Page 23 of How to Catch an Heiress

He was right.

“Now, I have no reason to lie,” he said.

She didn’t know what to say.

“Surely, I haven’t left you speechless?” Stirling teased. “This is a rarity. I tell you what, why don’t you just admit you love me and be done with it?”

“Love you?” she whispered.

He gave a single nod. “It’s all right, sweetheart. There’s no need to be embarrassed. Tell you what, I’ll say it first.”

Her heart began to pound hard.

He took her hand and lifted it to his lips. Eyes locked with hers, he brushed his mouth against her knuckles, then whispered, “I love you.”

She stared.

“It’s all right,” he said. “I said it first. You’re in no danger of losing your heart to a man who hasn’t already lost his to you.”

“You’re insane,” she whispered.

“That is a well-established fact,” he said. “But it is not what we are discussing. Can you deny that you love me?”

She shook her head and he flashed a heart-stopping smile.

“Good.”

He waited.

Did she love him? She did. And she said so.

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