Page 30 of Always a Princess

“Why does that surprise you?”

“I don’t know. Everything you do surprises me.”

His smile was lit by the brass lamps, and his blue eyes appeared sapphiric when surrounded by the blue silk brocade lining the carriage walls.

“This is the finest carriage I’ve ever been in.”

“Then it’s yours.”

She laughed with shock. “You can’t just give me a carriage.”

“Says who?”

“You just can’t.”

“Perhaps I had it made for you.”

“Did you?”

“I just didn’t know it at the time, but clearly”—he pointed upward—“someone else did.”

“I don’t know what to make of you.”

“Then marry me and spend a lifetime figuring me out.”

“You make the offer sound so tempting.”

“It is not temptation, but a promise. There is a difference. Temptation proves hollow. Promise leads to substance.”

His wisdom stunned her.

“How old are you?”

“Old enough to know what I want and wise enough to let it come to me.”

Thea laughed and shook her head. “I suppose you are. For here I am.”

He leaned forward. “And you are stunning. Far finer than any carriage. Let your cloak fall away. You have no need of its covering now.”

It felt foreign to remove an article of clothing at the request of a man, but then also right with him.

“Stunning.” He breathed the word as she let the cloak slip from her shoulders. “Like an empress.” He paused as his gaze seemed to take in every detail of her face, form, and the dress. “What will it take, Thea?”

“What will what take?”

“For you to say yes to me.”

“I don’t know.”

“A miracle perhaps?”

She couldn’t help but laugh quietly. “I suppose we shall see.”

“Your cousins safely married to men they could love?”

Her head pulled back until it bumped the cushion. “How did you know?”

“Your concern for them is obvious and commendable. You could’ve danced with me and left them to their own devices, but you would not. You have honor, loyalty.”