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“You forgot gorgeous,” he said.
“I’m not gorgeous. Vanessa is gorgeous.”
Finley lifted his face to the sky. I saw the muscles in his jaw work. “Please don’t piss me off, Duchess. I’ve had a hell of a week.”
“Well, boohoo,” I cried. “It’s not my fault.” This time I couldn’t stop the tears that welled up and rolled down my cheeks. I dashed them away angrily.
“Oh, Duchess.” He folded me into his arms and crushed me against his chest until I could barely breathe. Beneath my cheek, his heart beat rapidly. “I love you, McKenzie. I swear I do. I never even saw it coming.”
I pulled back, confused. “What?”
“Cupid’s arrow, the fickle finger of fate, my Waterloo. I fell so damned deep and hard I couldn’t even find my way back to the surface to breathe. You’re everywhere in my house. I took your pillowcases so the housekeeper wouldn’t wash them. How pathetic is that?”
“You love me?” I zeroed in on the three words that were most important. “Then why did you let me suffer for over a week? Why did you let me think I was the only one?” I jabbed a finger in his chest. “You broke my heart, Finley.”
He tipped back my head and kissed me, long and hard and desperately. Even though I told myself I hated him…or at least I wanted to…I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. When he finally released me, I had almost forgotten my questions. My lips tingled. My entire body trembled.
Finley shrugged, his eyes shadowed. “Dad died after they landed in North Carolina. I was on a plane immediately. Bella and I planned the funeral with Vanessa. Then there were details…” He wiped a hand across his forehead. “Maybe I should have told you. I don’t know. I had a feeling you would insist on flying home with me, and I couldn’t interrupt your trip like that. I wasn’t thinking very clearly, to be honest.”
My brain struggled to catch up. “Your dad died.” It wasn’t a question. I repeated it, trying to wrap my head around the knowledge. “Bella didn’t get to say goodbye.” The tragedy of that horrified me.
He shook his head. “She did. Thank God. He collapsed leaving the airport in Asheville. They rushed him by ambulance. Bella made it in time.”
“He was conscious?”
“Yes. Briefly. The three of us were at his bedside at the end.”
“Oh, Finley. I’m so sorry.” I put my arms around him and cried again when he put his head on my shoulder. I held him tightly.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice muffled.
“For what? I left you at the worst possible time.”
He straightened, his blue eyes sober. “You saved me from making a terrible mistake. If it hadn’t been for you, I might never have agreed to see him.”
“Nonsense,” I said firmly. “I know you, Finley Craig. You would have done the right thing in the end.”
“I’d like to think so, but I’m pretty stubborn.”
“So was he. You came by it naturally.” I pulled a tissue from my pocket and dried my face. “How is Bella?”
“She’s okay. Actually, she figured out a long time ago that he was very ill. I did mention that my sister is brilliant, right?”
“Yes. It was still a shock, I’m sure.”
“It was.” He leaned back against a brick wall, his hands in his pockets. “I told her about you.”
“Oh?” I wrapped my arms around my waist, feeling my cheeks heat. “What did you tell her?”
“That you and I had pretty much fallen in love at first sight, but that I had screwed things up by not letting you know how I felt.”
“Does she believe in that kind of love?”
“Doesn’t matter if she does or not, it’s real…isn’t it, Duchess?”
My heart started pounding so hard, I felt faint. “You have to be sure, Finley.”
His smile made up for all the miserable days. “I’m sure, McKenzie.”
