The Wedding-Night Affair (Harlequin Presents)
Page 16
‘I love the new you.’
‘Do you, now? Well, might I point out that the new me came here in her own car and she’s going to drive it back?’
Again he scowled, and she felt a moment’s worry.
‘Philip...I’m not Noni any more. I have a career, and a mind of my own. And I won’t be giving either up.’
‘And you think I want that?’
‘I don’t know. Maybe.’
‘I want you, Fiona. The you you are today.’
‘Are you sure you don’t mean the me I was last night?’
His smile was rueful. ‘Her, too,’ he said, and swept her into his arms. His kiss was long and hungry, yet at the same time tender and loving.
‘I love you, Fiona Kirby,’ he insisted afterwards as he held her close. ‘I love your spirit of independence and your strength of character. I love your ambition and your commitment to perfection. I love your sophisticated beauty and your not-too-skinny body. And, yes, I admit it, I love the way you make love. But sex is only a part of what I feel for you. You must believe that.’
‘Yes, Philip,’ she agreed, her heart overflowing with love for him.
‘God, when you say yes to me like that I just dissolve inside. Practise saying yes just like that, even when you don’t mean it.’
‘Yes, Philip,’ she repeated huskily, and stretched up to kiss him on the mouth.
‘Not now,’ he protested. ‘Later!’
‘Yes, Philip.’
She said it later. A lot. And she finally said it five years later, to the question Philip had been asking her since their first child had been born.
Four-year-old Zachary and two-year-old Rebecca attended their parents’ simple wedding ceremony on Balmoral Beach, their high spirits kept in line by their grandmother. Steve and his pretty new wife, Linda, were the two official witnesses.
Owen stood on the sidelines, trying not to complain too much at the missed opportunity for Five-Star Weddings to shine once more at a Forsythe wedding.
‘But she looks so beautiful in white,’ he grumbled to Kathryn next to him. ‘I wonder where she found that delicious dress. Do you know, I’ve never seen Fiona wear white before, let alone white chiffon.’
‘I chose it for her,’ Kathryn said, with a strange little smile.
‘Really? Then you have excellent taste for bridal wear. You wouldn’t be looking for a job, would you, Mrs Forsythe?’
Kathryn laughed. ‘I have my work cut out for me looking after these little darlings two days a week, don’t you think?’
‘They’re a handful, all right. But what can you expect with Philip and Fiona as parents? Talk about strong-willed! But they’re a great match, aren’t they?’
‘Indeed they are. Shush, now, Owen, the big moment has arrived.’
The celebrant cleared his throat. ‘Do you, Philip, take Fiona as your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to cherish, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?’
‘I do,’ Philip said strongly, and smiled warmly over at Fiona.
Fiona tried to smile back, but couldn’t. She’d put this moment off for years. Not because she hadn’t wanted to marry Philip, but because she’d been afraid, she supposed. Afraid of wedding days and wearing white and...and...
‘And do you, Fiona,’ the celebrant said firmly, ‘take Philip as your lawfully wedded husband, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?’
She hesitated as the simple but beautiful vow sank in. Suddenly she realised what a coward she’d been, saying no to Philip’s proposals all these years, being afraid to stand up and tell the world how much she loved this man, how she would love him till the end of her days.
What on earth was she afraid of? At thirty-three, she wasn’t superstitious any more. She didn’t believe in luck, or fate. She believed in forging one’s own destiny, in actively choosing rather than letting things happen, in working hard and keeping faith with one’s dreams.
For heaven’s sake, she wanted to be Philip’s wife more than anything else in the world. She always had. What was she waiting for?
‘I certainly do,’ she said, her smile dazzling.
Philip’s handsome face burst into a wide smile. Their eyes met and they both kept smiling at each other as the celebrant said the all-important words.
‘I now pronounce you man and wife!’
ISBN : 978-1-4592-5196-0
THE WEDDING-NIGHT AFFAIR
First North American Publication 1999.
Copyright © 1999 by Miranda Lee.
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