Page 24 of Two Ruins Make a Right

Her hands froze in mid-air. The clocked stockings in her hand dropped into her traveling case.

“Nell?” He wrapped his arm around her waist. “Look at me, love.” When she slowly turned to face him, the air was ripped out of his chest at her expression. “What is it?”

She shook her head, and a slight sob escaped. “This will be my last time here.”

“As Lady Whitton,” James said, trying to lighten the mood between them. “That’s why I’m here. I have a question to ask you.”

“Don’t ask me.” She shook her head, and he pulled her close.

“Why?” By then, Nell had buried her head in his chest, as if trying to hide.

It immediately reminded him of the turtle his aunt had told him about.

He’d let her stay there for as long as she wanted.

He would always protect and comfort her.

He would help her find the courage to say yes to marrying him.

Gently, he rubbed his hands up and down her back, one vertebra at a time. “I love you.”

* * *

The words on his lips and the rumble of his chest made Nell burrow her head deeper into him.

Everything inside her ached because her heart was crumbling into a million pieces.

There was nothing she wanted more in life than to marry James and be Valentina’s mother.

But she wasn’t that selfish. Being ruined was one thing, but when you ruined the ones you love, it was something entirely different. “I love you, but I can’t marry you.”

“Yes, you can,” he murmured. His hand stroking her back comforted, his touch sure and warm. Another memory she would collect and keep safe. She would think of it when the lonely nights would haunt her.

She forced herself to pull away but still held on to him. “Don’t ask me, James. I told you why.”

His head tilted, and he examined her as if she were a clock and he were trying to figure out how to make the insides work. It would be a useless endeavor. Everything within her was broken, including her heart.

“What about last night?” he said softly.

“That was a goodbye.”

For that, she earned his perfectly arched eyebrow. “Haven’t we learned anything from our years apart? All those years we spent in misery separated from one another. We have something incredible that few ever have the chance to experience.”

“What do I have to give to you?” she challenged. Her chest felt as if an elephant sat on it. She was doing her level best not to cry, but her heart ached like no other. “Don’t you see? I can’t give you an heir. My family is ruined, and that includes me. I’m trying to do the right thing here.”

“How can you leave?” he asked.

“I must. I have to leave because my heart is breaking. The sooner I’m away, the sooner...” What was she saying? As soon as she left this house, she was sentenced to a lifetime of dreariness with a heaping dose of emptiness.

“Tell me,” he murmured. He was still holding her, his touch another reminder of all she was walking away from.

“There’s no other way.” She sniffed softly as she pointed in the direction of the nursery.

“You and Valentina are everything I’ve ever wanted, but sometimes—” She would not crumble as she explained this to him.

She was stronger than that. “Sometimes, decisions are made that change the course of your life forever. Some people don’t deserve what they want. ”

“You must trust me this time, Nell. Mayhap, we didn’t trust each other in the past but now is a new beginning for us.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her temple, the touch endearingly sweet.

Her heart raced and beat frantically, trying to reach him. “James,” she whispered and tilted her head to his. “I can’t give you?—”

He pressed a finger to her lips. “I don’t care if I have an heir. I’ll have you and Valentina. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“What about the duke and duchess? They expect you to have an heir,” she argued, desperate to make him see reason.

“My lovely and irresistible Nell. The duke and duchess never had an heir. They just had nephews like me. I have a cousin who would inherit after me, and that’s perfectly fine. The duke and duchess love me and accept me as their own. They feel the same for you. They don’t care.”

“James, I don’t know.” She wanted to say yes, but it wasn’t the way things were done in a ducal family. Family was key to the duchy continuing.

“Nell, they just want us to be happy. They want Valentina to be happy. My daughter wants you to be her mother. I want you to be her mother. And I want you to be my wife. Nell, you’re strong.

You can do this. You can say yes.” Reverently, he leaned in and kissed her tears away before pressing a kiss to her lips, a testament to all he felt for her.

“Valentina said that all I had to say was that she picked you as her mother. It would be all the enticement I would need to convince you.” He studied her and smiled. “I’m hoping that is true.”

She wanted to believe, but there was so much at stake.

“I see that I need to convince you a little more.” He bent down and took her in a kiss, a gentle one that friends, hoping for more, might share.

Then his arms tightened around her, bringing her close as if they had never been apart. The passion that always ignited between the two of them burned. Nell’s knees nearly buckled as his tongue swept inside her mouth to tangle with hers.

When she moaned, James chuckled gently, then pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss. “No more until we settle this between the two of us.”

She lifted her gaze to his. The tenderness and the love on his face made her heart swell. The fickle organ demanded she grab this chance at happiness with both hands and not let it go.

“I’m ruined, James. Don’t you see that?”

He hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear. “If you’re ruined, then I am too.”

“How so?” she asked.

“You’ve ruined me for all others,” he said softly. “I only want you.”

“How am I supposed to answer that?” She studied his black embroidered waistcoat and ran a hand down his firm chest. She’d never have enough of this man...ever.

“You’re not supposed to answer me because it’s a sound argument.” He chuckled as he gently tilted her chin, then looked deep in her eyes. His gaze caressed every inch of her with a tenderness that stole her breath. “I love you. Marry me.”

“I love you.” She closed her eyes. Another tear fell, and he swiped it away.

“Darling, don’t cry. Every tear is like a hammer against my heart.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “How can someone be ruined if there is love? You’re not ruined. You’re simply perfect.”

“You’re not playing fair,” she whispered and pressed a kiss against his mouth in return. A swell of happiness bloomed inside her. She forced her gaze to his. “Are you sure?”

He huffed a breath. His feigned disgruntlement turned into a smile. “I have never been more certain of anything in my life.”

As she studied him, the world gently shifted on its axis. She didn’t trust herself or him all those years ago, but now she had another chance with James, her one true love. There was only one right decision, and she would not be a coward.

Cautiously, she nodded once. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

“That, my love, was the answer I was looking for.” James wrapped her tightly in his arms. This time, she was the one who took him in a kiss designed to show how much she cared for him and Valentina. Her life entwined with theirs meant they were a family. Now and in the future.

And of course, the undeniable commitment to one another melded their hearts in love.

Forever.