As she watched him walk away, she felt an answering frown form on her face. He was behaving like an ass. Like she told him, it wasn’t as if she had turned her skirts up in the middle of a crowded room. She kissed a man. Her first kiss. Granted it was a monumental one, but it was still just a kiss. She thought back, remembering the feel of being in his arms, having his lips on hers. She pursed her lips now. Okay, so if she had stayed out there much longer, it might have gone a little further, but it hadn’t. Unfortunately, she thought with a small smile. With a final glance at the balcony doors she turned and walked the rest of the way to her friends.
The rest of the night passed pretty uneventful. She danced with other men, she laughed with her friends. All the while, she kept looking around the room, searching for a pair of scorching blue eyes. After the first hour of not seeing him, Lily had to assume Tristan left after their kiss. It was understandable. He was probably trying to keep the peace between her brother and himself.
After another lively dance with a rather clumsy partner, Lily made her way over to where her brother was. She tapped him on the shoulder. As he turned around, she could see his jaw clench. Great. He was still upset with her.
“Sorry to interrupt, William, but are you almost ready to leave?” She gave each of his friends a smile before turning back to her brother. “My feet are killing me and I’m getting rather tired.”
He eyed her for a second, then turned back to his friends. “Well, gents, looks like the night’s over for me.” He shook each of their hands. One came forward and Lily overheard him say to not forget what he told him. This made her frown. Not so much because of what he said, but because of the way her brother reacted. If possible, his jaw clenched even more. “I’ll go to him.” He glanced at Lily as he said this. They made their final goodbyes, William promising Jane that he would call on her tomorrow.
Once they were outside, they had to wait for their carriage to be brought around. It only took a few minutes, but they were spent in awkward silence. The carriage arrived and he, ever the gentleman, helped her inside. Once she was settled, she looked out the window, watching the lights from the house glow. It was a lovely home, one that would always mean something to her now. It was the place her life changed forever.
As the carriage rolled away from the house, she chanced a peek at her brother. He too was staring out the window, his expression troubled. She took a deep breath. It was time to start this conversation.
“William, we really need to talk.”
He glanced at her, then his eyes shifted back to the curtain. “There’s nothing to talk about, Lily. It’s not your fault. I knew what kind of man Bradley was, that’s why I didn’t want the two of you meeting. I just hoped our friendship would be enough to keep him from treating you like he does every other woman.”
Lily was shaking her head at him way before he even finished. She scooted to the edge of her seat. “William, you don’t understand. It wasn’t like that.”
He tilted his head at her, an indulgent expression on his face. “Lily, you are too young to know when a rake like that manipulates the situation. I’m sure you feel like you wanted to be there, but that’s not true. You’ve never behaved that way before because you’ve never met a bigger scoundrel than Tristan Bradley.” He reached forward and patted her hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it tomorrow.”
“None of that is true, I just…wait.” She paused as all of his words sunk in. “What do you mean you will take care of it? There’s nothing to take care of.”
He got a stubborn look in his eyes, and she could see him grinding his teeth. “It doesn’t concern you.”
“Oh, it doesn’t?” She was starting to get angry now. He wasn’t listening to her, and he was planning on doing something that she was sure she wouldn’t approve of. “If you are planning on confronting Tristan, then you better think again. I won’t let you.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, then he let a small smile form on his face. “My, my, you sure have found your fire tonight. I knew you had it in you.” He took his gloves off and set them on his leg. “Look, Lily, I know you think Tristan cares about you now, or that the two of you could be together. That’s what he does, but the truth is—”
“We’re promised,” she blurted out, interrupting his slander of his friend. She didn’t want to hear about Tristan and other women. She didn’t like the jealous feeling this stirred in her chest. As the carriage rolled on, the silence got more deafening. He wasn’t saying anything. He was just staring at her, a shocked look on his face. “Say something,” she finally broke first.
It still took him a couple seconds to gather his thought, but when he finally managed to talk it was exactly what she expected him to say. “That’s impossible.”
“That’s what I thought too.” She had never heard of an immortal under the age of one hundred finding their promised. Both she and Tristan were less than a century old, yet here they were.
“You’re too young,” he said, shaking his head a little.
“Believe me, William,” she said with a rueful smile on her face. “No one is more shocked than me. Well, maybe Tristan.” She paused for a second. What if he didn’t want this? It would be a big change in both their lives. He could resent her for this. She thought back to his expression when they first touched. His face showed shock, but then it transformed to wonder. No, he was just as happy as she was. He had to be. Lily was replaying what happened on the terrace, trying to decide if it was more than just a kiss to him too, when her brother interrupted her musings.
“How do you know it’s not just… I don’t know, attraction or something?” He still had a shocked look on his face, but there was also curiosity. Finding your promised one was a very big deal in their world. Nothing could compare to the feeling of being with the person who completed you, body and soul. It was easy to mistake attraction for something more, but not this. This was the real thing; she was sure of it.
“Trust me, Liam. I know what I’m talking about.” She thought back to all the other couples she had talked to. “I’ve done my research.” She knew he was aware of how lonely she’d been because all of her letters had mentioned it.
He looked down, seeming to just realize that he was twisting his gloves in his hands like she had at the beginning of their night. “I just don’t see how it’s possible.” He looked at her. “You’re both just too young.” He shook his head. “No, I need to talk to Tristan. He’ll be able to shed some light on this.”
“That’s a great idea!” She brightened at the thought of seeing him again. “Let’s go to his house and talk to him about this.” Lily turned around, intending to give the driver new directions. William stopped her with a hand on her arm. She looked back at him, a question forming on her lips.
“Lily,” he laughed. “We can’t go knocking on Tristan’s door at one in the morning. I was planning on going to see him tomorrow. If you promise to wait in the carriage till after we’ve had our discussion, then you can accompany me.”
Lily slumped back into her seat, realizing he was right. It was way too late for a social call. Even an important one like this. She sighed. “Okay. I suppose you are right.” She sat up straighter and raised her head. “But we go early. Please?”
He chuckled, shaking his head at her enthusiasm. “If you knew what he was like in the early mornings, then you would not be so eager to see him.” He moved the curtain to peer out the window as the carriage slowed down. “We’re home. Let’s go and get some sleep. We’ll figure out what time to leave in the morning.”
Lily wanted to press the matter but decided to let it drop. She was afraid if she pushed too hard then he would try to leave her at home. Pretty soon the carriage came to a stop and the door opened. She allowed a footman to help her down. As she started to walk up the steps of William’s townhouse, she could hear him climb down from the carriage. She waited