Dying to Marry Him novel · Chapter 20 of 24

Chapter 20: The Bell Tower

The bell tower was the only place in the house where the ceiling did not reach.

Rook found the stair behind the altar, and it was the first door he had ever opened on his own.

We climbed in the dark, and at the top the wind hit us and the sky was a plain night sky with no letters in it.

A huge brass bell hung over our heads in a wooden frame. Below us the whole black house lay quiet.

"No one can read us here," Rook said.

"Good," I said. "I want to write you something, and I want you to say yes first."

He turned in the bell's shadow. His gray eyes were very steady.

"Nose and jaw," I said. "Not the rest. You can say no to any of it."

"Yes," he said, before I finished.

I put my hands on his face.

The mist beneath my palms was warm and soft, and it moved under my fingers.

"He has a straight nose," I said. "It was broken once, and it healed with a small bump. His jaw is square."

"He has a day of stubble, because no one has ever made him shave."

The mist drew in under my thumbs.

His nose came up, strong and slightly crooked. His jaw came next, and it was rough against my palm.

He closed his eyes.

"Look," I said, and I pulled him toward the brass of the bell.

It was polished bright, and he saw himself.

He stared for a long time.

The face in the brass was lean and tired and very handsome.

It had gray eyes, a scarred mouth and a crooked nose.

Only the brow and the hair above it were still dark mist.

"That is me," he said, and he touched his cheek with two fingers.

Keep reading free with an account. Start Dying to Marry Him from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.