A shadow touched in his eyes. “Ester, I—”
“I make no demands of you, Edmond,” she said with a light laugh. “Now, let us dance and then you may whisk me out into the gardens and kiss me senseless.”
His eyes gleamed. “I missed you.”
“It has only been two days.”
“Ah, now that is to say you have not missed me.”
She waited until he drew her closer out of a particular intricate twirl. “Perceptive, Mr. Glendevon.”
He grinned, and her heart tumbled over several times.How I love you, she silently whispered.
His eyes widened slightly before his gaze became unfathomable. Somehow he carted her off with discreet skill outside to a secluded section of the gardens. But he did not kiss her, merely tugged her closer into his arms so that her face rested against his chest and danced.
CHAPTER14
It had been almost a perfect month of laughing and getting to know this wonderful woman before him. A month of loving her with a hunger and passion he had not known could be a part of him. A month of knowing what she liked to eat—berries, melted chocolate, and any pork dish. She loved to read—gothic or scintillating romances with a happy ending; anything tragic got tossed away.
She loved to laugh and was quite naughty in her shenanigans. She also knew the things that had the power to fill her gaze with soft sorrow and also make them glint with the need for revenge. Edmond knew she was not perfectly identical to her sisters. Did anyone else realize that the dimple in her left cheek was about half an inch higher than her sisters or that she was far more boisterous, exuberant and competitive? Did they realize she laughed with her whole body, her head tipped to the sky, her shoulders shaking? Did they also know that she was fanciful and had a heart full of whimsy?
Her tongue darted and wetted her bottom lip, an achingly nervous gesture. He was not used to Ester Fairbanks being nervous about anything. Too bold and reckless at times, but never nervous. “You’re leaving tomorrow?” she whispered.
Edmond braced himself against the sensations twisting through him. “Yes.”
She lifted her chin and attempted a smile that wobbled. “I shall miss you, Edmond.”
Something inside his chest cracked, but he hardened himself against the emotions that wanted to pour out. “I’ll write you.”
Sudden laughter gleamed in her eyes. “You will not.” Then she looked away from him. “The glittering world of New York will keep you busy for months.”
Perhaps she was right. Their brief affair suddenly felt like it had been a mistake. Simply because of the wounded look in her eyes, the one she valiantly tried to hide, also because of the raw feelings scrambling against the surface of his chest, desperate to come out. But he would be dammed if he allowed them to gain any sway over his decisions.
A knock sounded on her bedroom door, and she stiffened. “Yes?”
“Ester, James is here, and we are about to play charades in the drawing room. Will you join us?” a voice called.
She met his gaze and took a deep breath. “I will be there in a few minutes.”
The thread was cut. There would be no lingering kisses or making love to bid their farewells. Nor would she plead a headache and stay in her room to tumble with him into her plush bed, the excuse she used a few times when he had daringly crept into her room to delight in her.
Edmond walked over to her, gathered her into his arms, cupped her cheeks and kissed her mouth. His caress was fleeting, and he kept it that way to not toss them into a storm of passion that always gripped them.
“I will see you again, Ester.”
“Safe travels, Edmond,” she whispered.
He kissed the tip of her nose and walked toward the window.
“Edmond?”
He stilled. “Yes.”
“Should I wait for you?”
Those achingly soft words had the raw impact of an arrow shot through his chest. Wait to live and dream for two years, possibly even more? Bloody hell, he could never ask that of her. “No.”
She made no reply, and he went through her windows and down the climbing trellis like a thief in the night. All his farewells had been said, and he walked, inhaling the brisk night air into his lungs until he reached his club almost an hour later.