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*
Ella woke warm,a little too warm. She stretched and bumped into something very big and solid next to her. Opening her eyes, she discovered Baird in bed with her. He was still dressed, but he was under the covers, sound asleep, looking a little bit like an angel, which wasn’t fair considering how he’d been anything but an angel last night.
But he was here, and that was good.
Very good.
She was glad he hadn’t gone yet. She’d fallen asleep hating herself for all the things she’d said to him. She’d been hard and harsh, and she hadn’t held back. She’d been like a street fighter, throwing everything at him, giving him everything she had. Okay, she’d been a little unhinged, but she was panicked and desperate and couldn’t bear losing him.
She’d been certain she’d said far too much.
She’d been certain she’d made him hate her—Baird intensely disliked strong emotions—but somehow, through some miracle, he was here, with her, holding her as if he’d never let her go.
She realized he’d opened his eyes and was looking at her. He didn’t look sleepy or confused.
“Hi,” she said, insides fluttering because he really was the most beautiful man she’d ever known. “What are you doing here? You were supposed to stay at the house and then leave early.”
“I know, but I was worried about you last night. So I went to find you and then I couldn’t find you and I called Alec and after quite a long search, he discovered you in here, safe in this bed.” Baird’s expression was rueful. “I never thought to check this room. It probably would’ve saved a lot of walking in the snow.”
“You didn’t have to come after me. I wasn’t very… sensitive… last night.”
He smiled crookedly. “No, you weren’t. But then I think we both know you’re a bloodthirsty wench.” He paused. “I mean that in the nicest way.”
She tried to smile but couldn’t. “What time are you leaving?” she asked, reaching out to touch his jaw.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to talk about that later, after we sleep some more.”
Ella snuggled closer. “Deal.”
*
A phone rangat ten and Baird groped around the bed trying to find it.
“It’s me,” Ella said sleepily, finding her phone on the nightstand. “Hi, Cara. No, everything’s good. Just, um, sleeping in. Don’t apologize, everything’s good. Thank you. Bye.” She said goodbye and hung up and, yawning, pressed her cheek to Baird’s chest.
“Mrs. Johnson is sending a hot breakfast down to us since we missed breakfast at the house.”
“Does that mean we have to get up?” Baird asked, rolling onto his back and dragging a hand through his thick hair, disheveling it further.
“You only have to get up to make me coffee and then you can go back to bed,” Ella said, leaning over him to kiss him.
He caught the back of her head and brought her mouth back down to his. He kissed her hard. “You scared me to death last night. I thought I’d lost you.”
She looked down into his eyes, and his normally gold eyes were dark and shadowed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d come looking for me and I wasn’t trying to hide from you.”
“Why were you in here and not your room?”
She hesitated before whispering, “I wanted to feel close to you.”
Baird wrapped his arms around her and held her to him tightly. “We have a lot to discuss, but how about some coffee first?”
“I would very much appreciate that.”
The second pour-over coffee was nearly done when one of the estate staff showed up with a hot breakfast in a dozen different dishes. Baird began immediately serving the breakfast, and it was one of those huge English breakfasts with eggs, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans, and piles of toast.”
They ate facing each other at the rustic table, the Christmas lights on the tree plugged in, and the fire crackling in the hearth. They focused on eating until they started slowing down. Finally, Ella stopped eating to just concentrate on her coffee.
“I have a thought,” Baird said, spreading some of Mrs. Johnson’s homemade marmalade on another triangle of toast. “What if we take away the rules—my rules—and your expectations. What if we decide we’re not going to make any big decisions until you’re done with your PhD, and then this summer we can figure out what’s best for us, whether that’s me going to the States, or you coming to the UK?”
