Chapter 23 #3
Confusion crept into her eyes, but it was all he could do not to laugh with joy. Given the emotional evening, he took pity on her and lowered his head to put their faces closer together. “You said you love me, and it sounded as if living without me for the rest of your life would be unbearable.”
One gloved hand flew up to cover her lips, muffling her words. “I did say that, didn’t I?”
Miles grinned and rested his hands on her waist. “Yes. Although, to be accurate, I said it first, even if you never received the letter.”
Her eyes searched his face. “You really wrote that? What else did you say?”
Miles shifted so their bodies were more closely aligned.
He could hardly wait to pull her into his arms. But they needed to clear the air first. “I revealed that I was the one writing those letters to you. Writing might have been cowardly, but that wasn’t what drove me to it.
My original intent was to prove to you that we’re perfect for each other, regardless of what your mother does or doesn’t think of me.
I also wrote that I knew you were the archer all along. ”
She gaped at him, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. “So you weren’t angry when I told you at the Casburns’ ball? I worried for so long that you left because of my deception.”
The laughter died on his tongue. She’d worried about that for a month while he was gone? He could hardly stand the idea. “I’m so sorry we got interrupted that night, but yes, I knew since our first conversation at Cedar Point.”
To Miles’s surprise, she smacked his arm with the back of one hand. “Why didn’t you tell me then?”
“I wanted to prove how much I support your dreams, not just say I do. But one thing I will say time and again—and the last thing I wrote in that letter—is that I love you. Because that’s the biggest truth of all, Sylvie.
It’s a love I didn’t expect, wasn’t even hoping for.
The mere possibility of you returning those feelings is a blessing I had trouble believing I deserved for most of the summer. ”
Sylvie reached up to rest her palm on his cheek, warmth radiating from her touch to relax everything inside him. “I love you, too, Miles.”
He couldn’t stand it any longer. The words spurred him to pull her close and drop his lips to hers, claiming her heart with words and actions.
The kiss shifted his soul, leaving him thinking he would be a different man when it ended because they loved each other, and they could now have a future together.
The secrets and disguises that had put walls between them were gone, leaving only a life-altering love that could only grow stronger with time.
Shifting Sylvie in his arms, Miles deepened the kiss with a tilt of his head. He lost himself in her for quite some time, if their labored breathing when they finally separated was any indication.
Miles ran a shaky hand through his hair. “Sylvie, can you forgive me for the deception all these months?”
With the sweetest smile Miles had ever seen and eyes shining in the dim light coming from the house, Sylvie nodded. “If you can forgive mine, as well. Or what I believed was deception, since you knew who I was, anyway.”
Gathering her back into his arms, Miles spoke with his lips pressed against the top of her head.
“I’ll always forgive you. Now I must ask, do you want to enjoy your independence before we make this permanent?
I’ll wait to propose if you want to pursue the show on your own for another summer.
But if it’s up to me, I’ll do it as soon as I can. ”
Stretching to look up into his face, Sylvie arched an eyebrow. “Patience is a becoming virtue, my lord.”
Miles groaned, unable to resist claiming another kiss, thanks to that teasing glint in her eyes.
This time when he pulled back, Miles stepped away from her, aware they now had all the time in the world to tease and kiss and grow closer to each other.
Gratitude filled his heart, overflowing into silent prayer before he responded more seriously.
“Back to my question, Sylvie. Will you regret losing the chance for some independence if we move quickly? I don’t intend to restrict you in any way, but it will be different once we’re married. ”
The way her lips parted and tipped up at the sound of his intentions sent Miles’s heart soaring.
She shook her head, then rested it on his shoulder.
“I won’t regret it one bit. I only wanted the freedom to choose who I would marry.
And God cared enough about me to answer that desire.
Even if you were Mother’s first choice, you’re still my choice too. ”
With love for the strong, capable woman at his side growing intense enough that he almost forgot anything else existed, Miles drew a deep breath as he struggled to find some of that patience she’d teased him about.
She might agree if he asked right now, but Sylvie deserved a thoughtful proposal.
One that brought their relationship out of hiding.
And he was determined to wait until he could give her just that.