Page 121 of The Marriage Method

It was all too much. Too intimate. Her poor heart couldn’t handle it.

She moistened her lips. “Miles…”

“Yes, my dear?”

She summoned her courage. “What were you thinking of doing about our sleeping arrangements?”

“What would you like to do?” he asked.

She set her hands in her lap to stop their trembling. “I don’t know. I—”

Miles sank down in front of her. He took her hands in his, engulfing them in warmth. “What is it that you’re afraid of, sweetheart?” He searched her face. “It’s not me, is it?”

“No.”

“Isn’t it?”

“It’s not you.” She pressed his hands in return. “It’s…me.” She hesitated, hating that she must give voice to her insecurities. “Everything has been so lovely between us. I don’t want to ruin it.”

“How could you?”

“By disappointing you.”

He scoffed.

“I’m not perfect,” she said.

“Nor am I,” he replied. “Far from it.”

“You know what I mean. I…” She swallowed hard. “It’s my leg, you see. The sight of it—”

“I’ve seen your legs.”

“You haven’t.” Her voice fell to a mortified whisper. “Not without my drawers.”

Miles’s expression softened. He brought her hands to his lips. “There is no part of you I wouldn’t find beautiful.”

Nell’s heart swelled with yearning. She wished she could believe it. “But what if—”

“No more what-ifs.” Miles stood, drawing Nell gently to her feet along with him. He gazed down at her intently, his hands still holding hers. “Tell me, are you expecting Lady Belwood’s maid any moment?”

“No,” Nell said. “I…I told her she wasn’t needed.”

“Good,” Miles said. “Shall I help you undress?”

Heat flooded through her. She wondered, vaguely, if it was possible to blush all over? If so, she was surely doing so.

But she refused to be a coward.

Miles wasn’t a stranger any longer. He was her friend. Her partner. Her husband. All of which paled beside the fact that she’d been falling in love with him for days.

But no longer. She was in love with him. His integrity. His loyalty. His kindness. And not only that. She loved the way he held her and kissed her. The way he looked at her as if she were the single most important thing in the world.

She wanted more of it.

She wanted all of it.

“Yes,” she whispered.