“But I want to keep yours,” Kelly said, her face changing as she stared down at the ring on her finger.
“That is mine. I switched it out for my dad’s a few days ago, so I could get mine resized without you knowing.”
“Oh.” She played with the ring on her finger, as if checking out its fit. “It’s going to feel strange without it falling off me.”
“I don’t want you to lose it.” He cleared his throat, trying to read her expression. “Is it all right?”
“Yes.” Her face broke for a minute, and she twined one arm around his neck. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
He sighed in relief, finally letting himself kiss her. “You’re a Blake now,” he murmured. “A Blake and a Beaufort both.”
“That sounds just about perfect to me.”
It sounded perfect to him too, and he could hardly believe that he was allowed to relish the feeling, without worrying that soon it would be snatched away. She loved him. Exactly as he loved her. She was giving up her home for him and starting a new life. He’d never dreamed someone would do so much for him, with him.
That they could do it together.
When she pulled away, she was smiling, and she reached down to grab his left hand. “Now I need to get you a better ring, since you’ll be wearing it forever.”
“I don’t want a better ring.” He touched the inexpensive band on his ring finger. “I want this one.”
“But people will think I’m cheap, that I don’t love you enough to get you a good wedding ring.”
“This is a good wedding ring. This is the one you picked out for me.”
“But I was drunk.”
“I don’t care. I’m not taking this one off.”
She sighed, shaking her head at him fondly. “Fine. You’re very sappy, you know.”
“I’m only a little sappy,” he corrected. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing. I love it. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
“Good.” Unable to hold himself back anymore, he kissed her again. And soon the kiss had become so intense that they’d stumbled over to the bed.
He pulled her down onto the bed with him, her body soft and willing. But she whispered in his ear, “We’ll have to be very quiet. Grandmama is still around, you know.”
***
Three weeks after that, Peter and Kelly were walking up the front steps of Eden Manor. Harrison had been impressed with the business plan, and things had moved very quickly after that. They’d closed on the house this afternoon, and now Kelly was unlocking the door.
Peter could see she was happy. She was brimming with it. He couldn’t remember ever seeing her so happy before, and that recognition soothed the occasional tremor that wondered if she’d had to give up too much for him.
She’d given up something. Everyone did when they came together in marriage. But what they had now more than made up for it. Not just for her, but for him too.
Kelly put down the bag she was holding, dropping it on the wood floor of the front hall. “This place is kind of a mess, isn’t it?” She stared up at curling wallpaper, at broken trim. It was obvious from her expression that she loved it, mess and all.
“It’s going to take a lot of work.”
“I’m excited. I love to fix things up.”
“Me too.” He released his hold of the rolling suitcase he’d brought in with him. “I guess we should start to unpack. I think that room downstairs is in the best shape, so we can stay there for the time being.”
“Yeah. But first I need to get something.”
Peter had no idea what she was talking about, so he stayed where he was as she ran outside. In just a minute, she came back in with a box wrapped in silver paper.
“What is that?”
“It’s a present from Grandmama. She said we needed to open it as soon as we got here. She said we needed to start our new life and home off right.”
“Oh my. That sounds serious. What did she give us?” He was genuinely interested, and he leaned over to help as Kelly started to pull off the paper.
They got the paper off, and then they had to fight with the tape on the box lid. He finally pulled out his Swiss Army knife to cut through the thick layers of tape.
“Okay,” Kelly said, as she opened the lid of the box. “Let’s see what it is.”
She had to push aside mounds of tissue paper before she could pull out the object in the box. As she straightened up, holding it in her hands, both she and Peter stared at it dumbly.
It was a Siamese cat, stuffed to look lifelike, posed with one paw lifted in an imperious gesture, glass eyes disturbing and mesmerizing.