Page 613 of From Rakes to Riches

And that she’d put it there.

“Here’s what I do know,” she said. It was time someone laid out a few facts for the duke. “I know need. You only know want. What you want, you have. When Felicity left you, was that the first time you were ever denied a want?”

His jaw clenched. He didn’t appreciate being cast in this particular light.

Too bad.

Truth hurt.

“Some of us never have the luxury of attaining a want,” she continued, unrelenting. “We’re too busy taking care of needs. Yes, I spied on Somerton.” She let the statement sit for a moment. “So Liam and I could leave behind a life of constant need and have the future we want.”

Rake cocked his head, gaze narrowed, assessing both her words and her. “And what future is that?”

“Liam and I have made plans.”

His brow furrowed. “What plans?”

She shouldn’t tell him. She was no longer any concern of his. That was clear. Yet… “We’re going to New York.”

And she knew—she didn’t want to go.

Though she wouldn’t be spending any more of her life with this man than what time remained in this carriage ride, theidea of putting an ocean between them caused a black chasm to expand within her.

“America?” he asked, utterly perplexed.

“Liam’s already purchased our passage for the 30th.”

“That’s within the fortnight.”

“And you’ll never have to see me again.” Still, a question found itself spilling from her mouth. A question she didn’t have to ask… “Have you asked the Duchess of Acaster to marry you?”

His jaw clenched and released. “Not yet.”

Not…yet.

“Once you do,” Gemma spoke around the lump that had formed in her throat, “you and the Duchess of Acaster can live happily ever after.”

Of a sudden, the words he’d left unspoken last night and vowed to speak today filled the air between them.

“She’ll no longer be the Duchess of Acaster,” he said. “She’ll be the Duchess of Rakesley.”

“I’m sure the two of you will be very happy together.” The words tasted like bitter quince in Gemma’s mouth.

“Of course, we’ll be happy. All our interests align perfectly.”

Gemma wasn’t sure what was worse—the words themselves…or the fact that he spoke them so coldly.

“You know,” she began. Oh, why was she talking? Why couldn’t she leave it be? This man had his future all mapped out before him. She didn’t need to say anything more… “You could stand to let a little chaos into your life.”

Rake blinked, astonished. A lengthy bout of laughter followed. “I would counter that I already have in the form of one slight woman who was once my stable lad.”

A fact Gemma couldn’t deny. Still… “You don’t have to hold the reins of control so tightly all the time. Like, when I ride Hannibal, it isn’t about controlling him. It’s about setting freeand seeing where it takes us. It’s in the in-between space that the magic in life happens.”

His condescending smile fell by slow increments.

Once, they’d set free and found that magic—together.

He wanted to doubt it, but truth was truth. It existed and couldn’t be denied into nothingness.

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