Written in My Heart Read Online Free PDF Page B

wrong. Jane—what I mean to say is….” He stopped, just looking at her. Jane blinked hard, hoping he wouldn’t notice the sheen of tears in her eyes. She had let herself come to hope—believe—for three long years that his feelings might grow to be a match for her own. His letters had been no more tender and romantic than hers had been, but in his absence, it was too easy to let her dreams appear real. This was not how she had imagined his return would be, where he thanked her for taking care of his dog and for writing to him.
    “You’re prettier than I remembered,” he said abruptly.
    Jane started. “What?”
    “I thought I remembered the line of your neck, but I didn’t,” he went on. “I thought I remembered the exact color of your eyes, but they are darker. Your hair is more like chestnut than mahogany, as I told the other men, and your skin is more cream than milk.”
    “Cream?” she repeated blankly.
    He smiled. “Yes. I missed you, Jane.”
    “I—I missed you, too,” she confessed.
    “Then is this any way to welcome me home?” Ignoring Puck, who had to scramble off his feet, Ethan stepped forward, one hand outstretched to her.
    Gingerly Jane put her hand in his. Slowly, gently, he tugged her closer. Jane let him, anxiously watching his face for any sign of … anything.
    “May I have a kiss?” he whispered.
    Her heart jumped. She went up on her toes and pressed her lips to his stubble-roughened cheek.
    “May I kiss you?” His question was just a breath of sound against her temple. Dumbly she nodded, and raised her face, heart pounding. Would he kiss her on the forehead, as he’d done when he left? On the cheek, as she’d kissed him just now? Or—
    On the lips. His mouth was soft against hers. Jane sucked in a deep breath, and his hand cupped the back of her head. “Should I stop?” he breathed, his lips still brushing hers.
    “No,” she managed to say before his arm went around her waist and his mouth covered hers again. Oh, heaven—it was heaven. Jane melted against him, curling her fingers into the dusty wool of his jacket to anchor herself to him. To keep him there, kissing her, holding her, forever. His mouth was soft and warm, light and gentle. He tipped her head back, and Jane gasped. His tongue traced the seam of her lips, and she moaned. He shuddered. And then he kissed her in a way that was neither gentle nor reserved, but more like the kiss of long-lost lovers finally reunited. By the time he lifted his head, she could hardly breathe.
    “Jane.” He held her close, his arms warm and strong around her. She felt the rapid thump of his heart beneath her cheek, and couldn’t stop smiling, even before he went on. “I want to court you properly,” he murmured. He stroked her back as if testing her solidity. “I have to settle out of the army—see if I can step back into my father’s practice—find a proper home for a wife….”
    “Yes,” she said.
    He paused. “Yes?”
    She blushed. “I mean—I would like you to court me….”
    Ethan grinned, then he laughed. “And you deserve to be courted! But I have to tell you now I love you. I loved you before I left, but I didn’t know how much.”
    Jane swore she could hear angels singing. “You know I love you—I always have.”
    Something brightened in his eyes. “Always? But you were so reserved, so quiet. Even when I thought of you with great affection, I thought it would take a worthier man than I to win your heart.”
    “There is no one worthier, not in all of Caxby.” She touched his face, still in awe that she was standing in his arms. “Nor in all of England.”
    He kissed her again. “Will you come with me to my father? He’ll be the happiest of all at the news.”
    Jane laughed. “He’ll be happy beyond measure to see you again, but he couldn’t possibly be happier than I right now.”
    Ethan grinned. “Actually, Puck may be happiest of all. My left foot is entirely numb from his sitting on