He came back inside and set down the bucket, then held out his hand to her.
She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. Just the act of reaching out and taking his hand, that tiny act of trust, made her heart trip. Her hand shook slightly as she let him enclose her small fingers in his larger, more powerful hand. She gazed at his gently smiling face, his eyes sparkling as they stood in the kitchen together.
Gabe felt as if he were dreaming when Sophie squeezed his hand and let her cheek brush against his sleeve as they walked to the front room. The beautiful spring day, visible through the windows, smelled of flowers and sunshine and wet grass. He would always love this smell, from this day on, and it would remind him of Sophie …
He was in love. What he had felt for Brittola was nothing compared to this. He had kissed Brittola once, the day they had parted over a year ago now, but he’d felt none of the overwhelming emotions that were going through his mind and heart at this moment. Sophie filled his senses.
The urgency to break both their betrothals pulsed through his brain. There had to be a way, and he had to find it.
He pulled Sophie to him, inhaling her scent as she threw her arms around him, pressing her face against his good shoulder. They were alone. There was no sound in the house except their own breathing — and the pounding of his heart. Sophie seemed shy, not wanting to look up at him. He pulled her to a bench against the wall and they both sat down, her back resting against his chest. He wrapped his arm around her waist and played with the wisps of hair that had broken free from her thick braid. If they were married, he would have the right to pull her black hair from its braid and run his fingers through it …
He had to do this the right way, to find a way to annul their betrothals, to show he was responsible and honorable, and to preserve Sophie’s reputation and dignity, not to mention his family’s good name. Valten would be incensed, but if Gabe handled this correctly, he could stave off any lasting consequences, to his family’s name, and to Sophie’s.
Sophie took his hand from her waist and began stroking his fingers in a way that was too stimulating for comfort. She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it.
She didn’t realize how beguiling she was in her innocent gestures.
Perhaps he was selfish to want her for himself. But he could love her, and somehow, Gabe would create a decent — a more than decent — life for his wife and children. Somehow he would make sure Sophie was never without anything she needed or wanted. He swore to himself that he would never be irresponsible again.
He stroked her rose-petal-soft cheek with a fingertip, marveling at the feel of her skin, and laid his cheek on the top of her head. He couldn’t stop thinking about their kiss and wanted to kiss her again.
“Are you happy?”
She hugged his arm and leaned her head back against his good shoulder. “Yes … but what are we going to do?”
He sighed. His father would come and find them. “I’ll figure out something, I promise.”
“You will?” she asked in a tremulous voice.
“You want me to, don’t you?”
“More than anything in the world. But … do you love me?”
“More than anything.”
She pulled his hand to her lips and kissed his palm, then his fingers. His chest ached with the desire to turn her around and kiss her again, but he forced himself not to.
“What if your family is angry and never accepts me?”
“My family is not like that. I’ll tell them it was my fault, and they’ll believe me. I will find a way. Trust me, Sophie.”
She kissed his hand again and he twined her fingers through his.
For the first time, he noticed a pale brown mark on her neck below her ear. The mark was about the size of his thumbnail and was in the shape of a flower with five rounded petals. Some day he would have the right to kiss that spot on her neck. But in the meantime, he would figure out a way to make her his.
“I’ll make a way.” Somehow.
Chapter 20
Gabe stayed in bed a couple of hours that afternoon because Bartel ordered him to and Sophie begged him to do as Bartel asked. He pretended to drink the wine Bartel gave him, but when Bartel left the room, he poured it out the window.
At supper he tried to concentrate on what Siggy was saying to him but found his mind wandering to Sophie and the wonderful hour they had spent alone together, how sweet it had been to kiss her … He forced himself to look at his food, at Siggy, at the other men, but it was difficult when she was sitting on his other side looking like perfection from heaven and everything he wanted on this earth.