Jillian Stone - The Miss Education of Dr. Exeter

Exeter? On the pier in Southampton. Standing beside a pile of luggage and instrument cases. He spied her almost immediately and smiled from ear to ear—the rare grin that caused a dimple with a deep crease. The one that made her heart flutter.

Mia approached him slowly. “So, you missed me.”

Exeter tilted his head slightly. “Did you know in French you don’t really say, ‘I miss you.’ Tu me manques means, quite literally, ‘you are missing from me.’ ”

She nodded. “’Tis how it feels.”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her in public. In front of all the passengers crowding the terminal and boarding the ship. And this was not a chaste public kiss—if there ever could be such a thing. This was a bedroom kiss, and she was flushed and breathless when he finished. “You are missing from me,” he whispered.

Mia took a closer look at the stack of luggage and instrument cases surrounding them. “Does this mean you have changed your mind about living in Boston?”

“Rather apparent, I’d say.”

“And what of your work in the Outremer?” she queried, arching a brow.

“Tim Noggy assures me there will soon be a portal in Boston proper.” He continued to hold her close. “Mia, would you consider marrying me, on board ship, in approximately”—Exeter slipped his pocket watch from his waistcoat—“four hours’ time?”

She stared, slightly openmouthed. “I had quite given up hope on this matter, Doctor Exeter. But it seems you have finally succeeded in collaring me.”

His eyes crinkled, but he kept his tone solicitous. “I may have captured you, but I will spend my lifetime trying to tame you.”

A tug on his lapels brought him close enough to kiss. “There are certain attributes we wish to remain animal and passionate—do we not?”