Page 34 of A Kingdom of Magic and Rain

“What is she doing here?” Thea muttered under her breath.

Curiosity getting the best of me, I turned around and followed her gaze to a beautiful young woman wandering around the ballroom. She was tall and thin, with cascades of chocolate-brown hair that framed her round face. Her moon-eyed gaze was searching as it glided over the guests. When it landed on Adrian, she set off toward where he and I were standing.

I looked at the lord, but he didn’t meet my questioning gaze. Without saying a word, he brushed past me and strode over to the mystery woman, who smiled hesitantly when he approached. He said something to her as he placed his hand on the middle of her back and then led her out of the ballroom. Jealousy reared its head.

“Who is she?” I asked Thea.

“Gray’s former fiancée.” When I opened my mouth to ask more questions, she gave a curt shake of her head to cut me off. “It’s not my story to tell. You’ll have to ask Gray.”

The lord returned to the ballroom after a short while, alone. I tried to get his attention, but he immediately became preoccupied with bidding farewells to the guests trickling out of the manor. When the ball ended, he promptly left the foyer and headed in the direction of the dining room. After a brief stop at the half bath to freshen up, I followed after him. He wasn’t in the dining room when I walked in, but Tom and Thea were, having late night coffee.

“Do you know where Adrian is?” I asked them.

Thea nodded at the glass doors leading onto the patio. My chest tightened with unease when I stepped outside. I wanted to ask Adrian about his past, but I was nervous about what I might learn. The shock on his face upon seeing his former fiancée implied that her visit had been unwelcome. But what if he still harbored feelings for her? What did that mean for us? Could there even be an ‘us’? I halted right on the other side of the door as I tried to reconcile my emotions. My gaze zeroed in on Adrian, who was sitting on the stone steps that descended into the gardens. With his back to me, he looked dejected, and my heart squeezed as I took in his slumped shoulders and hung head. Casting my conflicting emotions aside, I walked over to him.

He didn’t acknowledge me when I approached. Or when I lowered myself to sit by his side, my skirts spilling over the stone steps. With his forearms resting on his knees, he stared straight ahead. His cravat was loosened, as if he had needed more air, and his hair was disheveled, as if he had run his hand through it too many times. Seeing him in this state was strange since he was always so well put together. The urge to comfort him overrode everything else, and I carefully wove my arm through his and took a hold of his left hand. He tensed for a moment but then threaded his fingers through mine. He still wasn’t looking at me, and I also faced forward, training my gaze on the gardens before us. Silence stretched as I braced myself to ask him about his past. I had to know if it could affect our future because I was falling for him. My breath caught at the startling revelation as I acknowledged my feelings for him to myself for the very first time.

“The woman that was here. Thea said she is your former fiancée.” I forced the words out.

His hold on my hand tightened, and a few seconds passed when he didn’t say anything.

“She is,” he finally replied. “We were engaged to be married. I caught her with my brother the night before the wedding.”

No wonder he hardly ever spoke about his family.

“Are they still together?” I dared a glance at him.

“No. She threw away our relationship for nothing.” Silence hung between us while I searched for the right words. What Adrian had gone through was painfully similar to my own story, and based on my experience, nothing I could say would comfort him. “I don’t want your pity,” he said bitterly.

“I don’t pity you. My fiancé was unfaithful to me,” I blurted out. His gaze snapped to mine, and I instantly felt very exposed. I took a steadying breath, telling myself that it was a safe space to be vulnerable. He had just shared a difficult part of his past—I could do the same. Forcing down the lump in my throat, I continued, “I called off the engagement after I had caught him with my best friend.” Tears pushed forth, but I blinked them away. His eyes were soft as they searched my face. A shuddering breath left me. “I also don’t want your pity.”

“I don’t pity you,” he said vehemently. “I only pity the idiot who lost you.”

He lifted his right hand to my face and brushed the curve of my cheek with his fingertips. My whole body came alive at the soft contact. I wanted him to keep touching, to never stop. But there was something I had to know first. “Why was she here tonight? Was she looking to reconcile?”

He didn’t seem taken aback by my question, and he didn’t lower his hand from my cheek. “She was.”

“Do you—” I took a breath. “Do you want to reconcile with her?”

His brow furrowed. “No, I don’t. To be honest, I haven’t thought of her much since… Well, since you showed up at the manor.”

When my lips parted on an exhale of relief, his gaze dropped to my mouth. Anticipation rose and began to build as he dipped his chin and lowered his head. The world around us slowed, my heartbeat growing louder in the suspended quiet. I might have forgotten how to breathe, feeling both nervous and excited.

“Are you two okay?” Tom called out as he opened the patio door.

The spell was instantly broken as Adrian dropped his hand from my cheek. “We’re fine.” His tone was measured but exasperated.

I briefly squeezed my eyes shut, wishing that time would turn back to the moment before Tom had burst outside. To my disappointment, when I reopened my eyes, I was still in the present, and the moment was gone.

With a sigh, Adrian rose to his feet and reached for me. “It’s late. We had better head inside.” After he had helped me up, he let go of my hand and gestured for me to step inside the house.

I narrowed my eyes at Tom when I walked in.

Unfazed by my glower, he said, “Thea has already retired for the night.”

The adviser waited for Adrian to come inside before he turned around and strolled out of the dining room. He glanced back at us, expecting us to follow. I glared at his back on the way up to the second story. Had he interrupted us on purpose?

When I stopped in front of my bedroom door, Adrian halted beside me.