He had the people of this area’s best interests at heart. They would be fools not to elect him. Based on the raucous applause when he gave his final statement at the conclusion of the debate, Tamryn was pretty sure they would all have the chance to see just what type of state senator he would be.
The debate ended and Matt was immediately swarmed by residents from Gauthier. Several of the ladies from the civic association gave him hugs and kissed his cheek, their reassuring smiles warming Tamryn’s heart. These people loved him, and for good reason. Matthew Gauthier’s heart was pure gold.
She’d gone over the reasons he’d kept the diary hidden from her over and over these past two days, and Tamryn had come to realize what he was up against. For some reason, Matt had taken it upon himself to rectify what he saw as a lifetime’s worth of transgressions by his family against the people of Gauthier. As misguided as he was, Tamryn now understood. She’d posed a threat to all the plans he’d had in place to make up for his family’s past misdeeds. As much as she wanted to hold it against him, Tamryn knew she couldn’t.
He finally came to stand before her. The myriad emotions on his face made her heart hurt.
“Thank you,” he said.
“You’re welcome. Although I didn’t do anything.”
“Except stop me from making the biggest mistake of my life?” he asked. “Make that the second biggest. The biggest mistake of my life was hurting you.”
It was painful to pull in the deep breath she took. “Matt.”
He took her hands in his. “Don’t say anything. Let me first tell you how sorry I am.”
“Matt, you don’t have to.”
“Yes, I do,” he said. “I lied to you, willfully.”
“Because you thought you were doing the right thing.”
He shook his head. “Don’t make excuses for me. I was trying to save my own ass. I knew how much that diary meant to you, and I still kept it from you. I will never be able to make up for that, even though I will try for the rest of my life. Even if it means flying to Boston every weekend to grovel at your feet.”
“Unless you’re going to see the changing of the leaves or a Red Sox game, you won’t have much reason to go to Boston.”
His forehead crinkled in confusion. “What are you saying?”
“I lost my position at Brimley,” Tamryn said.
His eyes slowly shut. “If you’d had that proof for your research, you could have saved it, couldn’t you? Dammit, Tamryn, I am so sorry.”
“You shouldn’t be,” she said. “Now that I’m no longer at Brimley, I can take the position Ezekiel Marsh offered me yesterday when I called to tell him I’m available.”
Matt’s eyes popped open. Tamryn couldn’t contain her smile.
“I won’t be able to start until the spring semester, but that’s actually perfect. It gives me time to find a place to live and to finally finish writing Adeline West’s story.”
“You have a place to live,” he said. “If you think you’re living anywhere but with me, you’re crazy.”
Matt pulled her into his arms and squeezed so tight Tamryn thought he would break her back.
“Oh, my God, I love you,” he whispered against her ear.
“I love you, too, Senator.”
Resounding applause and cheers sounded behind them. Tamryn burst out laughing as she looked over Matt’s shoulder and found a number of eyes on them.
“I hope you’re prepared for life as a Gauthier in the town of Gauthier.”
“You’ve done pretty well. I think I can handle it.” She cradled his cheeks between her hands, urging his head down. Her lips hovering just inches from his, she whispered, “I cannot think of anything I’d rather be than a Gauthier.”
Epilogue
Matt held up his cup of punch, joining in as Corey Anderson led a toast to his victory over Patrick Carter. It had been pretty certain from early on that he was going to win the senate seat, but Matt had decided not to accept his win until Carter called to concede. That call had come a few minutes ago.
“The people of District Twelve, and the entire town of Gauthier, are getting themselves a damn fine state senator, and we all could not be happier,” Corey said. His words were followed by a roar of cheers and a call for Matt to give a speech.
He set his cup on the table and walked up to the podium that had been set up at the front of the room in the Masonic Lodge that he’d rented for his campaign-watch party. He’d opened it to the public, and of course, nearly all of Gauthier had turned out for the event.
“I’m not going to take up too much of your time. Everyone here already knows how I feel about them, and after tonight, I know how you feel about me, too.”
“We love you, Matt!” someone called from the crowd.
“I love you, too,” Matt said with a grin. “And I want to thank you all once again for your support, not just for tonight but throughout all of my years of practicing law in Gauthier. I vow to do everything within my power to live up to the potential you all apparently see in me. Thank you once again for electing me to represent this district in the Louisiana State Senate.”
Matt accepted the applause, then left the podium. He headed straight for Tamryn.
“Very good, Senator. Short and sweet and, as always, full of charm.”
“Happy I didn’t disappoint.”
“I don’t think you could ever disappoint the people here.”
“What about my future wife?” he asked, leaning in and giving her lips a swift kiss. “I want to make sure I don’t disappoint her, either.”
“I believe the only way you could do that is if you stopped falling asleep whenever I try to engage you in a discussion on history,” she said.
He closed his eyes and let his head loll to the side, emitting a pretend snore. Tamryn pinched his arm. “Sorry.” Matt shook his head and blinked rapidly. “You were saying something?”
“You are not funny.”
“But you love me anyway, don’t you?”
A smile tipped up the corners of her lips. “Yes, I do.”
“Show me how much you love me, Professor.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Whatever you say, Senator.”
* * * * *
Coming next month:
FOREVER’S PROMISE
By Farrah Rochon
Don’t miss the next book in Farrah’s wonderful BAYOU DREAMS series! Rich and engaging,
FOREVER’S PROMISE
is the love story between
Shayla Kirkland and Xavier Wright!
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Kimani Romance.
You dream in vibrant hues! Harlequin Kimani Romance stories feature sophisticated, soulful and sensual African-American and multicultural heroes and heroines who develop fulfilling relationships as they lead lives full of drama, glamour and passion.
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ISBN-13: 9781460327524
YOURS FOREVER
Copyright © 2014 by Farrah Roybiskie
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