Heart's Desire (10 page)

Not trusting her voice, Callie nodded.

William reached out and clasped her hands.
“They meant that you and I are supposed to be together.
Supposed to sit under that willow tree with our baby.
And the only way that could happen was for me to stop being a complete arse.
You offered me everything I’ve ever wanted, yet I pushed it away with both hands.
I thought I was being noble and doing what was best for you, but I was wrong.
I can only conclude that I must have suffered a blow to the head at some point in my past to have acted so
…
”

“Arse-like?” she supplied helpfully when he seemed at a loss.

A quick laugh escaped him.
“Precisely.
My only other excuse is that my wits had just been completely addled.”
He raised their joined hands and pressed a kiss to backs of her fingers.
“By the most exquisite, perfect girl in the world.”

Joy soared through Callie.
Still
,
she felt it only fair to say, “I’m not perfect, William.”

“I fear we disagree.
You are, in fact, absolutely perfect.
For me.”
All traces of amusement faded
,
and he regarded her through very serious eyes.
“You asked me last night if I wanted anything more from you than forgiveness
,
and I told you I didn’t.
In the history of the world
,
there may have been a man who uttered a more gargantuan falsehood, but I tend to doubt it.
I want
everything
from you, Callie.
Your heart, your love, your smiles and laughter.
And in return
,
I offer you everything I have
—
my heart, my love, my very soul.
And all my worldly goods, such as they are.”

Hot moisture pushed behind Callie’s eyes.
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

He briefly closed his eyes
,
then said, “I love you, Callie.
God, how I love you.
You’ve owned me since the first moment I saw you, spinning about on the terrace, holding your doll.”

Oh, my
.
Well, now he’d done it.
There was no holding back the tears of joy that spilled over her lashes.
“I love you, too.
So very much.
My sweet William.”

“I’m delighted to hear it
,
because the duke and duchess have given us their blessing.”

“They have?”

“They have indeed.
I’ll have you know that I was prepared to argue them into the ground and carry you off with or without their blessing
;
however
,
they were shockingly easy to convince.
Seems all they want is your happiness.
Which means the only question left is, can I make you happy?”

“Yes!”
A laugh of pure joy she couldn’t contain escaped her.
“Perfectly happy.”

Her laugh was cut off when he snatched her against him and covered her mouth with his in a searing kiss that made her toes curl inside her slippers.
The loud clearing of a throat behind
Callie made William raise
his head.
Callie gasped and pulled back from William’s embrace.
She turned around, and heat flooded her cheeks at the sight of Aunt Olivia and the footman, the latter straining under the weight of a trunk that was nearly as large as he.

William moved to stand beside Callie.
From the corner of her eye
,
Callie noted with some amusement
that
his face bore a blush that she guessed matched her own.
How lovely that he could blush.
She fully intended to give him plenty to blush about.

“I beg your pardon, Aunt Olivia,” said William.
“I quite forgot myself, um, as well as your presence.”

“Quite all right, dear boy,” Aunt Olivia hollered.
“I’m delighted at your enthusiasm.
However, you are incorrect
—
there is one more question that you need to ask.”
She raised her brows and cast a significant look at Callie’s left hand.

Callie heard William mutter something that sounded suspiciously like, “Bloody hell, I’m an idiot.”
Then he grasped her shoulders and turned her to face him.
Leaning close
,
he whispered in her ear, “I think it’s possible
that
Aunt Olivia isn’t quite as deaf as everyone believes.”

“Of course I am,” boomed Aunt Olivia.
“Deaf as a post.
Now do carry on.
Poor James cannot be expected to hold that trunk all day
,
you know.”

William leaned back and smiled into her eyes.
“As your aunt pointed out, there is one question remaining, one I momentarily forgot about as you managed once again
to
addle my wits by telling me you loved me.”

“Terribly sorry.
But you’d best get used to it
,
as
I
intend to tell you frequently.”

“Which is only one of the thousands of things I love about you.”
He reached into this waistcoat pocket and withdrew a ring
—
a single pearl set on a slim gold band.

“It belonged to my mother,” he said.
Then he lowered himself to one knee.
“Callie
…
my darling Dimples.
I love you with all my heart.
Will you marry me?”

“Yes, my dearest Dusty.
Yes, yes, yes, yes!”

William stood
,
and Callie threw herself into his open arms, not caring one whit that all of Society would be gossiping about this unprecedented scene for months to come.

“Bravo, my dears!” shouted Aunt Olivia.
She rushed forward and enveloped Callie in a tight hug.
Before releasing her, Aunt Olivia whispered in her ear, “There now, did I not tell you there would soon be an engagement?”

She stepped back, shot Callie a knowing wink
, and
then crooked her finger at the footman.
“Come along, James.
The betrothed couple requires no further assistance from us.
Oh, and Callie, dear, you and William should wave
—
you’ve attracted quite an audience.”
She sailed up the walkway like a schooner under full wind with James staggering beneath the weight of the trunk in her wake.

“Audience?”
Callie and William murmured in unison.
They looked toward the townhouse
,
and Callie barely suppressed a groan.
Her entire family
—
Hayley and Stephen and their three children
,
Angel, Matthew, and Christian, as well as Pamela and Marshall and their twins Paul and Pippa, plus Callie’s brothers Nathan and Andrew
—
all stood framed in the front window, grinning and waving madly.

“Good heavens, we really do have an audience,” said Callie.
She looked at Hayley
,
who smiled at
Callie
and blew her a kiss, a gesture Callie returned.

“You’re going to be teased endlessly about this by my wretched brothers,” she said out of the corner of her mouth as she and William waved.

“I’m not worried.
I’ll simply repay them in kind if they ever find women willing to marry them.”
He turned to her and clasped her hands.
“Before we join your family
—
I’ve thought of one more question.
What should we do with the mirror pendant?
Do you want to keep it, or shall we sell it?”

“Sell it,” Callie answered without hesitation.
“It helped bring us together
,
and perhaps it can do the same for another couple who might otherwise not find each other.”

“You’re very wise.
Compassionate.
And very beautiful.”
He leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers.
Once, twice, then
,
with a groan
,
he rested his forehead against hers for several seconds.
Then he leaned back
,
and the desire burning in his eyes singed Callie to the soles of her feet.

“Please tell me you don’t want a long engagement,” he said.

“I don’t.
I only want you.”
She smiled into his beautiful
,
dark eyes.
“My heart’s desire.”

The
E
nd of
Heart’s Desire

DEAR READER
,

Thank you so much for reading Heart’s Desire! I hope you enjoyed Callie and William’s story. Callie Albright is a character dear to my heart as she appeared in my very first book, Red Roses Mean Love, which was published way back in 1999 (and is still in print!).  Callie was just a child in that book and it was always my hope that I’d be able to someday write her story so she could find her own Happily Ever After. Those Happily Ever Afters are why I enjoy romance novels so much-- both reading and writing them. I just adore happy endings where love conquers all. There’s so much sorrow in the world--
let’s hear it for love! Yay!

If you’re so inclined, I would greatly appreciate it if you’d consider leaving an honest review for this book (seriously, an honest review-- it’s okay if it wasn’t your cup of tea. If all I wanted was compliments I’d call my mom, LOL!).  Reader reviews are very important to authors, especially for self-published e-books.  Here’s the Amazon link if you’d like to leave a review:

Review Heart's Desire on Amazon.com

Thank you again for reading Heart’s Desire. I wish you a lifetime filled with much happiness and romance, and many delightful reading hours!

Best regards,

Jacquie D’Alessandro

AT LAST
excerpt

Regency-era Novella, featuring my first Scottish hero

Sophia Mallory, Countess Winterbourne thought she'd left her handsome Scottish lover behind in the highlands.
But when Ian Broderick shows up in a London ballroom, Sophia realizes her past is about to catch up with her, and the scandal could cost her everything…

London, 1820

Sophia moved swiftly along the perimeter of the ballroom, focused on fleeing. Escape. She had to escape. When she reached the French windows, she grasped the curved brass handle and opened the paned glass panel just enough to slip outside. A gust of unseasonably chilly air, heavy with the threat of rain, swirled around her, pebbling her skin, but she barely noticed the discomfort.

Heart pounding, she anxiously peered back into the ballroom, her staccato breaths fogging the glass. Dread seized her when she noted Ian no longer stood under the archway leading into the ballroom, but then she spied the back of a dark head standing on the far side of the room, near the punch bowl. The man’s height identified him as Ian and Sophia sucked in a quick breath of relief. Thank God. Now she just needed to circle around to the front of the mansion then request her carriage be brought around. She cursed the delay that would entail, but at least she’d escaped the ballroom undetected. And once ensconced inside her vehicle, with the velvet curtains drawn, she’d be safe.

She turned.
And froze at the sight of the snowy cravat mere inches from her nose.