Kate lay on the floor of her bedroom, her purple nightgown flared out and her disheveled long black locks circling her head like a halo...
But she was anything but in her eyes.
She was falling for her little sister's fiancé... her friend Daphne's older brother.
She huffed in disgust,
Then was startled out of her train of thought by something hitting her window,
"What the hell?!?" She yelped, hurriedly sitting up and looking at the window with wild eyes.
And it was then she heard his voice down on the ground below her window, she groaned, rolling her eyes, as she stomped to the window and threw it open.
"By god woman I try to apologize and you look like you wanna rip my bloody head off!"
"Oh but I thought that was my constant state of being! That you said that I was the bane of your existence?!? Go away Bridgerton! I'm not interested in ANYTHING you have to say! You're engaged to my sister you ass! What would somebody think if they saw us?!? Now get out of here before I call the police! It would be hard to explain THAT to your beloved fiancé now wouldn't it?!?"
"Okay okay so I did say you were the bane of my existence!"
She sighed, about to close the window,
"But if you had let me finish before you slapped me... I was going to tell you how I REALLY feel tigress!"
Kate rolled her eyes at his nickname for her, having told her her temper rivaled that of one of those ferocious beasts.
"Oh I know EXACTLY how you feel..." she hissed, and he chuckled sadly,
"No... dearest... you clearly don't... because you are the bane of my existence... but... you are also the object... of all my desires."
Her heart stopped, but she refused to give in.
"If you say what I think you're going to say I'm going to shoot you you realize that right? You're marrying my BABY SISTER!!!!!"
He raised his hands in defeat,
"And I deserve it... but... please... hear me out. Because I have to be honest with myself... and that starts with you."
She froze in shock.
At first she had thought he was only joking... but he actually meant it.
She could see it on his face.
"I... uhh... I wasn't sure how to word it... I'm not really good at grand romantic gestures... obviously... and I wasn't sure if you'd even listen... and I wouldn't have blamed you if you didn't... I don't deserve it... so... I... I remembered a movie... a movie you said you really loved... I thought that if I showed I paid attention... you'd believe me. So I decided the only way to convince you... was this."
And he reached behind the tree he was leaning against, and pulled out a guitar... and started strumming...
And her heart melted as the familiar tune started to play...
And he started singing...
"You know I want you... it's not a secret I try to hide... I know you want me... so don't keep saying your hands are tied...
You say it's not in the cards, and fate is pulling you miles away, and out of reach from me...
But you're here in my heart... and who's to stop me if I decide that you're my destiny...?"
And tears welled up in her eyes, as her voice joined his, despite everything... she just couldn't help it...
As much as she hated sappy romantic gestures...
This song from this movie was the one exception.
"What if we rewrite the stars...? Say you were made to be mine...? Nothing could keep us apart! And you'd be the one I was meant to find!"
"It's up to you... and it's up to me..." he sang,
"And no one can say what we get to be!" Kate belted, and he chuckled, a knowing smirk, as he continued,
"So why don't we rewrite the stars... and maybe the world could be ours..."
Then he stopped, shaking his head, refocusing.
"Just for tonight..." he murmured,
Kate's heart cracked, seeing the sadness spread across his face,
"So... I have a proposal... if you're up for it... since you said you're going back to India tomorrow... just give me one night... and I promise... I'll leave you alone... you can go back to India... and we can continue on like it didn't happen... nobody has to get hurt... and no one will be the wiser... just... one night... please."
She hesitated, thinking it over, then she frowned,
She couldn't stay she knew that... because their attraction was inevitable and it would end up hurting her beloved little sister.
But would it be enough...?
She sighed, giving in.
"Fine. One night... then we go our separate ways as long lost friends... never to see each other again."
And he nodded solemnly.
"Alright."
Her eyes narrowed,
"You better take damn good care of my baby sister or I'm coming after you Bridgerton." She threatened, and he chuckled,
"Scouts honor milady..." he said with a bow, and motioned for her to follow, then she sighed,
"As much as I'd love to go galavanting through the meadows of England with you... I need to make myself decent. As indecent as this situation is... I am a lady... and the daughter of a foreign ambassador... people would talk if they caught me running about in the streets in my nightgown."
He smiled gently,
"I'll wait all night."
She raised one eyebrow at his cheesy lovesickness, then sighed, pointing at him,
"Stay." She snapped playfully,
"Yes ma'am." He retorted, and she laughed...
But deep down, there was that nagging feeling...
That it wouldn't be enough.
That something bad was going to happen.
