Page 79 of A Scandal for the Beastly Earl

"We should get a bigger bed."

"Or a smaller dog."

"That is insane."

"From the man who wanted to leave him in the lake?"

"I never wanted to leave him. I just wanted you to stop drowning."

"I wasn't drowning."

"You were definitely drowning."

"I was strategically navigating aquatic challenges."

"While unconscious?"

"I was only unconscious for a moment."

"The longest moment of my life."

The admission was quiet, serious. Arabella turned to look at him in the dim light.

"Really?"

"I thought I was watching another woman die. One I could have saved if I'd been faster."

"But you did save me."

"Barely."

"Completely."

"You saved yourself first. By being brave enough to jump."

"Dive."

"Fine. Dive. The point is, you acted while everyone else just watched."

"So did you."

"Eventually."

"Immediately. The dock had barely finished collapsing before you were in the water."

"It felt like hours."

"It was seconds."

"The longest seconds of my life, then."

She kissed him softly. "But you saved me."

"And you saved me right back."

"From what?"

"From myself. From isolation. From a life half-lived."