“I guess you need some time to think,” he said after a long silence. Formality was creeping into the voice that had been so tender and full of promise. “Maybe I’ve misunderstood what you feel for me.” His hands slid from her thighs. “Would you like me to leave?”
Where was her tongue when she needed it most? She could only manage one word. “Never.”
His hands caught in her hair and he turned her to face him. “Tell me you love me, and you’ll marry me.”
“I do, I will.”
His kisses had never felt so glorious. Salty tears mixed with them, and Bethany knew there had been no finer moment in her life. Without exchanging a word, they stood, and held each other on the short trip to her bedroom to seal the bargain they had made.
Finally, when they lay, legs entwined, with nothing between them except a memory of exquisite lovemaking, they practiced saying the words that had made the difference.
“I love you,” Justin told her. “I almost let my own fears ruin the best thing in my life.”
“What were you afraid of?”
“I didn’t want to choke the life out of you, the way my father did with my mother. She was so vibrant, brimming with love and excitement. Little by little he destroyed that. He took who she was and molded her into someone she didn’t want to be. And he did the same with me, until I was afraid I’d never be able to give you the love I knew you needed.’’
“You really were afraid for me?” Bethany asked, stroking the hair back from his forehead.
“Right from the beginning. I was sure you needed someone more carefree, someone younger and more spontaneous, who could give you the love you seemed to need so badly. I didn’t feel capable of that much love, no matter how much I wanted to be.” He trailed tiny kisses down her nose.
“You left me for my own good. All of this was for my good?” She was silent for a minute. Finally she choked out a request. “Please, Justin. Please don’t ever be that considerate again. I don’t know if I can live through it if you are.”
His chest rumbled with laughter, and she joined him, although the laughter was bittersweet for both of them.
“Bethany,” he said when they were quiet again, “don’t keep anything from me, either. You were protecting me when you realized you were pregnant, in the same way I was protecting you from a relationship that I didn’t think was right for you.”
“From now on we’ll face our problems together.”
Their lips met and caught fire, and for a while they didn’t speak.
“What changed your mind, Justin,” she whispered later in a lazy voice.
“I got selfish. And I finally saw that you weren’t as fragile as I’d thought. Last week I finally realized you could take care of yourself. If you thought we could make it, then you were probably right.”
“We’re two parts of a whole. Together we add so much to each other. Our differences are strengths.” She lay across his chest, watching with fascination the expression in his unguarded eyes. “Life in Chicago is going to be good.”
“No, our life here is going to be good. I’ve quit my job in Chicago. I’m staying with my father’s firm.” He traced a trail up and down her spine with his fingertips, smiling at her astonishment.
“You’re not. . .we’re not leaving?”
“No. I’m back home for good. Seems to me I even bought a house here, and maybe now you’ll say yes to living in it with me.”
Suspicion leaped into her eyes. “Does Abby know?”
“I told her, yes.”
“That’s why she’s calling you Daddy. I wonder why she didn’t tell me?”
“I asked her to keep it a secret. I’m amazed she succeeded.”
“She has her father’s ways.”
“Our next one can be just like you.”
She pillowed her head against his shoulder, sighing as his hands stroked her back. “Are you sure about quitting your job?”
“I’ve been running all these years. From now on I’m going to save running for trips around Audubon Park with you.”
“But you loved that job.”
“I’ll be a full partner at the firm, and I can make sure my job here is interesting. I’ve been offered a seat on a crime commission the mayor’s office is organizing, and I’ll finally have a chance to put the Dumontier name to good use.”
“Everyone is going to be so surprised.”
“No one’s going to be surprised at all, Bethany. Everyone else saw the handwriting on the wall a long time ago. My mother’s probably asked her priest to perform the wedding. Madeline’s making plans to ease your workload. Knowing Danielle, our reception is all planned, and she’s already booked Lamar and his band to play. Lamar’s mother has probably invited the entire population of Bayou Lafourche. I wouldn’t even be surprised if Abby is checking up on the etiquette for four-year-old flower girls.”
“Then everybody else was smarter than we were.”
By the time they roused themselves to dress and raise the windows to step on to Bethany’s balcony, the sun was setting in a spectacular display of Mardi Gras glory. The streets were still crowded, as they would be until midnight, and with enthusiasm Justin and Bethany tossed the beads they had gathered to the costumed throngs below.
“What do you think about Mardi Gras now?” she asked after all their beads had been disposed of. “Are you still a skeptic?”
His answer was a lingering kiss, punctuated by cheers from the crowd. “I still think it’s noise and nonsense, but I hope I never miss another one.”
“There’s a lot we’ve both missed, isn’t there, that we’ll never be missing again.” And the words, spoken under the streaked canopy of the New Orleans sky, held unquenchable hope for the future.
* * *
THE END
If you enjoyed The Unmasking, be sure to check out Emilie Richards' other titles.
Also Available:
From Glowing Embers, Book 1 in the Tales of the Pacific Series and
Smoke Screen, Book 2 in the Tales of the Pacific Series
Rainbow Fire, Book 3 in the Tales of the Pacific Series
Out of the Ashes, Book 4 in the Tales of the Pacific Series
For more information about new releases, visit Emilie's website at:
www.emilierichards.com
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