Jean smiled up at her brand new husband as he held her in his arms for their first dance as man and wife. It had been such a long and perilous journey for them to reach this point, but now she didn't think it was possible to be happier.
She couldn't help but reflect on their somewhat rocky beginning. Rockier for Lucien, most likely. She had to admit she'd been drawn to him from the moment he'd appeared on the doorstep, looking rumpled and travel-weary, but when he focused those amazingly blue eyes on her, questioning her presence in his father's house, she felt her heart flip precipitously.
It wasn't something that was done, falling in love with one's employer, and so she tried to put him off. She showed him the sharp side of her tongue, more often than was appropriate for a woman in her position no matter how his drinking and defiance of authority might have earned it. And yet, each time he accepted her scolding, usually agreeing with her that he'd stuffed up. Even when he caught her snooping through his things in her need to know him better, he held his own tongue. And then, when she was upset for any reason other than his antics, he was there for her, providing support and a shoulder to cry on.
Her biggest problem was his small touches. Those were her downfall. They meant nothing really, she tried to tell herself, a hand rested on her forearm or at the small of her back. It was just his way. And yet each and every one of them made her feel more alive, as though she had been frozen or asleep these many years since she'd lost Christopher, and Lucien had restored her to the woman she was meant to be. He made her remember the dreams she'd had for herself as a girl, and he made her believe she might just be able to accomplish the things she'd dreamt of.
"Jean?" he said gently, drawing her back to the wonderful moment that was her present life.
"Sorry," she said, returning her attention to this beautiful man who now wore a ring that matched her own. "I was just thinking about how far we've come."
He smiled down at her, his blue eyes shining with love. "A very long journey," he agreed, "but worth every step, since it led us here."
"Nowhere I'd rather be," she said firmly.
"Except perhaps alone together?" he growled into her ear.
"Patience, my love. We'll have every night for the rest of our lives to be alone together." She thought of all the new ways he could use his small touches to convey his love for her. The future couldn't be brighter.
Right from the start you were a thief, you stole my heart
And I your willing victim.
I let you see the parts of me that weren't all that pretty,
And with every touch you fixed them.
