Page 76 of A Season for Smugglers (Deception and Discipline 3)

Lily supposed that was the question she was asking herself, deep down.

Was she Nathan’s match?

* * *

Nathan

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully, though a bit awkwardly once they rejoined the women. It felt as though everyone was watching him and Lily, although whenever he looked around, they were paying attention to their own conversations. He wished Sebastian could have seen this.

Friends all gathered in their ancestral home, the way they had never been able to while their father was alive. The way they had assumed they would once everything was settled. The ache in his chest was growing stronger again, and he knew it would not be gone easily.

There were moments when he could almost forget. He and Sebastian had spent much of the past few years apart, so it felt as though it was just another time when they were living separately. With everything else going on—his wedding, the murder, the double investigations leading to one culprit—it was no wonder he kept forgetting until a moment like this.

“Are you alright?”

Cool fingers slid over his hand, jerking him out of his reverie. He lifted his eyes to his wife, who had just come over from where she’d been chatting with her parents. Beyond her, he could see her parents were on their way out the door to the hallway, likely retiring for the night.

“Yes. I was thinking how much Sebastian would have loved to be here for this.” Nathan gestured at their friends. As if punctuating his statement, laughter drifted from where Mary and Josie had their heads together. Looking up at Lily’s concerned expression, he felt some of the tightness in his chest ease. It was not gone, but he found comfort in her mere presence.

She looked around, then sat down next to him.

“Tell me about him,” she said quietly.

He did.

Talking while the others joked and laughed, Nathan did not feel left out of the conversation on the other side of the room. He was glad they were there, but he wanted to speak with Lily and was relieved she felt the same way.

When they went back to their rooms, Nathan took her hand and drew her to his room. She went willingly, though with a hesitant look. Possibly, she was still sore, but Nathan could be gentle, or they could do something else or nothing at all, but he had a feeling his friends were right. He was in love with his wife and wanted her beside him all night and when he woke in the morning.

Drawing her into his arms, he looked into her face and felt the rush of emotion in his chest. The symptom, as it were. He certainly had not felt this way about anyone before.

“Did you know my friends think we are in love?” Lily asked as if she had read his mind.

Nathan raised an eyebrow. Interesting that the ladies’ conversation had so closely followed the gentlemen’s, giving more credence to the idea.

“What do you think?” he asked, noting she had not said anything about herself.

“I think… it could be possible. Although perhaps it is too soon?” Her gaze searched his, studying his reaction in much the same way he was hers.

A smile curved his lips.

In some ways, they really were so alike.

“That is exactly what I said when your father made a toast to our falling in love.”

“What?” Lily’s mouth dropped open, and he could not tell if she was reacting in shock or asking him to repeat what her father said or why her father had said that. Really, it did not matter because she had provided him with the perfect opening to the conversation.

“I said it was too soon. He told me he fell in love with your mother in a day. Neither Rex nor Elijah seemed to find it unusual. It made me realize, while I do not know much about love, I think I might be in love with you.”

“Really?” Her face lit up from within. The ache in his chest was almost completely gone, replaced by a happy warmth. He knew Sebastian would have been happy for him, for both of them. And Sebastian would have loved Lily. “I… I think I might be in love with you, too.”

Nathan had to laugh. They were a pair. He knew, deep down, their love was there. It was real. It might be new, and both of them might be hesitant to speak about something they knew so little about, but he could feel it between them as if it was a tangible thing.

Lowering his mouth, he claimed her mouth with a kiss and felt her respond. Her body pressed against his, her lips parting beneath his as Nathan’s hands roved over her body.

A wedding and a funeral, all in one week. He was mourning his brother, with all of his being, and at the same time, he was celebrating his marriage, with all of his being. Both were equally true statements. Lily did not chase away his sorrow completely, but she made it far more bearable. She reminded him there was a future that was theirs for the taking.

It was not the future he had thought he would have, but with her by his side, it was a future he was happy to face.

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