I laughed and got in, and he shut the door behind me before getting in the other side. I clipped in my belt and plucked the pay and display ticket from the dashboard.
“Look at that. Four minutes to spare.”
“All in a day’s work.” He winked at me and backed out of the spot, then started the drive home.
Home.
The more I thought of Bentley Manor, the more it felt like home. A real home, the kind of place you left a little piece of yourself whenever you left. The kind of place you gravitated to because it soothed your soul and warmed your heart, because it brought peace to your very being even in the most turbulent of times.
And I didn’t know what to do with that.
Nor the entire household.
I’d had the most wonderful birthday, and it was all because of the people who lived in that house. Boris’s breakfast, the amazing gifts, the quality time spent with everyone…
For a while, this morning, I’d really felt like part of the family.
And there was a part of me that wanted to keep feeling that. Keep being brought into this family, even if it was sometimes a little dysfunctional and wild and chaotic.
There was no other way to describe a family where one member randomly showed up with three cats.
Chaotic really was the only appropriate word.
The problem with all of this was quite simple.
Alexander had to ask me to stay.
I didn’t know what was between us. We’d grown ever closer over the past few weeks, the last two or three especially, and I knew there were feelings that we shared. I just didn’t know how strong his were and if they were enough for him to do something like that.
Of course, given everything he’d done for me today, from the party breakfast to getting me Treacle, I could imagine that his feelings had some weight behind them.
We’d just never spoken about it, and I didn’t know how to broach that subject.
A relationship with him was very different than anyone else. Not only was he a duke with responsibilities relating to his estate, but he also had a daughter. A wonderful, sweet, caring, brilliant daughter, but a daughter all the same. They came as a package, and loving Alexander meant loving Olympia, too.
Shit.
Did I love him?
Was I in love with Alexander?
I don’t know.
I turned my head and looked out of the window. Trees blurred into one giant trunk as we sped past them, and a heavy ball settled into the pit of my stomach. I was supposed to leave on Monday—that was only three days away.
In those three days, I had to make a decision.
What I’d come to… I didn’t know.
I loved it here, but my life—my sister, my parents, my best friend—was back in Arrow Woods.
Trying to figure this out was going to be difficult.
Alex pulled up outside Bentley Manor and looked over at me. “Are you okay? You’ve been quiet.”
I smiled at him. “Sorry. Just thinking.”
“Missing Eva?”
“Little bit,” I replied.
“Thought so.” He got out and was at my door by the time I’d slipped my feet back into my heels. He opened it and held out his hand to help me out.
I took it gratefully and got out of the car. “Sorry. You’ve been so wonderful to me today and I feel ungrateful.”
“Ungrateful for what?” He tucked my hand in the crook of his elbow. “You miss your sister, Adelaide. You’ve spent every birthday together until now, and you’re allowed to feel a bit sad about that. I’m not put out by it at all.”
I sighed. “I wish you would be. You’re far too nice.”
Alex laughed and stopped by the front door. “Look, just tell me one thing. Have you enjoyed your birthday?”
I smiled, looking up at him. “Yes, I have. Very much so. Thanks to you.”
“Well, not to brag or anything, but yes.”
A small laugh escaped me, and he cupped my chin, tilting my head back so our eyes met.
“As long as you’ve enjoyed it, that’s really all that matters.” He glanced at the door. “But I want to do this before we go in.”
“Do what?”
His answer was wordless, coming in the form of a smooth kiss that almost took my breath away. He swept me against his body, kissing me deeply, almost as if his life depended on it. His grip on my hip was tight and possessive, more meaningful than any way he’d ever held me until just now.
For a moment, I was utterly lost in the kiss, in him, in this moment of sweetness where nothing else existed except for he and I.
These moments never lasted long enough, and he pulled away far too soon.
“Any lipstick on me?” he asked, tilting his chin up.
I shook my head. “No smudge stuff today. I learnt that lesson.”
Laughing, he gave me another quick kiss and let us inside. Thank bloody God for that, because I was starting to get cold out there. As August drew to a close, the night-time temperatures definitely dropped in comparison to even two weeks ago, and I had goosebumps all over my arms.