“So what kind of celebration were you thinking of?”
He slid into the passenger seat and waited for her to join him. “I was thinking of something small and private.”
“Interesting.” Her pulse rate sped up, despite her earlier words about eating something. “So whose turn is it to be in charge this time?”
He eased his fingers deep into her hair and turned her face toward him. “How about if from now on we make sure it’s an equal partnership?”
“Yes,” she breathed as he leaned down to kiss her again, allowing her senses to begin that familiar climb. “That’s the perfect solution.”
EPILOGUE
“DO YOU, JESSICA MARIE RILEY, take Clinton Shane Marks to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
Clint faced Jessi as she said the words that would legally bind her to him. Only they were already bound by cords much stronger than anything the minister could say.
Jessi had convinced him that the broken frame didn’t represent what he’d done to her life all those years ago. Instead, it symbolized a breaking free from the mistakes of the past in order to face a future that was clean and new. They were getting a second chance, and Clint didn’t intend to waste one second of it.
After they’d repeated the rest of the vows, he gripped her hands and let the emotion of doing so pour over him in a flood. And it was okay. No more shoving them behind a wall and hoping they’d stay there. He wasn’t his father. He knew how to control those unhealthy feelings, while giving himself over to the ones that made two people into one.
“You may kiss the bride.”
“Gladly.” He wrapped his arms around Jessi’s waist and reeled her in. “Love you,” he whispered against her lips.
“Love you, too,” she mouthed back.
Only then did he allow himself to really kiss her, putting his heart and soul into the joining of their lips.
“Whooo …” The sound came from the seats behind them, growing in volume the longer the kiss went on.
Clint smiled and leaned back, allowing his hands to slide down her arms until he was clasping her fingers once again. His grandmother’s small diamond glittered up at him, a promise of the future. A promise further evidenced by the ultrasound in a drawer in his office desk. Jessi was expecting. A surprise to both of them. And for someone who’d thought he’d never be a father, it was another emotional first. A good one, though.
Jessi squeezed his hands and then turned to motion Chelsea and her new fiancé up to the front.
Paul had proposed just a week ago, and Chelsea had accepted, so there would be more wedding bells in the future. And probably more births along this crazy path they were all on. Her daughter hugged her long and hard, while Paul shook Clint’s hand and wished him well.
Then Clint wrapped his arm around his new bride, while the minister introduced them as Mr. Clint and Mrs. Jessica Marks.
Smiles and cheers from some army buddies and their families and friends came from all around them.
This was where he belonged. He’d faced his deepest fears and they hadn’t destroyed him. They’d given him hope.
Hope for a future filled with happiness as well as trials, but, most important, love.
“Shall we?”
Jessi grasped his hand and ran down the aisle, half dragging him along with her.
“What’s the rush, Mrs. Marks,” he asked.
They reached the door and pushed through it. “I’ve been waiting all morning for the chance to smash a piece of wedding cake all over your face.”
“That’s more exciting to you than us getting married?”
“No.” She threw him a happy grin. “It’s what comes after that has me all worked up.”
“Dare I ask what that is?”
“You could, but you might not want me to explain in a public venue.”
He laughed, his heart lighter than the frothy layers of his bride’s cream-colored dress that fluttered around her knees.
“Then lead on, woman. We’ve got a cake to cut.”
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
http://www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower
22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor
Toronto, ON, M5H 4E3, Canada
http://www.harpercollins.ca
India
HarperCollins India
A 75, Sector 57
Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201 301, India
http://www.harpercollins.co.in
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
http://www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
http://www.harpercollins.com
Dublin
HarperCollinsPublishers
1st Floor, Watermarque Building, Ringsend Road
Dublin 4, Ireland
http://www.harpercollins.co.uk
Summer of Love Page 46