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He let his lips curve. “Whatever you say, Miss Snow.”

“I know that this is wrong to say and that given the circumstances with Henry…well…anyway, I must say this because all I could think about was how much I would regret it if I…”

He frowned. “Gus?”

“I love you,” she blurted out.

Miles stared at her for several heartbeats. Had the smoke addled his wits? Surely she could not have…?

“I do not expect—”

Before she could say anything further, he rose and pressed a fierce kiss to her lips, silencing her. He shifted back to eye her, bringing a palm up to cup her cheek. She tilted her face so he could feel the cool softness of her skin.

“I love you, Gus,” he said through a tight throat. “Damn it, woman, I love you more than you realize.”

She beamed at him and he had to wonder if he had not died in that fire and gone to heaven. But that couldn’t be right. He was not sure his tainted soul was ready for heaven yet. So this had to be real.

“I love you,” she repeated softly.

A loud, abrupt snore from behind him prevented him saying anything further so he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll make you mine,” he vowed.

He wasn’t sure how he was going to tell Henry about all this but now that he knew Augusta didn’t love Henry…well, he had to do something. Somehow, he had to tell his brother the truth—that he had loved his fiancée for longer than he could remember.