The Hellion and The Heartbreaker (43 page)

“Yes, of
course I remember.”

“Did you
know that I fell in love with you that day, and that I’ve been in love with you
ever since?”  She didn’t wait for him to respond.  “I know I told you
I didn’t have any expectations, but that was a lie.  In my heart, I always
believed you would fall in love with me too,” she said with a slight
laugh.  “When you told me it was over, it felt as though my heart had been
broken into a thousand pieces.”

As Alec
listened to Scarlett’s heart-breaking confession, he began to understand. 
She had selflessly offered him her love, and fool that he was, he had refused
it.  She hadn’t told him the truth about Ian McKinnon because all she’d
had left was her pride.  He’d taken everything else.  He felt sick,
sick to his very core.  “Scarlett…”

“I know
you don’t love me Alec, and perhaps you never will, but I need you to know, to
understand how I feel.  I can’t pretend not to care,” she said, as tears
began sliding down her cheeks.  “I can’t pretend not to love you anymore.”

Rising
from the sofa, Alec walked to Scarlett, turning her away from the window and
pulling her against him.  Suddenly she was sobbing against the solid
warmth of his chest. 

He
couldn’t do it anymore either.  He couldn’t pretend that Scarlett wasn’t
the most incredible woman he had ever met.  He couldn’t pretend that he
hadn’t fallen hopelessly in love with the beautiful young woman who had taken
hold of his foolish, cynical heart and filled it with love.  Pushing his
fingers into the depths of her fiery curls, he lifted her head and pressed his
lips against her moist cheek.  “I love you Scarlett.  “God help me, I
love you more than anything on earth,” he murmured against her soft, delicate
skin.  “I’ll never hurt you again my love, I swear it.”  The truth of
his words filled him with a profound sense of peace. 

Scarlett’s
heart leapt with joy at Alec’s declaration, but she couldn’t help wondering if
he truly meant what he said.  “Alec, you don’t have to…”

Pulling
back, he cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to meet his unwavering
gaze.  “I love you Scarlett!” he said with conviction.  Wiping away
her tears with the soft pads of his thumbs, he looked deeply into her wide blue
eyes.  “I love you more than you can possibly know.” 

Scarlett
saw the truth in his eyes, and it was one the most beautiful things she had
ever seen.  Unable to speak, she raised her hand and pressed it against
his cheek.  A moment later, Alec captured her lips in a soul-shattering
kiss, pulling her against him so tightly she could hardly breathe, and she
relished every minute of it.

An hour
later, they lay sprawled naked across Alec’s bed, deliciously sated from making
love.  And it was love, of that, neither of them no longer had any
doubt.  Lifting Scarlett’s hand from his chest, Alec eyed the magnificent
engagement ring that encircled her finger.  “This time next week we will
be husband and wife.”  The words he had never imagined saying to a woman
he loved, filled him with a profound sense of tranquility and happiness. 

“Good
heavens, I’m going to be a duchess,” Scarlett said, seemingly startled at the
notion as she lifted her head and met Alec’s eyes.

“You’ve
only just now come to that realization,” he chuckled, twining his fingers
through hers.

“Duchy,
Olivia, they’re
both so
dignified, so confident and
poised and so utterly
duchessey
.  How can
I ever hope to be like that?”

“Scarlett,
you can’t honestly imagine that I would want you to be any other way than you
already are.  You, my darling, are perfect just as you are, don’t you know
that?”

Resting
her chin on his broad chest, she smiled up at him.  She had never imagined
it was possible to feel so gloriously happy.  “I love you,” she said
softly.

“I love
you too,” Alec replied, with a tender smile of his own.

“Show me
how much,” she whispered, as she trailed her fingers tantalizingly down his
smooth chest.

Grasping
her hand before it could reach its intended destination; he playfully flipped
Scarlett onto her back.  “I intend to.”  And before the night was
over, much to Scarlett’s delight, he did just that.

The
wedding of the Duke of Worthe to the infamous Scarlett Angel was expected to be
one of the most spectacular events of the season.  Hundreds of guests had
been invited to attend the ceremony, and now, as they slowly began filling the
seats within the magnificence of St. Paul’s Cathedral, the atmosphere was
brimming with excitement.  

A lavish
wedding breakfast had been held for close family and friends at the Duke of
Worthe’s residence earlier that morning, and a reception for the newly married
couple would be held at the home of the Dowager Duchess of Worthe immediately
following the ceremony.

Standing
at her brother’s side, the nervousness that had plagued Scarlett just days
before, now seemed just a distant memory.
 
As she adjusted the delicate, gossamer veil that partially obscured her
features, she couldn’t seem to stop smiling.  It was her wedding
day.  She was finally marrying the man of her dreams, the man she had
fallen in love when she was just a girl. 

“Are you
ready?”  Colin asked, looking down at Scarlett with loving eyes. 

Smiling up
at her brother, Scarlett linked her arm with his as the immense double doors
were opened wide.  Turning, she saw Alec standing at the end of the long
aisle, waiting for her.  As she and her brother moved forward, Scarlett
was oblivious to the enormous crowd of people rising to their feet including
several members of the royal family, unaware of the audible gasps elicited from
those close enough to see her stunning gown, and blind to admiring gazes of those
who marveled at her breathtaking beauty.
 
She saw only Alec, the man she adored, the man she loved.

“No violet,
it’s not for girls, Henry said, shaking his head with its thick shock of red
hair at his five-year-old sister.

“But I
want to play too,” the raven-haired little girl stated adamantly, her small
features scrunched into a mulish expression.

“Girls don’t
play war,” seven-year-old Patrick stated matter of factly, agreeing with his
twin brother.

“Mama says
girls can play whatever they want.  You’re just being mean.” 
Violet’s tone was beginning to escalate in ire and in volume, attracting the
attention of her eldest brother, eleven-year-old Oliver.

“What’s
wrong Violet,” Oliver asked, coming to stand beside his sister.  Though
Henry and Patrick were twins, Violet and Oliver bore the most striking resemblance
to one another.  Each of them had their father’s rich black hair and
honeyed skin tone, while the twins had inherited their fairer skin, blue eyes,
fiery red hair, and smattering of freckles from their Irish ancestors. 
Only Oliver had their father’s emerald green eyes however, for Violet had inherited
her own lavender-blue eyes from her great-grandmother Weston.

“Henry and
Patrick won’t let me play with them,” she informed him angrily.

“Oli,
we’re playing soldiers,” Henry said, motioning toward the battle scene staged
on the floor nearby, the very same military set Oliver had received for his
third birthday.

“It’s all
right Violet, I’ll play with you,” Oliver said, attempting to pacify his little
sister.  “Let’s go outside.”  He should have known it was a futile
attempt.

Stamping
her foot in frustration, Violet Weston looked back and forth between her three
brothers, her temper increasing with each passing second.  Suddenly
however, as if an unexpected thought had just crossed her mind, her countenance
changed.

Having
prepared themselves for the inevitable tantrum that was certain to bring either
their parents or their governess on the run, they watched in complete
astonishment as Violet’s lower lip began to quiver, the look on her face
changing abruptly from anger, to one of utter desolation.

Casting her
eyes downward, Violet looked up through the veil of her long dark lashes and
presented her brothers with a heart-wrenching expression.  She gave a
dramatic sniffle, and in the very next instant two glistening tears began to
roll slowly down her delicate cheeks.  Like her mother before her, Violet
Weston would have done the most celebrated stage actress proud. 

“Don’t cry
Violet,” Patrick said, immediately rising to his feet and moving toward his
sister, his expression remorseful

“Don’t be
sad Violet,” Henry told her, at once contrite, as he too rose to his
feet.  “It’s all right, you can play.”

As they
motioned for her to join their game, they were rewarded with a slight, hesitant
smile. 

Standing
just outside the doorway, Scarlett and Alec gazed at their children with loving
eyes.  “I think your daughter has learned a new trick,” Alec said quietly.

Actually,
it was a rather old trick, but new to Violet, Scarlett thought, smiling at her
daughter’s ingenuity. 

As Alec regarded
his children, he felt only the tiniest bit of sympathy for his three
sons.  The boys had no idea that their little sister had just discovered
how to wrap them neatly around her little finger, just as their beautiful
mother had their adoring father wrapped around her own.

Turning to
the woman at his side, the woman who had proven to him that happy endings don’t
only exist in fairytales, he smiled and bent to whisper in her ear.  “I
love you.”

*************