Sophie stood. “Oh, I will, Judge. I will! Thank you. Thank you.”
She turned her attention to Clay. He was smiling from ear to ear. She rushed forward and he opened his arms to enfold her, careful of her tender side. “It’s over, Sophie,” he told her. “You’re free.”
Sophie’s friends and acquaintances gathered around her to give her gentle hugs and share their support and pleasure in the judge’s findings.
Sophie made a point of finding Judge McNamara and thanking him before he left. The judge’s assistant picked up papers and folders, and followed the older man from the room. Others were filing out, too, now.
Clay hadn’t left her side. She turned to embrace him. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d done all that?” They hung behind to speak privately. “Why didn’t you tell me you knew my real name?”
“You said you didn’t want to get your hopes up. I wasn’t even sure how much good my efforts would do. I just had to try.”
“You risked your reputation as a lawman for me.” She leaned back and looked up into his clear blue eyes.
“Said it before. You’re a risk worth takin’.”
Oblivious to their surroundings now, without thought to anyone left in the room, Sophie cupped his jaw and raised her face for a kiss.
Clay obliged her, telling her with searing passion that it had all been worth it to hold her like this, to know she was in control of her own life from here on out.
Sophie leaned back to say, “Today is all about the truth.”
His gaze steadied on her lips.
“There’s something I have to tell you now,” she said.
Two tiny lines formed between his black eyebrows.
She hadn’t meant to stab him with concern. “I love you. I couldn’t say it before. I didn’t have the right, and I wasn’t free to. Now I can tell you. I love you, Clay Connor.”
His arm tightened across her back. “I love you, Sophia Hollister.” He kissed her gently. “You only just found out that name an’ all, but before you go getting used to it, I was hopin’ you’d be willin’ to change it one last time. For good this time.”
Hope surged in Sophie’s heart. She’d never anticipated anything this good, this right being hers. She closed her eyes to remember this feeling. She never wanted to forget the way her heart felt as light as a butterfly.
“Open your eyes and say you’ll marry me.”
Her smile came from her soul. She opened her eyes and had to blink back tears of joy. “Only if you promise to kiss me like that forever.”
“I can do better than that.”
“Can you love me forever?”
“I will.”
“Can I smoke in bed?”
He chuckled and she loved the sound. “Only if I’m there with you.”
“In that case I trust you with my heart’s destiny, Marshal.”
He kissed her well, proving his word that he could do better.
“Let’s go celebrate,” he suggested. “I heard cheesecake’s on the menu at the Arcade today, and I haven’t been there since you quit.”
They drew apart, but held hands as they walked toward the doorway. “Good idea,” she agreed. “I have a few bridesmaids to share the rest of our good news with.”
He drew a face. “Just how many would that be?”
“Is twenty too many?”
He laughed and wrapped his arm around her. “Funny, that’s how many children I was countin’ on, Sophie.”
Her laughter echoed throughout the empty room.
The Lawman's Bride (Harlequin Historical Series) Page 23
