The Virgin's Choice(54)
Her heart ached at the words she’d waited a lifetime to hear, from the man she’d waited a lifetime to find. The strong, honorable, noble man she could love for the rest of her life.
Reaching her hand up against his rough cheek, she felt warmth and joy overwhelming her heart. “I never stopped loving you,” she whispered. “I will love you forever.”
Looking down at her, his black eyes were suspiciously wet. “Marry me, Rose.”
In answer, she nodded as tears streaked her face.
He sucked in his breath. As he lowered his mouth to hers, he whispered, “You are my family. My wife. My love. You…you are my promise.”
Two months later, Rose stepped out of the white clapboard chapel into the spring sunshine, still gripping her new husband’s hand.
“It stopped raining,” Xerxes said in amazement, looking up at the fluffy clouds in the blue sky. “Is that the sun?”
Was he implying that his new home in northern California wasn’t exactly the sunniest place in the world? She grinned at him, her heart full of love. “I wouldn’t know. Every day seems sunny to me,” she said over the lump in her throat, “as long as I’m with you.”
His dark eyes caressed her. Lifting her left hand to his lips, he gently kissed her fingers, and her simple gold wedding ring.
Family and friends followed them outside, cheering and throwing flower petals as Rose and Xerxes headed for the car waiting to take them to the airport. They had no time to attend their own wedding reception; they barely had time for their honeymoon. Resting her hand on his arm, Rose looked at her incredibly handsome husband with a sigh of regret. “I’m sorry we only have two days to spend in Mexico.”#p#分页标题#e#
He grinned at her. “We’ll make it count.”
“And missing our reception—”
“Rose.” He put his hand over hers. “A wedding is just a single day. We have the rest of our lives to celebrate our love together.”
She looked up at him gratefully. “I promise once Linden Candy is off the ground,” she vowed, “I’ll take you somewhere romantic for a full month.”
“My wife, the business tycoon,” he teased. “I can see I’m going to have to step it up just to keep up with you.”
In the last two months, she’d rebuilt and refurbished the old factory, installing brand-new equipment. She’d hired back most of the old crew, except for one former CEO who’d flatly refused.
“I’ll only be available for meetings on the golf course, sweetie,” her father had said with a laugh, then he’d put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m proud of you, Rose. This is what you’ve worked for.”
She intended to get national distribution of their signature nostalgic taffies, but she also wanted to create new candy bars for a more modern palate. She grinned. She could hardly wait to get started on candy research and development. But then, she’d been craving sweets even more than usual lately.
In front of the vintage 1930s Ford decked in flowers, Xerxes pulled her into his arms. By the look in his eyes, they would barely have time to reach the airport before the honeymoon started.
With the whole town watching, he lowered his mouth to hers, searing her body with his rough embrace, until she was surprised the ladylike vintage wedding dress she’d borrowed from her mother didn’t burst into flame.
“Get a room!” her youngest brother yelled.
“Let them enjoy themselves,” one of her sisters hissed. “A honeymoon only happens once in a lifetime!”
A new voice chimed in, “Yeah, get a room!”
Blushing bashfully, Rose pulled away. She smiled at Laetitia, Xerxes’s nineteen-year-old sister, who was watching them and laughing from her wheelchair. Laetitia was in physical therapy, growing stronger every day. Just last week she’d managed to take her first steps. The doctors expected a full recovery.
Lars Växborg, however, hadn’t been so lucky. He’d apparently lost his way in the snowy wilderness near Lake Tahoe, and hadn’t been found again—until spring thaw. Rose felt bad for him. Almost.
“Throw the bouquet!” one of her old friends from high school called. “Throw it this way, Rosie!”
Turning away, Rose tossed the bouquet recklessly behind her. Whirling back around, she was shocked to see who’d caught it, but not nearly as shocked as her youngest brother Tom, a football player, who must have grabbed it by pure instinct. He stared down at the bouquet of pink roses in horror.
Rose laughed until she cried. As her new husband led her toward the limousine, she said wistfully, “I wish we could stay for the reception.”