by Jo Barrett
Snatching the papers from his hand, she turned toward a shaft of light streaking through the window and began to read. “I don’t understand,” she said, her eyes flowing over the words.
“I love you, Selena. I have since the moment I first saw you.”
She shook her head and glanced at the papers in her trembling hands. “But you would give me your portion, and then if we were to—you’d give it all to me?”
He grinned at her amazement. “We both know I’ve no head for business, while you, my love, have your father’s keen mind. And it is rightfully yours.”
She swallowed hard, her wide-eyed gaze hardened as she tilted up her chin. “And if I decide not to marry you?”
His grin fell. “Then I will leave and never bother you again. The monies left to me will still be yours,” he said, his voice low and yet firm.
Selena’s brows knit together painfully, as she glanced at the papers, then looked at his solemn face, the stark fear in his eyes that she might refuse him. But did he truly love her? If so, why had he said nothing, done nothing so many weeks ago?
“You—you never said—never uttered a word,” she said, her voice tight, her throat filled with unshed tears. “You just stood there as if…”
“I know, and I beg your forgiveness for my ineptness. I was stupefied by your attention to me. I’d never once harbored a shred of hope that you might have feelings for me. Even in my grandest dreams, I believed your father would never approve of a match between us. I have little and am no one of any consequence. I—” He fell to his knees before her, sending her heart into a frenzied beat. “I am not worthy of you, Selena, but I love you most adamantly.”
She turned away, confused, hurt, and unsure.
He rose to stand beside her at the stair railing overlooking the hall below. “Your father was quite displeased with me. He’d witnessed the kiss, you see, and threatened to send me packing until I explained what a fool I’d been to not accept your affections. That’s likely why he did what he did in his will. Hoping to give me—us another chance. I still have only myself to offer you, Selena. I can only hope and pray that it is enough. But I do love you. I fell in love with you that very first day and will love you until I die. Your decision, whatever it may be, will not change that.”
She saw the truth in his eyes. He had only himself now that he’d given her all of his portion, just as he was before, even if they wed. The papers were plainly written. But if her father knew of his feelings then why not send for her, why not…She frowned and gripped the railing with an unsteady hand.
She’d played her exit scene quite well, even boasted of her gentlemen callers. But he’d known, her father had known how deeply she hurt. He also knew she would never believe him or Horace, her pride wouldn’t allow it. She was her father’s daughter, stubborn to the end.
“What is it to be, Selena?”
She looked at the man who haunted her dreams and held her heart. A simple man with no real property or position, a man who never rained foolish compliments over her, a man who wanted nothing but to help people…and to be her husband. She would not let her pride or her stubborn nature rule her decision this time.
With a small shake of her head and a grin that refused to remain hidden, she said, “You are abominable at negotiations, Horace. You’ve given away all of your bargaining power.”
She watched the slow smile spread across his handsome face. “I suppose I could learn to do better. But I’ll need someone to teach me, don’t you think?”
“No, I fear you are a lost cause.” She let out an exaggerated sigh. “I suppose I’ll just have to see to your business dealings myself.”
“I think that would be a fine solution, but there is one more piece of business we need to settle first,” he said, sliding his arms around her waist.
She dropped the papers to the floor and slipped her arms around his neck. “And what would that be, Dr. Kensington?”
A devilish gleam sparkled in his eyes. “My secretary must also be my wife.”
“An interesting stipulation, but I suspect I can accommodate you.” She looked into his eyes, filled with love and passion. “After all, I love you with all my heart.”
“Selena,” he whispered, as his lips met hers, softly at first, then with such hunger it nearly overwhelmed her. She never dreamed he would be a man of such passion, her quite, shy, unassuming doctor.
“Oh, Horace,” she breathed, as he tantalized the side of her neck with hot kisses. “If you’d behaved this way so many weeks ago—”
“I know, love. I’ve been an absolute fool.”
“You’ll get no argument from me.”
His lips returned to hers as his arms held her firmly and his hands began a heady exploration. “I know we should wait to be married before I make love to you, but I’ll be damned if can.”
He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to her bedroom, where he proceeded to kick the door closed behind them.
She giggled with delight, eager to become well and truly his, but in her heart she already was. “Have I no say in this seduction?”
He lowered her to the bed, a wide smile on his handsome face. “You can say please, and more, and oh Horace,” he said, nibbling at her lips. “Just not no.”
She returned his kisses with pleasure. “Mmm, I think I can manage that.”
“Although you should send me away. I can only imagine the whisperings going on below stairs now.” He moved down along the column of her throat to the top of her breasts pressing upward from her dress. She relished the feel of his long lean body stretched out atop hers as his lips danced across her exposed skin.
“Perhaps we should marry sooner than at the end of the thirty days,” she said, her breath coming in faint pants as he eased the edge of her dress down, his mouth following, searing her skin with his kisses.
“We could send for the parson today, although there will be gossip about our haste,” he whispered against her breast, his breath teasing the pebbled tip.
“I don’t care—oh my,” she gasped, as he took the tip into his mouth and suckled. Her mind spun with such wondrous joy.
He lifted his head slightly. “Then I will send for the man as soon as I finish my work,” he said, then resumed his ministrations.
***
Some hours later, Horace did send for the parson, and they were married quietly in her father’s study beneath his portrait. Mrs. Cox and Stallings served as their witnesses.
As they saw the parson out, the old man turned with a smile. “I will do what I can to make sure this is kept as quiet as can be, but it won’t be long until all in sundry know you married in a bit of a rush and without the proper time of mourning. I know, however, that this is just what your father wanted, and that there is nothing improper about it in the least. He had great hopes for the two of you.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ralston. He was quite clear in his will,” she said.
Horace put his arm about her waist. “Likely one of the strangest wills ever written. And I have to say, that if I’d used half the sense God gave me, I would have asked her to marry me weeks ago. So if you would add that we’d been—contemplating marriage for some time, that might take the bite out of the gossip.”
The parson laughed. “I shall endeavor to do so, but worry not, children. What mutterings arise from this will end in time. Just don’t allow it to tarnish what you have,” he said with wink, then was out the door.
Selena pressed her face to Horace’s coat.
“Darling? What is it?”
She lifted her watery gaze to his. “I do so wish he were here.”
“I do too, love. I do too.” He guided her into the dining room for a late celebratory dinner, although he doubted she had anymore appetite than he did. The loss of Wilton and his jovial nature would be felt for a long time to come, but they had one another.
And that was everything.
A word about the author...
Jo currently resides in North Carolina wit
h her patient and supportive family while she juggles her writing career and her position as a programmer analyst. In her early years, she wrote folk songs, poetry, and an occasional short story or two, but never dreamed of writing a book. She didn't even like to read! But one fateful day, she picked up a romance novel and found herself hooked. Not only did she discover the joy of reading, but the joy of writing books. These days, if she isn't tapping away at her computer on a story of her own, she has her nose buried in the latest romance novel hot off the presses, and is enjoying every minute of it.
Visit Jo’s website at www.jobarrett.net
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