Page 26

Dear God. He actually was the rival he’d been pretending to be. If it was up to him, and there were no consequences, he would want to vie for her hand and have her at his side for the rest of his days.

But there were consequences. First, she was his friend and trusted him. What would she think if he revealed all these inconvenient feelings to her? Surely she would run away as fast as she could. It would destroy the precious friendship they shared. Not to mention that she was practically engaged to another man.

Second, there was Ernie. It would be rank betrayal to go against his wishes and court his sister, especially when she was on the cusp of engagement to Doug. A safe, respectable man who would take good care of her.

Third, and most important, he didn’t deserve her. He was neither safe nor successful enough to truly give her what she deserved—a reliable husband who came home to her every night. A husband who would be there for years to come, not someone risking his life daily. A man who could provide all the comfort and security she deserved.

Cleveland came into view just as the sun was starting to set. As he circled the airfield and came in for a landing, he swore to himself that he would do right by Constance no matter what it cost him. She could never know, even if he never got over it. He loved her too much to burden her with all of this.

He landed in the waning light and prayed he had the strength to keep his word.

10

“Constance, have you seen my Agatha Christie novel anywhere?” Verity called from the top of the stairs as Constance was about to walk out the front door. With a sigh, she turned around and put on a patient smile.

She loved her sisters. Truly, she did, but sometimes they tried her patience. Looking up, Verity stood leaning over the banister, her blonde bob framing her face. Moments later, Prudence popped up beside her, a long blonde braid dripping over her shoulder—their hair the only distinction between the twins.

“I didn’t take it,” Prudence yelled to Constance.

“I never said you did,” Verity replied.

“Oh. All right then.” Prudence disappeared.

“Will you help me find it? Please?” Verity pleaded.

Constance closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This meant she was going to be late meeting Jack for her driving lesson, which she’d been looking forward to all week. But she knew Prudence wasn’t going to let her out of the door until the book was found. It was hard to believe her sisters were nearly eighteen with the way they behaved sometimes.

Climbing the stairs, she asked, “Where was the last place you saw it?”

Verity’s face lit up. “I knew you’d help me! I was reading in the parlor, and I’d just gotten to the most exciting part when Mom called me to the kitchen to help her with the dishes.”

“How many times have you read that book so far?” Constance asked, brushing past Verity and heading into the parlor.

“Only five.”

Constance spotted it immediately on the floor next to the sofa. Making a beeline, she picked it up and handed it to her sister. “If you want to be a detective, you need to brush up on your investigative skills.”

“I swear I checked there at least three times. Maybe Prudence was hiding it and put it there to play a trick on me?”

“That sounds more like something you would do than Prudence.”

“What, me? I would never…”

Constance narrowed her eyes at her sister.

“Oh, all right. I absolutely would,” Verity admitted with a giggle. “But I swear to you that this time I’m the wronged party.”

Furrowing her brow, Constance said, “You have your book back, and I’m late getting out the door. Can I trust you to leave your sister alone and let this nonsense drop?”

There was a long silence while Constance stared her little sister down.

“All right. Fine.”

“Good.”

Turning to go, Constance hurried down the stairs.

“Have fun learning to drive,” Verity called after her.