“And yet I am.” He pushed up from the bench and gestured toward the gardens just beyond the room. “I’ll step outside and wait, and if you want to run and throw yourself, you may.”

With that, he inclined his head and strode out the door from the music room directly to the gardens.

She stared after him, wondering what in the world had come over him, and then was struck with a wave of euphoria that she had been entirely unprepared for. She grinned wildly, picked up her skirts, and raced after him, barely catching sight of his broad smile before she threw herself into his waiting arms.

He caught her to him, crushing her into his hold while swinging her about as they both laughed like children. Then he stopped and his mouth came crashing down on hers, branding her his for all time, if she had not been so devoted already. Again and again, he kissed her, barely giving her a chance to catch up, let alone to do much else. She cupped his jaw and poured herself into his kiss, into his goodness, into all that he was and with all that she had to give.

Harrison moaned into her kiss, breaking off with a gentle nip at her lower lip.

“I’d have taken you any way you’d come,” he murmured, shaking his head. “Whether you’d run or flown or walked or crawled. Silent or shouting, smiles or tears, I’d have taken you.”

“I love you,” Adelaide whispered fiercely. “I am so sorry I was afraid of this, that I pushed you away, that I…”

He silenced her with another kiss, this one nearly as intoxicating. “No apologies. I love you just as you are and with more feeling and intensity than I know how to express or convey.”

Adelaide rubbed his jaw, her other hand brushing back his dark hair. “You poor dear. Are you overwhelmed with it all?”

“Quite,” he said simply. “Feels like the brink of death, and yet I’m beside myself with joy. It’s the strongest thing I have ever felt in my entire life, and I don’t even know how long it’s been there.”

She smiled and kissed him very softly. “I’ll help you find a way to bear it. I’m accustomed to strong emotions, you know. But hardly one so tender. You can help me there.”

He stroked her cheek with his thumb, his touch sending shivers down her spine. “You love me tenderly, and I’ll love you fiercely, and we’ll see how we get on.”

“That sounds perfect.” She leaned into his touch, her smile turning dreamy. Then, on impulse, she winked at him. “But every now and again, I get to be fierce, and you be tender.”

Harrison grimaced, lowering his hands to her arms, rubbing almost absently. “That could take some practice and effort.”