“I do not know what I am saying,” he finally pushed out. “I do not even know why I am here. I just—”
“If you thought that would make this any better, Michael, you are terribly wrong.”
“I shouldn’t want to make this any better!”
Elaine reeled back, pressing herself against the small balustrade of the terrace. “You have no cause to be angry with me,” she snapped.
“I’m not—” Michael broke off, visibly calming himself. “I am not angry with you. It is myownactions that bring me such frustration.”
She crossed her arms, fighting back the tears biting the back of her eyes. She couldn’t believe she had let herself feel hope that he would tell her that he loved her back. He was only making things worse.
“Well, if you do not mind,” she pushed out, grateful that her voice did not crack. “I would much rather you feel such frustration elsewhere. I came out here to get away from you.”
Michael remained still, his gaze fixed upon her, eyes filled with torment. It tore at the rest of her restraint and she felt a tear escape her eye.
Elaine turned away before he could see it. “If you will not leave, then I shall—”
He caught her wrist, pulling her back to him. Elaine gasped when she hit his broad chest.
“I want nothing more than to walk away from you right now,” he murmured, his soft breath brushing against her lips. “I should not have followed you out here. I should have let you leave.”
“Then why did you not?” she whispered back.
His gaze dipped to her lips, then back to her eyes. “Because I have lost my way. Because no matter how many times I try to remind myself of my purpose, the moment I look in your eyes, I cannot think of anything else but you.”
She didn’t dare breathe, afraid that she might ruin this beautiful moment. But her heart made up for the lack of lung activity, beating a staccato against her ribcage. Or perhaps that was his? In this tender moment, she couldn’t make heads or tails of anything but him.
“Michael…” she murmured. She wanted to say so much more but the words would not pass her lips.
“Elaine, I…” He trailed off, eyes falling to her lips. And then his head began to descend.
Elaine thought she would have collapsed right then and there had he not been holding her. She let out a shuddering breath, her nerves set on fire as his lips came closer. But the moment they pressed against hers, everything disappeared.
It was like she had been a walking corpse all her life and this soft kiss was what brought her to life. Elaine leaned into it, her heart pounding so heart it threatened to beat right out of her chest. His hand came to rest on the small of her back and her hands, oh her hands were acting on their own accord. One was at the nape of his neck, fingers threading through the hair curled right there. The other was creeping up his chest, grippingthe lapels of his shirt as if he could possibly be any closer to her. Their lips moved in perfect coordination as if they had danced this dance a hundred times before. As if everything in their life had been leading up to this union. As if she had been born to be his.
“What on earth is going on here?”
The sharp question pulled Elaine out of her beautiful fantasy and plunged her into the cold pit of reality. Michael jerked away from her first then turned towards the terrace doors where a crowd was quickly gathering. She tried not to focus on the fact that he was standing in front of her as if trying to shield her from the judgment of the other guests and instead paid attention to the fact that more and more people were coming to see what the commotion was about.
And among them was James.
Elaine caught his eyes and saw realization dawn in them the moment horror dawned in hers. This was it. This was the moment she lost everything.
James shoved his way to the front, his face a mask of cold fury. Elaine was only vaguely aware of the fact that Clarissa and Lorna were on his heels, bracing herself as she was for what was to come.
But James’ anger was aimed solely at Michael. “What in the world do you think you’re doing?” he hissed.
“James, please—” Elaine began but Michael took over.
“I was not thinking,” he said, oddly calm considering the fact that James seemed just about ready to unleash his anger upon him. “It was a slip of the moment.”
“A slip of the moment?” James growled. “You ruined my cousin’s honour because you could not contain yourself in the moment?”
“James.” Lorna appeared by his side, her voice low but hasty. “You are causing a scene.”
“I am not the one causing a scene, Mother.” James didn’t take his eyes off Michael, his fury rolling off him in waves. “He was the one who could not keep his hands and his lips to himself. I am only doing what any proper gentleman would do when faced with such dishonour.”
“Oh, good grief, do not tell me you intend to challenge him to a duel.”
