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Dancing with her, holding her close and sensing her as intimately as when they lay together in bed though the room was crowded, Cole accepted that living in her big house until he was old and gray, never traveling again, wouldn’t be hard at all. In fact, it would be all the adventure he ever needed.
As the music ended, he let her loose and gave her his best elegant bow. A blush covered her cheeks, but being Maddie, the woman he loved—that was no longer as scary as it had once been, either—she threw her head back and laughed, and then looped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips.
He returned the kiss, while whispering, “You are supposed to curtsy.”
“Who cares?” she asked.
“Who indeed,” he answered. Taking her hand, he turned to escort her off the dance floor. His heart stalled in his chest upon recognizing a man standing near the door, gesturing.
Jack interceded just then. “I’ve been looking for you two. I’ve got me a buyer for my claim.”
“You do?” Maddie asked.
Cole responded, but eased away as Jack started to explain, making his way toward one of the men he’d hired to watch the docks. For a moment, he’d forgotten Mad Dog, and how the outlaw threatened his and Maddie’s happiness.
“Your uncle Trig’s ship was spotted in the bay over an hour ago.” The man gestured toward the front doors. “May be docking by now. They didn’t want to let me in.”
The distinct chill that had assaulted his insides eased a portion. “Thanks,” Cole said.
The man parted moments before Maddie arrived at his side. “Who was that?”
“A man from the docks,” he said. “The Mary Jane is about to set port.”
Her face fell, but she caught it and squared her shoulders. “That’s good news.”
“Yes, it is,” Lucky said, silently questioning her disappointment. “Yes, it is.”
They took their leave of the party and Lucky instructed the driver to take them to the seashore before climbing into the open-top carriage. Looping an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her close with one hand while covering their legs with the blanket. The stars overhead reflected in her eyes and he couldn’t stop himself from kissing her long and hard.
When the kiss ended, she sighed, and then snuggled closer against him. “That maid I talked to,” she said quietly, “was one of the girls you saved from Alan Ridge.”
“I know.” He’d recalled the event earlier, while Maddie had been talking with the girl. “That was the night Ridge almost caught me.”
“He did?”
“Almost,” he said, kissing her furrowed brow. “I’m lucky, remember?”
“Yes, you are,” she said. “And so am I.”
“That you are, darling,” he said, kissing her again. “That you are.”
She cut the kiss short. “I have something I want to tell you, but I can’t do it if you keep kissing me.”
Still wondering about the way she’d reacted to hearing the Mary Jane was docking, he ran several small kisses along the side of her face. “Is it that important?”
She giggled, but still said, “Yes.”
“All right,” he said, sitting up straighter. “What is it?”
“Well—” she twisted to face him “—first off, I’ll go to any frivolous party you want me to attend, live in any fancy house you want, wherever you want it to be, but first—”
“Whoa up,” he interrupted, “I never said I wanted live in a fancy house. You did.”
She opened her mouth, but closed it and frowned before asking, “You didn’t? But that’s how you grew up.”
“I know, and I’ll gladly live that way again, if it’s what you want.”
She grew so quiet, so thoughtful, his insides started ticking. “Maddie?”
“What if...” She grew silent, looking up as the moon slipped out from behind a cloud. The yellow beams shone down on her and she continued to gaze up as she often did, letting the rays bounce off her face as if gathering strength or something from the light. A moment later she smiled and turned back to him. “What if I want to be Mrs. Cole DuMont in truth, not pretend?”
His heart was in his mouth. Even though he’d bought the ring, he hadn’t been overly sure she’d accept it. Agree to marrying him. “I want that, too, Maddie. Have for a long time.”
“Why haven’t you told me that?” she asked.
