Page 261 of Dukes for Dessert

He froze half-stretched across the table, caught in the middle of positioning a shot. “Carole?”

“I need to talk to you,” she managed. Or tried to. She wasn’t certain the hoarse creak of her voice traveled loud enough for him to hear.

Adam handed his cue to one of his friends. He walked around the table to the doorway, but did not step into the main room. “What are you doing here?”

She took a deep breath and met him at the threshold. They would be seen, but not overheard.

“You don’t have to say anything back,” she said quickly, “but I can’t leave things how they were without telling you the truth. And the truth is… I wanted to say yes, but I was terrified. I knew you meant it in the moment, but I also knew you’d come back to—” She gestured around them. “—this, and realize your mistake. I didn’t want to be that mistake. I love you too much to spend the rest of my life knowing I was never truly good enough.”

There. The words were out. She held her breath.

“I found your sketchbook,” he said quietly.

Heat blazed her cheeks. “I… er…”

“I don’t know what to say because I never do seem to have the right words. But I do have this.” He slid his hand inside his waistcoat and pulled out her sketchbook.

Her mouth opened wordlessly. He’d been carrying around her sketchbook.

“Here.” He teased out a folded sheet of foolscap he appeared to have been using as a bookmark. “I started working on it the day you agreed to help me find the perfect woman.”

With trembling fingers, she opened the paper.