“I don’t recall any mention of fair in the wedding vows,” Luke said, a surprising twinkle appearing in his eyes. That spark chased away the last of the shadows. “I do seem to recall an expression that all’s fair in love and war.”
His expression suddenly sobered. “I want a real marriage, Katie, in every way.”
Love? A real marriage? Her heart pounded ecstatically. Katie studied Luke’s face to see if he realized what he’d said. Or was it one more example of words slipping out with no substance behind them? Just a convenient ploy to lure her into his bed?
Then, again, could it possibly be true that he loved her half as much as she loved him? His enigmatic expression told her nothing. Maybe this was something she was going to have to take on faith. Maybe it required a giant-size risk. She was already in this relationship up to her neck, anyway.
“You can move into our room on Friday, when Mrs. Myers gets here.”
“Tonight,” he argued, evidently not satisfied with the hard-won victory. He sprinkled more persuasive kisses across her brow and onto her cheeks.
“You’re pushing it, Cassidy,” she said without much oomph behind the protest.
“I’m desperate,” he admitted in a way that gave her goose bumps. “Besides, how else will I know you’re not just letting me in because my room is rented?”
His kisses deepened, leaving Katie breathless, her senses reeling.
“Tonight,” she agreed eventually, because if anything, she wanted him in her bed even more desperately than he wanted to be there. Fighting it any longer seemed likely to be an exercise in futility.
“Tonight,” she repeated in a whisper that only hinted at the deep, unspoken yearning in her heart. It would either be the best decision she had ever made...or the worst.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
There were too damned many people living in the boarding house, Luke decided about nine o’clock. He and Katie were still surrounded by boarders, to say nothing of his son who was too excited about finally living in his new home “for real” to go off to bed. If Luke hadn’t recognized that it would be opening yet another major can of worms, he would have ordered every one of them back to the Clover Street Hotel so he and Katie could have some privacy.
It was another nerve-racking hour before they all finally began drifting off to their own rooms. Alone with Katie at last, Luke met her gaze and saw a riot of emotions burning in the emerald depths of her eyes. He was sure his own eyes mirrored that same sort of turbulence. He’d been aching for her ever since she’d agreed to let him move into their room that night. Longer, actually. He could trace this hunger back to the first day he’d seen her after his return to Clover.
“Ready?” he asked, holding out his hand.
Gazing at him solemnly, she stood and came slowly toward him. He couldn’t miss her nervous, hard swallow, or the faint trembling as she placed her hand in his.
“Scared?” he asked, surprised.
“Of you?” she said. “Never.”
He found the touch of defiance in her voice amusing. “Of us, then?”
She struggled visibly with her answer before admitting what he could already read in her eyes. “A little. It’s been a long time, Luke.”
“Too long,” he agreed softly, his gaze locked with hers. “Far too long.” He felt a smile tugging at his lips. “For the first time, I actually feel like a newlywed.” Because he wanted her to understand that he was referring not just to their recent wedding, but to the past, he added, “For the first time ever.”
Color bloomed in Katie’s cheeks. “Me, too,” she said with a touching shyness.
Suddenly he couldn’t bear to wait a moment longer. He scooped her into his arms and headed for the stairs.
“Luke, what on earth are you doing?” she demanded, laughing.
“It’s tradition,” he reminded her.
“But you’ve already carried me across the threshold once.”
“That was for show,” he said. “This time it’s just the two of us. Tonight’s the night our marriage really begins.”
With a soft little sigh, Katie settled against his chest. An emotion more powerful than anything he’d ever experienced rushed through him. Tenderness, yearning and something that even his jaded heart recognized as love filled him.
Oh, he knew there were doubts to overcome, hers and his. He knew there were obstacles in their path, not the least of which was the impending custody battle. But suddenly, with every fiber of his being, he recognized that this was where he wanted to be, where he belonged.
And the woman in his arms was the only one he would ever love. Years ago he’d fallen in love with a girl. Today Katie was all grown up, a woman of strength and beauty and generosity. Those qualities had always been there, but they’d matured.
Today Caitlyn Jones Cassidy was a spirited force to be reckoned with. And she was his, legally anyway...as long as he didn’t do something stupid and blow it. Tonight was his chance to cement their relationship. Otherwise he feared that when Robby’s custody was finally settled, when she had lived up to that part of their bargain, Katie could very well walk away. He knew that if she did his life would never be the same.
* * *
When Luke had nudged open the door to her room, Katie gasped in amazement. He’d filled the room with flowers—bright, splashy, fragrant flowers. The ceiling fan created a deliciously scented breeze. A bottle of champagne was on ice in an elegant silver bucket.
And somehow he had found the filmy negligee that had been meant for her wedding night. It had been shoved in the back of a dresser drawer, behind oversize T-shirts and warm flannel gowns. At the thought of Luke’s hands sorting through her things, a delightful heat began to spread slowly through her. Just the sight of that pale chiffon, shimmering against the bed’s dark green comforter, warmed her.
“You’ve
