Page 87 of An Accidental Bride for the Duke
“That you and I are too different to work,” she said with a bereaved sigh. “Is that not how this all started to begin with? Despite how far we came, that we started at such different places. Don’t you worry that we are doomed to failure?”
“Do you?”
“I have done…” She looked away. “And these last few days I have convinced myself of the fact.”
Philip’s first instinct was to panic. He had not expected this at all. Of all the things to worry about, that Iris thought they were not compatible was beyond his realm of expectation. And where he might have devolved and broken down as was his way…no. She cannot be more wrong.
“Clearly, you and I have different ideas of what it means to be compatible,” Philip said, his smile growing. “From where I stand, if anything, we are too similar.”
She frowned and leaned back. “What do you mean?”
He laughed. “When we first married and I wanted nothing to do with you. What did you do?”
“I…” She considered.
“You treated me as I was treating you. Stubbornly. And when we did finally confront one another, what happened?” He raised an eyebrow. “We fought. Then we made up. Then we reverted to how things have been because at the slightest hiccup, our natural inclination was not to talk about it but ignore one another. And our last fight, again, we did the same thing. I think I was in the wrong, you think you were in the wrong, and rather than confronting it we chose to ignore it.”
“Philip…” She shook her head. “That is not?—”
“Our past has defined us,” he spoke over her. “Different upbringings, the same result. But through it all, one thing is certain, Iris.” He let go of her hand and rested it on her cheek, refusing to break eye contact. “That you and Iarethe same. For better or for worse, we are too similar not to be together.”
Her brow furrowed. “I… I am not so sure I agree.”
“That is because you are stubborn.”
She widened her eyes at him. “And you are not?”
“I am,” he agreed with a large smile. “And that’s the entire point.”
Philip held her face with one hand, looking into her eyes, seeing her come around. But as stubborn as she was, she still fought against what she must have known to be the truth.
And in that, Philip knew what he had to do.
Iris opened her mouth to argue a final time but Philip did not give her a chance. He pulled her face to his and planted a passionate kiss on her lips. Iris froze, half made to pull away, then melted into him and allowed the kiss to take her.
Philip’s other hand found the side of her face so he could hold her there. Lips parted. Their tongues meshed. And as the sun shone down upon them, their kiss finalized and confirmed what they were both feeling.
Enough with the lies. Enough with the doubt. I love this woman, and I can feel in her kiss that she loves me too.
But still, there was one final thing Philip needed to do.
He pulled away, still holding her face in his hands. “Before you say anything else, there is something I need to show you.”
“Show me? What…”
“Not here,” he said. “You want to see how willing I am to change? To make this marriage work as I refused to do before? Let me show you how.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You will,” he assured her. “But first, you need to come home.”
She did not respond but she did not have to. A smile took her face, reached her eyes, and in those same eyes he saw her answer. Just as he saw how much she loved him.
Philip’s only real regret was that he hadn’t thought to apologize sooner. A mistake, he knew, but one Iris was willing to forgive him for.
Chapter Thirty
Iris could not begin to imagine what Philip wanted to show her. That he was excited about it, and that she was too, told her that it was the right thing. A final chance for him to prove himself to her.
