Page 85 of The Dreaming Beauty
“So you left.”
“I couldn’t stay and watch you and Simon plan your wedding together.”
Her heart pounded. She wanted to hear the regret in his voice, but he wasn’t exactly retracting his behavior. “Our families are connected now, and despite our disagreements, we should try to maintain a friendship for everyone’s sake.”
“I cannot do that, Tansy. I told you I cannot just be your friend.”
She thought she saw in his eyes what she had longed to see. Affection. Hope and dread fought for precedence inside her, but it was frustration that won out. “Yes. You are a duke now—an esteemed figure in Society. You have a whole different life ahead of you. You will sit in parliament, and I will be here building fairy circles with Daisy. I can see why we cannot be friends.”
He pulled at the hair by his neck. He was flustered. He was never flustered. “Please do not make me into something more than I am. The title does not make the man.” He dropped his hand, his expression turning resolute. “My whole life everyone has told me who I am and who I am supposed to be. I will not let them change me at their will once more. What matters is who I believe I am.” He stepped closer to her. “I am a man whose life has been drastically changed, much like your own—a man who was at one time your closest confidant and friend.” He took a steadying breath. “And, most importantly, I am the man who loves you with a depth and fervor I did not imagine possible. Tansy, I beg you to see me as such.”
Did he really love her? Her heart ached. She wanted to take away all his pain and promise him he could be happy again, but how, when her own heart was heavy and hurt? Her eyes filled with tears. “I do see you, Marcus, just as you are. But I have not been myself since you left. I don’t think I’m strong enough for this.”
His cheekbones seemed to flare above the shadows, his face tight and resolute. “Don’t tell me I cannot have you. If you love me as I do you, we can make this work. I won’t stop fighting for us. My nightmares are over, Tansy, and you are my new dream.”
She shook her head. Her soul was still fractured and confused. She deflected by turning it on him. “I thought I knew you, but you’re a duke, a spy, and... and you left me. I don’t know where I fit in all of this.”
He reached for her, his hand a breath away from her own. “I can show you where you belong.”
His flirtatious words irked her. It was evident by the way he looked at her that he already knew she fit perfectly in his arms, but that was not what she meant. She was tired of being hurt, and surrendering her heart to him once more felt like volunteering for more heartbreak. She wanted to trust him again, but the wall she’d been constructing the last few days would not fall easily. One of her hands trembled around the bouquet, and the other clasped the door latch behind her. If he could so easily walk away from her once, who was to say he wouldn’t do so again? The truth of her birthright might have been revealed, but the curse of loneliness prevailed.
His gaze pierced hers. “You can go inside, but I am not giving up today or ever. I know now that you want me as much as I want you. Simon told me everything.”
“That was before. I don’t care for you like that anymore.” She chewed on the side of her lip, willing him to step back. To give her time to think. To be rational. If he kissed her, she would not be able to resist.
He chuckled. “You are lying. You chewed your lip like that when you tried to deflect your hurt by praising Simon and when I originally asked you about your dreams. Tansy, your heart is safe with me. I will not let such a precious gift between us be trampled on by anyone.” His hand came up, and he tucked a curl behind her ear. She shivered at the simple warm touch. “I am not going anywhere this time. I promise.”
His words, telling her exactly what she needed to hear, pulled at her soul. She barely held back her tears. He took the roses from her hand and set them on the step, then held out his hand to her.
And her fears faded under his caring gaze.
She did trust him.
She did love him.
She could not deny them a second chance together. The timing in her life had never been what she’d wanted it to be, but all her waiting and hoping had led her to this moment, and she had to be brave. With a leap of faith, she let her trembling hand land in his. He tightened his grip around hers, and she knew he would not let go. He pulled her gently forward and down the steps. She followed him to the side of the house and then toward the back, where she saw the willows and a strange dancing light beneath its branches, as though Daisy’s fairies had come after all.
Marcus did not stop until they were underneath the willow branches. Only then did she realize that what she had been seeing were dozens of candles lit around the fairy circle.
“Oh, Marcus. It’s stunning.”
She barely got the last word out before he bent over and swooped her up into his arms, effectively cradling her against his chest.
She gasped and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. “What are you doing?”
“I don’t want to start a fire before I get my moment.”
“What moment?”
He stepped over the candles, setting her down carefully inside the circle.
“I want time to stand still for me. Isn’t that what happens in fairy circles? I want you and me to dance and for this moment to last forever.”
“Marcus,” she whispered, a wave of emotion choking her.
He shook his head. “The world is changing so fast for both of us. We need this, Tansy. We need each other.”
She let him take her hands and wrap them around his neck as he stepped so near her that only an inch separated them. This was no dance position she knew, but she did not care one wit. Her breath grew shallow, her fingers catching strands of his feather-soft curls. He swayed with her for several moments, and parts of her soul seemed to meld back together as if his touch and his intense gaze had healing abilities.
