Fans of Eloisa James & Julia Quinn discussion
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Last Puzzler of 2014
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Awww! Cute! I can't remember if I've read this but I've got the suspicion that I have...
Don't know it but can't wait to find out. I love Marriage of Convenience storylines.
I don't think I've read this one, but I do like these stories too.
Mod
Hero stood, unfastened his shirt. “What about that concerns you?”
Heroine hadn’t realized her distress was so transparent. She paused in turning back the covers. “He’ll think our marriage isn’t real.”
That caught Hero’s attention. “Are you saying it is?”
She was quiet.
“Heroine?”
“Isn’t it? She asked softly.
From memory, he quoted her, “A marriage is generally defined by the usual practices of sharing a common dwelling, coital relations, and raising children together. That’s what you told me. Do you remember?”
She did, and the recollection pained her. “I was as ignorant as I was arrogant.”
Hero moved to sit beside her. “You were terrified.” He caught her chin and tilted her face toward him. “And arrogant.”
That made her smile, though the edges of it wobbled a bit. There was an aching press fo tears behind her eyes. “I love you, you know.”
He released her chin and let his hand rest lightly on her knee. “How about that.”
She laughed a little at what she thought was his quiet conceit. “I suppose you thought it was inevitable.”
“Inevitable?” Hero shook his head. “Maybe you remember exchanging vows differently than I do.”
“No, I’ve come to recall every word I barely spoke.” She laid her hand over his. “I wish now that I had been able to say them with my heart.”
“It was honest,” he said. “ Was Foster telling the truth? About your wanting a church wedding?”
She shrugged and then because he waited her out, she nodded. “He must have overheard me talking to Mr. Maddox. Foster wasn’t part of the conversation. It was just idle talk while I was working on someone’s bridal gown.”
Because it was clear that she did not want to make too much of it, Hero let it go. “Under the covers. You’re starting to shiver.”
Heroine’s hands and feet were still cool to the touch when Hero finally joined her. She tucked them under his body to warm them and sighed agreeably. “This was unexpected,” she said, cozying up to him. “No one told me about this part of marriage. Its really quite nice.”
“Its lumpy.”
Unperturbed, she left her hands and feet where they were until she judged them sufficiently warmed. “Better?” she asked.
“I never said it wasn’t good.” Hero turned onto his back and took Heroine into the crook of his shoulder. “I’ve been thinking about this matter of a ring.” He felt heroine begin to lift her head to look at him, but he threaded his fingers in her hair and drew her back gently. “Hear me out.”
She nodded, though not without a sense of unease.
“I have one of my grandmother’s rings,” he said. “That’s my grandmother C. She died shortly before my father and had already made provision for him to have her ruby. I’m not entirely sure why. She was as unhappy about the decisions he made as anyone in my mother’s family, but lately I’ve been thinking that perhaps the ring represented a change of heart. And if that’s the case, then there’s no one who deserves to wear it more than you.”
She hesitated. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“Don’t you?” he asked. “You changed my heart, heroine.”
She felt her throat constrict, making any reply impossible.
“Heroine?” Her silence rarely made him uncomfortable, but this time he had no clear view of her features and no way to gauge her reaction. He wondered if he should have made a more straightforward declaration. “Did you hear me say I love you?”
She turned her cheek into his shoulder. “I heard you.”
He gave her a corner of the sheet to dab at her eyes. “Are you going to cry when I give you the ring?”
“Probably.” She sniffled. “Why?”
“Just wanted to make sure I have a handkerchief.”