Page 44 of A Duke Reformed (Icy Dukes #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

" L avinia, the party is downstairs. Where are we going?"

Alice and Lavinia were up to something. It was easy for Emma to tell.

They had been acting strange all through the party, and now they were trying to taking her somewhere.

The both of them exchanged far too many glances when they thought she wasn't looking throughout the dinner, and Emma saw it, but pretended like she didn't.

Her first guess was that they had invited Solomon to the party, and they were going to sit the two of them together, forcing them to talk. It made sense, at least. They were probably hoping the crowded, social atmosphere would provide the perfect backdrop for a conversation.

But when she'd scanned the room, looking for Solomon, he hadn't appeared.

The dinner was already in full swing, and yet, he was nowhere to be seen.

Her chest tightened, and the realization hit her like a cold breeze.

Even though she had not finished mustering up the courage to speak to him, she was sad that he wasn't the surprise.

He didn't attend. There was something else going on.

Lavinia and Alice's behavior grew even more suspicious the longer Emma observed them. But she played along, hoping that whatever it was, it would be enough to cheer her up.

"What are you two planning?" she muttered under her breath.

They stopped in front of a giant door and stood, grinning at Emma. "Now, Emma... Don't be alarmed..."

Emma arched her eyebrows. "Lavinia, if you are planning to play matchmaker and set me up with a complete stranger I will have your head," she rasped.

"Now, tell me what is going on right this instant.

You two have been acting very strangely the entire evening.

At first I thought you wanted to force me to talk to Solomon, but he's not even here.

So, what on God's green earth are you both doing right now? "

Alice and Lavinia glanced at each other and their smiles waned. "All right. We have some news," Alice said solemnly.

"But let's talk inside here," Lavinia said. "In Andrew's study."

Emma's heart skipped a beat as she crossed her arms, her gaze shifting from Lavinia to Alice.

She was reluctant to play along, but something in their eyes told her that they weren't about to let her go without hearing whatever it was they were hiding.

They were up to something, and the longer they kept her in the dark, the more her curiosity gnawed at her.

Lavinia flashed a reassuring smile. "Come on, my love. It'll only be for a moment. We promise," she said sweetly.

Reluctantly, Emma followed them toward the door.

As she stepped inside, she was about to ask them what was going on for the umpteenth time, when she heard the soft creak of the door closing behind her.

Emma froze. Her breath hitched in her throat as she turned to see Lavinia standing in the doorway, her hand still on the handle.

Through the small crack, Emma caught Lavinia's gaze.

"We'll buy you some time," Lavinia whispered.

Time? Emma blinked, her confusion deepening. "Time for what?" she whispered back, unsure why she was even whispering.

Alice, standing just behind Lavinia, leaned in and added. "Make sure you both talk about everything."

Both?

Before she could ask another question, the door clicked shut, and Emma was left standing in the study. She stood still for a heartbeat, unsure of what to do next. But then, through the corner of her eye, she saw him.

Solomon was standing by the window, just watching her. Her heart skipped again, and she stilled so much that her legs started to cramp. Of course she should have known. Alice and Lavinia had always been so predictable.

Emma opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. What could she say? What was she supposed to say to him after everything?

"Do I need to lock the door so you don't run away again?"

Solomon's voice broke through the tension in the room, low and almost teasing.

"No," Emma said quietly. "You don't need to lock the door. I won't run away again."

"Good," he said, taking multiple steps towards her. He stopped about four footsteps away and then walked over to the table and leaned on it.

Emma felt a flutter in her chest, her heart betraying her in that fleeting moment. Now, seeing him up close after so long, she couldn't help but stare.

His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing veiny forearms that were more defined than she remembered. His hair, still longer than most men's, brushed the back of his neck in soft waves, giving him a roguish yet refined look. He looked slightly different, more handsome than she recalled.

For a moment, Emma forgot why she was here or why they'd even been brought into this room. Her thoughts were consumed by the man standing before her, the man whose presence still unsettled her heart.

Solomon took a slow, steadying breath as his gaze locked onto hers with an intensity that made Emma swallow.

"I love you, Ducky," he confessed, staring deeply into her eyes.

"It was never my intention to love you. I never planned on this.

I never wanted to be someone who let their feelings get the best of them, but it crept up on me.

It started slowly, and I didn't recognize it until it was too late. Even then, I should've known better."

He ran a hand through his hair, then stood upright. "I shouldn't want to be with a woman who lied to push me away. I shouldn't want to be with someone who... was comfortable with pushing me away. But despite all that... I do."

Emma's heart slammed in her chest. "You think I was comfortable pushing you away?" she questioned, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. "You think that was comfortable for me? Solomon, that was the hardest thing I had ever had to do to anyone."

Solomon's expression softened, and a shadow of pain flickering in his eyes as he stepped closer to her.

"You took the decision from me," he said quietly. "I came to you that day, vulnerable. In spite of my better judgment, in spite of the fact that I did not want to let anyone into my heart...Emma, I came to you hoping that you would let me in too."

He paused, his gaze searching hers, as if trying to convey everything he couldn't say in words. "But you pushed me away. You hurt me to protect yourself."

Emma's breath hitched in her throat. "I am sorry!

" she said, her voice trembling. "I thought it was best for both of us.

" She shook her head, her hands moving to her sides in frustration.

"There was no use. No need to pursue something that could never be.

You have every right to want something for your future, like I also want something else for mine.

You said it yourself... you were leaving.

You were going back to Northern England. "

She closed her eyes for a moment, as if trying to steady herself before meeting his gaze again. Her voice wavered, but she pressed on, the truth escaping her before she could hold it back. "What was I supposed to do? Hold on to you?"

"I wanted you to talk to me, Emma," he said, his gaze never leaving hers. "What is it that you feel for me that is so complicated?"

Emma's heart raced in her chest, as the flood of emotions she had worked so hard to suppress threatening to overwhelm her.

"I love you," she whispered, her voice barely above a breath. "I love you too," she said more clearly now, her eyes finally meeting his. "But I scared."

Emma wiped the tear from her cheek as she continued.

"I watched my father crumble after my mother's death.

It broke him. Love ruined him. He became a shadow of himself, and he never truly recovered from it.

After that, I swore to myself that I would never let love ruin me too.

So when I started to feel it for you, I fought it, Solomon.

I hid behind excuses... you were leaving, you didn't want children, we were too different. .. anything to avoid feeling this."

She paused, biting her lip. Her chest tightening as she tried to put into words the fear that had kept her from loving him.

"The truth is, I'm scared. I'm scared that I would love you too much, and it would burn me like it burned my father. I've seen how love makes you emotional, makes you irrational, and I... I hate that. I hate the thought of losing myself in something I cannot control."

Solomon threw his hands in the air. "Emma, you are not your father."

"I know that now," she whispered. "I know, and I think I have made some progress because the old me would take my feelings for you to the grave. But I cannot take it anymore. You need to know that I love you. I might be scared of it, but I truly love you."

"And I love you too," Solomon said, taking a step closer.

"But it's different!" she answered, taking a step back. "I don't just want you, Solomon. I want a family with you. Not just you."

Solomon took another step forward. "And I will give you that."

Emma's heart skipped a beat. She looked at him, shaking her head. "You know that you cannot. You said that you don't want that life, and who am I to –"

Solomon's eyes darkened. "Who are you?" he repeated.

"Ducky, you are the love of my life. You have every right to want what you want and demand it from me.

I will give you that life. I will give you the family you deserve.

.. the life you deserve. I will give you everything I have, because without you, none of it means anything anymore.

My goodness, I cannot even do business right because you are all that I think about. "