He spun her in his arms, staring down at her with frightening intensity. Then he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her with the same fiery passion she’d come to expect.
She’d have liked him to say the words back, but she knew he wasn’t ready for that yet.
It didn’t matter. She could wait. She would wait for this man forever, if that’s what it took.
At last, he broke away, leaving her dizzy and trembling. “I don’t know what I’m doing.” He took a few steps away and turned his back, as though he couldn’t bear to look at her. “I was so angry when you came to me with your proposal. I drank myself into a coma. Did you know that? I completely tore this room apart. I was so determined not to ever forgive you. But it’s only been a month, and I’m already letting you back in.”
Tears stung her eyes. She hated what she’d done to him. Somehow, she had to find a way to fix this.
“You can trust me,” she promised. “I won’t hurt you. Everything I’ve done... it was because I just loved you so much and didn’t want you to push me away.”
“I’m starting to believe that,” he said. “I just need a little more time.”
“I know you do,” she told him, “but I’m not going to quit trying to show you that I’m here for you. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Silence fell between them for a long moment, but then he turned to face her again. “Do you want more children?”
“Yes,” she breathed. “There’s nothing I’d like more.”
“Good,” he said, the darkness lifting from his expression. “Hannah has me wrapped around her little finger, and I’ve wanted that so badly. A daughter of my own.”
She grinned, imagining how beautiful their daughter would be. “Speaking of Hannah... I came up here today because we received an invitation to Morgan and Anne’s for dinner tonight.”
“Would you like to go?” he asked, his eyes searching hers.
“I would love to go,” she assured him. “I’ve never had much in the way of family, and what you have with your brothers... I hope you realize how special that is. I want to get to know them, if you think they’ll ever accept me after what I’ve done. And Anne was so kind to me at the wedding.”
“Anne is very sweet-natured,” he agreed. “I’m glad she treated you well. If you’re sure you want to go, send a footman with your reply. It might be... fun.”
Vanessa laughed. “You say that word as though it is completely foreign to you.”
“It has been,” he admitted. “Until you.”
She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “Thank you. For everything.”
* * * *
LONG AFTER VANESSAhad left, Adrian stood where she’d left him, smiling like a fool. She loved him! Perhaps he was a fool, but when she’d said those words, ones he’d waited an entire lifetime to hear, he’d believed her.
A woman like her could have had whoever she’d wanted, but for some reason, she’d chosen him. All the anger he’d been feeling for the way she’d used her knowledge of Prometheus against him had faded, replaced by a tentative hope that had him smiling—smiling!— as he went back to work.
Perhaps they could make this marriage work. Perhaps all the things that had seemed so unreachable to him were finally in his grasp. All he had to do was trust Vanessa. Could he do that? Could he put the past behind them, trust her when she said that she’d only done what she had because he’d pulled away from her and she didn’t know how else to get his attention?
He wished he’d dared to unmask himself that last night he’d gone to her flat. She’d begged him to do so, and he now realized that she’d already known who he was. She’d known about his scars, but she’d still wanted to see his face. If he’d just taken off that damned mask, things could have gone so differently.
He’d hidden behind that thing for far too long.
Closing his eyes, he thought back to the night he’d spent in his wife’s arms, and the tender way she’d touched his scars. What he’d seen in her eyes earlier when she’d said she loved him had been truth, he was almost sure of it.
Somehow, against all odds, she looked at him and saw something other than the scars he’d thought defined him. How could he not love her?
