.”
“I am not sure if that is true,” he said. “I was content in my misery, convinced that it was what I deserved and that there was no way out. But then you came along and showed me a different path, one filled with hope.”
“You are too kind, but it wasyouthat had to decide to change. No one else could do that for you,” Edwina said.
Miles couldn’t seem to stop staring at Edwina. Her green eyes held some kind of unspoken power over him, drawing him in with an irresistible force. It was as if every moment in his life had been leading him up to this precise moment.
He knew he should look away and end whatever hold Edwina had over him. Instead, he found himself inching closer to her, his breath mingling with hers. His eyes flickered down to her lips. Her perfectly shaped lips.
A small part of him hoped she would push him away, ending this strange dance between them. But a larger part of him wanted to kiss her. Desperately.
Edwina didn’t shy away, making him wonder if perhaps she wanted this, too. He looked for any signs of hesitation that his advances were unwelcome, but he saw none.
