Page 264 of Historical Hotties
She wasn’t sure there was anything about her to love.
“How would you know that?” she asked in surprise. “We’ve only known each other a matter of days. How is it possible to know you love someone in so short a time?”
Nicola shrugged. “Think about it,” she said. “Does he fill your every waking thought?”
“Aye.”
“Do you long for the sound of his voice?”
“Aye.”
“Would you do anything for him, anything in the world?”
“Anything he asked and more.”
“Then mayhap you are in love with him, too.”
Caledonia’s eyes widened. That was something that had never occurred to her—and having never been in love, she had no idea what it would feel like. But she did know that her heart skipped a beat when she saw Thor and that she craved the man’s touch. She craved the sight and smell and sound of him. Was it love?
It was certainlysomething.
She was distracted from her thoughts as Thor rode up to the carriage again, indicating the city up ahead.
“The crowds on the street of the merchants are starting to wane,” he said. “They are planning on closing their shops soon, so if we are going to purchase goods, we must go now.”
With that, he instructed the soldier driving the carriage to pull it forward at a brisk pace. The conversation between them was forgotten while Caledonia and Nicola held on as the carriage lurched over the road, making a right turn into the city. They passed through the gates, and immediately the bustle of the city came into view.
And what a city it was.
Birmingham had big buildings, both businesses and residences, built from classic wattle and daub or the occasional stone. Caledonia felt at home here, a city she’d been in many times. She had good memories here, of going to market with her mother and of the relatively carefree life she led as a child. She remembered Constantine buying her sweets here. Birmingham was one of the few places that didn’t harbor any difficult memories for her, so she wasn’t distressed as the carriage came to a halt and the door opened.
Darius was standing there, smiling at Nicola.
The woman practically jumped into his arms, and Caledonia chuckled as Darius tried to peel Nicola off him for propriety’s sake. She could see Thor standing behind Darius, giving his sister a deeply disapproving expression as Darius was trying desperately to force her to behave properly. But Nicola wasn’t listening to Darius and didn’t care what her brother thought. She ended up winding her arms around Darius’ left arm and sticking to him like glue as he pulled her away from the carriage so Thor could remove Caledonia. When he stepped up to the cab door, Caledonia paused before exiting.
“Should I jump on you like Nica did to Darius?” she asked. “I want to make sure I understand your expectations.”
She was jesting. Thor rolled his eyes. “It would be more appropriate than what she just did,” he said, eyeing his sister unhappily. “Christ, that girl has no sense of decorum at all. You’d think she was the only woman in the world who had ever been betrothed.”
Caledonia grinned. “She is very happy,” she said. “I’ve been listening it to it for seven days now. I can tell you exactlyhowhappy she is.”
“I have no doubt that you can,” Thor said. “But my question would be how happy areyou?”
Caledonia’s smile faded as she gazed into those bright blue eyes. “Can you not tell?”
A smile tugged the corners of his mouth. “I never want to assume.”
“You can assume,” she said. “If I do not look happy, then I will tell you plainly. This week with you has been the happiest week of my life. I feel as if I am living in a dream.”
He reached out and took her hand. “No more thoughts of running off to Gomorrah?”
“I cannot even remember the place.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am.”
With a grin, he lifted her hand, kissed it, and tucked it into the crook of his elbow.
