One brow flew upward. “Only that?”
He shrugged. “If you really want to know about my dreams, a kiss is the price.”
“Very well, I accept your condition.”
Will rose from the bed and strode over to the tub, a flash of satisfaction pulsing through his veins when her gaze trailed over his chest down tothatpart that refused to settle down. He hadn’t expected all this, that his racing back home from boxing practice would lead to her accepting him in the most intimate way. Hehad kept his heart hidden from her as he had tried poorly to woo her, but he would no longer hold back.
He leaned over to look his wife in the eyes. “My first dream is not so different from yours.”
“Oh?”
“It has always been to wed the woman of my dreams.”
Her eyes went wide.
“My second dream,” he trailed a finger over her cheek, “is to make love to her every day.”
Her lips parted.
Will smiled. “And my third, most sincere dream is to capture her heart.”
“Will . . .”
“And just in case I have not been clear, love,” Will said, brushing his lips against hers. “That is why I had no choice in marrying you. That is why I couldn’t give you up no matter what. You, Harriet Hillstow, are the woman of my dreams. You always have been.”
Chapter Twenty
Harriet Hillstow wasa dream-woman.
A woman in a dream state, rather.A dreaming woman.
In the days that followed her husband’s startling confession, to say her relationship with him had changed would be the understatement of the season. They could hardly keep their hands off each other.
He’d left her quite in a daze that day. But he hadn’t pressed her or even expected a response to his admission. He’d just kissed her madly, sealed his three dreams—his declarations—with a scorching kiss that had robbed her of her breath.
William Fitzgerald Hamilton, the third Marquess of Leeds, had not started out as the man of her dreams. But he had become hers. That much could no longer be in doubt.
He was the man of her dreams. And she, apparently, was the woman of his.
This was what she had wanted all her life. This was what she had dreamed about.
Love.
Which was why, since she hadn’t yet declared anything of her own, she wanted to purchase him a gift, something he could always cherish, and it had taken the better part of a week to decide on the perfect one.
A pocket watch.
One with a bit of sentimental meaning.
Only time will tell.
On that, Calstone had been right. Time had revealed quite a remarkable tale. And with a watch as a gift, she hoped it would stand as a reminder that time would continue to reveal a truly precious life for them together.
Harriet browsed at the selection of watches displayed before her.
“Which one do you like?” Selena asked. Harriet had dragged both Selena and Leonora along with her to help her choose.
“I’m not sure.” She pointed at a gold watch with the intricate design of a wolf on the case. “That one seems most fitting.”
