Lillian had her head bent close to William’s, speaking softly to him, and leaving no room for conversation with others. I had a feeling she did it on purpose, so that Ginny and I would be forced to interact.
I fell into step beside Ginny as we moved down the front stoop. The air was bitterly cold. Her cheeks were already flushed, although from the cold, or anger, I wasn’t sure. The sun hit her face, making her skin glow golden. She was stunning. Perfection. I loved everything about her, from the gentle slope of her nose, to the stubborn tilt of her chin.
“What are you doing here, Gabe?”
I hadn’t heard my name upon her lips in so very long. A variety of emotions assaulted me; emotions I wasn’t sure I could describe, yet alone name. I wanted to hear her say it over and over, for the rest of my life. “Roads are impassable.”
She slid me a glance of annoyance. “Really? And why did you come to the ball? I suppose you’re going to tell me you were invited?”
I shrugged, not answering.
She sighed, taking her gloves from the pockets of her cloak and pulling them over her hands. Dainty hands that had once run up and down my body, touching me intimately. I took in a deep, trembling breath, then released it in a puff of air.
“It’s been a long time,” I said softly. “Too long.”
The snow crunched underfoot as we headed toward a sparse patch of trees. She didn’t respond. With her gaze straight ahead, she made her way stoically toward the thin cropping. William and Lilly were too far ahead to hear us.
My hands curled as I resisted the urge to touch her. I could barely restrain myself. Did she feel it? The pull? The attraction? Did she feel anything toward me other than irritation? Hell, I’d take anger, even hatred, over indifference.
“How is Izzy?”
She stiffened. “Doing quite well here. She has everything she needs, including a loving family.”
I didn’t miss the message: doing quite well without me. It stung. “And you? Are you doing quite well too?”
She tilted her chin high. “I am.”
Why did I feel as if she lied? I studied her fine features. The tense lines around her mouth, the hooded look in her eyes. Something was wrong. My worry flared. “Do they not treat you well?”
Her brows snapped together in irritation. “Of course they do.”
Gently, I cupped her elbow, forcing her to pause. “What’s wrong?”
She wouldn’t meet my gaze, but stared at my throat. “Nothing.”
“At one time you told me all of your secrets. Do I need to find a deck of cards?”
“And at one time I thought I could trust you,” she snapped back.
She had always been able to needle me just enough to irritate, without quite drawing blood. That, at least, hadn’t changed. Instinctively, I wanted to bite back something sarcastic and cutting. I’d been trained at an early age to act as if I didn’t care. But that wouldn’t work here.
“So, you care. Admit it, tell her. You can have the life you want. Hide it…and you’ll both be miserable for the rest of your lives. Believe me, I know from experience.” Lord Whitfield had said to me just last night. “The choice is yours. Continue your father’s lineage of pain and suffering, or change. Have the life of happiness and contentment that we all deserve, but most are too weak to fight for.”
I had to give her my all. She deserved it. Izzy deserved it.
“That night…that night I didn’t come for you, there was a reason. The letter I’d asked the maid to send was forgotten in the chaos.”
“Likely story, Gabe,” she muttered, starting to leave. “It doesn’t matter anyway. What’s done is done.”
I took her hand, tugging her back to me. “Ginny. Please.”
She met my gaze, her cheeks and nose red from the cold. She looked adorable. She looked beautiful. She looked like an aloof lady. But I knew the truth. They’d tried to make her prim and proper and cold, but she couldn’t hide her reality. Under the hooded gaze of her blue eyes, I could see the fury, the emotion, the strength. She wanted to hit me…hard. I almost wished she would. “What, Gabe?”
“That night, I didn’t come for you and Izzy because my father had died.”
****
Ginny
For a moment I was stunned speechless. Was he telling the truth? It would be easy enough to check. He’d be insane to lie about something like that. He might be