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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Dec 13, 2009 15:43:47 GMT -5
He took a little while to answer the door, a few curious crashes and bangs announcing his presence, before he opened it, looking breathless and smiling at her brightly. All of the hurt was hidden behind his cheerful demeanor; as though he could be angry at Rory for falling in love (considering that's what he thought she'd gone and done), she deserved his support, not his annoyance. And to save her the awkwardness of moving back into her own room, he was more than willing to do it for her. "Evenin' Rory." he hoisted the mattress up next to him, still seeming cheerful and light-hearted. "Have a good day? Could you scoot to the left just a little bit, so I can get out?" he asked, waiting for her to move so he could drag the thing across the hallway and back into her room. The blankets and the pillows soon followed after, Phoenix making up her bed for her before returning to his room.
The parcels were all out now on his bed that the housekeeper had made; new clothes, another set of lock-picks and other little trinkets that he'd use in his 'trade' that had probably been floating around his back when they had jumped from the carriage. He collected a few of these things up and put them on top of the wardrobe, the lockpicks going in the inside pocket of his new, perhaps stolen, waistcoat, and he offered her a light smile. "I'd like to stay and talk, Rory, but I've got a couple of things that need doing, if that's okay?" he glanced up at her hopefully, straightening up again. He knew she didn't look as though she had had the best day, but Chris should be able to remedy this, right?
He moved past her again, blowing her a kiss and grinning at her dashingly before he wandered off down the corridor, promising that 'they'd catch up later!' or something.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Dec 13, 2009 16:03:31 GMT -5
Out of everything that she had been expecting, him dragging her matress out of the room hadn't been one of them. He really must be mad at her, though she wasn't quite sure what she had done wrong. She didn't even attempt to hide her bemusement as he moved between the rooms, taking her bedding back into her original room and making up her bed for her. She just...well...she simply didn't know what to say, she didn't know what to do other than stand there and watch him. So much for hoping that he would cheer her up, he'd done the opposite. She would rather go back to being in pain and exhausted than feeling how she did right now. She couldn't talk to Chris and Phoenix was angry with her. She really might as well just lock herself in her room and wait for winter to be over.
He didn't even want to stay around and tell her what she had done wrong, Rory sighing heavily and turning her gaze down to the ground. She didn't even want to ask incase this feigned good mood cracked and he just yelled at her, she wouldn't be able to face that, not right now. Instead, she just didn't say a word, lingering in the corridor as he moved to leave, just letting him go. He hadn't wanted to come here in the first place, maybe he resented her for asking him to come? Who knew. All she knew was that there was obviously something wrong, and she had no idea what it was, nor did she think that she was in any kind of mood to try and deal with this now without bursting into tears. Instead, she just moved to head back into her room and both shut and locked the door. It this was what life was like out of the palace, then she would rather just go back there now.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Dec 13, 2009 16:46:49 GMT -5
The smile faded from Phoenix's face as he wandered out of the house again, the thief sighing deeply to himself and brushing his bangs out of his face. That would be hard to keep up. Ugh. He was going to go and drown his sorrows, and find someone pretty to sit by his side (or on his lap) and keep him company for a while.
***
For Phoenix, the month had passed relatively quickly. He had never known time to pass by this fast, in fact, and he seemed almost in a daze as he stood in front of the wide windows downstairs in Chris's house, watching the snow fall heavily outside through panes half frozen by the cold. He looked a lot better than when they had first come to Handel, a million times better, his green eyes completely clear now as he watched the blizzard rage outside. The bruises had faded, the cuts had healed, and he looked just as dashing and handsome as ever, resting one of his hands on the glass. It was a shame that he couldn't go out - he was so used to going out lately, leaving the house to Rory and Chris. He had learned rather quickly over the first few weeks that he might have made a little bit of a mistake in believing what he did. There was nothing between Chris and Rory, and by the looks of things, there never would be. However, the incident had sealed in his mind that simple fact which said he would never be at Rory's standards, and so he didn't see why he should even try.
His attention, over the last few weeks, had moved straight back to the rest of the female population, and he was much like he was before he'd even met Rory. He flirted with nearly anything that moved, and he had established quite the reputation in Handel for his quick hands and his knack for getting into complicated, small places. But nobody knew where he lived, he made sure of that. He didn't want to give Chris or Rory any trouble - he might dislike the noble, dislike him a lot, but were it not for him, Phoenix would probably be out there in the biting cold right now instead of in a well heated house.
In fact, he really didn't think he'd ever spent a winter this comfortably. He wasn't wearing any extra layers, there was warmth from the roaring fireplace behind him, and he looked happy and healthy. Healthier than ever before, actually. All things considered, with the theft and the girls and life in general, he was doing pretty well for himself.
However, anyone who knew him better would be able to see that the majority of what he was doing was just to fill a hole, one that no matter what he did, refused to heal up. He had been a fool to let himself feel something for Rory, something more than just having a good friend and a pretty face, anyway, and he was paying for it now. It didn't help that he saw her every day, and while nothing had changed in their relationship in that respect - they still spoke and bantered and argued and the like, there was none of that closeness that there had been before, when they were in the slums and when they were travelling together.
He glanced up at the sound of footsteps, and realised that he had drifted off into a daydream. He had been thinking about winter in general, wondering how the slummers were holding up, but his attention quickly turned back to the matter at hand. Considering they were successfully snowed in, he'd heard that they were moving things from Chris's study to... somewhere else. And Phoenix would always provide an extra pair of hands, where needed. He moved to follow the footsteps, stretching his arms above his head.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Dec 13, 2009 17:10:55 GMT -5
For Rory, the time didn't pass half as quickly. She didn't adjust very well to being back in noble society, to being effectivly trapped in the house unless someone decided to take her out. Being back here just reenforced why she had wanted to leave in the first place. She felt trapped, spending most of her time alone in her room with a book or with her paints. The truth was, she was bored. She was fed up of the same four walls, fed up with the fact that she wasn't supposted to go out on her own, and, if she were honest, fed up with the company. It wasn't that things were as akward as they had been, because they weren't, but it still didn't feel right. With Chris, neither mentioned what had happened, but she was cautious around him now, she made sure to keep her distance, and with Phoenix...she couldn't explain it. Something was different. She had come to the conclusion that she had lost his attention, that she must have become boring now that he wasn't trying to save her every other day, and that all the other women in Handel must have been ten times more exciting than she was. She had even tried to catch his attention, but nothing had worked. It was almost as though he was ignoring her.
Life just crawled by, with nothing much really happening. Rory's presence was explained rather simply really. The story was that she was Chris's cousin from Cressa, and that she was here for the fresher air as she was ill, which was also another reason that she couldn't go out very much. All in all, her life was increadibly dull. Chris and Phoenix both had their work, what did Rory have to do to pass her time? By the end of the thrid week she had read every book in Chris's house from cover to cover, which was why he had bought her the paints and paper. Bah, as if that could keep her amuse while they left her to her own devices. She wanted to be out of the house exploring, but no-one seemed to realise that.
At least there was one good thing about today; they were snowed in. It was awfully selfish of her, but she was glad that they were all trapped in the house. It meant that she had a little company, and, if that didn't work, then perhaps they would realise how dull it was to spend your days penned up like this. She knew that Chris must be bored, he had planned to clear out his study, and had asked them all to help.
Rory had been there for a while now, her hair tied back in a ponytail to keep it out of her face, though loose whisps fell from the ribbon she had tied her hair up with. Almost everything was already sorted into boxes, ready to be moved down into the larger room that he was moving his study into. This room had become too small, he needed a bigger work space if he was to be spending any length of time here.
Chris was busy moving the boxes into piles, sighing to himself as the Princess glanced to the door for what seemed to be the hundreth time. She was waiting for Phoenix, she was always waiting for Phoenix. He wished that the thief would wake up and see what was happening, either that or leave her alone completly. It wasn't fair to keep her hanging like that, but what could he say? It wasn't his place to say anything, this was something that they needed to sort out between themselves.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Dec 13, 2009 17:24:25 GMT -5
It turned out to be the house-keeper that was walking down the hall, Phoenix smiling to her cheerfully and following her; she was holding a tray of refreshments, seeing as moving all of the boxes was going to prove to be tedious work. He had been right about her, she was from a slummer's background, but here she was, in a noble household. Their conversation was light and carefree as they made their way down the hall, Phoenix allowing her to walk inside first before following her in, where she put the tray down on one of the safer spaces on the desk where it wouldn't get knocked and things wouldn't get spilt. Then she wished them a good afternoon and left again, with the promise that if they needed anything she would come as soon as she could. Phoenix stepped out of the way to let her pass again, before turning to face the other two in the room.
He offered a dashing smile to Rory, as usual, and a polite nod to Chris - he had perfected that greeting in his first few weeks there. Heck, Phoenix might actually half fit in with noble society when he was in the household, even though he reverted right back to how he usually was the second he left. "You got a lot of stuff." he commented lightly. Their conversation was still awkward and almost forced, it probably always would be, but at least by this point the thief seemed to have realised that this was just how things were meant to be, and that made it easier to deal with. "Alright... just show me where to put this, and I'll start movin' it." Maybe it was a little assuming of him to think that he'd be moving the majority of this stuff. But he knew Chris a little better now, and he wasn't one for manual labour. He was a writer, or something.
"Just lead the way." he smiled, glancing down at the piles of boxes and waiting for him to be assigned something to move.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Dec 13, 2009 17:39:39 GMT -5
Rory couldn't help but smile brightly to Phoenix as he made his apperance, murmuring a 'thank you' to the housekeeper as she placed the tray down. It was silly, he obviously didn't really want to spend any time with her, yet she still wanted him around. She was hopeless sometimes, she really was. Chris merely nodded back to Phoenix, doing his best not to roll his eyes at Rory, pretending that he was busy checking the contents of a box. He would have to agree with her, the pair of them were hopeless. He may not like the thief, but it was obvious that she did and he wanted her to be happy. It seemed to be sinking in now that nothing would ever happen between himself and the Princess, but it just annoyed him that she seemed to make such an effort for someone who didn't even notice it.
"It's all going in a room downstairs." Chris explained as Rory too a drink from one of the glasses on the tray before rising to her feet and picking up one of the lighter boxes. The plan was that Phoenix and Chris would move everything and she would unpack it all. Things should work out fine like that. By this point, Chris had also picked up a box (admittedly not one of the heavier ones, he would have to try and sneakily make sure that Phoenix got thoes ones), and was heading towards the door. "I'll show you which room, it's just on the right when you get down the stairs. Next to the dining room." He explained before leaving the room, Rory moving to follow him.
He lead them down to the room which he has mentioned, the door left open so that they didn't have to struggle with it while holding the boxes. It already had a large desk in along the back wall, beneath the large window. The entire left wall was filled with shelves, most of which were already half full of books, and there was a set of draws along the right wall. Rory moved past Chris to place her box on the desk, the Chris moving to do the same thing. "If you just put the boxes by the desk then I'll be able to sort through them." She nodded to the pair of them, smiling to Phoenix faintly.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Dec 13, 2009 17:54:31 GMT -5
"Got it." Phoenix nodded in understnading, giving them a lazy salute and waiting for them to pick up their boxes before moving to pick up his own, stacking a lighter box atop one of the heavier ones and lifting it up, as if to test whether he could hold it, before nodding to himself. It was heavy, and if it had been further than the distance Chris was describing, then he'd not be able to move it. He may hate the White Knights with a tremendous passion, but if they had taught him nothing else that was good, then at least they had taught him strength. He was strong now, for a thief, as well as quick. He could deal with that. Skirting around the desk so he didn't knock the drinks on it, he moved to follow them out of the room and down the corridor, keeping his attention completely on where they were going so that the lighter box wouldn't obscure his sight too much and send him falling on the floor or something.
He descended the stairs and turned into the room easily enough, lifting a brow at all of the books. Phoenix wasn't just not 'a big reader' he wasn't a reader full stop. Books confounded him, and he didn't see the point in wasting hours at a time staring at a page while the real world passed you by. But then again, Rory liked books, and she had a thirst for adventure almost as big as his own, so maybe they weren't so bad after all, he thought. But then, he and Rory hadn't, and probably wouldn't be going on any adventures for a long, long while, if ever again. They seemed pretty content here in Handel, but as soon as winter was over, he was certain to get itchy feet and he'd have to leave. Somewhere, anywhere, but he couldn't stay here for longer than was necessary. And he didn't know what was going to happen then.
Returning Rory's smile, he moved forward to lean down and deposit the boxes next to the desk, afraid that if he put them down then on it he'd break the thing. That heavier box must have been filled with yet more books, he figured. Straightening up, he let out a light sigh, smirking to himself and glancing across to Rory. Well, one box down, a million to go.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Dec 13, 2009 18:06:14 GMT -5
Well, no-one had said that this was going to be a fun job. It would be a tedious day, moving boxes, unpacking everything that they had packed into them this morning. At least it was something to do, something to keep them occupied rather than leaving them to their own devices. Rory, for one, would probably have lost the will to live if she spent yet another day trapped up in her room with nothing to do. At least this made her feel a little bit helpful. She already had the box that she brought down open as Phoenix crossed the room, taking things out, placing them on the desk. She paused, however, as Phoenix moved next to her and put his box down.
What happened next was, well, interesting. Rory couldn't even say what had made her do it. As usual, his bangs were falling around his face, and without a thought she reached up to move them back away from his face, her fingertips lightly brushing over his cheek as she did so. She was looking up at him, a small smile playing over her lips, a strange and uncharacteristic glimmer to her eyes. And then, as suddenly as it had happened, her hand dropped to her side again, the Princess blushing faintly as she moved her gaze away from him, surning to head towards the door. "I think I will go up and bring the tray of refreshments down here." She murmured, half to herself, as she walked out of the door.
Chris, who had watched this little exchange, was looking rather shocked. Ah, she really was trying to catch his attention, wasn't she? That one, he expected, was something that not even Phoenix could miss.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Dec 13, 2009 18:19:31 GMT -5
Phoenix had been almost about to turn away and leave to fetch more of the boxes when Rory suddenly moved, the thief freezing and looking puzzled as he looked down at her. He hadn't touched her and she hadn't touched him, really, since he'd given her that good-night kiss what seemed like forever ago, and his skin felt as though it was on fire where her fingertips had brushed across his cheek. It wasn't just that, though, that caught his attention. He recognised that glimmer in her eyes; he saw it almost everyday, sometimes multiple times, from women he saw on the streets, in taverns, offering him drinks or asking him God knows what. And he had never dreamed that he would see that look on Rory. He was glad that he had put the boxes down, because if he hadn't then he might have just dropped them and broken his foot. Whoa. That was... what was that?
And then, of course, she was gone. Phoenix looked dazed as he turned around to watch her leave, his eyebrows raised in confusion. He was more than confused, he was dumbstruck, his hand moving to rest lightly on his cheek. "Um..." he mumbled to himself, frowning eventually and turning his attention briefly to Chris. It wasn't often, if ever, that he would look to the noble for... well, he supposed it was half help and half opinion. But by the look on Chris's face, it was true. It had definitely happened, he wasn't dreaming. Ohh, crap. This had brought back all of those annoying feeling that he thought he had gotten rid of over the month. Shit. Then, of course, his gaze went back to the door, and he took a deep breath.
"Better get a few more boxes." he muttered to himself and moved to the door. He couldn't ignore it, no, but surely he wasn't expected to act on it? He was a thief from the slums, for God's sake.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Dec 13, 2009 18:33:15 GMT -5
Ha, he had been right, the thief hadn't been able to ignore that one. He looked remarkably confused, however, when what had just happened was so simple. Oh, he couldn't just let him walk off and try to ignore it. It actualy made his blood boil. He couldn't ignore that, not something that was so obvious. He had never seen Rory like this before, not with any of the many suitors that she had at the palace, she was making such an effort with him and he wasn't even reacting. Half of the Avalan nobility would give their fortunes to be in his position, and he was just brushing it off as though it were nothing!
Before he really realised what he was doing, he had balled his hand into a fist and aimed a punch at Phoenix's face. "God damn it, you are such an intolerable idiot!" He exclaimed, shaking his head at him. "How can you be so blind? How?!?! She has been trying to catch your attention for weeks now, and when she finally does you are just going to brush it off?" He was frowing at him now, careful to keep his voice level so that Rory wouldn't hear. "If it isn't obvious enough, she is infatuated with you, but you are too busy going off flirting and doing God knows what else with every other woman that you can find! You really don't have a clue, do you?!?!"
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Dec 13, 2009 18:45:45 GMT -5
Before he knew what was going on there was a sudden fist flying towards his face, Phoenix giving a rather strangled yelp before ducking out of the way. Jesus, the guy was MENTAL! It had been sheer instinct that had stopped him from walking out of there with a broken nose, and it was a fair few minutes before he even realised that Chris was... well, shouting at him he wasn't exactly doing, but the fact that his voice wasn't raised for Rory's benefit just made it even worse. Although a shadow passed over his face as the noble insulted him and he scowled, straightening up again and clenching his fists. Things could have gone very, very wrong then for the both of them, had Phoenix not suddenly realised that what he was saying was making a strange, unnerving amount of sense. But what he was saying couldn't possibly be true, could it? Rory, in love with him?
...Yeah, right. He knew she blushed at him, and got all flustered when he pulled one of his typical charming tricks, but he'd just figured that was because of her sheltered lifestyle. But Chris was a noble, and he had known her for years... oh, God, what really had just happened? He was still glaring at Chris as he stepped away from him, lingering by the doorframe. "I'm gonna ignore the fact that you just threatened me, because you're absolutely right. It's not 'cause I like you though, so don't you go gettin' any ideas." he informed him coldly, stalking away and back up to the study. He would get to the bottom of this once and for all, he'd have to clear it up, especially after what had just happened. He wasn't expecting this to do any good, but the least he could do was try.
"Rory...?" his voice was quiet as he stepped into the study, absently moving the door behind him, just enough so that it stood ajar instead of gapingly open. "Can we talk?" he asked, tilting his head as he moved to the middle of the room, gazing right across at her. "Just... what just happened, back there? What was that?" he sounded honestly bewildered, as though he couldn't quite let himself believe it. There had to be another explanation.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Dec 13, 2009 19:02:19 GMT -5
Well, that had ended...well. Yes, it had ended well. For one, Phoenix hadn't decided to hurt him for trying to hit him, and, in addition, the thief finally seemed to have realised that there was something between him and Rory other than friendship. All it had taken was violence and insults to get to that point. Chris sighed and shook his head, turning to start unpacking one of the boxes. He would leave them to it, he owed it to Rory to at least let them get all this out in the open.
The Princess was leaning against the desk when Phoenix came in, tilting her head at him. What had just happened? He...he wanted to know what had just happened? He couldn't be serious, could he? "It isn't obvious?" She asked, a faint frown moving over her features as she looked over at him. "Ok, fine. I will tell you what happened. What happened is that am, quite obviously, invisible, and that every other woman in this whole stupid city can get your attention by merely existing, but no matter what I do, you don't seem to notice." Oh, she was annoyed now, you could hear it in her tone, and her voice was starting to raise. "The only thing I haven't done yet is walk past you nude, and it is probable that you would still ignore me, even then. I wish you would just tell me what on earth I have done wrong, or if you think that I am boring compared to all the other women you find so interesting, but I am trying my best here, and nothing I do is ever good enough."
She took a breath then, seeming to realise that she had been shouting, pausing to regain a little composure. "So, please, tell me what I'm supposed to do, Phoenix, because I can't cope with you ignoring me like this."
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Dec 13, 2009 19:17:31 GMT -5
This day, he had decided, just got weirder and weirder. Rory, usually so calm and polite and quiet, first of all, had just openly flirted with him, and now here she was, that undertone of annoyance in her voice rather blatantly obvious. And then she was almost shouting at him. Phoenix actually took a step back when she started to speak; she could be pretty scary when she wanted to be, and he was frowning a little as he listened to her. She wanted him to notice her? Huh? That... didn't make any sense to him. Of course he noticed her, he saw her everyday! But as she carried on speaking, the meaning grew clear. But... she was Rory, why would she want him to notice her like that? She was a princess, and she'd want him whoring all over her and being lecherous like he was to all the other girls? He didn't understand it, she was BETTER than that to him. That, and he had already given up on anything between them.
Or at least... he HAD given up on it. He wasn't quite sure anymore. He actually looked pretty dazed when she talked about walking past him nude - he could tell her for certain that he wouldn't not notice that. "Whoa, Rory, you think you're boring? That I'm ignoring you?" his voice had risen to match hers without him noticing. He wasn't angry, and he shouldn't be shouting, but he was bad at keeping his cool when someone else was provoking him into an argument. At least, that's what it felt like. "I'm not ignoring you at all, I see you every day! You really want me to fawn all over you like I do all the other girls? What kind of... of friend do you think I'd be if I did that?" he'd had to force that word out, frowning and also lowering his voice, as if he'd just realised their tone.
"You aren't boring at all, I don't find anyone more interesting than you. You don't have to go and pull a stunt like that to get my attention." okay, that was a little bit of a lie, he had been oblivious, but seriously, he was trying to make his brain catch up here. She felt something for him? Anything? That was as frightening as it was wonderful.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Dec 13, 2009 19:30:38 GMT -5
"I know that you've been ignoring me. You standing here and asking me what just happens tells me that much." She snapped at him, she didn't mean to snap, but she was mad at him. "And the only reason I can see for you ignoring me is that I'm too boring for you to even bother with." Alright, so it didn't sound very logical when she said it out loud, but this whole situation wasn't very logical. It was how she felt, and she needed to say it before she exploded. She did, however, look a little hurt at his question. What kind of friend? Did he really not get it at all? This wasn't about him being any kind of friend. Without even thinking she had picked up the first thing that came to hand, unluckily for Phoenix, that was a glass from the tray, which ended up being thrown at him. Luckily, she had terrible aim, and the glass smashed against the wall next to him.
"I would rather you fawned over me than ignored me, and, that's the whole point here, we're not just friends, are we? I don't want to be just friends." She couldn't make it any clearer than that, was there even a way to make it clearer than that? "Oh, I didn't? How else was I supposed to remind you that I exist, nothing else worked."
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Dec 13, 2009 19:43:46 GMT -5
Phoenix could barely believe what he was hearing, flinching as she threw the glass at him and moving out of the way even though it had no chance of hitting him. Oh, crap, he must have really managed to piss her off. He looked a little less puzzled when he straightened up again, swiftly moving forward to put his hands on her arms, to stop her being tempted to pick up anything else and throw it at him. "I don't think you're boring." he told her firmly, "And I don't think you're non-existant. I... didn't think you felt like that." he murmured, his arms, quite suddenly, moving around her, the thief holding her against his chest. "I'm sorry." he told her softly, "If I've been ignoring you. I've just been clueless and stupid, as usual." he laughed a little, moving one hand to tilt her chin up so she was looking at him.
"I won't ignore you any more. Just please don't throw anything else at me." he pleaded, a playful tone to his voice, and before his mind could catch up and tell him to stop, he had leant down and kissed her boldly. He honestly didn't know what to do other than that; she had made it clear to him how she felt, he knew that now, in reality he had always known it. But he really hadn't been able to figure out how to act on it, especially since they had come to Handel. All of that seemed needless and insignificant now as he pressed his lips against hers, his free arm moving back around her. From the second he'd set his eyes on her he'd wanted to do this, from the instant he'd looked at her. Who knew it would take so long?
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