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“ROSE I BELIEVE IT WAS. And...” Alex said, focusing his clear blue gaze on Anna.
“Anna,” she beamed.
“Anna, yes. Rose and Anna, this will be your quarters during your stay.” Alex gave a flourishing bow and his most charming grin as he held open the flap of their tent. “It’s not much, but I hope you ladies will be comfortable.”
“It’s perfect,” Anna crooned with a sweet smile.
Did she bat her eyelashes at Alex? Virginia nearly laughed aloud seeing Anna’s deep blush and the girlish infatuation shining in her eyes as she looked at Alex. Anna’s smile was so wide her cheeks must have burned with the effort. Alex had that effect on women. He was a handsome devil with his ocean blue eyes, wavy ink-black hair, and dimpled grin. Too bad his heart was already taken. Although, Soleil would probably be amused by and even sympathetic of Anna’s captivation with Alex.
The smile slipped from Virginia’s lips as the weight of the moment slammed into her. She fought the tears that threatened to well in her eyes. Soleil was missing this. She was missing the chance to be here with Alex. As many months had passed for Soleil, as they had for Virginia, since she’d last seen Alex. She would never get to look at him with love and adoration again.
Virginia wanted to reach out and hug Alex again. To share her sorrow with someone else who understood. And to provide comfort he probably desperately needed. He wore a smile on his face, but what guilt and sorrow lay beneath it?
“If the rest of you will follow me please.” Alex’s smile faltered when he met Virginia’s gaze. She tried to hide the sadness with a smile, but he had already seen it. He saw the piece of Soleil that haunted her.
“Yes, lead the way,” Virginia said with too much cheer. Her voice sounded false even to her own ears.
Charles looked between her and Alex, a frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. No doubt he was wondering what had transpired between them.
“This way,” Alex said, his voice a little dimmer. He began walking forward but paused when Richard didn’t follow them.
Richard lingered at the entrance of Rose’s tent whispering in her ear. She was trying to shoo him away, but he refused to leave her side.
Alex walked up to Richard and leaned in to speak low in his ear. “Believe me, I know what you are feeling. In fact, I envy your ability to protect your woman. But you have to be careful or your protection could harm her. Sometimes, it is best to watch her from afar.”
“I will never let anything happen to her,” Richard said with conviction.
“I said those same words once. Now she’s gone.” Alex gave Richard a sad smile and patted his shoulder. “Your love is beautiful, but it is more dangerous to her than to you. Do not let your love be the reason she is harmed. Even here, some people do not agree with your union. Don’t test the hatred in other men’s heart. Do you understand?”
Richard stood still, back rigid as he silently thought about Alex’s words. With a curt nod, he stepped away from Rose. Alex began walking once more to show them to their tent. Richard’s gaze lingered on Rose a little longer, but he followed behind Alex.
Virginia and Charles followed behind them. Her heart hurt for both men. Why did some men think they have the right to dictate with whom someone else could find happiness?
* * *
“AND THIS WILL BE THE quarters for the newlyweds,” Alex said, stopping in front of another tent a little distance away from Rose’s and Anna’s.
“Oh, um...” Virginia started to say.
“Thank you, this will do just fine,” Charles replied as he placed his hand on the small of Virginia’s back gently pushing her inside the tent. Virginia turned her head to thank Alex, but Charles was right at her back crowding her space, pushing her into the tent before she had a chance to.
Virginia rounded on Charles, hands on her hips, a withering glare on her face as soon as they were both in the tent, with the flap closed behind them. “That was rather rude of you.”
“You and Alex have history. You share a connection of some sort that makes you smile and glow for him. I don’t like it. I am your husband.”
Virginia’s frown gave way to a smile. Charles stood before her, hands clasped behind his back, posture rigid, and a deep scowl on his reddened face. “Are you jealous, Husband?”
“Of course, I am,” Charles snarled. “A man I’ve never met, who looks like he can make even a prude swoon with his good looks, is hugging my wife too close and a little too long. I do not like it.”
Virginia hadn’t thought she’d be the type of woman who enjoyed shows of jealousy. In fact, two months ago, she would have described men who displayed such behavior with words such as oaf, primitive, or uncouth. But watching Charles brood over his speculations about her and Alex gave her a naughty spark of joy deep in her heart. “You are right. Alex and I do share a past. What does it matter what that past includes?” Virginia asked saucily.
“It matters a lot to me, because the past has spilled into our future.” Hurt coated Charles’s tone.
Guilt and shame ate away at Virginia’s joy of teasing Charles. “There is nothing of a romantic nature between Alex and I. I’m sorry for insinuating that there might be. Only friendship exists between us. Alex’s heart belongs to Soleil. He loved her as strongly and as deeply as Richard loves Rose. And that love has not diminished even though she’s gone.”
Charles’s body relaxed, and the tension eased from him. He walked up to Virginia and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close to his body. “I’m sorry for my jealousy, and for my peevish behavior last night. Virginia, I don’t know what is holding you back from accepting this relationship, but it is my wish that one day you will.”
“I...” Virginia began, her eyes cast to the ground. She ran her hands down the skirt of her dress, unable to meet Charles’s gaze. He deserved an explanation. Even if she wasn’t ready to give it.
“No. I don’t expect you to say anything.” Charles took Virginia’s hands in his. “But I will always be honest with you, and this is how I honestly feel.”
Virginia’s heart hammered in her chest. Yet again, Charles chipped away at the armor around her heart. Lost for words, Virginia reached beneath her collar and pulled out the locket Charles had given her. “I can’t give you exactly what you seek right now, but I want you to know that you are important to me. I hope that can be enough for now.”
Charles ran a finger over the locket. He lifted it and tucked it back in her collar. “It will have to be,” he said with a contented smile.
A beat of silence passed between them before Charles broke it. “Well, I do not know if you share my sentiment, but I am famished. Should we go in search of food?”
“Yes,” Virginia said with an unsteady smile.
“Excellent.” Charles walked toward the entrance of the tent, then stopped suddenly. Meeting Virginia’s bewildered gaze with his devastatingly charming grin, he said, “Before I forget. Don’t worry, Wife, I will be a perfect gentleman at night. Unless you don’t want me to be, of course.”
Virginia’s mouth opened and closed, her eyes wide as she stared at Charles, unable to speak. Before she could think of a reply, he bent to kiss her cheek, then turned and walked out of the tent. Virginia stood in his wake, her heart fluttering.
The stubborn part of her held to the notion that their marriage was only temporary and indulging in acts of pleasure with Charles was a bad idea. But another, ever-growing part of her wondered what Charles would be like when the gentleman was gone and the husband passionately loving his wife was set free.
Fanning herself against the warm Tennessee morning and sudden surge in her body temperature, Virginia took a few calming breaths before exiting the tent behind Charles.