Page 169 of The Duke Who Saved Christmas
“Why did you want her to take credit for it?”
“Ah, you see, there’s someone I know who rather has a vendetta against me for being her knight in shining armour, so…”
I spun around in his grip, cupped his cheeks, and pressed my lips to his. No tiptoes were needed thanks to my heels, and I pressed my body right against his as he responded.
“Thank you,” I whispered against his lips. “I haven’t said that yet. Thank you for saving the wedding, Tom. And maybe Christmas, too.”
He smiled, dipping his face closer to mine. “I saved Christmas, huh? ‘Thank you’ seems like a very small reward for something so momentous.”
“Oh? You’re after a reward?” I pulled back with a smirk. “And here I was, thinking you’d done it out of the goodness of your heart.”
“No.” He leant with me, nuzzling his nose across my cheek. “Nobody ever does something for nothing.”
“Ha! All right, then. What reward would you like?”
He smiled, holding his lips millimetres from mine. “You.”
That single word shot a jolt of something down my spine, and that electricity trickled through my veins until every inch of my skin was tingling.
“That’s pretty greedy of you,” I murmured, sliding my hands around the back of his neck.
Thomas chuckled, sliding his hands down my back. “I know. Luckily, I’m a patient man.”
“What if I’m not a patient woman?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if I said you could have me?”
He leant back and met my gaze. “Don’t toy with me, woman.”
I drew in a deep breath and smiled, touching my cold hand to his face. I brushed my thumb across his cheekbone, holding his apprehensive gaze. “Christmas miracles do happen, you know.”
“Sylvie—”
I kissed him, throwing the weight of my feelings behind that one simple touch. “Iwantthis,” I whispered, barely breaking our kiss. “Whatever it is… Whatever it could be… I want to see, Tom. If your feelings are still the same…”
“They’re not,” he said gruffly. “They’re more. They’re so much more.”
“Let’s figure it out. Whatever the future looks like for us, I…” I gripped his collar. “I want to find out.”
He said nothing.
He didn’t even twitch.
“I like you. A lot. More than that, even,” I continued softly. “God even knows why, but I do. And it feels like not telling you that would be the biggest mistake in the world.”
Still nothing.
“Hello?” I leant back and tapped his cheek. “Tom? Thomas? Are you with me?”
“No,” he said, blinking slowly. “I think I’m dreaming or something. Say that again.”
“What? Are you crazy?”
“Say it again,” he whispered, closing the distance between our lips. “Say it properly.”
“I… I…”
