Page 103 of A Rogue to Watch Over Me
Returning to his phaeton, he spotted Finn’s coach. Evidently, they’d been returning to the library. Mired in the congestion on the avenue, he’d stopped the brougham a few blocks away. Logan watched as Finn let down the steps. Amelia hiked her skirts past her ankles, navigated the ornate metal treads, and rushed down the street.
He knew the moment when she first spotted him standing there, in front of what had been her home. Her brows quirked and her head tilted slightly, as though she wasn’t entirely certain her eyes were not deceiving her.
As she drew closer, her mouth settled into a line, not quite a frown, as though she were making a great effort to maintain a semblance of composure.
Just as he was.
“Looking for something?” Meeting her eyes, he forced a casualness into his voice he did not feel.
The tension in her mouth eased by a fraction. “I believe you know the answer to that question.”
Taking the collar from his pocket, he handed it to her. “I came upon this on the steps.”
As she gazed down at the silver band, her perfect mouth curved into the most subtle of smiles. She drew her fingertipover the engraving. “Thank you. This means a great deal to me.” Her smile broadened. “I don’t know how the little rascal wiggled his way out of it.”
“The wee beast has a strong will. And a sense of mischief.”
“Quite so.” Amelia tucked the collar into her reticule. “If I had known you were coming to wish me well, I would have waited.”
Rays of sunlight danced over the lush red-gold hair she’d piled atop her head and topped with an elegant little black hat. For a long moment, as he took in the rebellious strands framing her face, Logan could think of nothing other than releasing the tresses from the pins which held them properly in place, freeing the waves to tumble unbound around her shoulders.
God above, she was lovelier than a man like him could express.
Amelia’s vibrant spirit was a light in the darkness that had shrouded his heart.
He met her gaze, seeing the questions she could not hide, no matter how resolutely she squared her shoulders and tried to pretend she was simply preparing to say goodbye to a man who’d come into her life for a purpose that was now over and done.
Just as she believedtheywere over and done.
She still had not puzzled out the elemental truth between them, a truth as clear as the stars in the sky.
He loved Amelia. Beyond all doubt, he knew that elemental truth.
When he held her in his arms, he wanted for nothing else in the universe. And he prayed she felt the same. He had seen love in her eyes. True and enduring, unlike any he’d ever known.
Amelia was meant for him.
And he, for her.
He had never been more certain of anything in his life.
Now, he had to convince her.
“Amelia, there is one thing ye haven’t yet figured out. When yer brother sent for me—when he asked me to watch over ye—he gave me a gift.”
Her eyes flashed with a gentle challenge. “Did he now?”
“He led me to a treasure. To a gift more precious than riches could buy. Yer spirit will keep me intrigued until I am an old man.”
Her top teeth grazed her plump lower lip. “An old man?”
“A very old man.” Reaching for her, he caught her hand in his and brushed a kiss over her satin skin. “An old man whose bones creak as he trudges up the stairs every night to share a bed with his enchanting wife.”
“An old man with creaky bones.” Mischief lit her eyes. “Rather a tempting prospect, I suppose.”
A fierce yearning coursed through him. Amelia was his treasure, infinitely more valuable than the gems in a monarch’s crown.
He wanted her in his arms. In his bed. In his heart.
