Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 117740 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 589(@200wpm)___ 471(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117740 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 589(@200wpm)___ 471(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
I raised my eyebrows. “Really?”
“Yes.” She chewed on her lower lip. “Plus, seeing those two together today… I don’t know. It was just so magical for them. Do you think we’d be as happy as they were today if we got married?”
I pushed her hair from her face and smiled, then kissed the tip of her nose. “Even happier,” I affirmed. “I know I would be.”
“Luke would have to sit there with a grumpy face for old times’ sake, though.”
I huffed. Those two… “I can’t believe you’ve been keeping your friendship a secret from me. Do you have any idea how hard I’ve tried to make you two get along?”
She grinned, and her eyes twinkled. “We do. That’s why we did it. It was so fun to see you tear your hair out over it.”
I groaned, pressing my face into the sheet. “Rose… Do you know that I am utterly terrified of us having children?”
“You are? Why?”
“I cannot possibly imagine my life having more chaos in it than it already does.”
She laughed and propped her head up on her hand. “It could be fun. Think of all the ways you can spook kids. You had so much fun at the nursery’s Halloween party last year.”
That was true. The mini haunted house we’d set up for them had been a real hit, and I swore I’d heard their happy screams for days afterwards.
“Yeah, I guess.” I smiled, stroking my fingers across her cheek. “It would be fun. I don’t know if I could hack a mini version of you, though.”
“I’m not sure I could.” She frowned slightly. “I am quite a handful.”
“That’s why I have two hands.” I pressed a kiss to her lips. “Do you really think about it? Us getting married?”
A small smile stretched her lips. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, I practically live here now, and it can’t be much different than that, right?”
That was true. Over the past few months, she’d steadily started spending more and more time at Hanbury House to the point even my mother asked her if she’d be ‘home’ each night. It wasn’t something we’d discussed, but rather something that’d happened organically.
I didn’t know if she’d even realised that she practically lived here, and I was almost too afraid to bring it up in case she started to pull back.
But now…
“What if you did live here?”
“Hm?” She blinked at me.
“What if you did live here?” I repeated. “What if you moved in officially?”
“But we aren’t married.”
“So? We will be one day. And don’t forget that when you marry me, you’ll be the Duchess of Hanbury. As much as I hate to make you do anything you don’t want to do, you will have to do the traditional duties of the lady of the house.”
“Isn’t that what your mum does now?”
I nodded. “And she enjoys it, but it is a lot. She’d teach you everything you need to know about the budgeting and the household staff, as well as prepare you for any official events you might need to attend as the duchess.”
A flitter of panic crossed her beautiful face.
“But if you’re ready, I’m not forcing you,” I said quickly. “I’m more than happy with what our relationship is like now. I just… I do miss you on the nights you don’t spend here.”
“No, it’s not… I guess I just forgot that part,” she admitted. “I don’t go to London with you, so I don’t really experience that part of your life.”
“And I won’t make you. There’ll be one time, maybe two tops, I’d have to ask you to come every year. For all the others, Mum can be my plus one.”
“Aw, it’s so cute that you’d take her to fancy events and leave your wife home in her garden.”
I grinned. “Whatever makes my wife happy makes me happy.”
She reached over and brushed her fingers across my jaw. “What about… slowly.”
“Slowly?”
“Yeah. If you really want me to move in, why don’t I do that? I’ll slowly learn how things work around here, but when winter comes and things have slowed down for me, she can teach me everything I need to know.”
I caught her hand and turned my face into her palm, pressing a kiss against it. “Are you comfortable with that?”
“Yes. I’m here most of the time anyway, and even some of the household staff have started referring to me as ‘my lady.’” Her brow furrowed. “I feel like I’m in a period drama when they do that.”
I laughed, pulling her against me. “You’ll get used to it. Eventually.”
“No, I assure you that I will not,” she replied, curling against my side. “So, if you see me walking around in a regency-era dress with a fan across my face, mind your business.”
“I won’t even question it.”
“It’s sad because I know you mean it.” She tilted her head back to look at me, her green eyes twinkling. “I love you, Oli.”