"I've finished with the flowers, so you can have them now."
"Finished with them?" Jemima asked, and damn if her voice didn't come out in a high-pitched squeak, too.
"Yes." Ethel looked up at her husband and winked. "Alfred and I decided to renew our vows. It's our sixtieth wedding anniversary today. And isn't it wonderful that you and Ned will share it with us?"
As Ned squeezed her hand gently, Jemima felt like an absolute fraud. Her breath hitched as she wondered why on earth she had agreed to do this. Ned leaned over, and his warm breath brushed her ear as he whispered.
"Take a deep breath, Jemmy. It's okay."
Jemima took a deep breath as he directed and clutched the flower posy in her left hand as Ned led her to the small area at the side of the office where two pairs of plastic chairs had been arranged near a small stand.
Think of the children. Think of how I'm helping Ned out. Think of-
"Thank you. Let's get started." The celebrant's voice interrupted her thoughts.
Ethel and Alfred sat in the chairs to the left of them, and Ned and Jemima stood in front of the celebrant. Ned held her hand tightly, and she wondered for a moment if he worried she was going to make a run for it.
What was the name of that movie she and Lucy had loved to watch in their teens? The one where the bride took off at each wedding? Jemima bit back a smile as she imagined pulling free from Ned's hand and clambering over the plastic chairs and pushing open the door and running down the corridor. Nowhere near as romantic as the fleeing bride on horseback.
The celebrant smiled and began to speak. "My name is Barbara Deevers, and I am duly authorised by law to solemnise marriages according to law. Before you are joined in marriage in my presence and in the presence of these two witnesses"-she nodded to Ethel and Alfred with a smile-"I am to remind you of the solemn and binding nature of the relationship into which you are now about to enter. Marriage, according to law in Australia, is the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life."
Jemima's heart sank. For life. Oh dear.
Ned leaned over, and his breath whispered on her cheek this time. "It's okay."
The next five minutes was a blur for Jemima as she and Ned agreed to be the lawful wedded husband and wife of each other, the requisite paperwork was signed, and the marriage certificate was handed to Ned.
Jemima jumped as Ethel's squeaky voice demanded that the groom must now kiss the bride. Before she could think, Ned's arms went around her, and cool firm lips pressed briefly against hers. A ripple of heat warmed her skin where Ned's hand pressed into the small of her back. She looked up into a pair of dancing brown eyes, and the warmth in Ned's expression calmed her.
"Well, we've done it, Jemmy. We're married." He lowered his head, and this time, she saw the kiss coming. She opened her lips slightly as he pressed his mouth against hers.
"Thank-"
Jemima shook her head, and the sensation of Ned's lips sliding gently against hers set butterflies fluttering in her tummy. She pressed her hand against his chest and pulled her head back a little bit. "No more thanking me. You promised, remember?"
"I do." He smiled, and the butterflies in her tummy fluttered harder. His lips felt as good as she'd remembered from when they'd hidden in the linen cupboard a couple of weeks back. The hard part was going to be forgetting.
"Are you having a wedding lunch?" Ethel asked as she smiled at them.
"Um … " Jemima looked at Ned.
He nodded. "I think that's an excellent idea. Alfred and Ethel, would you like to make it a double"-he glanced at Jemima with his eyebrows raised-"celebration?"
Chapter Ten
Ned knew that Jemima had been on edge in the courthouse, but the arrival of the McGillicuddys had seemed to settle her nerves. Lunch at the old hotel on the corner of the main street had been fun, and after a while, she'd relaxed and they'd shared school memories and laughs with the elderly couple.
Ethel seemed to know his background, but she didn't delve too much, and he was grateful when she simply asked how old his children were.
Spring Downs was a small town, and there wasn't a lot that was private. He'd received many sympathy cards from the locals after the funeral.
Jemima didn't fare so well, but she handled herself well when Ethel asked her how she felt about taking on a ready-made family.
"Oh, I'm sure I'll be fine. The children are wonderful, and I love spending time with them." She caught Ned's eye, and a strange feeling settled in his stomach. The jolt of desire that had shafted through him when he'd kissed her in the registry office had been a shock. Her lips had been soft beneath his. He'd had to try really hard to resist kissing her, ever since they'd played hide and seek with Ryan. Jemima's eyes were shining, and he realised that she meant every word she was saying. "I think it's going to be better than being a teacher. After having the kiddies in your class for a whole year, it must be so hard to hand them over to the next teacher at the end of the year."
Ned smiled as Jemima neatly turned the conversation over to the retired teacher, and they talked teaching for the rest of lunch.
"Some kiddies you love to hand over at the end of the year." Ethel shook her head as she laughed, and her cheeks wrinkled even more. "Your cousin, Sebastian, was one of them. I thought that boy would be the death of me. The practical jokes he used to play. Even in kindergarten!"
As they left the hotel an hour later, Ned shook Alfred's hand, and Ethel leaned over and whispered in Jemima's ear. As his new wife dropped her head, her cheeks flamed bright red, but her lips were lifted in a smile.
"We'd better get a move on, so we're home before dark." Ned kissed Ethel's cheek and took the arm of a still-blushing Jemima.
Ned frowned, worried that their business arrangement had been revealed somehow. If Paul Crowe got wind that their marriage was not the real deal, the loan would be in jeopardy. Spring Downs was too small to let the truth out to anyone.
The sky had clouded over while they were inside, and a hot wind was blowing from the west. He kept his hand on Jemima's elbow until they were around the corner and out of the McGillicuddys' sight.
"Was everything okay back there?" he asked.
Jemima glanced up at him with a nervous smile. "Back where?"
"In the hotel when Ethel whispered to you."
Her cheeks coloured again.
"Oh no." Ned put one hand up to his eyes. "Don't tell me the game's up already?"
To his surprise, the sound that came from Jemima's lips was a cross between a giggle and a snicker. More like something he was used to from his girls.
"Well?" He stopped walking as they reached the entrance to the car park. "What is it? What are you smiling at? What's so funny?"
He tipped his head to the side and stared at her. "Please tell me I don't have anything to worry about."
"You don't. They think we're a couple. I can guarantee that." Her cheeks were still flushed, but her eyes were dancing. "I'm merely embarrassed because of what my kindergarten teacher said to me."
Ned frowned. "What did Ethel say? You went bright red."
This time, Jemima did giggle, and Ned couldn't help smiling. "Come on, Jemmy. Spill."
"She took my hand in hers and told me she had something very important to tell me. She said it was the secret of their sixty years of happy marriage."
"Do I really want to know this?" Ned took her hand. "Come on. I'm not going to let go until you share with me."
Jemima leaned forward, and a whiff of her perfume tickled his nose. "She told me to make sure that I looked after you."
"That's sweet of her."
"Really looked after you." Another giggle bubbled out. "Then she told me that a man has needs and if I made sure I looked after all your needs, she could guarantee us sixty years together, too."
"Oh my God. I hope I don't run into them in town. I'll never look at Ethel McGillicuddy the same way again."
"I almost said we were business only, and then I realised I couldn't. And then she asked me if I was pregnant and was that why we were getting married before Gran and Pop came home!"
"Oh, the joys of living in a small town." Ned shook his head, but he was enjoying this light side of Jemima. "We will have to be careful, especially around the kids. You know what Gwennie's like." Ned kept hold of her hand as they walked to the car. "We'd better sort some things out in the car on the way home." He opened the door and waited for her to climb in. "There you go, Mrs. McCormack."
…
Mrs. McCormack.
A strange feeling settled in Jemima's chest, and she clasped her hands together in her lap. Suddenly, what they had planned and discussed for the past month was real. Every time when they had talked about their "business arrangement," Ned had been polite … no, that wasn't the right word.