“Stop fidgeting,” his mother mouthed from the front pew.
The admonition made him grin despite himself. How many times had he heard that as a boy? A million, probably. It was good to know that some things never changed.
At last the music began, and his gaze flew to the back of the church. The procession seemed endless. First Cassie, Lauren, Karen and his own sister as the bridesmaids. Then Emma, looking softer and more feminine than he’d ever seen her, as Gina’s maid of honor. Finally Caitlyn as the flower girl, happily scattering rose petals along the aisle as she grinned at Rafe.
There was a pause in the music, and Rafe’s breath caught in his throat. Gina appeared on her father’s arm, and his throat went dry. How had he ever gotten so lucky?
Her dress was simple, but she looked like a million bucks in it. He grinned at the thought. That was exactly the price tag that had been put on Café Tuscany a few weeks ago, when the paperwork for Gina’s deal with Deidre and Ronnie was being drawn up. All three of them had stared at the bankers in disbelief. Gina had insisted that the deal be for less than half of that.
“They’ve paid the difference a thousand times over,” she had told the bankers. “It’s because of them that it’s worth so much now.”
To Rafe’s amusement she had gotten her way and the deal had been struck. Now there was nothing left to tie them to New York. They were in Winding River to stay.
“I love you,” he whispered when Gina reached his side.
“You’d better,” she whispered back, but her eyes were filled with laughter.
When the time came for the vows they had written for themselves, Rafe shocked the crowd with his first words. He could hear the gasps as he began by saying, “From the moment I met you, I knew you were a thief.”
The only person who wasn’t the least bit startled was Gina. She watched him solemnly with love in her eyes.
“You stole my heart,” he said quietly, drawing a relieved sigh from the onlookers and the beginnings of a smile from Gina. “Even when I struggled to get it back, you held on and taught me what it means to share love and friendship. You taught me about loyalty and commitment. Today I give you my heart willingly, because I know you’ll keep it safe forever.”
There were tears shining in her eyes when he finished. She brushed at them impatiently as she began her own vows. “I know the value of what you are giving me, because I know how difficult it was for you to overcome all of the doubts you had about me at the beginning. It’s a funny thing about distrust. It can destroy a relationship or it can make it stronger. I think ours is stronger because of the way it began. I will spend a lifetime proving to you that I deserve your trust and giving you everything that my heart has to share—my family, my friends, my town, and most of all, my love.”
When the priest pronounced them man and wife and blessed them, Gina held her face up for his kiss. Rafe covered her mouth with his own, and once again he was back at the fairgrounds on a hot, steamy afternoon, tasting her lips for the very first time, unable to stop, savoring every single second of the kiss.
The congregation erupted into laughter and applause when he finally released her. Gina grinned.
“I guess we’re destined to giving them something to talk about,” she said.
He winked. “It certainly works for me. How about you?”
“Any time. Any place.”
“Forever?”
She stood on tiptoe and kissed him again, another slow, melting kiss that rocked him to his core.
“Definitely forever,” she said.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5327-2
TO CATCH A THIEF
Copyright © 2001 by Sherryl Woods
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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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*Vows
*Vows
*Vows
*Vows
*Vows
*Vows
‡And Baby Makes Three
‡And Baby Makes Three
‡And Baby Makes Three
‡And Baby Makes Three
**The Bridal Path
**The Bridal Path
**The Bridal Path
††And Baby Makes Three: The Next Generation
††And Baby Makes Three: The Next Generation
††And Baby Makes Three: The Next Generation
††And Baby Makes Three: The Next Generation
††And Baby Makes Three: The Next Generation
††And Baby Makes Three: The Next Generation
††And Baby Makes Three: The Next Generation
◊And Baby Makes Three: The Delacourts of Texas
◊And Baby Makes Three: The Delacourts of Texas
◊And Baby Makes Three: The Delacourts of Texas
◊And Baby Makes Three: The Delacourts of Texas
◊And Baby Makes Three: The Delacourts of Texas
§The Calamity Janes
§The Calamity Janes
§The Calamity Janes
††And Baby Makes Three: The Next Generation
