A part of Nathanial insisted that he was dreaming. That all that was happening only lived in his mind. That Charlaine had not truly just asked him to marry her. Was he hallucinating? Had Lord Ashhaven fought back and landed a punch Nathanial could not recall? Was he currently lying on the floor, bleeding from a major head injury?
In an odd way, that would have made more sense than the thought that Charlaine loved him. That she wanted to marry him. That she was in his arms right here, right now.
She loved him! Not merely as a friend, but…she loved him! The thought kept circling in his mind and each time it came around, Nathanial had trouble grasping it. She loved him!
He stilled. Had he told her that he, too, loved her beyond hope? He had not, had he?
His gaze moved over her lovely face as she lay in his arms, his heart overwhelmed by the thought that she was his, that he was hers, that she wanted him to be. His hand reached out, the tips of his fingers brushing over her skin, along her forehead and down her temple before circling around her ear and moving into her hair. “I love you,” he whispered and, this time, he did not feel the need to drop his gaze. His eyes lingered on hers, open and honest and trusting. She would not hurt him. “I have for a while, but I didn’t dare say it, even think it.”
Charlaine smiled up at him in that way of hers that always warmed his heart. “I, too, was hesitant at first, but Peter and Amancia taught me that it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.” Her thumb brushed gently over his cheek. “I always knew that to be true, but still I feared to lose you. I feared to speak the truth. I suppose it’s only human to be afraid. It often stands in our way, but it also helps us see the truth, does it not? After all, if we’re afraid to lose someone, then we know that that person is very dear to us.” Again, she pushed herself up onto her toes and placed a gentle kiss upon his lips. “I do love you. Never doubt that.”
Nathanial nodded, grateful that they could both be strong and weak, complementing one another in the most fortunate way. “Thank you for testing me,” he told her then, now seeing everything that had happened through different eyes. “I suppose I owe Lord Ashhaven an apology.”
Charlaine chuckled. “Quite frankly, it was his idea. He told me he was annoyed with the way we continued to dance around one another−as he called it−so he decided to solve the problem for us.”
Nathanial scoffed. “He could’ve said something.” Instead of forcing them through such an emotional turmoil.
“Would you have believed him?” Charlaine asked, a devilish glimmer in her dark eyes.
Nathanial could not deny that she had a point. “Still, I cannot bring myself to regret that I punched him in the face. I might have been wrong, but I don’t regret it.”
“You might have been wrong?” Again, her brows rose in that daring way of hers.
Without thought, his hands tightened on her. “You’re mine,” was all Nathanial said before his lips claimed hers once again.
Still, somehow it was not enough. Not nearly enough. His blood hummed in his veins, a deep need for her settling into his bones as though his body could no longer survive without her by his side.
Perhaps not even a lifetime would do.
But it was a start.
Gasping for breath, Charlaine looked up at him. “I wish we could simply lock the door.” She glanced over his shoulder at the item in question.
Nathanial chuckled, pleased by every word that proved her longing for him matched his own for her. “That eager?”
“You have no idea.” A deep sigh left her lips as she snuggled closer. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you for weeks.”
Nathanial almost groaned at the thought. “As have I.” If only he had known! If only they had not wasted all this time! “I kept reliving the moment at the lake, wishing…wanting…” His gaze drifted to her lips, longing to continue what they had begun. His head lowered and−
“I need to talk to Pierce!” All but jerking out of his arms, Charlaine strode toward the door.
“What?” Thunderstruck, Nathanial stared after her.
Stopping with her hand on the handle, she smiled back at him. “About a special license.” Her hand jerked the door open. “I’m not waiting a day longer than I have to to marry you.” Then she rushed down the corridor toward Pierce’s study.
A deep smile snuck onto Nathanial’s face as he stood there, his feet rooted to the spot as his heart danced in his chest. Never would he have thought such happiness was possible.
Only this morning, doubt and fear had dominated his life. And now…
“See?” A little voice peeped up a moment before Daphne’s head came lurking around the door frame. “I told you that you were her prince.”
Taken aback, Nathanial laughed. “That you did.”
“Did she kiss you?” Susan inquired, her head appearing on the opposite side of the frame.
Nathanial felt his cheeks flush red. “She did,” he confessed nonetheless. Then he frowned. “How long have you been outside the door?”
While Susan’s gaze dropped to the ground, Daphne simply grinned at him. “Can we be flower girls?” she asked, getting right back to the most important things in life. “After all, we helped, didn’t we? If we hadn’t,” she squeezed her eyes shut in concentration, “meddled−as Papa calls it−Charlaine might have kissed a different frog.”
Nathanial chuckled, wondering if his skin had turned green. “You meddled?” he asked as Daphne’s words sank in. “How did you−?” He stopped, then shook his head. “You know what? I don’t even want to know.” Smiling at the girls, he stepped toward them. “Of course, you can be flower girls. We’d be honored.”
Cheering loudly, Daphne and Susan danced up and down the corridor, alternately hugging each other and twirling in artful circles.
Nathanial watched them with a deep smile on his face and utter contentedness in his heart.
Indeed, he had been a frog, bitter and jaded, a glower upon his face, his eyes only seeing betrayal and disappointment around every corner.
And then Charlaine had come into his life, and her warmth and her kindness, her honesty and her loyalty, her vivaciousness and her unyielding belief that all would be well had changed him in more ways than he could say.
By all accounts, she had turned him from a frog into a prince.
And he would forever be grateful for it.
Energy hummed in her veins as Charlaine strode down the corridor toward Pierce’s study. With each step, it seemed she was gaining speed. Unable to hold her steps, she burst through the door, not bothering to knock, completely unable to wait a second longer. “Pierce, I need to speak with you!”
At her forceful entry, Pierce’s head snapped up and his eyes widened. “Why? What happened?” He shot to his feet, alarm on his face as he hasted toward her. “Are you all right?” His gaze moved over her as though checking for injuries.
Charlaine chuckled and grasped his hands, beaming up at him, unable not to smile. “I am perfectly fine,” she told him, feeling the corners of her mouth stretch even farther. “In fact, I have never been this happy.”
All tension fell from Pierce’s face, and a brief a sigh of relief escaped him. “I’m glad to hear it. Then do I dare ask what brings you here?”
“I need a favor.”
His gaze narrowed ever so slightly. “A favor? What kind of favor? Are you in any kind of trouble?”
Charlaine laughed, the same energy as before still humming in her veins, making her almost bounce on the spot. “I’m afraid I’m in most serious trouble,” she told him, trying her best not to smile, to look serious and forlorn. She failed miserably though. “I’m in love, and I wish to be married without delay.”
Pierce’s jaw dropped.
“So you see,” Charlaine said, squeezing his hands. “without your help, I’ll be truly and utterly lost. Will you procure a special license for Nathanial and me wish to be married as fast as humanly possible?”
Another second passed as Pierce continued to stare at her. Then he swallowed, the look upon his face torn between confusion and amusement. “So, he finally ask you to marry him?”
Charlaine shook her head.
A deep frown settled upon Pierce’s forehead. “Then I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“Well, it’s actually quite simple.”
“Is it?” Pierce demanded doubtfully.
“Yes, I asked him to marry me, and he accepted. See? Simple!”
“You asked him?”
Charlaine shrugged, grinning at him, still unable not to. Indeed, this was taking too long. Much too long. “You know me,” she told Pierce impatiently, her feet now truly bouncing her up and down. “I know what I want, and I want him. So why wait?”
Sighing, Pierce brushed a hand over his face, still looking a bit incredulous. “Why, indeed?” He heaved another deep sigh, then gestured to one of the armchairs. “Please sit. Your fidgeting is driving me mad.”
Although reluctant, Charlaine dropped onto the seat, trying her best to be patient…or at least appear to be. “What can I do for you?” she asked calmly, her fingers drumming on the armrests of her chair nonetheless.
Seating himself, Pierce looked at her. “I know you’ve always done things your way, but I would like to take a moment and discuss your next steps. Are you certain—?”
“Yes!”
He frowned at her. “Don’t you think it would be better if you—?”
“No!”
Pierce’s frown deepened. “But what would Peter say if—?”
“He would be happy for me,” Charlaine said, not a single doubt in her body that it would be so. “I know you worry, Pierce, and I love you for it, but there is no need. I love Nathanial, and he loves me.” She sighed wistfully, remembering the many times she had talked to Peter about life and love and death. “This is what he always wanted for me. This is what he had with my sister.” She gave him a warm smile. “It is what you and Caroline have, is it not?”
An answering smile danced onto Pierce’s face. “It is,” he said softly. “Please, do not believe I doubt you. I only want to be sure…”
“I know.”
He pressed his hands flat onto the surface of his desk, a muscle in his jaw twitching. “I know how deeply Peter cared for you and that he wished for nothing more than to see you happy.” He paused. “Will this make you happy?”
Charlaine nodded as tears began to mist her eyes. Oh, how she wished Peter could be here! As a little girl, she had always dreamed that, one day, he would walk her down the aisle, that he would give her away, smile at her and tell her all would be well.
Rising from his chair, Pierce rounded the desk and knelt down beside her chair. His large hands settled upon hers as he looked into her eyes. “You are the most unusual woman I have ever met,” he told her warmly, pride ringing in his voice. “I suppose it is only right that you should have the most unusual courtship and wedding. Anything else would be frighteningly insufficient, would it not?”
Charlaine’s heart warmed at his words, and she smiled at him. Tears ran down her cheeks and dripped onto his hands, still covering hers. Always would he keep her safe. Always would he look out for her. Always would he be at her side.
Just as Peter had.
Squeezing her hand gently, Pierce pushed to his feet, pulling her along with him. “Very well, I’ll do this for you. I’ll procure a special license,” he paused and lifted a finger, “but only under one condition.”
Charlaine frowned. “What condition? You know, I don’t like conditions.”
He chuckled. “How could I forget?”
Tapping her foot rather impatiently, Charlaine regarded him. “Well then, what is it?”
A slow grin spread over his face as he leaned forward, fixing her with a pointed look. “At least during the wedding ceremony,” he paused, and Charlaine felt her skin crawl with a mixture of anticipation and dread, “you must wear shoes.” A large grin spread over his face, and a wicked gleam came to his eyes.
Charlaine was about to huff out an annoyed breath when a voice spoke out from behind her. “You don’t have to agree to this,” Nathanial chuckled, coming to stand next to her. Utter joy resonated in his voice and lingered upon his face as he reached out and gently draped an arm across her shoulders. “I’ll marry you even without shoes.”
Charlaine wanted to kiss him, but stopped herself as she caught Pierce rolling his eyes at them. “You are truly a match made in heaven,” he laughed, shaking his head. “I suppose I should’ve seen this coming.”
Charlaine turned to look at him, watching him closely. “Are you certain you didn’t?”
He merely shrugged then, and Charlaine could not shake the feeling that all that had happened had not truly come as a surprise for Pierce.
“Peter would be proud of you,” he told her gently, deep emotions lingering in his eyes. “As am I.”
“Thank you.” Indeed, these two little words hardly seemed enough, but they had to do for Charlaine knew no others. None that would do justice to the deep joy and peace she felt. After all that had happened, life was good again. She was surrounded by family and friends, people she loved, people she trusted. And now she was to be married to a man who was like no other she had ever met. They were perfect for each other, and they would be as happy as Peter and Amancia had been.
Charlaine was certain of it.