“Hurry,” she urged him and then watched him leave the lobby. Walking down the hall to their room, dread gathered in the pit of her stomach. What in the world was Luke up to? He’d made certain there would be a huge scandal, but he didn’t seem at all concerned about it.
Of course, why should he be concerned, she thought darkly. It was never the men who bore the brunt of the blame. It was always the woman who paid the price for falling in love with a man who didn’t love her in return.
* * * * *
LUKE SPENT THE NEXThour arranging his wedding. He spoke to the preacher, bought an embarrassingly expensive diamond ring, and then charmed a stingy widow out of a dozen brilliant red roses. He returned to the mercantile and bought himself a new set of clothes, and then purchased a bottle of champagne at the saloon.
He hadn’t intended to get married when he and Sarah had left the house, but now it seemed the only possible solution. Sarah didn’t deserve to be treated as anything less than the lady she was. He’d ruined her reputation, so it was up to him to salvage it.
Not that he minded. He’d been trying to think of a way to convince her she should marry him practically since he’d met her, and now it had fallen right into his lap. He’d be a fool not to take advantage of it.
Now all he had to do was get her to say yes.
He returned to the hotel and walked down the hall to the room where he planned to spend his wedding night. He balanced his packages under one arm and knocked on the door.
“Who’s there?” Sarah’s voice drifted to him through the wood panel, and he winced when he heard how lost and afraid she sounded.
He laid his palm on the wood and prayed this would work. Sarah had come to mean everything to him. If she said no to his proposal, he wasn’t certain what he’d do.
“It’s me,” he said. “Luke.”
The door opened so fast he almost fell into the room. “Where have you been?” she demanded. “I’ve been going out of my mind.”
He smiled and held out the roses. “I was getting you these.”
Her eyes widened, but she made no move to take the flowers. “Oh, Luke,” she said on a sigh. “What are you doing?”
That wasn’t the response he’d been looking for. “Hasn’t anyone ever given you roses before?” he asked, striving to maintain a light tone.
Sarah stared at him and slowly shook her head. “I can’t do this. No matter how sweetly you present it, I can’t be your mistress.”
“My mistress?” Luke shut the door behind him and offered the flowers again. “I’m not asking you to be my mistress. I’m asking you to be my wife.”
The words burst out of his mouth before he could call them back, and they’d come out all wrong.Damn. That wasn’t at all how he’d meant to do this.
Sarah plopped down on the edge of the bed. “You can’t be serious.”
“Of course, I’m serious,” he said, getting defensive. “I’ve ruined your reputation. It’s the only gentlemanly thing to do.”
“So that’s what this is all about?” Sarah’s voice rose with each word. “You’re going to marry me because you feel a sense of responsibility to me?”
She buried her face in her hands, but not before he saw the tears welling up in her beautiful green eyes. “Ah, hell,” he muttered, tossing aside his packages and moving to sit on the bed beside her. He put his arm around her waist and guided her head to his chest. “It’s not about obligation, sweetheart. I swear it isn’t. I just thought that since you were alone, and I was alone...”
She lifted her face and his heart clenched when he saw the tracks of the tears she’d cried. He wanted to tell her he’d fallen hopelessly in love with her, but the words wouldn’t come. He wasn’t at all certain she felt the same way about him. After all, she hadn’t been very enthusiastic about his marriage proposal.
So he decided not to say anything else at all. He’d only managed to make a mess of things so far. Instead, he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her with all the longing and tenderness within him. “Marry me, Sarah,” he whispered. “Please?”
She kissed him sweetly in reply, tangling her hands in his hair and pulling him closer. “Yes,” she said on a breathy sigh, surprising him. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
For a moment, they simply stared at each other, and then Sarah began to smile. “Shall we just figure it out as we go along?”
He nodded, feeling as though a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Nothing had gone as he’d planned, but she’d said yes, and that was all that mattered.
He gazed at her, taking in her lovely figure and her carefully upswept hair. “Have I told you yet, how beautiful you look in that dress?”
She blushed. “No, but I wanted to thank you again. I love it.”
“I hope so,” he whispered. “After all, it’s going to be your wedding dress.”
