“You may kiss the bride,” Mr. Abernathy said jovially, startling Katie and Luke out of their private thoughts.
Luke hesitated just long enough to force a flood of embarrassed color into Katie’s cheeks. Then he dutifully swept her into his arms with a dramatic flourish meant to satisfy the handful of onlookers.
Though his enthusiasm for the task seemed obviously feigned to Katie, the touch of Luke’s lips on hers for the traditional post-ceremony kiss made her pulse race with predictable ease. A wildfire of emotions sparked to life deep inside her, even though there wasn’t anything the least bit passionate about the obligatory gesture. She hated her own quick response to what for Luke was merely a show for their small audience.
Robby’s smacking kiss and tight hug, which promptly followed, were far more natural and enthusiastic. At least one of the Cassidy men seemed happy about the marriage, Katie thought bleakly.
Too bad it wasn’t her new husband.
* * *
On the ride over to Peg’s after the ceremony, Luke wondered at the quick burst of anticipation that had shimmered through him as he’d held Katie in his arms for that all-too-brief farce of a kiss. He glanced over at his bride, who was sitting stiffly beside him, looking more like someone going off to their own execution than a woman who was about to attend her wedding reception. Peg had insisted that Robby ride with her to give them time alone. Luke was beginning to regret accepting the gesture.
“I didn’t have a chance to tell you earlier,” he said quietly. “You look beautiful.”
She regarded him skeptically. “I...”
“No protest,” he said interrupting. “You do. You’re the epitome of the radiant bride.”
She still looked as if she wanted to argue the point, but this time she managed to say a polite thanks.
“Katie, if you don’t start smiling, people are going to wonder if there was a shotgun at our backs today.”
That drew a startled look. “What?”
“You know,” he prodded. “A shotgun. A baby.”
If he’d hoped to make her laugh at the absurdity of that, the attempt failed miserably. She frowned at him.
“Well, fortunately most people in Clover are very adept at counting to nine,” she said. “When next March rolls around and there’s no little Cassidy, they’ll figure out they were wrong.”
He sighed at her curt tone. “I wouldn’t mind having another little Cassidy someday, yours and mine,” he said quietly. “What about you?”
“Given the fact that I have no intention of sharing a bed with you that’s going to be difficult to accomplish,” she retorted without even a hint of hesitation.
He grinned at her certainty that she had that situation well in hand. “Oh, there are plenty of places to do the deed other than a bed. All it requires are two people with imagination and dexterity.”
Suddenly the too-serious expression on her face faltered. A grin tugged at her resisting lips. Luke wanted a full-fledged smile.
“We could pull over and I could show you,” he offered generously. “The back seat of a car is a very traditional place to start.”
A smile broke at last. “In your dreams, Cassidy. We have a deal.”
“I would be willing to sacrifice my credibility as an honest businessman by breaking this one clause in our bargain,” he said.
Finally her eyes glinted with wicked amusement. “I could never ask such a thing of you.”
“You’re not asking,” he protested, enjoying the tint of pink the teasing was putting back into her too-pale cheeks. “I’m offering.”
“Save it for someone else.”
“I don’t expect to have another wife.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “Then that is a problem, isn’t it? It’s a good thing the hot water heater at the boarding house rarely works. The cold showers will do you good.”
Luke vowed to replace the hot water heater the minute they got back from their honeymoon. Meantime, he pulled into Peg’s driveway and cut the engine. When Katie started to open her door, he reached across her, his arm brushing against her breasts, and closed it. She turned a startled look on him.
“What?”
“Before things get too crazy inside, I just want you to know...” He hesitated, uncertain what he could say that would express the strange mix of gratitude and unexpected anticipation he was feeling. “I know that most women look forward to their wedding day their whole lives. And I imagine this isn’t anything like what you dreamed about.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, though a slight trembling of her lower lip said otherwise.
“It does,” he contradicted. “Despite the way this whole thing came about, Katie, from here on out I intend to live up to those vows.”
The tears that suddenly welled up in her eyes were almost his undoing. He reached across and pulled her into his arms. “Don’t cry, darlin’, please.”
“I...can’t...help...it,” she said haltingly between sniffs. “Oh, Luke, what if this was a terrible mistake? I don’t think I could stand it if you ever regretted marrying me.”
“No regrets. I guarantee it. And I’m going to do my damnedest to see that you don’t have any, either,” he said determinedly.
Katie unexpectedly giggled at that. “You sound so grim.”
A rush of tenderness washed over him as he looked into her tear-streaked face. “I was going for reassuring,” he said indignantly. “Now let’s get inside before they send out a search party.”
“I’m sure everyone inside is perfectly satisfied that they know exactly why we’ve been delayed,” Katie said dryly.
She started once again to open the door.
“Stop that,” Luke said. “Just this once will you stay still and wait for me to open the door for you, instead of bolting like you can’t wait to
