Page 39 of Choices of the Heart

“I suppose that’s part of it.”

She leaned forward. The chairs they sat in were near enough to each other that he could see every variation of color in her eyes.

“Don’t you think, Burke Jones, thatyourevaluation of the work you do and the life you lead is more important than anyone else’s?”

“I recognize that it should be, but that is something I fear I’m going to have to keep working on. But do you realize, Sophie Kingston, that being happy with the personyouare is more important than pretending to be the personother peoplethink you ought to be?”

“I’m not the only one who experiences the consequences of how I present myself.”

“You mean Mrs. Archer?”

She stood, which pulled her hand from his. Sophie walked a little bit away, but not with an air of offense or frustration, more like she was sorting something out.

“I’ve decided that, rather than assuming how she feels, I’m going to ask Mrs. Archer. During the journey back to Baltimore, we will have days and days together. This seems like a good topic to fill the miles.”

“And if she says that you being ‘exuberant,’ as you sometimes put it, would in fact be an embarrassment to her, what do you intend to do?”

“I wouldn’t cause her pain for all the world.”

“She means a lot to you.”

“She’s family.”

Burke stood and crossed to her. He took her hands once more. “She is fortunate to have you. Should she grow ill on the return journey, please do what you can to convince her to stop long enough to rest and recover.”

“The fact that she grew ill on the trip here will go a long way toward convincing her to admit if she becomes ill on the journey back. And the possibility makes me glad she’s not making the trip alone. I don’t think she could have anyway, illness or not.”

Burke hadn’t really thought of that. Sophie had come to Hope Springs, not because she herself wanted to visit, but because Mrs. Archer did and couldn’t make the journey alone. It drove home for him just how close he’d come to never meeting her. But it also reminded him that, when Mrs. Archer was ready to return, Sophie would leave too. She would have to. Sophie’s home was in Baltimore. The woman she thought of as family needed her help getting back toherhome.

Suddenly, all of this felt very fragile.

If he’d learned anything from the O’Connors of Hope Springs it was how to lighten a moment with humor. “Though I risk seeing you storm off in disappointment, I feel I have to tell you that I haven’t any of Katie’s famous berry tarts here. They are all at thecéilí.”

She smiled, her eyes dancing with laughter. “Well, then, I’m certainly not staying.”

She pulled free and pretended to storm past him.

He reached out and snatched hold of her arm as she passed. “Please don’t go.”

She looked at him once more. The length of their outstretched arms separated them, but the meeting of their eyes seemed to draw them closer.

“You want me to stay?” she asked.

“I very much do.” He realized, as he said it, that he meant more than that moment. He knew she had to leave, but he wanted her to stay. He wanted her to stay even though he didn’t know ifhewanted to stay. But he also knew she couldn’t remain. Baltimore would eventually call her home.

“I’d like to stay too.” Her voice was quiet, her expression earnest.

He closed the distance between them. “The wind is blowing a bit cold out tonight.” He spoke in nearly a whisper. “You’ll be warmer in here.”

“I am quite a bit warmer.”

He bent nearer. “So am I.”

Her fingers brushed his neck above his collar. He swallowed, but with effort. She raised up, bringing their lips within a hair’s breadth.

Burke slipped his arm around her waist, then closed the tiny gap between them. His lips met hers, warm and earnest and longing for her. She hooked her arms around his neck, deepening the unexpected kiss.

The sound of wheels on the ground outside broke the moment. She pulled back, eyes a bit startled, hair a bit mussed. He likely looked as upended.

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