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"I know I have no right to ask for forgiveness," I said, my voice carrying clearly across the festival grounds. "I know that I'm asking this community to trust someone whose family has already proven they can't be trusted. But I'm asking anyway, because the alternative—living the rest of my life without Lili in it—is unthinkable."
I stepped closer to Lili, close enough to see the tears gathering in her eyes, close enough to smell the familiar scent of her perfume mixed with Texas sunshine and festival food.
The crowd seemed to fade into the background, though I was acutely aware they were still watching, still judging, still deciding whether this British interloper deserved any consideration at all.
"Lili," I said, my voice dropping to something approaching intimacy despite our very public setting. "I know why you're packed. I know you're leaving, probably to prove that you can succeed in a world where I don’t exist. And you can. You will. You're strong enough to conquer anything you set your mind to."
Her lips parted as if she wanted to speak, but no words came.
"But I'm asking you to stay with me. Not as the heir to some aristocratic legacy, not as someone trying to fit you into my world, but as the man who loves you enough to learn how to live in yours." I took another step closer, near enough now that I could see the gold flecks in her eyes. "I'm asking you togive me the chance to prove that I can choose you over family expectations, love over legacy, happiness over tradition."
"Edward," she whispered, and my name on her lips sounded like forgiveness.
"I love you," I said, my voice carrying clearly enough for every person in that crowd to hear. "I love the way you make friends with groundskeepers and kitchen staff, the way you see potential in things other people have written off. I love that you convinced me to eat fish and chips with my hands, that you made me realize afternoon tea tastes better when you're stealing biscuits and laughing at your own jokes."
My voice broke completely. "I love that you made me want to be worthy of the way you used to look at me—like I was someone worth believing in rather than someone to be endured. And this time, I'm choosing you first. Before family approval, before social expectations, before the fear that loving you might change everything I thought I knew about myself."
The crowd erupted in applause and cheers, but I only had eyes for Lili.
Tears were streaming down her face, but she was smiling—the radiant, unguarded smile I'd fallen in love with months ago in a London garden.
"I was coming back," she said, her voice barely audible over the crowd noise but reaching me like a shout. "The suitcase, the airport—Edward, I was coming back to London. Tonight."
The words hit me like lightning. "You were..."
"I was coming home to you," she corrected, stepping closer, "Because I realized that home isn't a place—it's wherever you are. And I've been miserable without you. Completely, utterly, pathetically miserable."
I felt like the ground was shifting under my feet. "You were coming to London."
"I was coming to fight for us. To prove that I'm strong enough to handle whatever your world throws at me, that love really can be stronger than legacy." She laughed through her tears. "I guess we had the same idea."
I felt my knees go weak with relief and something approaching euphoria. "You were coming back."
"I was cominghome," she repeated, stepping into my arms as the crowd cheered louder. "Because somehow, London became home when you were there."
I kissed her then, in front of God and half of Texas, and it felt like the first honest thing I'd done since she left.
It felt like coming alive again after weeks of merely existing. It felt like choosing love over everything else, finally and completely and without reservation.
When we broke apart, Lili was laughing through her tears. "You bought cowboy boots," she said, looking down at my feet with obvious amusement.
"I bought cowboy boots," I confirmed. "And I look ridiculous in them."
"You look like a man who's willing to be ridiculous for love," she said, reaching up to adjust my hat with hands that were only slightly trembling. "I like that look on you."
"Good," I said, pulling her closer as the crowd began to disperse, satisfied that their girl was in good hands. "Because I suspect I'll be looking ridiculous quite often if I'm going to keep up with you."
"Now, shall we go home? Both homes—yours and mine, together."
"Actually," Lili said, reaching into her purse to pull out one airplane tickets, "I think we should start with London. I have some business to finish there. A certain acquisition that needs to be properly terminated, a shopping channel that's ready to gointernational, and a Mother-in-law who needs to learn that her future daughter-in-law isn't going anywhere."
"Mother-in-law?" I repeated, my heart stopping.
"Well, eventually," she said with a grin that was pure Lili—bold and hopeful and utterly devastating. "Unless you're planning to keep me as your scandalous secret forever."
"Never again," I promised, kissing her forehead. "No more secrets. No more hiding. Just us, facing whatever comes next together."
"Good," she said, taking my hand. "Because I have some very public plans for us, Mr. Grosvenor. Starting with teaching you how to two-step properly."