Chapter 229
“It never went away,” Maggie continued, entirely unbothered by his
reaction. Her eyes sparkled with amusement as she leaned slightly
closer. “When she was twelve or thirteen, she used to cut out your
pictures from magazines and newspapers–every article, every photo
from when you started your company or were declared a self–made
millionaire. I remember finding a whole collage under her bed, pink
hearts drawn all over it with sketch pens.”
Graham stared at her, utterly dumbfounded. “A collage?” he echoed,
the words feeling foreign in his mouth.
“I told Master Robert, of course,” Maggie said with a shrug. “Turns
out, he already knew. He thought it was just a phase. You were
handsome, older, and had that mysterious, untouchable air about you.
He was sure it was just teenage infatuation.”
Maggie paused, sighing softly as she gazed up at the ceiling, a wistful smile playing on her lips as if recalling a fond memory. “But he was
wrong about that. Very wrong.”
Graham’s mind reeled. He couldn’t wrap his head around it. Isla? A
crush on him? For years? “You can’t be serious,” he muttered, shaking
his head. “It’s impossible. I would’ve known.”
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Chapter 229
“I’m surprised you didn’t,” Maggie said, blinking as if even she
couldn’t believe it. “Truly surprised. Everyone in the household knew,
Master Graham. It wasn’t exactly subtle. She’d take one look at you
from across the room and blush so hard the hibiscus bushes outside
the window would look pale in comparison.”
He furrowed his brow, his mind reaching back into the past, trying to
summon any memory that aligned with Maggie’s claims.
“You’d send a message home saying you were coming for the
weekend,” Maggie continued, a hint of fondness lacing her voice, “and
she’d practically float around the house. Isla would be twirling
through Thornfield like the happiest little butterfly, picking out her
prettiest dresses, smoothing her hair, and trying on every ribbon she
owned. Then you’d show up, greet your father, and give her a polite
‘hello,‘ and she’d blush so furiously she’d put a beetroot to shame
before scurrying off like a startled kitten.”
The vividness of Maggie’s description struck a chord, Graham
frowned, his mind catching on fragments of memory: Isla’s quick,
flustered exits, her wide eyes whenever he spoke to her, the way she
always seemed to disappear when he turned his attention to her for
too long. I… I just thought she was shy around me,‘ he said, his voice
unusually high–pitched.
“Shy?” Maggie repeated, her laughter bubbling up again. ‘Yes, shy. But
only around you, Master Graham. Only around you.”
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Chapter 229
It felt like the ground had shifted beneath him, leaving him in a state
of disbelief he couldn’t quite shake.
A few hours earlier, Graham had stormed into the study with a head
full of questions and a heart weighed down by doubt. Isla’s reaction
to his touch that evening had left him grappling with uncertainty.
Had he misread her entirely? Had he made a terrible mistake in
pursuing her? The memory of her startled retreat haunted him, a
sharp contrast to the desire he had so vividly imagined between
them.
But now, as he settled into bed, a small smile tugged at the corners of
his lips. Maggie’s words echoed in his mind, softening his doubts.
“She’s skittish only around you, Master Graham.” Isla hadn’t run off
because she feared him. No, she had run because she was
overwhelmed–by him, by her feelings, by the unspoken pull that had
always simmered between them.
The thought made his chest swell with newfound confidence. She was
attracted to him, just as much as he was to her. Perhaps even more so,
if Maggie’s stories of her years–long crush were to be believed.
Graham chuckled to himself, the sound low and rich in the quiet of
the room. Tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow, he would put an end to this
game of hesitation and retreat. No more guessing, no more chasing
shadows. He was going to claim his skittish, deaf princess and show
her the depths of what they could share.
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Chapter 229
The idea filled him with an intoxicating mix of determination and
longing. His earlier plans of waiting until their wedding night to
consummate their union seemed almost laughable now. That vision
of their first time, slow and ceremonial in a marital bed, dissolved in
favor of something far more immediate, far more primal.
Tomorrow, he would have her. Not just in his arms, but beneath him,
her body arching into his, her soft cries of pleasure filling the air as
he buried himself inside her completely. He could already imagine the
heat of her skin, the way her lips would part as she whispered his
name, the undeniable connection between them burning brighter
than ever.
A low hum escaped his lips as he closed his eyes, the vivid fantasy
lulling him into a deep, dream–filled sleep. Tomorrow couldn’t come
soon enough.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
