The Unexpected Duchess (Playful Brides #1)(94)

“You’re welcome, my love. And I’m hoping it will make you more forgiving when I tell you that I must leave soon on a trip to the Continent.”

Lucy furrowed her brow. “The Continent?”

“Yes. A bit of unfinished business from the war.”

Fear gripped her heart. “Will you be safe, Derek?”

“I promise.”

Her shoulders relaxed a bit. “Then I suppose I can spare you for a bit. I’ll be busy learning how to be a duchess, no doubt.”

He pulled her against him and whispered in her ear. “Do you want to know a secret?”

She turned her face to look up at him. “Yes. What?”

“This is what I wished for, when I threw that coin in the pool at the bathhouses.”

She smiled wide but slapped playfully at his shoulder. “You’re not supposed to tell what you wished for.”

He pulled up her hand and kissed her knuckles. “It already came true.”