The Secret Wallflower Society - Jillian Eaton Page 0,37

back and squeezed her eyes shut.

She could hear his boots on the gravel as he approached. He paused outside the door, and she jumped in her seat when he rested his elbow on the ledge. But he made no attempt to come inside, nor did he try to coax her out. Instead he sighed, long and heavy, then shook his head.

“I am sorry, Calliope.”

Her heart constricted. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m the one who ran.”

“Why?” The word hovered between them like a battering ram. She tried to look at him through the glass again, but he stood with his back to her and she could only see a hint of his profile. She drew a deep breath and stared straight ahead at the carriage’s silk upholstered interior.

“Because…because it didn’t feel right.” She toyed with a loose thread on her veil. “Everything has been so rushed and I…I wanted to make sure you were marrying me for the right reasons.”

“You wanted to make sure I was marrying you for the right reasons?” he said incredulously. “You were one who pursued me! This was your plan – yours and Helena’s – from the beginning.”

“It’s true I was considering marrying you before I ever met you,” Calliope said. “But then I did meet you. That night…it changed everything, Leo. What I thought about love. What I thought about marriage. What I thought about my future. I suddenly wanted things I’d never wanted before. All in the span of a few precious moments.” She closed her eyes again. “I fell in love with you, that night. And I thought – at least, I hoped – you’d fallen in love with me as well. But now…I’m not so sure.”

The door was wrenched open with such force it nearly flew off its hinges. Leo stood silhouetted in the fading sunlight, his eyes snapping blue fire, his hands clenched into fists, his chest heaving. “How can you say that to me?” he snarled. “I loved you when you fell out of the damned tree, I loved you when you trounced on my toes in the ballroom, and I loved you when you stepped into that church looking like an angel straight from heaven.” He braced his arms on either side of the doorframe and the raw emotion she saw on his face filled her eyes with tears. “I loved you then. I love you now. I’ll love you always. If you want to be sure of anything, be sure of that.”

“Oh, Leo.” Sniffling, she half fell, half leapt into his arms. He caught her and swung her out of the carriage, but he didn’t let her go. Instead he held her so close she could feel the wild beat of his heart through his jacket, and its rhythm matched her own.

“I love you too,” she whispered, her eyes shining bright. “It’s all happened so fast, I was afraid…I was afraid it was too good to be true. That you were too good to be true.”

“I was afraid of the same thing,” he admitted roughly. “After I lost my first wife, I never dreamt I would feel this way again. That I even could feel this way again. Then you entered my life like a sunrise after a long, endless night and my heart came alive again. I came alive again.”

“But then I told you about the inheritance…”

“And I started to doubt your true feelings,” he finished grimly.

“I would never try to trick–”

“I know that now.” He gently slid her down his body until her feet were touching the ground, but he kept his arms tightly wrapped around her. “Truth be told, I knew it before you’d even left the house. But that moment of pain, that second of insecurity, reminded me of what it felt like to hurt. Which was why I put my armor back on. It’s why I’ve been so distant. But to hurt is to be human. To hurt is to love.” He ran his thumb across her cheek. “And I do love you, Calliope. I know it has been quick, for both us. And it probably would have been easier if we could have taken our time. If I could have courted you as you deserved to be courted.” His expression darkened. “But having met that vicious cousin of yours, I’ll be damned before she gets one copper penny of your inheritance.”

“About that…” During her mad dash away from the church, Calliope had a few precious seconds to think. And