“Then, in all honesty, it might be best if you were not to stay for Christmas. I shall think of something to explain why my cousin has departed, leaving the rest of his family behind.”

He stared at her for a moment. “Absolutely not.” He shook his head. “I left you once before, when I shouldn’t have. I’ll not make the same mistake again.”

She sighed, abruptly weary of the conversation and the turmoil she fought to keep at bay. “This is entirely different.”

“Is it?” His brow rose. “It strikes me as being remarkably similar. Once again, you are to marry a man you do not love—this time for his position, if not his fortune.”

“Come now, Grayson, you know full well marriage is the only way a woman in this world betters herself.” She narrowed her gaze. “But then, that’s what we do in my family, isn’t it?”

“Apparently.”

“Little better than fortune hunters, wouldn’t you say?”

“I know you better than to think that,” he said sharply. “Regardless, Pruzinsky is not the man for you.”

“Why not?”

He hesitated, then shook his head. “He just isn’t, that’s all.”

“Excellent answer, Grayson.” She rubbed her forehead. “Very well, stay on for the final curtain of this debacle. It will no doubt be worth the price of admission.” She’d had enough of this. Enough of doing battle with her family, enough of Nikolai and more than enough of Grayson. She wanted nothing more than to throw herself on her bed and weep. For what might have been. And for the glimpse of what, if only for a moment, might still be. “You can’t make amends for eleven years ago. The past cannot be undone.”

“And no one knows that better than I,” he said sharply. “I would turn back the clock, if I could. If I had that one day to live over again, I would do it regardless of the cost. But I can’t. I can only go forward from here.” He stepped toward her. “And I want to go forward with you.”

She stepped back. “It’s been eleven years.”

“Eleven years wasted because I was a fool. I have no desire to waste any more.” He took another step toward her. “Nothing has changed for me, Camille.”

“Do you know the biggest difference between the girl I was then and the woman I am now?”

“I can see all sorts of differences.”

“The girl I was then trusted you without hesitation, without question. She never dreamed you might hurt her. And she believed you.” She shook her head. “The woman I am now knows better.”