Tess sucked in a shaky breath, but he wasn’t finished.
“My father was right: grief is the price we pay for love, but it’s worth it. He wouldn’t have exchanged one minute with my mother for any lessening of his pain, and I don’t want to waste any more time denying my feelings for you. I love you. And I want to keep on loving you for the rest of my days. I can’t say I’m thrilled at the thought of you putting yourself in danger, but I hope you’ll let me do everything in my power to keep you as safe as possible while you do it.”
He was so close his boots brushed her skirts, but he still made no move to touch her.
“You are beautiful, but that’s only a tiny part of what makes you so lovely. You’re clever, and brave, and kind. I don’t know why I was surprised that you’d run an investigative agency. You’re always trying to help people, tofind solutions for their problems. Witness how you badgered me to appeal against the tax for working dogs, and how you combined the crops at Wansford to improve the yield.”
He shook his head, even as he smiled at her. “Youamazeme, Tess. Even if you don’t return my feelings, I want you to know that. You have my heart. Now and forever.”
Tess finally closed the distance between them.
“I do.”
“Do what?”
“Return your feelings.” She gave a sudden, incredulous laugh. “I loveyou, Justin Trevelyan Thornton, and I refuse to let you leave me. You’re going to have to stay with me and love me until you die of extreme old age.”
For a moment he looked stunned, as if he couldn’t believe his good fortune. And then he caught her in his arms and enfolded her in a hug that crushed the breath from her body.
Tess closed her eyes in delight as she breathed in his familiar scent and her body molded to his as if they were two halves of the same whole, perfectly aligned.
He released her only enough to clasp her face between his palms. “I am the luckiest man in England,” he breathed.
Tess smiled. “You certainly are. I can’t believe you won evenmoremoney, while specifically trying not to. There is no justice in this world.”
He pressed his forehead against hers with a laugh. “That’s true. If there was, an undeserving bastard like myself would never have married a nice girl like you.”
“Daisy would suggest there’s a nun somewhere about to be hit by lightning.”
“Sounds fair. Perhaps you can think of a worthy cause to benefit from my undeserved winnings?”
“What about a rehabilitation home for puppies, harlots, and veterans?”
His amused exhale huffed against her nose. “All in one place? That sounds like a recipe for disaster. But I’ll agree to whatever you say, my love.”
Tess tilted her face upward. “In that case, I say you should kiss me.”
“With the greatest pleasure on earth.”
The world slipped away as his lips found hers. Tess threw her arms around his neck and returned the favor, matching his passion with her own. It was only the insistent shouting of one of the grooms that forced them reluctantly apart.
“’Ere, Yer Grace, you’ve got to go up an’ accept yer winner’s cup!”
Justin groaned at the interruption, but he smiled down into her eyes.
“I don’t need a golden cup to know that I’ve won. I have everything I need right here.”
Tess sent him a mock scowl. “Come on, Your Grace. I’ll accept on your behalf. And then we can take poor Fool For Love back to Wansford Hall and set him out to pasture. He’s more than earned his happiness.”
Justin gave her bottom a playful pinch. “As have we.”
Epilogue
King & Co., Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Tess lifted her face for a kiss as Justin bent over her shoulder.
“Good evening, my lady.”
