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Rafe was due back on Wednesday in the afternoon Genny woke early that , Today, he comes home

All , like a child who’d been proout wherever she was needed They had a steady stream of visitors that day

By one, she felt downright anxious She couldn’t wait to see hi, the way her heart seeh in her chest at the base of her throat It was pounding away in there, yearning and burning And her cheeks felt much too warm

Ridiculous Really

She decided she needed exercise She would work off some of the tension caused by all this crazy anticipation It was a clear, bright day Perfect for a run She changed into shorts and a pair of trainers and put her hair in a ponytail Then she took Moe and Mable and headed to the lake

She ran half the way, the dogs bounding on ahead, circling back and taking off again When she couldn’t run another step, she found sticks and threw them for the collies to fetch Now and then, she passed a visitor or one of the gardeners or soe They all ss at her heels No doubt she’d get a bad reputation: that wild, young princess who married the earl

By the time she was on her way back to the house, she dripped sweat and her hair was falling down She had mud spattered all over her trainers, halfway to her knees She needed a hot shower and clean clothes

But she did feel more settled within herself, not so achy and hor out Even with the things that lay unspoken between her and Rafe, even with the guilt she felt over getting pregnant during their four-day fling, even given the sadness and regret over Edward’s tragic death, she was glad, so glad that she’d married him

And not because of Hartmore, either

Really, who did she think she was kidding? The truth was so simple She not only loved him, as she always had, as her dearest friend in the world No It wasin love with him

How could she not? He was so sood at heart She loved how he looked out for Geoffrey, how he treated his grandmother, with respect and real affection, hoas patient and forgiving with Brooke, who, let’s face it, was the kind of wohtful and kind to the staff and the local people Not to ht to be

She wanted to tell hi in love with you I’ deeper and deeper every day

But then she had no idea hoould react to such news And she felt like such a co for Edward, telling herself she was in love with him Wasn’t it way too convenient that she’d suddenly decided she loved Rafe now?