Page 153 of The Duke Who Saved Christmas
“Thomas!”
I paused at the sound of Hazel’s frantic tone and turned back. “Yes?”
She wrung her hands in front of her stomach. “Thank you for doing this.”
I rested my hand on her shoulder and leant down. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but even if you are the bride, Hazel, you aren’t the one I’m doing this for.”
“I know,” she said softly. “And I don’t deserve this, either.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” I lightly squeezed her shoulder before dropping my hand. “But while we’re all working to pull this off, you should reflect on just how much she’s done for you. Not just for the wedding, either.”
She pressed her lips together and met my eyes for the first time. “I already am.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO – SYLVIE
“Thank you,” I said to Louise, taking the glass of water she held out for me. “Sorry you’ve had to sit here wasting your time.”
“Oh, please,” the young girl said. “It wasn’t a waste of my time at all. I’m a nursing student, so that’s why His Grace asked me to stay with you.” She smiled warmly. “Besides, I’ve been getting paid to read my book for the last forty minutes, so it was hardly a terrible deal for me.”
“Wow. Your boss isn’t half bad. Is he hiring?”
She grinned as three loud knocks sounded at the door. “Ah, that’ll be the duke now.”
I touched my fingertips to my eyes. I didn’t need a mirror to know they were puffy and probably red, but it didn’t matter. It wasn’t the first time Thomas had seen me at my worst.
He’d really seen it an hour ago.
Louise opened the door and bobbed her head. “Your Grace.”
“Thank you,” Thomas said, touching her upper arm. “The housekeeping staff are to gather in the ballroom with Heath. Feel free to take a ten-minute break before you head over there.”
“I’m quite all right. I’ll head right there.” She ducked out of the room and closed the door behind her, leaving us alone.
You could hear a pin drop in the silence that hung between us.
Thomas cleared his throat. “How are you feeling?”
“Slightly confused about how I ended up here,” I admitted, looking over at him. “And pretty emotionally wrecked.”
“Well, then let me soothe your worries somewhat.” He crossed the room and sat on the bed next to me. “You got yourself so worked up that you fell asleep out of sheerexhaustion. I hauled you into my car, brought you here, carried you to bed, and had Louise look after you until you woke up.”
“That makes a lot more sense than a wormhole to a parallel universe opening.”
“I’ll say.” His lips tugged to one side, and he reached over and laid his hand against my cheek. “Are you sure you’re all right? I didn’t call for a doctor or an ambulance, but I can if you want me to.”
I turned my face into his palm slightly. “No, it’s okay. I think the stress of everything hit me all at once. It’s like I was waiting for one little thing to set me off, but instead of a little thing, it was… Oh, my God.” I grabbed his shirt. “Does Hazel know? Is she okay? I need to—”
“Stay right where you are,” he demanded, blocking me from getting out of the bed.
“But I—”
“Need to stay. Right. Here.”
I stared at him. “Yes, sir.”
He shivered. “It’s a bit different when you say it.”
Oh.
