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Taking my hand he leads me out of the room and there’s no anxiousness in Bram. He looks like he knows exactly what he’s doing and his confidence brushes off on me a little but I still clutch his fingers the closer we come to the foyer.
The Bryce’s are busy taking off their outerwear but their heads are tightly together and they’re muttering in low voices like they’re conspiring and my pulse speeds up. What if they hold this against me? What if they somehow force me to stay because they think that I owe them?
Their faces turn toward us, paling at the sight of my still tousled hair and reddened lips. I hide a little bit behind Bram but he won’t let me, insisting that I stay beside him and he whispers in my ear,
“A Rowe doesn’t hide from anyone.”
That’s right I’m a Rowe now. And it’s what I’ve been all along. I straighten, pushing my shoulders back.
“What is this?” Miss. Pattie asks, taking off her gloves and she looks flabbergasted. “What are you two doing together at this hour?”
Mr. Bryce painfully avoids his wife’s look. “Isn’t it obvious?” His fists clench. “This stranger, thisgentleman,” he spits the word, “has corrupted our Zinnia.”
Miss. Pattie lets out a shriek, looking like she’s close to fainting and I almost run over to help her out but the vicious glare she gives me tells me to stay away.
“Mr. Rowe is not a stranger,” I say calmly but I don’t feel as calm and I glance at Bram to center myself. “He’s my step brother.”
The Bryce’s drag a breath, looking at the two of us as if we’ve gone insane and it gets even worse when I add,
“And we belong together.”
With those words their plans fall apart. They know I won’t marry their son now, know that I won’t be the perfect daughter in law and birth a bunch of their minions. They know that if there’s anyone I’ll be doing that with it is Bram.
“What is that on your neck, girl?” Miss. Pattie asks, lifting a trembling finger and her eyes flare when she realizes what it is and what the love bite represents. “For goodness sake cover yourself!”
Previously I would have dashed to get a scarf but the love bite is not supposed to be hidden. It’s supposed to be on display for everyone to see. A smile pulls at Bram’s lips like he’s proud of me and he places a kiss against my temple. It causes a shuddering from my head to my toes because it’s so innocent and yet is says so much.
“Shall we?” he rasps and I nod and when he offers me his arm, I take it, realizing that this is where I feel the safest. Where I feel the most loved. On Bram’s arm.
“Wait!” Mr. Bryce says in a pained voice and we stop for a short moment and he rubs his troubled forehead. “Let us talk about this, come to an agreement.”
Bram firmly shakes his head and Mr. Bryce desperately adds, “Is there anything that we can offer you? Anything that we can offer in order for you to leave Zinnia with us?”
An almost deranged look flashes in Bram’s eyes but he calmly replies. “I’m afraid there is nothing you can offer me. She is all that I want.”
The Bryce’s look stricken, defeated but they let us go and we leave the manor behind. Bram’s car is waiting for us down by the oaks and I can’t wait for us to start our new life together. And gazing up at Bram, I know that I was wrong about him that first time. He’s not the devil in disguise of a gentleman.
He’s my northern star.
Epilogue
Abram-Two years later.
We caused a scandal down in the south. Not only did I ruin a betrothingbut I also married the daughter of my father’s second wife. Up here in the north, they are familiar with my story but they were still shocked when they saw the girl with their own eyes. They all thought she was dead and at the first sight of her they believed it to be the ghost of the late Mrs. Rowe.
But no, it was only my little dove.
And she’s settled down nicely in our mansion and it feels easy living here now. The air is filled with her perfume and whenever I come home from work I hear her laughter while she’s watching rom-com’s in the living room or talking on the phone with the interior decorator.
She changes things up so quickly that I never know what to expect but I enjoy coming home and noticing that she’s switched out the decorative pillows or bought a new carpet. This place is no longer what it used to be, it used to feel like a curse hiding behind iron gates but now it has been restored to its former glory.
Ever since I was a boy, it is what I wanted. I wanted her back and now she is. And she’s exactly where she’s supposed to be. Passing the hallway, I search for her because I think it’s time that I show her what I’ve been up to.
I find her in the dining room standing on a ladder and she’s trying to change the curtains. She’s no longer dressed in flimsy fabrics that barely cover her but now she’s gotten used to thicker, warmer ones because it’s colder here. I feel a flick of concern at the sight of her so high up and let out a curse. Twitching she turns to me and she almost does an eye roll.
“I’m fine. It’s not even that high up,” she says but I’m not satisfied. I can’t ever risk anything happening to her again. Can’t risk losing her again.
“Get down from there,” I say, “I need to show you something.”
