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‘Have you?’
‘I’ve misjudged things...’ She fixed him with her eyes. ‘I want a year.’
‘Sorry?’
‘I want a year without your wedding hanging over us.’
‘So what happened to a few days of fun? A week?’
‘Well, I’ve decided that I’d like to have a lot of fun in what’s left of my twenties. I’d like to get to thirty and then...’ She looked at him. ‘I’ll be discreet, but I’m not hiding, and I won’t be a secret.’
‘Your twin’s been whispering in your ear.’
Beatrice smiled a new smile. ‘Actually, I did most of the talking...’
Gosh, to share her heart with someone who knew her, who cared, must have been so precious, he thought.
‘She agrees with you. She thinks I should have fun, let go, loosen up...’
‘It’s not you, though.’
‘No.’
‘And even a year’s not going to work, is it?’
‘No.’
Now she was starting to cry, and he couldn’t bear it.
‘But I want to try...’
‘Will you marry me?’
Her heart stopped. ‘You can’t marry me...’
‘Actually, I just put all my titles into abeyance. I can do whatever the hell I want.’
‘Julius!’ She felt a deep-seated panic and moved to stand up, but he stopped her. ‘What about Jasmine—?’
‘She’ll be fine. It might not come to it, but I have told my father...’ He took a breath. ‘You’re right. I think my mother is crazy with grief. But whatever happens I’m going to marry the woman I love—if she will have me.’
‘You love me?’
‘I’m lovesick. Tobias told me so.’
‘You’ve told Tobias? When?’
‘This afternoon.’
‘And Jordan?’
‘Just now.’
‘Before you told me?’
‘Well, if you turn me down, they’re going to need to know why I’m crying at my desk, clutching a jewelled peacock...’
He made her smile, as always. He chose to make her smile as he dealt with the scary things.
