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“Oh.” She brushed her hair over her shoulder and nodded, meeting his gaze. “It’s an honor to be here, and Faith is loving it. Thank you.”
He took her hand between both of his and prayed his timing wasn’t off. “Hope, I love having you here, seeing my home and meeting my friends. I hope I’m not overstepping bounds introducing you as my girlfriend, but …”
“Why are you doing that?” she asked, tugging her hand free. “And the ‘love of my life’ and ‘only woman in the world for you’ lines are truly a joke. We both know you’ll never settle down with one woman.”
“I plan to settle and concentrate on one woman and one woman only.” He studied her, praying she could see how genuine he was. “You.”
Hope held his gaze, searching it for long enough that his heart sped up and he had hope she’d finally be convinced of his sincerity.
She shook her head and backed up a step, staring at him as if he’d broken her heart. Why did she do that when it was her that had dropped him like a hot rock three years ago and him that had worked his tail off to get back into her life?
“Do you mind showing me where my suite is?” she asked quietly. “I’d like to respond to some emails and calls before I get ready for the wedding.”
Frustration filled him. They’d been close to a kiss that would convince her of the depth of his love in the castle’s garage not an hour ago. Now Lexi, Tristan, and even Kiera’s words had ruined his chances. He couldn’t give up, but he couldn’t push her too hard, either. Any other woman would already be in his arms. Hope wasn’t any other woman, though; he’d learned that through hard experience. She was worth any sacrifice or amount of effort on his part.
“Of course.” He gave her his most charming smile.
They walked side by side, not touching, and descended the stairs in silence. It was a load of stairs, but the elevator would’ve been slower and possibly more awkward as at least the sound of their footsteps was enough to break the silence between them. He walked her down to the fourth level, where the guest’s suites were located.
Stopping outside her door, he leaned in and said softly, “Hope, I am in earnest. I’ll move any mountain to convince you of my sincerity. I yearn to be with you and only you. Forever.”
She glanced up at him. Her blue eyes were bright. Was she crying? He’d only seen her cry once … when Grace died.
He did not want to make her cry. Ever.
“Hope.” He gathered her in his arms and simply held her. She didn’t wrap her arms around him, but she laid her head against his chest and let him hold her.
“What have I done? How can I ensure you’ll never weep again?” He eased back slightly so he could look into her beautiful face.
“You can’t.” Silent tears traced down her face. She pulled out of his arms and wiped at her cheek. “It’s not you …” She paused and then shook her head. “Okay, it is you, but it’s nothing you can change.”
“I can change anything,” he insisted, his gut churning as if General Ray had punched him.
“Not this.” She looked so sad it hurt him.
His neck tightened and his head pounded. “How can I solve the problem if you won’t tell me what I have done?”
She shook her head, looking away and biting at her lip.
Chad felt as if his heart would break. It wasn’t just that he was suffering rejection. This was Hope. He cared for her, deeply, on level with his own mum.
“Please,” he tried again. “Will you grant me an opportunity to repair whatever is wrong?”
Hope met his gaze then. Her blue eyes were beguiling, but horribly filled with pain. “You can’t, Chad. You can’t fix it. You can’t change it.”
He tried to protest. He could fix anything, protect her, rescue her, cherish her, love her. Whatever she needed, he was the man who could right her every wrong.
“Please.” She held up a hand. “Forgive me for my breakdown. Let’s forget it happened and enjoy the wedding.”
Chad couldn’t just forget that she’d cried and then admitted it was him that had made her cry. He couldn’t imagine anything more horrific than being the cause of Hope’s pain.
Hope twisted the door handle, pushed the door open, and slid into her room. She gave him a sad smile, and then she closed the door in his face.
Chad stood there, feeling like he’d been gut punched. He trudged down the hall to the suite he stayed in when he visited the castle. If only he had some task to accomplish, or even better, someone to spar with. He shouldn’t have let Ray talk him into vacation time. Sitting in a suite and waiting to escort Hope to a wedding she didn’t want to be at sounded miserable.
Wondering what he’d done wrong and why she wouldn’t let him make it right was a form of torture he experienced too often with her. How could he change her mind? He worried that it was impossible.
Chapter Five
