Page 92 of Broken

Lilly blinked rapidly. He drew closer and her pulse raced.

Giles leaned down. “A kiss to last me a lifetime, Lilly. I won’t ever kiss another soul. I can promise you that for all eternity.” He pressed a kiss to her lips then moved away. His blue eyes were swimming with unshed tears. “I love you.”

The words fell over her skin like rain, and she closed her eyes as unbearable wonder filled her with hope.

She wiped furiously at her eyes to look for him, but she was all alone in the library.

Giles had only asked her here to say goodbye in private. So he could kiss her one last time and then go.

She buried her face in her hands and sobbed, unable to bear the loss of such a good friend. He planned never to see her again. She was sure of it.

He loved her.

Lilly had never known before what hearing those words would do to her resolve. It crumbled to dust.

She’d been so foolish. She’d been afraid she’d be the only one of them in love.

Lilly stood and hurried for the door. She stifled a cry of pain as her body refused to behave with the speed her heart insisted it must.

He’d given her the damned dog too. She brushed her hands over her face to be rid of the tears. The idiot loved her and would still let her go.

A laugh escaped her. He was as much a fool as she. What a perfect pair they made.

Lilly moved as fast as she could to the door—and barreled straight into the butler.

Dithers caught her elbow to keep her upright. “Be careful, my lady, you could do yourself an injury. That would be most disagreeable to all the staff of Cottingstone.”

Lilly gripped the rail for the climb. “Well, if I do, I will be in the right place to be fixed, won’t I?”

“Can I speed your ascent, Miss Winter?”

“No thank you, Dithers. Why don’t you go chase Mrs. Osprey around her office? I think she heads there at this time on most nights,” Lilly confided and started up, grimacing as pain speared down her legs. She ignored it.

“I was aware of that,” Dithers replied carefully.

She glanced down at him in consternation. “And you have never taken advantage of her seclusion before? Shame on you, Dithers. I’d heard you were a rogue.”

“Reformed, as all men in love should be. However, I will remain until you reach the top at least.”

“If you must, Dithers, but you are wasting valuable time,” she warned him.

When she reached the top stair, she heard his rapid footsteps fade away.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

“You are a fool, Giles.”

He sat by the window looking out at the night, holding Lilly’s old diary loosely in his hands. “You should not be here, Lilly,” he warned her, his voice grim.

Lilly moved toward him. “What if I want to be?”

“That, of course, would require a wedding ceremony you don’t want.”

Lilly clutched the skirts of her borrowed gown in her sweaty palms and asked the fatal question. “What if I changed my mind?”

Giles spun around to face her and Lilly saw the glitter of tears on his cheeks. Lilly crossed the room to him and cupped his face between her hands. Such a dear, wicked, and sinful face. One she loved so very much. “You deserve more than a broken thing like me but I cannot live without you.”

He gaped at her a long time but then wet his lips. “And you deserve better than a degenerate for a husband.”