To Have A Heart (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 7)

“Exactly. So, we are meant to be together, aren’t we?” Callum asked.

He really wanted to ask her if she could ever foresee a time where she might love him in return, but he didn’t want to push her. He wanted her to realise how she felt about him in her own time, preferably when she wasn’t scared out of her mind.

“I think we are,” Mallory whispered.

“You don’t sound so sure,” Callum murmured.

“That is because I want you to be sure of what you are saying,” Mallory burst out. “Do you need to see a doctor or anything?”

“Because I said I love you, you think I need to see a doctor?”

“No, but you have just fallen several feet out of a window,” Mallory argued.

“That has nothing to do with the way I feel about you,” Callum protested. “How could falling out of a window affect my not wanting to leave you behind when I have to leave Cornwall? If I do have to return to duties in Leicestershire, I want to be able to leave you at home and know you will be there when I get back. I don’t want you as my mistress. I wouldn’t insult you like that.”

Mallory was aware that while Callum had been talking, the doors to the yard beside the tavern had opened. She could hear the jangle of harnesses and the clip clopping of horses’ hooves.

“Will you stay at my house in Cornwall?” Callum asked. “I will stay with my friend. We can spend some time together. When you are sure you know what you want, we can make plans for a future together.”

Mallory knew what she wanted. She slid her arms around is shoulders and held him tightly.

“I know what I want. I want a future with you as well. After tonight, I am going to worry myself sick, of course, but I know that you have a good group of men working with you. Just promise me that you will come back home whenever you can.”

Callum leaned back to smile at her. “Does that mean you will stay at my house?”

“If Sir Hugo agrees that I can without putting myself or anyone else in danger, then yes. I cannot think of anything I should like more.”

“I want you to use the time you are there to turn the place into the kind of home you would like to call your own,” Callum said.

“That sounds awfully permanent,” Mallory whispered.

“That is because it is,” Callum breathed. “I want us to be a together forever.”

Mallory swiped tears off her cheeks. She contemplated the future before her and what she could expect from it.

“You can have anything you want out of life,” Callum whispered.

Her reticence was a little disheartening, but he was determined not to give up. He would do whatever it took to keep her a part of his life.

“You can live wherever you want.”

He pressed a kiss onto her shoulder.

“You can decide what kind of work you want to do, or if you want a life of leisure.”

Callum pressed another kiss into her neck.

“You could decide if you want a slow, formal courtship.”

He kissed her jaw.

“You can decide what time of year you want to marry.”

He slid another kiss along her cheek.

“You can decide where we should marry.”

“Callum.”