Page 85

She nodded. “Yes.”

Lachlan smiled, a smile with teeth and bright eyes, and she liquified.

His heavy boots thudded as he stepped closer. One arm slid around the small of her back to pull her against him, his other hand in her hair at the back of her head. “I’d hoped you’d say yes, Miss Fareview.”

Tarley clung to his shoulders.

He dropped his head but then stopped before their lips touched. His warmth mingled with hers, and his eyes searched her face as if to make sure. Her body vibrated with anticipation. Then his eyes slipped shut, and he pressed his mouth against hers.

His kiss was better than she’d reimagined, her fantasies paling in comparison to reality. A vision coalesced in her mind of Lachlan standing on the green in Sevens, smiling at her. A vision that felt vaguely familiar, even if she couldn’t place it. She pushed it away to focus on the kiss, on the feel of his lips, his hands pressed to her jaw, his fingers wrapped around the back of her neck.

Before she was ready, he drew away. Her eyes fluttered open, blinking to reorient herself, and she met his gaze.

He was breathing heavily, the rise and fall of his chest a clear indication he was as moved as she was, but he didn’t kiss her again. Instead, she saw the muscle in his jaw twitch, and his eyes flicked down to her mouth. “I shouldn’t have done that,” he said and before she could ask why, he released her from his grip. Stepping back, he added, “I know what it’s like to kiss you. It’s all I’m going to be thinking about.”

Tarley’s mind went blank. There was something she’d wanted to tell him. That’s where she’d been going, only as she thought about the craving coursing through her, she just wanted more of his kiss, his touch. They’d awakened that before—in the woods—but here, things had been different.

He stepped back once more, though it was clear he was fighting himself, his hands fisted at his sides. He cleared his throat. “Will you save me a dance?”

She nodded.

He took another step back and offered her a smile, and she anticipated he was going to say something charming. Instead, he turned and started down the stairs.

She watched him go, wanting more than anything to call him back. But she didn’t. Maybe she was willing to marry him, but she wasn’t sure she was willing to give him complete access to her heart.

24

Tarley—having gone home to prepare for the dance—now rode back to Sevens in the wagon with her family. She glanced at their mother, dressed in deep sapphire, to their father in his best clothes, to Auri, ecstatic that their mother had released her from the confines of the cottage for the event.

Dances in Sevens were a rarity. In fact, Tarley couldn’t remember the last time they’d been to one. But as much as she tried to relax into the joy of it, she was too cognizant of what this dance represented.

“I love our dresses,” Brinna exclaimed, preening in her aqua taffeta.

“Good thing we ordered them when we did,” Jessamine said, referring to the catalog Mr. Martin kept handy to order ready-made dresses from New Taras. She wore a rose gown that shimmered like a pearl.

“We could never have made them in time,” Brinna added.

She and Jessamine continued their conversation about the fabrics, which always bored Tarley to tears but for the moment let her lean toward Auri and ask, “Will Mr. Uraiahs join us?”

Auri turned her head, then shook it. Her emerald gown with its off-the-shoulder neckline and cap sleeves, was the perfect cut for her. The bodice wrapped around her to a drop waist, where it flared at her hips. But not even Auri’s stunning gown could change the pall that had become more pronounced in the weeks since Tarley’s return.

“Is it because of the argument?” Tarley asked, trying to hide her alarm.

“Not the argument,” Auri whispered. “Because of what I asked him to do.”

“Which was?”

Auri opened her mouth, then hesitated and said instead, “I love your dress.”

Tarley thought it was pretty; she felt pretty in it, but the sweetheart neckline had her cleavage on display. Brinna had insisted the neckline was perfect to showcase Tarley’s assets. The loose sleeves draped around her shoulders, and the dress pinched her waist, then exploded with sheer fabric Brinna called tulle. Whatever it was, it was pretty. She’d wondered why she couldn’t just wear a normal dress, but Brinna had raged at her—and Brinna never raged.

“I wish Tai was here,” Brinna said.

“Hush,” Auri said, glancing at the front of the wagon where their parents sat. “You’ll get Mother worked into a fit.” It was a point of tension, Mattias still on his errand. The longer it stretched on, the worse Scarlett’s mood grew.

Brinna blanched. “You’re right.”

“The point is to have fun and forget the stress of the last few weeks, yes?” Tarley pointed out, though this night was anything but fun for her. The event would end with her betrothed. The stress of it was making her feel faint, and she didn’t faint.