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“You’ve got this,” Margaret’s son, Lyle, assured him under his breath. He dipped his chin and opened his Bible, and Emmett felt a wobble in his knees that made him wonder how many grooms bit the dust before the vows started.
If what he was feeling were nerves, that’d be not only normal, but expected. But it wasn’t nerves that he was struggling with. It was responsibility.
Emmett didn’t take his responsibility for others lightly, including this trip with Stefanie. He’d mistakenly assumed that his responsibility was untangling her from Blake by marrying him herself. That the act of saying “I do” would be the end of it.
Wrong.
Stefanie, a red smile on her mouth, her blond hair wound softly at the back of her head, a bouquet of red poinsettias offsetting the stark white of her dress, had made him feel another sort of responsibility for her. He was overcome with the notion of becoming a husband.
Her husband.
Right here. Right now. In front of God and witnesses. And there was nothing mild about that commitment.
In the same way he worked hard to assure himself he earned every dollar he was paid, he wasn’t going to marry Stefanie halfway. No matter how they’d originally thought this would go, for him, the ceremony was real. In every way.
Stefanie came to a stop in front of him and sureness rang through him, resonating like a church bell. He wouldn’t enter into this commitment lightly. He would give himself to her—as much as he was able—for as long as this marriage lasted.
Margaret stepped in to take Stefanie’s bouquet and Lyle instructed Emmett to hold Stefanie’s hands.
He did as he was asked, clasping his bride’s fingers with his own and meeting her gaze. He nearly sailed off into her aquamarine eyes.
Vows were repeated.
Rings were exchanged.
Her soft “I do” socked him like a punch to the gut.
“What God has joined together, let no one separate.” Lyle closed his Bible. “You may now kiss your bride.”
Emmett leaned in and pressed his lips to Stefanie’s for what was supposed to be a brief kiss. It didn’t stay that way. Moving his mouth on hers now that they were married came with a proprietary feeling, giving their union meaning beyond the agreement they’d made. Every pass of his lips over hers was him claiming her as his.
When the kiss ended, their small audience applauded.
His bride’s eyes twinkled like the white lights draped over every surface in the room, her beautiful form silhouetted against a white-and-gold Christmas tree. He itched to haul her over his shoulder and take her upstairs, wanting nothing more than to continue their kiss and see how far she’d let him take her.
“I’ll pour the champagne!” Margaret announced, snapping him out of the fantasy.
“Champagne?” Emmett asked Stef as the guests stood from their chairs.
“For the toast.” She swiped his bottom lip with her thumb and explained, “Lipstick.”
“I don’t want to have a toast. I want to go to bed.” His voice was gravel. His body taut with the desire that felt like a physical presence between them. He let that sentence hang long enough for her eyes to widen. They went wider when he added, “With you.”
So, yeah. She needed that champagne.
Unfortunately, one glass of bubbly wasn’t going to be enough to erase the X-rated vision of Emmett naked. She didn’t know how much longer she could hang out at this party before hauling her husband upstairs and stripping his clothes off.
Alarming, that thought. She’d known Emmett for years and had never once pictured him naked. Pictured him kissing her. Pictured him as her husband. And yet here they were. Kissing. Married. And about to be very naked.
“Congratulations, Mrs. Keaton.” Anna, a waifish blonde, was one of the guests at the B and B. She and her husband, Clay, had been married a little over a year ago and were here celebrating their first anniversary.
“Thank you.”
“The first year is challenging, but in a good way. Don’t believe anyone who tells you the honeymoon is over if they overhear you arguing.”
“Ha. Well. Emmett and I argue a lot, so nothing new there.”
“Even better. The makeup sex is worth it.” Anna giggled. Stefanie felt Emmett hovering nearby but wasn’t about to turn to find out if he’d overheard.
