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S era pressed her back against the rough stone wall of the alley, still clutching Alex’s wrist tightly, peeking around the corner to ensure her mother’s bonnet had disappeared into the swarm of people buzzing about.

Her heart raced—not with fear, but with exhilaration.

Isabella had done an excellent job of distracting their mother at the fabric stall, giving her just enough time to slip away.

She grinned at Alex.

She hadn’t expected to run into him here. She’d all but lost hope when her mother dragged her and Isabella into town. “What smashing luck.”

He leaned his head close to hers. “Who are we hiding from?”

“My mother.” When his eyes widened, she added, “And my sister. Do not worry about her. However, we should leave before they see us.”

“I am at your command.” And there was a mischievous glint in his eyes, a boyish lop-sided smile when his eyes locked with hers for an instant and then fell to her mouth.

She laughed, letting go of him but his fingers interlaced with hers. “Follow me, then.” She led him down a series of streets, grinning when a large, rusty sign came into view.

“Where are we going?” he asked, stepping up beside her. “A forest? A cornfield, perhaps?”

“A hole.”

“A hole?” he asked skeptically.

She yanked the bonnet from her head and grinned at him. “Have you ever tasted a Cornish shrub before?”

He arched his brow. “I can’t say I have. Wait, don’t tell me the hole is a—”

“Tavern, yes. I am in the mood for a bit of adventure, aren’t you?” And the Piping Hot Pot was the perfect place to find it.

“Well, there’s a first for everything.”

A little mischievous, Sera asked, “You’ve never had shrub before?”

“I’ve never been in,” he eyed the tavern door from top to bottom, “such an establishment before.”

Who has never been to a tavern before? He must be from a terribly rural place then.

“Well, there’s a first for everything. I’m honored to introduce you to this new experience.” She grabbed his hand again and pulled him into the tavern, the welcoming scent of roasted meat and fruity shrub hitting her all at once.

She inhaled deeply. “I love this smell. What do you think?”

“Not bad,” the man beside her replied.

She pointed to a table against the far wall. “Let’s sit there.”

“Is that your usual spot?”

She laughed at his sarcasm. “Yes, fortunately, there aren’t many people here at this time of day.”

“So, you come here often? Aren’t you afraid you’ll be recognized?”

Sera shook her head. “What regular? I come here often in different disguises. Plus, I know the owner. They’re quite fond of me.”

“That seems to be a trend with you.”

“Well, I’m highly fashionable when it comes to my connections.”

He chuckled, holding the chair for her to take a seat. “How gentlemanly of you, sir.”

“What else am I to be?”

“A rogue in a tavern?” Sera offered, smiling as he slid into the seat across from her.

“You know, that doesn’t sound too bad.”

A serving girl promptly placed two tankards of shrub before them. Sera laughed when Alex’s eyes widened. “They only serve one type of shrub. And their service is unparalleled.”

The familiar scent of rich, earthy aromas, characteristic of ripe apples, mingled with a slightly yeasty or musty undertone from the natural fermentation of the added vinegar. Quintessential late summer aromas. Oh, how she loved this.

His eyes held hers, steady and unguarded, as though she were the only person in the world who mattered.

Her chest ached with something warm, something terrifying, as if he’d reached inside and touched the rawest part of her.

The way he looked at her—no judgment, no expectation—made her feel seen in a way that left her breathless.

She hadn’t known being with a man could feel like this, like stumbling off a cliff and choosing not to stop the fall.

He was the wave carrying her heart, and she didn’t mind drowning in the feeling.

“What exactly are we drinking here?” Alex asked, turning the glass without bringing it to his lips.

“Shrub. Apple shrub, specifically.”

Seeing his confusion, she clarified: “The recipe calls for equal parts ground apples—even the damaged or spoiled ones are suitable. Then you add the same amount of sugar and the same amount of vinegar.”

“You want me to drink vinegar with sugar?” Alex grimaced.

“Try it. It becomes a lovely apple syrup. Bubbly.”

“Is apple even a word in English?”

Sera nodded but choked on her words. His gaze was so intense, innocent yet intelligent, that she got flustered. He hesitated but then brought the glass to his mouth, smelled the concoction, shut his eyes, and downed about a third of the glass.

Sera laughed out loud.

Where was he from if he didn’t know taverns yet drank the shrub just to impress her? She leaned back, her laughter still hovering in the air like the last kiss of summer warmth. And yet it was the heat he brought to her heart that lingered.

Alex’s earnest expression—those storm-dark eyes searching for why she found his words so hilarious—made her heart stumble in its rhythm. He was utterly unlike anyone she’d known.

There was a quiet honesty with him, a kind of guileless charm that made her want to share everything she loved, every secret joy, just to see how he’d react.

The way he held the glass of tart shrub, laughably tentative but willing, as if the entire point of the drink was to please her—it was ridiculous, adorable, and wildly disarming all at once.

It felt as though he was peeling back layers of her defenses without even trying.

Falling for Alex wasn’t like the stories her friends whispered in drawing rooms—no single, dramatic moment when the world tilted on its axis.

It was softer than that, subtler. It was the warmth in how he said her name, the attentive tilt of his head when she spoke about Cornwall, the way he seemed to be seeing something in her, which others had never dared to look for.

I am falling in love with you.

Sera’s breath caught, her cheeks growing hot.

She realized with a certainty that terrified her—it wasn’t just that he made her happy.

She wanted to make him happy, too. She gazed at him, and the three words she couldn’t yet speak tangled warmly in her throat, as inevitable as the tide pulling toward shore.

She was overwhelmed by her pull to him. And there wasn’t a single thing she could do to stop it. “You love Cornwall, don’t you?”

“Of course, it’s my favorite place in England, though I cannot quite put a finger on why. I just enjoy it so much here.”

“Have you ever longed to travel?”

Sera took a sip of shrub. “Do you mean abroad?”

He nodded. She shrugged.

“Not really. There are still so many diamonds to find here at home.”

He chuckled. “That’s true.”

“What about you? What brings you to our shores? Wait, let me guess…” She studied the man. “You’re on a grand tour of the world.”

“Not this time.”

So, he was neither without means nor lacking in worldly understanding.

“Oh?” she said, leaning forward with a mischievous grin. “You’re here to buy our incomparable thoroughbreds?”

A hint of a smile curved his lips. “Hardly.”

She tilted her head. “You’re smuggling contraband?”

“Do I look like a smuggler to you?” he shot back.

She laughed. “Not really, but then, how would I know what smugglers look like?”

“I’m glad that you don’t know.” He paused thoughtfully.

“Good, right?” He nodded slowly.

“Very.” He took another, larger sip.

“Do you really want to know why I’m here?”

“No. I’m enjoying your mystery.”

He froze, shrub in hand, before narrowing his gaze on her. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

“Thank you,” Sera said sweetly, unable to stop her lips from stretching into a wide grin. “I do try.” She eyed him. “I still can’t believe it’s your first time in a tavern.”

“And I still can’t believe you’re a regular.”

“What else is an English lass to do?” she teased.

“Your customs are certainly different from ours.”

“Not much. I’m just more adventurous than most.”

“You mean mischievous.”

“That, too.” She lifted her glass to him. “To freedom, spontaneity, and breaking all the rules.”

He chuckled, shaking his head as he clinked his glass against hers. “And more.”

“And more,” Sera echoed.

“Whatever more may be.” And could she have it with this man?

“Well, well, well,” a man suddenly said, stumbling to their table. “What do we have here?”

*

Alex cursed when someone crashed into their table a moment later. The impact nearly toppled their tankards. He caught his just in time to prevent it from spilling, but Sera wasn’t so lucky. Her glass shattered on the floor, and she jumped up to avoid most of the mess.

The entire tavern fell silent.

The man laughed but showed no foresight to apologize. He cast a glance at Sera and leaned in close, slurring, “Well, hello, little bird. Aren’t you a pretty thing? How ’bout you come ’ere and warm me up?”

She grinned back at him. “Hello.” Then she stepped forward and kneed him where no man wants to be kneed. The man fell to the ground, clutching his groin. “Now goodbye.”

Alex stared at Sera in shock, the woman he both admired and, maddeningly, could not have.

She hadn’t even touched him, but he felt the pain, too.

He’d never witnessed such a scene. The dim light of the tavern illuminated her, making her appear like an avenging angel sent to punish the gutters of an inferno.

Yet, she also seemed completely at ease.

The man let out a loud curse and stumbled to his feet again, pointing a finger at Sera. “You… You…”

“I, what?” Sera shot back.

Alex lurched from his seat to block the man as he lunged toward Sera. “Watch yourself, sir.”

“She…!”

“I know,” Alex said. “And if you don’t want to lose it entirely, I’d step aside if I were you.”

“You dare threaten me? Do you know who I am?”

“Of course I don’t,” Alex replied, bored. “But if I had to wager a guess, I’d say you’re rubbish.”

“Bastard!” The man swung his fist toward Alex, who sidestepped. What he didn’t expect was the man’s first opponent’s fist, which hit him square in the jaw, sending him into the wall and then to the ground.

“Alex!”

But he couldn’t appease her. Not when facing two tipsy thugs. He jumped to his feet, and from the corner of his eye, he noticed Sera walking over to the wall. He blew a lock of hair from his eye, narrowing his gaze on the two men, assuming a fighting stance.

Before he could make his move, a sharp glint caught his eye, and Alex’s jaw nearly dropped. Sera stood there, sword in hand, expertly aimed at the two men. “Leave, or die today, gentlemen.”

“Madam, enough,” the barman’s voice cut through the silence, his calm footsteps approaching as if it were a mere afternoon tea. He caught the two men by their collars and yanked them away. “I’ll handle them. Fresh shrub is on the way.”

Sera lowered the sword. “Much obliged.”

Alex dusted off his pants as she returned the sword to the wall. Had he entered some sort of dream? Their table was quickly cleaned, the shrub replaced, and the light chatter of the tavern resumed. “Shouldn’t they hang that thing somewhere safer?”

“The sword? Oh, that thing can’t slice through a fresh loaf of bread, but it can hit rather hard.”

Alex suddenly laughed. “You bluffed?”

“They were too drunk to think, so of course.”

“I could have handled them.”

“But you don’t need to,” she quipped easily.

He didn’t need to… What oddly comforting words. “Just who are you, Sera?”

She laughed, picking up her fresh glass of shrub and taking a generous sip. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“I would.”

“But I’m enjoying being just a girl.”

“Just a girl?” Alex shook his head, fingers circling his tankard. “There’s nothing just about you. You’re taking me completely and unfairly off guard.”

“No.” She grinned at him. “There’s nothing just when it comes to me.”

Draci . This woman. “So, is there a husband in your near future?”

She cocked her head. “More like a pesky suitor who’s been attached to me since birth.”

“That sounds rather… interesting.”

“Well, this is England, isn’t it? Our parents decide our lives for us here.”

He took another swig of shrub. “Isn’t it like that everywhere?”

“You, too?”

Alex sighed. “It’s the world we live in.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “The world we live in… I’d very much like to change that world.”

“Change? I suppose one could try to advocate for change.”

“Ah, there’s that word. Try. Trying means a chance of failure.”

“Failure is part of life. Failure is… a companion to success.”

“I suppose. However, when it comes to matrimony, failure is not an option. There’s only one chance to change your future. The moment you say I do, no matter who arranged it, you’re stuck for life.” Her eyes met his. “How would that be for a world where we don’t have to be stuck for life?”

“That would be quite the world.” He certainly wouldn’t mind living in that world.

“You know what, Alex?”

Alex eyed her with skepticism. “We should aim for such a world. And we should try, no, we should succeed in taking our life back into our own hands. For me, it’s ridding myself of that pesky suitor promise.”

“If you need my help, I’m all ears.”

“ Your help?”

“I’m a man. I can be your best aid to rid yourself of this pesky suitor of yours.”

“Will you give me advice, or…” Her smile suddenly blinded him. “Kiss me.”