Page 109 of The Throne Seeker

They exited the grand hall and made their way to the gardens without uttering a word. She interlocked her hands tightly tokeep them from shaking—not out of fear, but because she couldn’t believe this walk, this talk, wasn’t with Tristan.

They had barely made it through the first arch of flowers when she blurted, “I told Tristan I wouldn’t marry him.” No sense in beating around the bush now.

Grant paused mid-stride, obviously not expecting those words to be the first thing to escape her lips. To his credit, he had enough tact to gaze at her with compassion. “I’m sorry. I know how hard that must’ve been for you. I was wondering when I saw you yesterday. I wanted to speak to you, but you seemed… preoccupied.”

Her cheeks burned with heat. “You saw that?”

He shifted closer, forcing her to look straight into his bright green eyes. “Even with your wet clothes, hair soaked, and puffy eyes… I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful in my life.”

Her heart warmed involuntarily. He was making a habit of surprising her.

“I’m to return home soon,” he said, studying her reaction. “It’s not a castle by any means, but it is a beautiful manor in the rolling hills—trees and farmland for miles… If you want it, it’s yours,” he offered softly.

Her eyes raced back to his as she parted her lips in awe, wondering if she’d heard him correctly. “You mean?—”

“I want you to marry me,” Grant stated with a fierce gaze.

She couldn’t believe how readily he’d asked—there was no hesitation in his voice, no questioning.

Her throat bobbed. “There are things you need to know… You may not be so willing to ask me once you hear what I have to say.”

Grant cocked his head. “What do you mean?”

“I’ll ask you to keep this to yourself. What I’m about to tell you could ruin me forever. But the fortune you think I have… it’sgone. I have no money, land, or resources to bring with me into a marriage.”

Grant didn’t reply straight away, didn’t even let anything but a blank expression fill his face. Instead, his eyes drifted away, absorbing the information.

Rose remained silent, letting him weigh up his options, biting her lower lip. He took so long to speak that she panicked. “I understand if you can’t?—”

“I don’t care,” he stated at last.

She lifted an eyebrow. “You… you don’t care?”

He closed the gap between them, looking down at her lips. “I want you, Rosalie. I never planned on it, but after spending time with you… I’ve grown attached. I knew I had to have you after the first time we spoke at the ball when you ‘wished me all the luck in the world’… Well, it looks like I found a hoard of it.”

Her body relaxed as if the mountain that had been weighing down her shoulders had finally lifted.

“But my parents are different,” Grant said. “We can in no circumstance let them know. That is, until we are married, then they’ll have no choice but to accept you.”

She gazed at him with a new wave of surprise. “Are you sure you want to lie to them? I don’t want to cause your family harm.”

Grant gave her a large grin. “You’ll soon find I’m their least favorite child. What’s another red mark on my record?”

“You’d do that for me?” She was genuinely stunned by his grace, taking the whole situation much better than she had planned.

“I would,” he confirmed without a second thought.

She gave him a small smile despite herself, her gaze falling to her hands.

He lifted her chin back up, leaning down and bringing his lips close to hers. “What do you say, Rose? Do you want to be my next red mark?”

She met his gaze, stowing Tristan from her mind as she answered. “Yes.”

Light enveloped his eyes, his smile reaching ear to ear as he pressed the smile onto her lips.

She did her best not to flinch away, keeping still as he kissed her. In different circumstances, she knew she would savor his touch. Perhaps she could learn to like it—learn to love him.

His hands wrapped themselves around her waist, pulling her into his chest and deepening the kiss. After a moment, she could feel her mother’s voice prodding her to encourage him. So her arms went up around his neck, trying to familiarize herself with him.