She gave Morgan a weak smile for shouldering the blame. “I’m sorry about how I broached the subject with you.”
“I’m not. I wasn’t going to. I love you too much and didn’t want to try to keep you here if you really wanted to go.”
Hearing that, she threw her arms around him. But someone else yelled, “Get married first!”
They laughed, faced the preacher, and got hitched. Yes, she could definitely think of marriage to Morgan that way. She was going to embrace his way of life, not try to lure him to hers. Well, good intentions . . .
He was kissing her before the preacher said he could, and she got lost in it, reveled in the sweet, hot sensations he evoked, would have stayed that way forever if Morgan hadn’t taken her hand and rushed them out of the church amid all the loud congratulations. He helped her get in the buckboard waiting out front, then drove them out of town—but not toward the ranch.
“They’re all going to want the traditional bride’s kiss,” he warned. “Just make sure you slap any men who take too long at it, or I’ll have to start throwing punches.”
But he’d just absconded with her! She started to laugh again. She had a feeling she was going to do a lot of that this evening, she was so happy. She glanced back to see the whole town following them, in wagons, and buckboards and on horseback. And then she heard the music, and looked ahead once more to see lights strung up in the field they were approaching. There was a large wooden platform there, too, and many benches and tables laden with food.
“This is where the town comes for gatherings and dances and to celebrate special events,” he explained. “And today couldn’t be more special. We’ll leave when you’re ready, or if either of us gets too drunk. I booked us a room at the hotel. There’s no way we’re spending our wedding night with my family down the hall.”
She grinned and stroked his face. “Good idea, but we’re not getting foxed. You can partake of a few, but I want you sober tonight.”
“Bossing me already, Mrs. Callahan?”
She chuckled. “Sorry, it’s a habit. And I’m never going to stop being embarrassed about asking you to marry me.”
“You didn’t ask, as I recall. But let me fix that. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
“Too late, I already am!”
“Yes, but now you’re not the only one who asked.”
That was sweet of him, but she already knew that about him, and that he was kind, thoughtful, and generous, once you got to know him—even before you did, her father being a prime example. She wasn’t amazed that she’d fallen in love with this man, only that she hadn’t figured it out sooner.
They danced and enjoyed a few drinks, and the men lined up for kisses. And she got to meet the rest of Tiffany’s family, the Warrens, who had once been on the other side of that old feud, but were now close friends of the Callahans.
Her father’s toast brought tears to her eyes. “To the bride and groom, I wish the happiness I found in my own marriage, the blessing of children who will make me a grandfather”—he paused to wink at Violet—“and the joy of cherishing each other. To Violet, my only daughter, my pride and joy, I know you think this is the happiest day of your life, but love has a way of giving you many such moments. Enjoy them all—and try not to boss your husband too much.” He waited for the laughter to quiet down before continuing, “To Morgan, I truly couldn’t have asked for a better man to give my daughter to in marriage. I already thought of you as a son, so I couldn’t be happier that you’re now a member of our family—let your wife boss you a little, she can’t help it.”
More laughter, especially when Morgan said, “I said I do, now I say I will!”
“To the bride and groom!” Charles finished, raising his glass.
It was such a festive evening she hated to see it end, but she was more eager to have her new husband all to herself, so she was the one who suggested that they slip away quietly, which they did.
On the ride to the hotel in the buckboard, she held up her hand to admire her wedding band, wondering how Morgan had gotten it so quickly. She’d visited every store in Nashart that week, and none had sold rings, as far as she’d noticed.
“Did you borrow these rings for the ceremony?” she asked.
“No, I ordered them before we left Butte, the day you agreed to come to Nashart. I was already hoping you’d never want to leave once you got here.” Watching her, he added, “Maybe I shouldn’t order jewelry for the store. I’ll end up giving it all to you instead of selling it, if it makes you look like that.”
“Like what?”
“So delighted.”
“But I won’t let you give it all to me. I am your partner now and will have a say.”
“You are?”
“Most definitely. I’d already decided, but this partnership”—she tapped the ring—“needed to come first. Well, I had to marry someone before I could go into business with a man, you understand. It would have been beyond the pale otherwise. So it was only proper that I ask you to marry me first.”
He laughed. “I’m glad you thought of being proper.”
She blushed. “That wasn’t all I thought about. How I feel about you in particular sort of made it mandatory that you come first.”
He let go of the reins to drag her into his lap. She squealed until she realized they were in front of the hotel and he was only lifting her down, yet he didn’t let go of her. He carried her inside and straight up the stairs. She recalled how differently she’d felt when he’d carried her out of that hotel in Butte, rolled up in a blanket. She couldn’t stop smiling. When he set her down, the door to their room was closed behind them and the bed was in sight. She wondered why they weren’t kissing already. The last time they’d been alone in a hotel room, the atmosphere had been explosive. But Morgan was slowly taking the pins from her hair, then softly kissing her neck, then removing more pins. He was also gently nudging her backward.
Feeling her temperature rising, she said, “I’m not going to say I’m partial to you, though I am. I prefer to say I love you, because I do, you know.” That got her a kiss before he continued that slow nudging toward the bed. With a slight blush, she added, “I was miserable when I left you, and I suppose I can tell you that now.”
He confessed as well. “I was hoping for more time to win you by tempting you with being my partner. But if you had said yes, you better believe I would have asked you to marry me then and there.”
She chuckled. “You’ve made it very hard for me to be proper around you and keep my hands off you.”
Cupping her cheeks in his hands, he kissed her long and luxuriously before he said against her lips, “No more resisting, so if you’ve a mind to ravish me, go right ahead. For the first time, I know we have all night.”
She grinned at his suggestion about ravishing him, and she definitely liked that she had all night to do it. “That sounds like you’ll get to cuddle,” she teased.
His grin grew wide. “Every night from now on. God, woman, you make me so bloody happy.”
She started laughing; he started kissing her more deeply. So maybe she would lure him just a little bit to her ways, even if only in the phrases he used. Time would tell. But the only thing that really mattered tonight was that the bear was now her husband, and good grief, he made her so bloody happy, too!