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Weeks?“I’m twenty-four. What’s the rush?”
His expression shuttered. “Waiting these three years has cost me nearly two million pounds.”
She flinched as if he’d flicked cold water at her face. As soon as he married, he’d tap into his trust fund. With each child he added to his family, the monthly allowance would go up.
Quite the incentive to keep the Lumley line going.
She’d known that. So, why did it sound so ugly to hear him say it out loud?
He must not have liked her crestfallen expression because he reached for her elbows and bent his knees to look her in the eyes. “Darling, there’s no one I’d rather spend my life with than you. You make me laugh…you make me happy.”
“Well, yes, because I don’t require anything of you.”
He chuckled. “Most definitely, that’s one for the plus column. But it works both ways. We give each other room to live our lives. Trust me, that’s a good thing. We’ll never grow restless or resentful.”
I want more.
And what a bombshell revelation that was. She’d just been going along, having fun, not questioning anything, and she’d given no thought to where she was heading. Now that he’d forced her to think about it, she had to accept she hadn’t done a damn thing with her life.
She couldn’t say what she wanted to do exactly, but for the first time, she felt something missing. Something between the phases of parties, clubs, and shopping and getting married and popping out babies. “I need more time.”
The smile vanished. He straightened. “No.”
Fear sliced through her. She might not be ready to marry him, but she’d never contemplated a life without him. Like her parents, he was a major cog in the machine of her world, and she didn’t know how to operate without all of them. “No, you won’t wait?”
“I have waited. Three years is more than enough.” He softened. “Look, you’d make a smashing stylist. Or you and your mum could open a boutique. Once we’re married, you can use a portion of the extra fifty thousand pounds a month to do whatever you want. It doesn’t matter to me, but we either get married now or it’s done.”
“It’s done? Or we’re done?”
“We’re done. If you’re not ready to marry me after three years, then I’ve got no reason to believe you’ll be ready by four years or even five.”
“I can’t imagine my life without you, but I can’t marry you because you’ve run out of patience with me. I’m sorry, Cameron.” She took in the proud jut of his chin and the look in his eyes that screamedAre you seriously going to walk away from me?She liked him very much. They’d had a lot of fun together. But she didn’t love him.
And so, she walked out the door.
Cut from her mooring, she felt adrift…uneasy. She hustled toward the exit as though the manor were on fire. The tight silk liner of her dress and the five-inch stilettos hampered her progress, though, as people rushed toward her, eager to share the happy occasion.
She couldn’t talk to anyone right then, so she hurried on. Pulling out her phone, she tried to text her parents’ driver, but her trembling fingers kept tapping the wrong pads, making her delete and start over.
“Seraphina?” Her mum glided along the hallway.
“Where are you going?” her stepfather asked. “We’ve just opened the bubbly to toast your wonderful news. Let’s find Cameron. Come along.”
The moment her mum reached her, the smile faded. “What’s going on?”
Phinny handed over her phone. “Can you please ask Fergus to come ‘round?”
Her stepfather snatched it. “We’ll do no such thing. All of our friends are here to celebrate with you.”
“There’s nothing to celebrate.” Phinny let out a tight breath. “We’re not getting married.”
“Of course, you are.” Andrew’s eyebrows shot up. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
When she’d met him as a little girl, she’d called him by his first name, but since she couldn’t pronounce Andrew, she’d wound up saying Dewzy. For the first time since he’d come into her life, that term of endearment didn’t fit. At this moment, when he cared more about his reputation than her feelings, he was purely her stepfather. “I gave the ring back. I’m not marrying him.”
“Seraphina.” Her mother sounded appalled.
“I told him I needed more time, and he said he wouldn’t give me any.”
