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Malcolm laughed and tugged the sheet down so that one of her small breasts was exposed. “Let me see.”
“Malcolm Henry,” she shrieked, jerking the sheet to her chin, but laughing. “Oh, no. It’s morning.”
Her gaze found his, and in it he saw the tiniest flicker of regret. Not something he wanted to see, not when the night before he’d found such beauty in her arms. There had been nothing tawdry about the way they’d loved each other. “And why?”
“Because,” she said, staring up at the ceiling. “Because.”
“Marry me,” he said.
Judy jerked her head toward him, her eyes growing wide. “What?”
“Marry me, Judy,” he said again, angling his body toward her. “I know this isn’t moonlight, roses, and a big engagement ring, but it’s all I’ve thought about over the past few days. I want you beside me every day and every night.”
“You don’t have to marry me just because we slept together,” she said, sitting up but still clutching at the sheet like it was a life preserver.
“I’m not. Why would I want to marry you because we had the most amazing sex last night?”
“Malcolm,” she said, her cheeks blooming with color. “You say the most outrageous things.”
“But true.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her cheek before nuzzling his nose into hair that smelled of lilacs, or what he thought were lilacs. He’d never been good with flowers. “Marry me.”
“Are you serious?”
“I’d say as a heart attack, but that’s flirting with danger.” He smiled against her hair. “Thing is, I love you and I want you beside me for as long as I have left on this earth. You make me happy and make me want to be a better man. If that isn’t a recipe for marriage, I don’t know what is…unless you don’t feel the same?” He eased away and studied her.
Her eyes were soft, glistening with unshed tears. “I never thought I’d fall in love.”
Leaning forward he caught her declaration with a kiss. “But…?”
“I left the order, not because I wanted to marry, but because I knew I’d made a huge commitment when I was too young. Mother Regina Agnes sensed this in me after many years, and when she approached me about my faith and purpose, I lashed out because I was scared to be out in the world without my family of faith around me.
“For the past few decades, I’d created a family, but every evening, I felt the loneliness settle into my bones, nurtured the growing resentment. I felt that I had been pushed by my family to join the order because there had been no money, no other way for me. After a while of living with discontent, I knew I had to leave. It was hard. But the first time I met you an excitement I’d never felt before filled me and I knew that God had put me on this path. I fell in love with you when you played basketball with the boys, letting Perry win because he needed the win. I’ve never felt the way I feel when I’m with you.”
He embraced her. “Oh, sweet woman, if you will stay with me forever, I’ll be the happiest, most fulfilled man on the face of this earth. Say you will be my bride. Tell me this will last forever.”
She looked him in the eyes, and kissed him before saying, “I love you, Malcolm Henry, and I will stay with you and love you as long as you will have me.”
He smiled and felt his entire body flood with sheer joy.
Judy laughed and fell back onto the plush softness of his bed. “I can’t believe this.”
He shed the robe he’d tugged on earlier and slipped beneath the covers. “I can think of a good way to celebrate.”
Judy giggled but held out her arms. “You’ve corrupted me, Malcolm.”
“You’ve saved me, angel.” He was so glad he’d taken a leap of faith and pursued sweet Judy Poche, so appreciative that he’d been given a second chance to find happiness.
Finally, he’d found the love he’d lost so many years ago. His first love was no longer an option, but his last love lay in his arms, looking adoringly into his eyes, sliding her hands over shoulders once broad, loving him for the man he was.
Not the man he’d been.
Blessings so great for a man not deserving.
But at that moment, he didn’t care. He only loved.
* * *
BRENNANPARKEDHISHarley-Davidsonat the curb to pick up Mary Paige. Rarely did he take the bike, but since they would spend the afternoon in the French Quarter, it seemed like good choice for weaving around carriages and taxis. Besides, he wanted Mary Paige straddling the hog with her arms around him.
