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“You?”

Eleanor shook her head, then stopped. “Well, perhaps just one decision.”

Danni inhaled. “What’s that then?” she asked lightly, almost afraid of the answer.

“I think I’ve slept alone in your bed long enough, don’t you?” Eleanor asked, pulling her dress on and handing Danni her trousers.

Danni grinned. “Maybe so.”

“Going to miss the couch?” asked Eleanor as she slid on her shoes.

“I’ll survive,” said Danni, as she reached once again for Eleanor.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Eleanor woke up slowly, stretching beneath the sheets, feeling the glorious ache in her muscles as soft morning light streamed in through the curtains. The bed was warm, the scent of Danni still lingering on the pillows. And for a brief moment, Eleanor allowed herself the indulgence of simple feeling.

And then she reached out, her hand landing on empty sheets.

She blinked, propping herself up on one elbow. Danni was gone.

Her stomach twisted into something suspiciously like disappointment, the emptiness of an empty bed, of someone leaving before she’d even awoken. But she took a breath and pushed it aside. Of course, Danni was already up and about. She was a farmer, early mornings were practically in her DNA, they were a necessity. It didn’t mean anything, Eleanor told herself. It wasn’t like Danni had run away or anything.

She collapsed back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling, and another realization crashed over her. She was disappointed that Danni wasn’t there. And there was only one reason that she would be so disappointed.

She was falling for Danni.

She was falling for her and… and she was damned if she cared.

The thought should have terrified her. It should have sent her scrambling for the walls she had so carefully constructed around her heart. She should be telling herself right now about all the reasons this couldn’t, shouldn’t, wouldn’t work.

But instead, it just felt… right.

Right and natural and, Eleanor thought, very nice indeed.

Danni was fearless and kind and strong and funny, confident and ambitious and infuriating in ways Eleanor had never known before. She was also, Eleanor now realized, everything she had ever needed. And last night, for the first time in a long time, Eleanor had simply allowed herself to be with someone. No expectations. No responsibilities. Just feelings.

And damn it, she wanted more.

She’d been trying to stop herself feeling anything for so long that it felt odd to let the feelings out now. But now that they were there, she was wondering just what she’d been so afraid of.

She was no fool. She could see the pop psychology of the situation. A woman who had lost her parents at a young age learned not to get too attached to anyone. But this was different. This was good. She could feel it in her soul.

She closed her eyes then opened them again. Alright, there were only so many feelings she could deal with at once. She wasn’t going to spend the whole day wallowing in bed when Danni was already up and working. She was going to do something.

She grinned and pulled a sweater on.

She was going to do something domestic. Something wifely.

She was far from a helpless aristocrat, whatever others might assume. She knew her way around the house, and her grandmother had insisted that she learned not just to cook, but also to clean her own bedroom and bathroom and generally look after herself. “A woman that can take care of herself never need depend on anyone else,” Isabella had always said.

Something that Eleanor had had more than one occasion to be grateful for.

What her grandmother hadn’t said, was that a woman whocould take care of herself could also take care of someone else.

In the kitchen, Eleanor rolled up her sleeves and got to work. The scent of fresh tea and sizzling bacon soon filled the air, as she moved around with practiced ease, cracking eggs into a pan, flipping slices of golden toast, arranging mushrooms and tomatoes with precision.

By the time she heard the back door opening, she was just finishing plating up two full breakfasts. She placed them on the table as Danni walked in, kicking off her boots on the mat. She stopped still when she saw the table.