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“Do we have to wait until tomorrow?” That was far too transparent. Where was all her resolve to not trust her heart to him?
He chuckled, took her hand, and tenderly kissed it. “Sadly, we do. My family will want us with them for dinner tonight, and you have to meet Curt and Aliya. I do have some romantic plans for tonight though.”
“Oh, do you?” She was lost in him. She didn’t fit here, couldn’t stay here, and she was supposed to be finding Hattie Ballard and helping Naomi, but she couldn’t stop being sucked into Derek’s vortex.
“You ready to show her the solarium?” Derek asked, raising his voice and looking over at Kiera and Malik.
“Yes, please.” Kiera clapped her hands together, her blue eyes shining with anticipation.
“Let’s go, Wild Child,” Malik said.
“Come on, Elle,” Kiera beckoned, then took off at a run.
“I adore her,” Ellery told Derek as they followed Kiera and Malik around the pool and out the doors.
“Thanks. We all do.” Derek took her hand and squeezed it. “Was that how you were as a twelve-year old? Rambunctious and hilarious and beautiful and loved by all?”
“Sadly, no.”
“Are you being modest?”
“Derek.” She stopped and looked at him. “As a twelve-year-old, I was cleaning office buildings every evening and Saturday, most of the time without much help as my mom was already suffering horribly from MS.”
He blinked at her. “Oh, Elle. I …”
He clearly didn’t know what to say, and she didn’t blame him. She didn’t want him feeling bad for her, but Kiera’s life was nothing like hers had ever been or would ever be. This time was a fantasy. Ellery had to somehow remember that.
“You two coming?” Kiera asked from a set of double doors with a bunch of greenery behind her.
“Yes.” Ellery pushed the smile back onto her face. It wasn’t Kiera or Derek’s fault how she’d grown up, or how they had, but it was impossible to think she’d fit here. It didn’t matter anyway. She wasn’t leaving her mom, and she was here to get the information to Naomi and protect Derek and his family from Hattie Ballard. Hopefully the murderous woman wasn’t even coming. Was it awful to hope she was dead and Steffan really was on a humanitarian mission using his skills as a doctor?
They followed Kiera into the greenery-filled room, and all the stress and worry seemed to float away.
The room was naturally lit with windows and glass patio doors. Even the ceiling was made of glass. Most of the windows and the patio doors were open wide to let in the warm late July day. Even in July, it wasn’t sweltering or muggy here. It felt perfect. The room was spacious, with flowers, plants, and even trees growing in it. Patio furniture was placed throughout the room and a large stone water feature stood at the center.
“Do you love it?” Kiera spread her hands wide and giggled as only an adorable girl could do.
“This is straight out of my dreams.”
Derek gave her a soft smile. “You being here is like a dream,” he said softly for only her to hear.
She was so lit up inside she wasn’t sure how to express it, or if she even needed to.
Derek took her hand, and they walked slowly around, savoring the fresh air, the scents of flowers and soil, and the beauty of nature inside and out. As they got closer to the windows and the exterior patios, she gasped. The view of mountains, lakes, the valley, the church, the little town—it had been awe-inspiring to drive through and see from the other levels of the castle, but seeing it from this lofty perch, with nothing to impede the view, was insane.
Malik and Kiera stood off to the side, talking quietly. Derek wrapped his arm around her waist and she leaned into him, savoring the view.
“I had no idea such beauty existed,” she murmured to him.
“I feel the same when I look at you.”
“Now that you’ve got me here, are you going to be spewing out fake, gushy compliments constantly?” she tried to tease, but she was out of breath simply looking into his blue eyes. The view had nothing on this man.
“For sure.” He grinned. “Elle …” He bent down toward her, his gaze full of her as he gathered her close with his strong arms.
Ellery longed to kiss him. He was too close, he smelled too manly and good, and they were inches away from the best kiss of the century.
“Whee!” Kiera screamed out.
