felt chilled, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was her hand in his, warm and safe.
With each step, the rest of the world fell away as the sounds of laughter and shrieking dimmed. The tall, snow-covered hedges hid them, wrapping them in a place of their own as though no one else existed but them.
Still, they moved onward until they reached the center of the maze, a stone bench flanked by two oak trees, standing like sentinels on each side. The snow on the ground looked untouched, their footprints the first to leave their marks. Stillness lingered as soft flakes began to drift downward from the heavens. Only a few: one here, one there, dancing in the chilled air.
And then Tobias stopped and turned to look at her, his hand still holding hers. She could see his warm breath like a puff of smoke as it mingled with the icy air around them, his cheeks flushed red. His eyes looked darker than they usually did, the clear, bright snow putting them into a stark contrast. Still, the same familiar warmth lingered in his gaze as he looked at her. “Is it true?” he asked then, and his hand tugged on hers, urging her a step closer.
Anne swallowed, noting the change in the way he was looking at her. “Is what true?”
He inhaled a deep breath, and the pad of his thumb brushed over her knuckles, sending another one of those teasing, tingling shivers down her back. “Do you love me?”
Anne’s heart stilled in shock. “But, of course, I do,” she laughed, afraid to be the first to say it out loud. “How can you not know that? I’ve loved you all my life.”
Tobias’s lips thinned, but the right corner of his mouth quirked slightly, telling her that he understood without a doubt what she was doing. That she was afraid. “I meant,” he began, once again urging her a step closer, “are you in love with me?”
Anne could not help but wish the ground would open and swallow her whole. Instead, heat rushed to her cheeks as mortification burnt through her. Please, do not let him laugh at me!
A smile teased his lips. “Your cousin suggested that…”
Curse Louisa! “She simply meant that I care for you greatly as I always have.”
Slowly, Tobias shook his head. “That is not what it sounded like. Indeed, she made it unmistakably clear that you−”
In a near panic, Anne withdrew her hand from his and took a few steps backward. “I do believe a more pressing question is why you attacked Lord Gillingham with such viciousness. The poor man was knocked off his feet!” Anne knew very well that she didn’t care about Lord Gillingham. Nor was she concerned with Tobias’s anger toward him. What Anne did know was that while Tobias had inquired after her feelings, he had yet to confess his own.
If indeed they existed!
Tobias’s gaze narrowed and his eyes darkened. The warm chocolate-brown disappeared, replaced by a menacing black that made Anne wish she’d not said a word. Still, there was no turning back. At least, now, they were speaking about something other than her affections toward him. “You’ve always been such a kind and respectful man. Why were you so aggressive toward Lord Gillingham?”
His jaw tensed. “Because of you.”
“Me?” Anne all but stammered, her gaze locked on his as he began to move toward her.
“You,” Tobias confirmed, following her step by step as she retreated. “I loathe that man because whenever I see him, he’s near you, asking you to dance or escorting you to supper or taking you for a stroll around the gardens.” The words shot out of his mouth like bullets fired, their impact almost deafening. His gaze was sharp, harsh even, reminding her of a wolf stalking its prey. “Twice today, he tried to kiss you,” he growled out, “and from the way he was looking at you just now, he−”
Anne shrank back for never in her life had she seen Tobias like this. He frightened her, but he also gave her hope. “What is it to you?” she demanded, daring him to answer. “Why would you care who kisses me?”
Tobias surged toward her, his hands gripping her upper arms as her back collided with one of the oak tree’s unyielding trunk. “Because you’re mine to kiss,” he whispered against her lips, his eyes holding hers, open and honest, and yet, searching.
Anne drew in a shuddering breath. “Am I?” she asked as her heart began