Page 50 of In Want of a Wife
Toward his mother he hadn’t seen in years.
Toward the very certainty that Lily would leave here hating him, desperate instead to reach Henry.
Lily hookedher arm through Rafe’s elbow and proceeded down the dirt path to a small shell-pink cottage bursting with color. The window boxes were overflowing with a vibrant rainbow of flowers. The dark green shutters were all hung straight, and the slate roof stood parallel to the ocean and the horizon beyond.
“You grew up here?”
“I have spent more time at sea, honestly, but yes.” Rafe nodded, kicking away a pebble as they slowly descended upon the house.
“It looks so… normal.”
He burst out laughing. She knew then, she would miss that sound in her life after she became Henry’s bride. Somehow, in the short time they had been together, Lily had come to hold that warm laugh close. It brought her comfort whenever the doubt crept in.
But now that doubt had taken root and spread in a new way.
Because she wasn’t sure she was doing the right thing any longer by marrying Henry. After Felton, it certainly felt as if it was the right thing to do. It was a nice, tidy solution to an ugly situation.
But Rafe.
Rafe was a charming, irritating complication she had not planned for, and he threw everything into a tumult within her.
The emerald slat door swung open, and a large gray and white sheepdog limped up the hill toward Rafe and Lily. Lily froze, watching as the large beast approached. She had never seen a dog so enormous in her life.
“Finn!” Rafe exclaimed. “You handsome old man. How are you?”
He sank down to his knees as the dog slobbered over Rafe’s cheek, nuzzling his neck.
She wished to have someone like that in her life. Anyone. A cat even. She would be an excellent cat person from what she gathered. Or perhaps a chatty bird.
Lily stood by, shocked by the genuine smile stretching across Rafe’s lips then. It was so easy, so natural.
And in that moment, honest.
Lily laughed nervously, backing up a step as a woman came to fill the door frame. Her gray hair curled around her face, and she had a large grin that mirrored Rafe’s. She wiped her hands on a rag, a smudge of flour streaking across her round face.
“Oh for goodness’ sake, Finn! Let him come in, will you?” The woman’s voice sounded like Rafe’s when he had just a little too much drink and his guard slipped, revealing that Welsh lilt. She hastily wiped tears from her eyes.
Rafe stood, his face suddenly losing any light it had possessed, and his features became stone just as when they had first met at Stonehurst.
“Sorry for not writing first, Mother.” He brushed his hands against his trousers and walked a few steps before turning back to Lily. He arched his brow in challenge. She could all but hear him daring her on, and she hadn’t backed down yet.
He looked so damn kissable just then that she willed her body forward, ignoring the way it cried out for his touch. Instead, she held her head high and offered his mother a soft smile.
“I have news,” Rafe said. “May I introduce you?—”
“You haven’t?” His mother gasped, clasping her hands together. She had bright green eyes that matched the fields surrounding the small seaside cottage. “You are married! Oh, come on, come in.” She gestured for them tojoin her inside.
Rafe held his hands out. “Erm, no.”
His mother cocked her head. “Sorry, I don’t…”
Lily stepped around Rafe, annoyed at how he couldn’t seem to part with the truth. “I am to marry Henry, Mrs. Davies. Rafe has been so kind in offering me an escort to Cliffstone Manor.”
The woman peered over Lily’s shoulder to Rafe. “So, you are not married?”
“No, Ma. I came to fetch grandmother’s ring and escort Miss Lily Abrams to Cliffstone, so she may marry Henry.”
“Oh, my manners. Please forgive me. It’s lovely to meet you, Miss Abrams. Come in, come in. I believe this story deserves a spot of tea.”
