“But I must know if this is real,” she urged, a flicker of something like panic crossing her face.
He smiled, cradling her cheek with his hand, his other arm sliding around her waist to pull her closer. “Perhaps, this will suffice…”
He dipped his head and kissed her, the graze of his lips against hers like the answering of a prayer. It was not forgiveness, not yet, but she was not pushing him away and demanding that he leave her side forever.
A moment later, she kissed him back, rising up on tiptoe as her arms looped around his neck, pulling his head down to kiss him better. He smiled against her mouth, his heart racing in celebration as their kiss deepened, slow and fierce and profound. A moment that chased away the rest of his lingering fear, forthiswas life,thiswas living, and no matter how long they had together, he never wanted to be away from her again.
Breathing hard, Teresa pulled back, holding his face in her hands. “I would like a honeymoon.”
He chuckled. “That can be arranged.”
Her fingertips gently brushed his scar. “And I would… like to tell you that I love you, too.” A shaky smile appeared upon her lips. “My goodness, how I love you.”
“Does this mean that I am forgiven?” he asked, hope in his voice.
“I forgive you as much as I love you,” she replied, pulling his head down once more, meeting his lips with her own, kissing him with a hunger he could not resist.Wouldnot resist.
He kissed her harder, wrapping his arms around her, letting the world around them disappear until they were alone in a bubble of bliss. A glorious sign of what the rest of their lives might look like, as long as he never again lost sight of what was important, what made life worth living.
I never shall…
But as they kissed and swayed together, lost in one another, a strange sound managed to pierce through the bubble of their happiness, threatening to pop it.
“Leave my sister alone!” Vincent’s voice yelled. “Stand away from her at once!”
Cyrus and Teresa broke their kiss slowly, their arms still around each other, both turning together toward the manor at the back of that square of garden. Framed by the terrace doors, being restrained most vigorously by Prudence, Beatrice, and Teresa’s mother, it seemed as if the ladies of the Wilds family—and Teresa’s best friend—had chosen a side, and they were a fierce force against the only one who had chosen the opposing side.
“Unhand me!” Vincent barked.
“Not a chance!” Julianna retorted. “You might be the Lord of this house, my boy, but you willnotruin this moment for Teresa!”
Prudence grinned. “I shall flatten you and sit on your back if you do not come away from the doors!”
“Indeed, you shall have to go through me,” Beatrice agreed, putting herself between Vincent and the terrace doors. “I am tougher than I look.”
At that moment, Teresa burst into glorious laughter, shaking her head as her cheeks flushed a charming pink. “Kiss me again, my love,” she said, peering up at Cyrus. “Let us see how long it takes for my brother’s head to explode.”
“I have an idea,” Cyrus replied, scooping her up into his arms.
With Vincent and the others still squabbling inside the manor, Cyrus carried his wife back through the gate and around to the other side of the hedge, where they would not be seen.
There, still holding her in his arms, he smiled down at her. “I love you.”
“As I love you,” she murmured back, gently stroking the side of his head, lightly running her fingertips through his hair.
Dipping his head to kiss her, he stopped just short. “I must ask, for posterity—does this mean I have my wife back?”
She grinned. “My love, you never lost her.”
With that, he kissed her, shaded by the dense leaves of the boxwood, as the golden sun bathed them in the last of the day’s warmth. A good omen, promising of bright days to come, and the golden future that awaited them. Together.
EPILOGUE
“Well,someonelooks like the duchess who got everything she ever dreamed of,” a voice said, greeting Teresa’s ears above the chatter of the seemingly endless guests and the beautiful music of the exquisite orchestra.
Teresa whirled around, grinning from ear to ear. “Oh, my dearest Bea, is it truly possible to be so happy?”
“I believe it is, for good people like you,” Beatrice replied, weaving her arm through Teresa’s. “I always said you were destined for greatness, Tess. Tonight, you are practically royalty. You do realize that society will be talking of this ball foryearsto come, do you not?”
