Page 123 of A Night of Desire with a Duke

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"I don't want to leave," Catherine admitted.

"Nor do I."

"The children will have driven your mother to distraction."

"Probably."

"Edward's definitely taught the twins something inappropriate by now."

"Certainly."

"We should go home."

"We should."

Neither of them moved.

"Five more years?" James suggested. "Then we come back again?"

"Every year. Promise me."

"I promise. Every anniversary, we come back here. We remember who we are."

"Catherine and James."

"The duke and duchess who fell in love in a storm."

"The strangers who became everything."

"The couple who still can't keep their hands off each other after five years."

"Six years, counting from that first night."

"The best six years of my life."

"Mine too."

They stood together watching darkness fall, holding each other, neither wanting to break the spell. Tomorrow they'd return to London, to their children, their responsibilities, their real lives. But tonight, they were still just themselves, in the place where it all began.

"I love you," James said quietly.

"I love you too."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For saying yes. That night, when I asked to share the room. For saying yes to that first kiss. For saying yes to my proposal. For saying yes to this insane anniversary trip."

"Thank you for asking."

"I'll never stop asking."

"I'll never stop saying yes."

The next morning dawned clear and bright. Their coach was ready, the roads were passable, and London called. They dressed in their traveling clothes; Duke and Duchess once more, not just James and Catherine.

"Ready?" James asked, offering his arm.

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