Page 7 of Worst Duke Ever (Everly Sisters #1)

“I t will look a bit like you’re kidnapping me, won’t it?” Seraphina clasped her hands over her lap for the third time, trying to recall the note she had scrawled to Lenora. The carriage bumped along the road. It would be quite the trip, but it would all be worth it once she could call him her husband.

“Don’t fret over that. In fact, that would be perfectly fitting with my character. Isn’t that how everyone sees me anyway?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Now that I know the truth, I’ll be doing my utmost to fix that.”

“It’s not your battle to fight.”

“As your wife, it most certainly will be my battle. And speaking of battles. You must tell me the truth about your friends. The Dukes of Westhaven and Winthorpe.”

Shifting in his seat, he grunted his displeasure. “Can’t you just trust me? I saved them from a much worse fate.”

“I can trust you, but I’d like to know more.”

“If I tell you, you can’t tell anyone.”

Well, these would be annoying secrets to keep, she could already tell. But what choice did she have?

“I agree to your terms.”

“Suffice to say that the Montrose family business had some internal hires that were fatally exploiting children, and my friend’s betrothed was cheating on him. He thought he was in love with an angel, but she was only using him. Playing him."

Seraphina’s hand went to his chest. “You are a good man. Made even more so for doing right despite the ton demonizes you every chance they get.”

“Is it too soon to tell you that I love you?” She studied his face to gauge his sincerity and only saw admiration.

“Only if it’s too soon to tell you that I want to have babies with you.”

His smile warmed her heart, so she asked, “How do you know that you love me?”

“I can’t be sure…but I think the second you snuck into my house I didn’t stand a chance. You were so courageous and determined.”

“I was scared.”

“That’s what makes you so courageous.”

“And that’s why you fell in love with me?”

“Part of it. When you let me inside of you, that changed me.”

Tears sprang to Seraphina’s eyes. “It changed me too.”

“It’s never been like that with anyone, darling. Oh, I’m not supposed to call you that, am I?”

“It’s alright now, actually. It’s just that it was the term of endearment my father used with my mother. And at the time I couldn’t bear to hear such a meaningful word be used callously.”

Sebastian dragged her onto his lap. “It was never callous. It was teasing, but never cruel. You’re an angel. So pure and good. It was a fitting term, even though I thought I didn’t deserve you.”

“You deserve goodness in your life, Sebastian.”

He murmured his thanks into her hair, and then asked, “When did you know you wanted to have my babies?”

“Oh…that…” Her cheeks flushed at the thought. “It doesn’t hurt that you’re the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. But when I found your heart, even the small pieces that you offered, that’s when I knew.”

“So earlier today?”

“Yes. Precisely.”

“I love you, Seraphina.”

“I love you, Sebastian.”

“Shall we get to know each other a little more before the wedding?”

Heart all aflutter, she said with a smile, “Yes. I don’t think I’ll ever know you enough.”

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