Page 69 of To Follow her Heart

“What a cruel husband you’ve become.” Kitty gave him a wide-eyed look of such sorrow that Luke could do nothing else but lean in and kiss her.

“Cruel and heartless, that’s me.”

He smirked and tugged at Kitty’s hand, hurrying her through the crowd as fast as he could, suddenly desperate to be alone with her.

“Where are we going?” she protested, though it was half-hearted and she was laughing.

She’d been laughing all evening. Even when she wasn’t laughing, it glittered in her eyes. She glowed with it, the happiness shining from her as if she was lit from within.

For me, he thought, his chest bursting with the knowledge.

“Does it matter?” he asked, his voice low. “Do you care where we’re going?”

He led her onto the terrace, the sultry evening giving little relief from the heat of the ballroom as he tugged her into a dark corner.

“No,” she admitted, moving into his arms with ease. “Not in the least. I’ll follow you wherever you go.”

“Ha!” he said, amused. “As if. It’s me that does the following, as you well know, you little devil.”

“Ah, no, Luke, ’tis not true at all,” she said, her accent a little stronger now, in this private moment. “We take turns, is all. Sometimes I lead, sometimes you follow.”

She gave him a cheeky grin, and he burst out laughing, pulling her nearer and resting his forehead upon hers. He heard her sigh and smiled.

“Happy?” he asked, even though he knew the answer.

“I might burst if I get any happier,” she warned, and he pulled a face.

“Perhaps I’d better leave you alone, that sounds messy.”

Kitty snorted and held on tighter. “Don’t you dare.” She looked up at him and his heart seemed to skip about in his chest. Would he ever get used to this, to her? He hoped not.

“I have a present for you,” she said, pleasure shining in her eyes.

“Oh?”

She laughed, having heard the delight in his voice and he felt like a boy again.

“You can’t have it until we go back to Ireland,” she said, sounding stern now though her eyes were alight with amusement.

“Tell me,” he demanded. “What is it?”

“Do you remember, Khan, my dog, the big mastiff?”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Well, of course I remember, he was the size of a small horse and followed you everywhere, and I was horribly jealous that you had a dog and I didn’t.”

Kitty hugged him. “I know,” she said, such sympathy in her voice as she knew all the things he’d missed out on as a boy, all the things she’d tried so hard to make up for. “Well, Khan is long gone but his bloodline lives on, and Father wrote to tell me, there’s a new litter of pups and one is a big, healthy male. He’s mine, Luke.” She looked up at him and pressed her mouth to his, a sweet kiss that still made his breath catch. “And I’m giving him to you.”

Luke stared at her, embarrassed to discover his eyes were burning and his throat was tight.

Kitty reached up, stroking his cheek.

“Thank you,” he managed, swallowing hard. “That’s the best present I’ve ever had.” He kissed her forehead and sighed, smiling against her skin. “Apart from you, Kitty Baxter. You were a gift of the kind I’ll never be worthy of. From the first moment I saw you, I knew you’d make everything better.”

“I promise to always do my best to make things better, Luke, because I love you,” she said. “From that first day to whenever may be the last, when I close my eyes on the world.”

“Oh, no,” he said, the thought of it unbearable. “You’ll go nowhere without me, not even the great hereafter.”

“Ah, well,” she said with a shrug. “We’ve years and years and ten thousand adventures to live before that last one need be thought of.”

“Ten thousand adventures,” he repeated with wonder. “I like the sound of that. It sounds like a recipe for a wonderful life.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Because I’ve found you, and you’ve found me, and so we shall be together, and never alone again.”

“Never,” she agreed, and pulled his head down for a kiss.