CELINE-
The morning air was cool against my skin as I knelt among the rose bushes, the dew still sticking to the petals like tiny diamonds.
It was barely past sunrise, and the garden was peaceful in a way that made my heart feel lighter.
This was my favorite time of day…when the world was quiet and I could pretend, just for a moment, that everything was simple.
I had been awake since four, unable to sleep after what happened in the storage room three nights ago. Every time I closed my eyes, I could feel Hunter’s hands on me and could hear his voice whispering my name in the darkness.
The memory sent heat rushing through me even now, making my cheeks burn as I focused on pruning the climbing roses.
The white roses were my favorites. They reminded me of the wedding dress I had dreamed of wearing someday, back when I still believed in fairy tales
and happy endings.
Now, at twenty–two with a three–year–old son and a heart full of impossible love, those dreams felt like they belonged to
ne else.
I was so lost <i>in </i>thought that I didn’t hear the footsteps on the gravel path behind me. Didn’t sense his presence until I felt warm breath against my neck
and familiar hands settling on my waist.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Hunter’s voice was rough with sleep and something deeper that made my pulse race.
I gasped, nearly dropping my pruning shears. “Hunter! You scared me.”
But I didn’t pull away. I should have.
Any sensible person would have stepped out of his embrace and reminded him that we were in in sight of the house where anyone could see us.
Instead, I leaned back against his chest, letting his warmth surround me like a safety nket I’d been craving all my life.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he murmured against my ear, his arms tightening around me. “I kept thinking about you out here, alone in the garden while the rest of
the world was still dreaming.”
He was still wearing his suit from yesterday, though his tie hung loose around his neck and his shirt was wrinkled.
Had he been awake all night too? The thought that I wasn’t the only one losing sleep over this thing between us made my heart flutter dangerously.
“You look tired,” I said softly, turning in his arms to face him. There were shadows under his blue eyes, and stubble darkened his jaw.
He looked vulnerable in a way I’d never seen before, and it made me want to take care of him.
“Worth it,” he said, cupping my face in his hands. “If it means I get to see you like this, with your hair down and roses in your cheeks, it’s worth every
sleepless night.”
I should have protested.
Should have reminded him that anyone could walk out of the house and find us like this. But when he looked at me like I was something precious, something worth losing sleep over, all mymon sense seemed to disappear.
“Come with me,” he said, taking my hand and leading me deeper into the garden.
I followed without question, my heart pounding as he guided me to a private corner where the climbing roses formed <b>a </b>natural <b>canopy </b><b>overhead</b>.
<b>It </b>was like
into a secret world, hidden from the rest of the estate by walls of green leaves and white blooms.
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“How did you know about this ce?” I whispered, looking around in wonder, I’d worked in this garden for over a year, but I’d never noticed this hidden
alcove.
“I used toe here as a boy,” he said, his voice soft with memory. “When my father would bring business associates to the house and I needed somewhere to hide. The roses have grown taller since then, but it’s still the same peaceful ce I remembered.”
The image of a young Hunter seeking refuge in this garden made my chest ache. I could picture him as a little boy, probably not much older than Caesar, trying to escape the weight of expectations that seemed to follow him everywhere.
“It’s beautiful,” I said, reaching up to touch a white rose that hung low enough for me to reach.
“Not as beautiful as you,” he said, and I felt my cheeks burn at the sincerity in his voice.
“Hunter, we can’t keep doing this,” I said, even as he stepped closer, backing me against the garden wall. “Someone will see us. Someone will figure it
out.”
“Let them,” he said, his hands finding my waist, his thumbs tracing small circles through the thin fabric of my work dress.
“I’m tired of pretending I don’t want you.”
“You don’t understand,” I said desperately, my handsing up to rest on his chest. “I can’t lose this job. Caesar and I ha. owhere else to go.”
His expression softened, and he pressed his forehead against mine. “You think I would let anything happen to you? To either of you?”
The way he said it, like Caesar mattered to him too, made my throat tight with emotion. If only he knew the truth.
If only I could tell him that Caesar was his son, that the little boy he’d been so gentle with at breakfast was a part of him.
“I haven’t smiled like this in years,” he whispered, his lips brushing against my temple. “Don’t take it from me. Please.”
My will crumbled at the raw honesty in his voice.
This powerful man whomanded respect from everyone around him was asking me, a maid with nothing to offer, not to take away his happiness.
How could I deny him that?
“If this is wrong,” I whispered back, my hands sliding up to tangle in his hair, “then let me have this one piece of wrong in a life full of responsibilities.”
He smiled then, the first genuine smile I’d ever seen from him, and it transformed his entire face. Gone was the cold businessman, the distant employer.
In his ce was a man who looked at me like I held all the answers to questions he’d been afraid to ask.
“One piece of wrong,” he agreed, lowering his head to kiss me.
This kiss was different from the desperate passion in the storage room. This was tender, slow, and full of promise and possibility. His lips moved against. mine like he had all the time in the world like nothing existed beyond this moment in our hidden garden sanctuary.
When we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, he rested his hands on either side of my head against the wall, caging me in but making me feel safe. rather than trapped. <fn5d10> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n FιndNovel</fn5d10>
“I want to take you away from here,” he said suddenly, the words tumbling out like he hadn’t meant to say them.
“Somewhere we don’t have to hide. Somewhere <i>you </i>can just be Celine and I can just be Hunter.”
My heart nearly stopped. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying ‘m falling for you,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “I’m saying that every rule I’ve ever lived by doesn’t matter when <b>you </b><b>look </b><b>at </b><b>me </b>
like that.”
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Tears pricked at my eyes. “Hunter…”
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“I know it’splicated,” he said quickly. “I know there are a hundred reasons why this is impossible. But I also know that I’ve never felt like this before. Never wanted someone the way I want you.”
A bird sang somewhere above us in the roses, and I could hear the distant sound of the houseing to life–staff preparing for another day, Caesar probably waking up and looking for me.
Reality pressed in around our perfect moment, reminding me of all the reasons this could never work.
But when Hunter looked at me like I was his whole world, when he held me like I was something precious, I could almost believe in fairy tales again.
“We should go back,” I said reluctantly, even as my body begged to stay in his arms forever.
“Not yet,” he murmured, pressing soft kisses along my jaw. “Give me five more minutes in paradise.”
I closed my eyes and let myself have those five minutes. Let myself pretend that love was enough, that the truth wouldn’t destroy us both when it finally came to light.
In our secret garden, under a canopy of white roses that smelled like hope and new beginnings, I fell a little deeper in know he was already a father.
a man who didn’t even
AD
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