Rex narrowed his eyes as he watched Petal disappear up the stairs. Was she upset about the events of the day or was something else happening?

It was well within reason that she was just worried. He hadn’t proposed yet, and she believed herself ruined. But there was something in her long gazes at Jacob as though she was trying to drink in the sight of her brother.

Then of course, there were the bags in the larder. He stepped in to get salt for the lamb and potatoes when he’d seen them. He didn’t mention them to Jacob, but he remembered what Jacob had said about Petal trying to run away to a nunnery. Ridiculous. Petal was a woman meant to spend the winter curled against a man’s side, not snuggled with a Bible.

“Jacob, would you run up and get my cigars. I fancy a smoke outside.” He pushed off the counter as Jacob, giving him a nod, bounded toward the door.

The moment the boy was out of sight, he crossed to the larder and grabbed the bags. Hefting them over his shoulder, he walked to the back door and out to the barn, where he tossed them in an empty stall. Then heading back toward the house, he met Jacob at the back door; Jacob had his cigars in hand.

“Here you go, Rex.” The boy practically bounced on his heels and that was after he’d spent the latter part of the day tossing bales of hay.

“Thank you.” He gave the boy a warm smile. “I’m going to take a stroll about the garden, I think. Mayhap dream up some more investments for us. You should turn in, it’s been a long day.”

“Turn in?” Jacob shrugged. “I couldn’t possibly sleep. It’s been too exciting.” But the boy dutifully turned toward the door. “Enjoy your stroll.”

He didn’t light the cigar, its burning would give him away. Instead he walked into the dark garden and glanced up at Petal’s room. She sat by the window, still fully dressed, with her chin resting on her fist as she stared out into the night.

He knew the moment Jacob went to his room because Petal’s head jerked about and then she disappeared from view. When she reappeared he saw her pick up the candle and move toward her door.

He rose too and made his way toward the garden gate. “So you think you’ll run away, my little flower? Don’t you know that flowers have roots?”

Petal tiptoed down the dark hall, which made her progress slow. She held in a sigh of frustration. It would only alert the house of her movements.

The further down the stairs she made it, the straighter her back became. By the time she’d arrived in the kitchen, she swiftly crossed to the larder to get her bags. On the way, she set Jacob’s note upon the table.

Opening the larder door, she held up her candle but the floor was bare except for the sack of potatoes Rex had bought. “What the…”

“You won’t find them there,” Rex rumbled behind her.

Spinning around she saw him leaning against the sink. “Where will I find them?”

His eyebrows drifted up. “Let me be clear. You won’t find them at all.”

She paused, assessing him from across the room. It would help tremendously if he didn’t look so…male, leaning with his hip on the sink and his arms crossed. She had the overwhelming urge to run into his arms and bury her face in his chest. “Please be reasonable. I’m doing everyone a favor. His Grace won’t have a ruined sister to contend with, Jacob won’t have to supply me with a dowry.” Her vision blurred. “You’ll be able to return to Barbados post haste.”

He let out a deep groan. “I’d feel better if at any point you yelled at me.”

Would he? A little of the anger she pushed down earlier bubbled up beneath the surface. “Fine. You’re a stupid man for picking a public fight with Rathemore and then saying my name while you did it. Better?”

“Are you sure you’re not just punishing me by running away?” He shoved off the sink and came toward her.

“Punishing you?” she huffed. “You are a vain one. I’m doing what’s best for everyone.”

He kept moving toward her. She couldn’t back up, then she’d be trapped in the larder so she tried to scoot to the side but his hand snaked out and grabbed her waist. “I likely am. And while vain, I am also gentleman enough to—”

“Gentleman? On our first meeting you declared yourself a rake.” She grabbed his hand intent upon pushing it away. But the heat of it warmed her and tears she didn’t think she had left sprang to her eyes.

He pulled her close as he wrapped his other arm about her. “I was a rake in that I had no intention of marrying and I kept my arrangements with women light and easy. I’ll not deny it. But I’m not a man like Rathemore. I would never trick a young lady into being with me nor would I ever leave an honorable woman to face a situation I’d created.”

She shook her head, her face rubbing against his chest. “You didn’t create it. I did. When I let him put his grubby hands on my—”

“Stop. I beg you.” He crushed her in a tighter grip. “What matters now is what we do about it. After giving the situation a great deal of consideration, I’ve come to the conclusion that we should marry.”

Her tears dried instantly. “What? But you don’t want to marry.”

“I didn’t want to marry. Honestly. But I’ll not leave you alone in this and while I seriously doubt my ability to keep you happy in our marriage, I have to assume that you’ll be happier with me than you would at a nunnery. The most excellent piece about you nearly being ruined is that the bar is quite low.”

She let out a choking laugh. “This is your marriage proposal? Don’t expect much from me? Luckily you’re poor and ruined so I won’t have to put in much effort?”

Rather than answer, he slid one hand up to cup her cheek and then he captured her lips with his own. The gentle press of his mouth made her gasp in his scent, so rich, clean, and masculine. He pulled back slightly, only to dip down again and again until his tongue slid across her lips. A sweet ache filled her as he deepened the contact, turning the touch from sweet to searing that heated her from the top of her head to the tip of her toes, stealing her breath until she could barely breathe from the want that filled her.

When he finally raised his head, she was panting, her mind clouded with a feeling she longed to explore.

“No, my sweet little Petal. I will try with every fiber of my being to make you happy.”

She tried to make sense of those words as she blinked to clear her vision. “You’ll what?”

“For starters, I’ll not be returning to Barbados unless you are with me. Instead, you’ll be tucked by my side every night for the rest of our lives.” His lips were achingly close and his breath blew across her cheek as he spoke.

“Every night?”

“That’s right.” He gave her a small soft kiss. “You’ll be dressed in the finest gowns I can afford and you’ll have a staff to cater to your every whim.”

Her insides, which had been warm before were now just a bowl of gooey custard. “Then what did you mean before?”

He drew in a breath. “I’ll will try to make you happy, my love. But I haven’t proven very successful as a husband. I only meant that despite my attempts, I might fail. I hope that if I do, you will look back at this moment and console yourself that at least you did not end up as a nun.”

She nearly choked. Had he just called her his love and then revealed that he was worried he wouldn’t be enough? “Rex,” his name tumbled from her lips as she stood on tiptoe to kiss him again. This time she had no intention of going anywhere. She was staying right here with him.

She felt the moment her toes came off the floor and the rocking motion as they moved but she didn’t break the kiss nor did she pay attention to where they were going. She didn’t care. It hit her like lightening that she trusted Rex. With her safety and with her heart. In fact, she was in love with this man.

Despite his assertion he was a rake, he’d never had anything but her best interests in his heart. And he had been right. This kiss was not the end of her feelings for him but the beginning. The start of a wonderful new life.

She heard a door open and the close, though she had no idea where they were. Slowly, he lifted his head. “Petal,” he whispered, his voice gravelly. “You haven’t answered me.”

“What?” She turned her head slightly to see they were in his room. “Why are we here?”

He still held her feet off the ground. “You’ll sleep in my bed tonight. I can’t have you changing your mind and running away. Besides, I told you, you’ll be in my bed every night for the rest of our lives, provided you say yes to my proposal.”

She wiggled, their bodies rubbing together until her feet touched the floor. Rex groaned in her ear. The corners of her lips turned up at his tortured expression. “Rex, you didn’t actually ask me a question.”

His brow furrowed as he stared down at her. “You’re teasing me, you little minx.”

The grin she was trying to hide fully bloomed across her face. “A little. You didn’t actually ask, but the question was implied. And yes, I’ll marry you.”

He lifted her once again and spun her around, capturing her lips. This time, he slanted her mouth open and, as his tongue touched hers, her body jolted as sensation ricocheted through her core. She was getting married. To a man who made her heart beat wildly, whose kisses filled her with desire. A man who’d stood up for her honor and who would protect her from the world.

When he lifted his head, she sighed. The noise was partially due to contentment. She hadn’t felt this safe and warm in quite some time, but she didn’t want the kiss to end. In fact she wanted more. “Don’t stop,” she breathed.

“Petal,” he groaned. “Don’t tempt me.”

Curious. She pulled her chin back to look at him. Hadn’t he already pronounced she would sleep in his bed with him? “Why not? I thought you said I was staying here with you.”

He drew in a ragged breath. “I’ll keep you by my side and first thing tomorrow I’ll see the Archbishop about a common license. Until then, I will not take liberties that don’t belong to me. I’ll be the man you deserve as best I can from here on out.”

She hadn’t thought it possible but more tears filled her eyes. These were not tears of sadness, however, but joy. Rex had it all wrong. He’d more than make her happy and he’d be a wonderful husband. “You’ll have to forgive me, but I respectfully decline.”

The room stilled as even his breathing stopped. “You’ll not marry me?”