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Already protect her. Freya didn’t know how to take it. She and Maddie were already leaning heavily on Jasper. What would happen when their year together was up? Other than she would be a rich woman. Would they even want to leave? Would he promptly divorce her and leave them to fend for themselves, albeit with a much larger bank account?
Josh checked his watch. “We should head up to the judge’s office.”
“I can hold her for you during the ceremony,” Sophia offered as their group headed to the elevator.
“If she’s willing. She doesn’t always like strangers and can be a little fussy with people she doesn’t know.”
Sophia laughed. “I know, isn’t it great? It makes me wish I could tell someone no really loud and run away screaming when I don’t like them.”
The whole group laughed at that as they rode the elevator up.
Freya’s stomach turned somersaults as they reached Judge Bert Cartright’s office. Jasper shot her an encouraging glance.
She could do this. Marry a man she’d just met and secure her daughter’s future with the fortune she’d earn. It was only a year. After that, she and Maddie could create the life they wanted. Just the two of them. Safe from Ian.
They were ushered inside a small antechamber with a pair of wingback chairs off to one side and a mahogany desk with a woman sitting behind it.
“Michelle, this is Jasper Campbell and Freya Meyer for Judge Cartright.”
“I’ll let him know that you’re here.” Michelle smiled and lifted the phone receiver on her desk. Freya guessed she was somewhere in her early forties, with a few lines on her dusky caramel face. Her inky black hair sported a few glittery strands of silver.
It wasn’t long before they were guided into the judge’s office, where introductions were made. The judge and his secretary fawned over Maddie, who ate up the attention while still clinging to Jasper.
The office was richly appointed with an ornate walnut wooden desk with matching bookshelves behind it, filled to the brim with books on the legal field. A pair of leather chairs were positioned in front of the desk. And off on the right was a loveseat in a rich mocha leather, with end tables on either side.
Judge Bert Cartright was on the upper end of his fifties, with a full head of gray hair and a slight paunch. Intelligence radiated in his eyes as he assessed their small party.
When they tried to hand Maddie over to Sophia, she clung to Jasper, not wanting to leave the safety and security of his arms. She didn’t blame her daughter one bit. While she’d gotten to know Jasper over the last few days, the others were still strangers in Freya’s book.
“She can stay with me. I doubt Judge Cartright minds if I hold my stepdaughter.” Jasper turned a quizzical gaze toward the judge, as if he were asking permission.
The judge smiled. “Of course, she’s fine. Shall we begin? I’ve got another meeting at eleven that I can’t be late for.”
Jasper glanced her way with a question in his eyes. He was giving her an out if she wanted to take it. That, more than anything, calmed the butterflies flying around in her belly. He’d given her a choice. And she knew if she said no, that she couldn’t do this, he would honor it. Because he was a good man. She nodded yes, giving him the silent signal to proceed.
“We’re ready, Judge Cartright,” Jasper told him.
“Perfect. The ceremony of marriage in which you come to be united is one of the first and oldest ceremonies in the world. Marriage is a gift in that we give ourselves totally to one another. I believe that marriage is a gift given to comfort the sorrows of life and to magnify life’s joys. Marriage is the clasping of hands, the blending of two hearts, the union of two lives into one, and your marriage must stand, not by the authority of the State, nor by the seal on your wedding certificate, but by the strength and power of the faith and love you have in one another.”
While Jasper might believe he could fall in love, at the end of the day, he was honorable and loyal to a fault. He took care of Maddie as if she was his own. And part of her wanted to be with him simply for that reason alone.
Jasper took her hand in his as the judge began speaking about love and commitment. Energy sizzled through her veins at his innocent touch. And as the judge spoke about spending a lifetime loving one another, she wondered what it would be like to be loved by Jasper. He was already a fierce protector that was spoiling her and Maddie rotten.
“Do you have the rings?” Judge Cartright asked Jasper.
“I do.” Jasper pulled two matching rings from his pocket. They were identical platinum bands; one was smaller and had a tiny row of diamonds circling it.
He’d thought of everything, if the diamond ring on her right hand was anything to go by. He’d given it to her this morning before they left the cabin. She did not know when he had the chance to purchase an engagement with a princess-cut diamond large enough to poke someone’s eye out, but he had.
“Good. Now Jasper, will you please take this ring and place it upon the third finger of Freya’s left hand, and holding her hand in yours, please repeat this promise to her, saying it after me: With this ring, I seal my promise to be your faithful and loving husband.”
Jasper lifted her left hand. He slid the ring on her third finger and stated confidently, “With this ring, I seal my promise to be your faithful and loving husband.”
“Good, now Freya, will you please take this ring and place it upon the third finger of Jasper’s left hand, and holding his hand in yours, please repeat this promise to him, saying after me: With this ring, I seal my promise to be your faithful and loving wife.” Judge Cartright’s gaze landed on her.
She picked up the ring and took Jasper’s hand, sliding it on his finger. “With this ring, I seal my promise to be your faithful and loving wife.”
Judge Cartright smiled. “Freya and Jasper, you have come here before us today and expressed your desire to become husband and wife. You have shown your love and affection by joining hands and have made promises of faith and devotion, sealing these promises by the giving and receiving of rings. Therefore, it is my privilege, by the authority given to me by the State of Colorado, I now pronounce that you are husband and wife. Jasper, you may kiss your wife.”
