Shamus stood in the doorway dressed in a pair of pressed jeans and a button down shirt that matched his eyes. He held three white roses in one hand and a stuffed Maid Marion cat in the other. He handed the stuffed animal to her.
“She and Robin Hood are a couple and couples shouldn’t be separated.”
She took the white stuffed cat and held it close. When she opened her mouth to say “thank you,” no sound came out, so she nodded instead.
He handed her the roses. “Peace offering.” He cleared his throat and motioned to her feet. “Might want to put on some shoes before we go.”
She glanced at the striped pink socks she wore. “Shoes?”
“I know The Roost is casual, but they do require shoes.”
“We’re going out?” A tiny spark of hope rose.
“We have cocktails waiting for us, remember?”
“I remember.”
His fingers traced the line of her jaw. “We need to talk, to clear the air between us.”
The spark kindled and caught.
****
They walked into the bar, his hand on her lower back. Relief surged through Maggie when Stephanie smiled and motioned them to a table.
Shamus pulled out a chair, waited for her to sit, and settled across from her.
He reached into his pocket, pulled something out, and set it on the table. With the tip of his index finger, he pushed the white candy heart toward her.
“You’re keeping unwrapped candy in your pocket?” she asked, amused.
“They were wrapped until I took them out of the little plastic bag. Anyway, my pocket’s clean.”
She smiled, picked up the heart, and ate it. “I love these things.”
“Here,” he said, holding a pink one between his thumb and forefinger.
She plucked it from his fingers, popped it in her mouth, and crunched the candy between her teeth.
The look on his face was comical. Self-conscious, she touched the napkin to her mouth.
Stephanie sidled up to their table, looking at her brother, a slight smile curving her lips. “Well?”
Shamus shrugged.
Stephanie sighed. “In honor of Valentine’s Day we have a drink called a Candy Heart. I’ll bring a couple.”
Shamus reached into his pocket again. “This isn’t going the way I imagined it.” He held another pink heart between his thumb and index finger. “I only had three of them,” he said. “Read it.”
The lighting in the bar was soft, and the letters on the candy were small. She squinted. “Marry me,” she read.
She slapped one hand over her mouth, then lowered it slowly. Heat rose in her face. “Is that what the first two said?”
He nodded, his expression both amused and nervous.
“I ate your proposal?”
“The first two at any rate. The question now is, what are you going to do with the third one?”
Her heart stuttered for an instant, then took flight. She brought her eyes to his. He reached into his pocket again. This time he pulled out an engagement ring.
Tears blurred her eyes and swelled her throat. “I thought you couldn’t be with someone like me, someone who would marry for money.”
“My sister talked to your sister. After Steph popped me on the head and called me a damn fool, she pointed out that you weren’t marrying Fredericks for his money, you were marrying him so you could help your brother when he desperately needed it. You were marrying for love, just not romantic love.”
She shook her head. “Wait a minute. You thought I was marrying Logan for his money?”
He frowned. “You said Fredericks would give you five million dollars when you married him and—”
She held up one hand to forestall him. “I didn’t say Logan would give me money, I said I’d receive money when I married. Logan’s the manager at the hotel. We pay well, but not that well. Richard Matlock Grant, The Third was my father. He left an estate worth over two hundred million. But I couldn’t inherit until my thirtieth birthday, and I had to be married in order to receive it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t inherit until I turned forty. Marc needs help now.”
He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, then tried again. “Your father owned Matlock Hotels.”
She nodded. “The estate is being run through a trust right now. I’ll start receiving control of some of it next week when I turn thirty. I’ll inherit a little more each year. But I can’t sell it. The only way to get the cash that was held in trust was to be married before my birthday.”
“Maggie, I’m just a carpenter. I can’t compete with that kind of money.”
“You don’t have to.” She reached for his hand. “All you have to do is love me.”
Epilogue
Five days later
At the courthouse, with both of their sisters as witnesses and Maggie’s brother watching via Skype, Shamus slipped a wedding band onto Maggie’s finger. On her right hand she wore the Claddagh ring her brother had given her.
After Shamus kissed the bride and their sisters signed the marriage certificate, the family lawyer, Mr. Santini, brushed a kiss against her cheek.
“Congratulations,” he said. “I hope your marriage is long and happy.”
“Thank you.”
Shamus slipped his arm around her, pulling her close. Maggie let herself lean against him.
“I have everything ready,” Mr. Santini said. “First thing tomorrow your money will be transferred out of the trust. I’ll take care of Marc’s outstanding bills and transfer one hundred thousand into his account. That should hold him. The rest will go into your account. Is there anything else you need?”
Maggie shook her head and reveled in the feeling of her new husband’s presence. In a few hours, they would leave for Ireland on their honeymoon.
“All mine,” she whispered, looking at the Claddagh.
“What?” Shamus asked, leaning closer.
“It’s all mine,” she repeated. “A marriage for love, security for my brother, and in the near future—babies.”
Shamus laughed and whispered in her ear, “I can help with that.”
A word about the author…
Tamrie Foxtail grew up going back and forth between the Pacific Northwest and Florida’s Gulf Coast. She wound up in Oklahoma after she married a federal agent (not FBI). It still amazes her that her husband, with nearly thirty years in law enforcement and a sixth degree black belt, considers her mind a scary place.
She credits her mother with giving her a love of reading.
Tamrie has a black belt in Tae-kwon-do. She’s a librarian by day and a writer by night.
She and her husband live in a small Oklahoma town where they are raising their grandson.
Thank you for purchasing
this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
All Mine Page 5
