Meeting his gaze steadily, Evander replied, “I have every intention of doing so.”
At that moment, a sudden scurry of movement drew their attention downward. Finnegan darted across the floor with uncontainable energy, paws skittering on the polished surface.
With a soft laugh, Olivia bent to scoop up the small dog and cradled him in her arms. “Isn’t this exciting, Finnegan?”
Evander couldn’t help himself. He reached out to stroke the little creature’s head, but Finnegan beat him to it, lifting his chin and enthusiastically licking Evander’s hand.
A soft chuckle escaped Olivia. “I see that Finnegan already adores you,” she said, her voice lighter now.
“My father is going to hate Finnegan,” Evander remarked, his words edged with almost gleeful anticipation.
“Should I not bring him with me to your townhouse, then?” Olivia asked.
Evander smirked. “On the contrary, you must bring him. And anything else your heart desires. After all, it will be your townhouse now, as well.”
At his words, her smile faltered—just a fraction—but Evander noticed. He always noticed.
Her gaze wandered from him to the space around her, and there was a wistfulness in her expression, a flicker of doubt clouding her features.This is my home,her eyes seemed to say.
Evander knew this would not be easy for her, leaving behind this townhouse and stepping into the unknown with him. But he would not rush her. In time, he vowed, she would not think of it as leaving home… but as finding a new one. With him.
7
The moon hung low in the sky as Olivia rested her head against the cool windowpane in her bedchamber. Tomorrow was to be her wedding day.
She ought to be filled with anticipation, perhaps even joy. Instead, a strange weight pressed against her chest. It wasn’t fear—no, she trusted Evander implicitly. He would be a good husband, kind and honorable. That much she had never doubted. What gnawed at her was something far more complicated.
What if he came to regret it?
She knew Evander well—too well, perhaps. He was loyal to a fault and would sooner trap himself in a life of discontent than risk wounding another’s pride. What if this marriage was more duty than desire? He claimed to want it, said it with such conviction, but would time erode that certainty? Would he one day look at her and see not a partner, but an obligation?
They had been thick as thieves growing up. He’d pulled her out of more trouble than she could count, and now he was doing it again. Saving her. Marrying her.
She blinked back the sting of tears and exhaled. Just then, something sharp and small struck her cheek. “Ouch,” she muttered. She glanced down and saw a pebble tumble to the floor. Perplexed, she peered out the window and spotted a familiar figure in the moonlit gardens.
Evander.
He stood in the shadows, one arm drawn back as if preparing to launch another stone.
She stuck her head out of the window. “Have you taken leave of your senses?” she whispered fiercely. “What are you doing?”
He grinned up at her, boyish and utterly unrepentant. “I came to talk to you.”
“At this hour?”
“I had a feeling you’d be awake, second-guessing everything. I thought I might spare you the misery of overthinking.”
Her annoyance dissolved into a sigh. Of course he knew. He always knew. “You were right,” she admitted. “I could use someone to talk to.”
“Then come down before I rouse the entire household with my abysmal aim.”
She glanced down at her dressing gown, then turned back into the room. “Give me a moment.”
Evander gave a mockingly courtly bow. “I await you with great impatience.”
Suppressing a smile, Olivia crossed to her wardrobe and pulled out a soft muslin gown—plain, but easy enough to fasten without a maid. She slipped it on, then paused before the mirror. Her hair was slightly mussed from restlessness, pinned in a loose chignon with a few stubborn strands framing her face. It would do.
After tugging on her boots, she tiptoed into the corridor and padded silently towards the back stairs. The house was dark andhushed, the creak of the floorboards loud in her ears as she reached the door and slipped outside.
