“Tomorrow?” She swallowed at the implication.
“Yes.” He looked at her, a knowing smirk on his lips. “Tomorrow.”
Do not act so nervously, Celestine! You knew this was coming.
Celestine literally trembled as Edward led her through the vast hallways and toward her bedroom. She tried her best to control her body. She wanted to appear confident and eager. But witheach step taken, the sense of inevitability weighed her down so that it was crushing.
To try and counter it, Celestine did her best to remember their kiss… and everything else. She had enjoyed it at the time. It had felt so natural that she did not need to think about what she was doing. But now, such thoughts only made it worse.
What if it is not as I think? What if Edward realizes this is a mistake…
For all of Celestine’s self-assurances that she had made the right decision, she knew too well that so much of that rested on how tonight went. A most sobering thought, indeed.
“Here we are…” Edward led her into his bedroom.
“It is…” She swallowed. “Lovely.” She then jumped when she heard the door close behind her. She turned and her eyes widened, panic felt in her chest.
“There is no need to be so nervous, Celestine,” he said as he took her in.
“I am not nervous.”
“You are…” He walked toward her. “Which is right. If you were not a little nervous, I might have cause for worry.”
“I… I am just… this is all suddenly so real,” she admitted. “And what if it is not as we hope? What if we realize that this is a mistake?”
Edward loomed over her as he stopped less than a foot away. The room was softly lit, shadows thrown across his face, making its lines appear sharper than usual. But his eyes glowed, she met them, and she did not see worry or doubt or second guesses. He did not look concerned at all.
“I think you know that won’t be the case.” Slowly, he reached down and took her hand. It was twice the size of her own, warm to the touch, and it sent a ripple up her arm that she felt in her chest. “I have not been with as many women as you might think, Celestine. I am not nearly the rake people say.”
“I…”
“But I have enough experience to know that when I kissed you, it was unlike anything I had felt before. That alone tells me that this is right and that we have nothing to worry about.”
“But how can you be sure?”
He chuckled deeply as he took her other hand. “Well then, shall we find out?”
Her mouth turned dry. Her heart tried to escape through her chest. Her knees buckled. Her breathing stopped dead. And all she could do was look up at her husband and pray that hisconfidence would be justified… that this would be all that they hoped, and more.
“Now…” He let go of her right hand and cupped under her chin. “If there is anything you need, be sure to let me know.”
“Need?”
He licked his lips. “Or want. Or desire. Do not be shy. In fact, I ask that you don’t be. You have fight. You have courage. You are your own person. Let me see her, Celestine. That is who I married and that is who I want.”
She had no idea what his words meant but she looked at him as if she did. His left hand held her own. His right hand was cupped under her face. The time had come, and all that was left to do was see once and for all if this marriage stood any chance of working.
Well, here goes nothing…
Cupping her under the chin, Edward slowly brought Celestine’s lips to his own. Her breath caught in her throat, a final surge of panic swept through her body, and then their lips met and… all that doubt, all that worry, all that panic faded completely.
It was as if life itself was being breathed into her. As if a fire that had lain dormant for so long was reignited. As if Celestine had been missing something, not sure what it was, only to be found again so that she was finally made whole.
She stepped forward as they kissed. She moved her hand to his waist. She opened her mouth, as did Edward, and their tongues danced and played and did much to remind them that this was not a moment to be feared, but one to be cherished and encouraged.
“There she is…” Edward chuckled between kisses.
“I don’t know what I was worried about,” she responded as she kissed him back.
