Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Her gaze drifted to the park visitors, and just watching everyone go about their business was like seeing the Regency period come to life. All the gentlemen were dressed in tailored coats and breeches while the ladies sparkled with their jewels and gowns. Instead of four-wheeled vehicles, the lantern-lit roads were filled with an assortment of horse-drawn carriages: a lady held the reins of a pink-colored phaeton while a gentleman had just climbed up into his all-black curricle. A fancy-looking chaise was parked next to a landau, and was that a town coach bearing a ducal coat of arms?
"If we go in, we can do more than look."
Tassy realized belatedly she had been gaping the entire time and looked at Lucius sheepishly. "I'm sorry. Everything's just so...breathtaking. But you're right. It should get better once we're inside, and...um..."
Her voice drifted off when she realized the billionaire was leading her away from the admission gates for visitors. Weren't they supposed to line up—-huh?
Men dressed like palace guards opened a pair of gates upon seeing Lucius, and Tassy was startled when they immediately bowed in greeting.
"Welcome to Foxtown, Your Grace, milady."
Your...Grace?
She turned to him, asking in surprise, "You're a duke here?"
"The Duke of Windtowne, to be specific. It's included in the compensation package if you're one of the park's first investors."
Riiight.
Lucius made it sound so simple when she was pretty sure being one of the park's "first" investors also meant that he had bought stocks worth a hundred mil, at least.
Lucius smiled down at her, and she managed to smile back, albeit weakly. Millionaires, she was used to dealing with because of her work. But billionaires? And most especially, gorgeous billionaires who could also be moody and frighteningly unpredictable like Lucius?
His really, really bad case of cold feet was just a taste of how he could so easily hurt her. It could only get worse from here, but since she did remember more easily now that Lucius was the sign she had asked from God—-
It's all going to be okay.
Lucius and I might not be perfect, but God is...
And He never breaks His promises.
LUCIUS HAD BEEN PREPARED to wait for an hour or so for his Tassina to get changed. But when he came out of the changing hall for men, it was to see her already dressed in a pale blue gown, her hair swept up in a chignon, and presently doing her best to ignore the attention she had attracted from the opposite sex.
The women he dated in the past reveled in being noticed. His Tassina clearly wasn't the same, and when Lucius stepped into her line of sight, the look of joy and relief on her beautiful face was one of the most precious things he had ever seen. It was the kind of look that a woman could only give to the man she belonged to, and even though the thought still had his chest tightening—-
Lucius knew it was the same for him.
He was hers, too.
Tassy and Lucius met halfway, and her heart fluttered at the way he immediately took hold of her hand.
"So..." He smiled down at her, and she smiled up at him as her heart fluttered some more. Lucius in a suit was already gorgeous beyond words, but Lucius dressed like a duke? Her heart seemed likely to flutter for the rest of the day.
"Have you thought about what you want us to try first?" While the park offered several new attractions for Valentines, Lucius had a feeling his Tassina would opt for the ones that were more romantically inclined, such as the Love Compatibility Test offered by the fictional Madame Amour or maybe a swan boat ride on the park's version of the Serpentine.
"If you're really okay with me choosing, I'd like to give this one a try."
Lucius glanced down at what she had pointed to in the brochure.
Foxtown Detective Agency?
"What do you think?" Tassy asked eagerly.
I think you're unpredictable, Lucius thought, and I hope you'll never change.
But since he was still adjusting to the fact that he had actual feelings for a woman—-
"Shall we see which of us makes the better Holmes?"
Her eyes sparkled as she laughed, and his chest clenched anew.
"Challenge accepted, Your Grace."
Tassy couldn't remember being this excited. And even though she knew she should really stop comparing the past to the present—-
Was this why things had been doomed to fail between her and Xylan?
She had always been the quietly competitive sort, but she had also sensed early on that there was nothing Xylan hated more than losing to her. In all the years they had been together, Xylan had made her feel one of them had to fade into the background for the other to shine. Not once had she thought to question this...until Lucius made her realize there shouldn't have to be a choice in the first place.