The Deserving Mistress
Page 16
‘I’m not laughing at you, Jude.’ She shook her head, her laughter stopping as quickly as it had started. ‘I’m laughing at this whole stupid, painful situation.’ She drew in a determined breath. ‘Jude, I love you. Do you love me?’ That breath lodged in her throat as she waited for his answer; if she had misunderstood what he had said a few minutes ago about their ‘engagement’ she was going to feel so stupid—
‘How could I not love you?’ Jude groaned emotionally. ‘You’re good, and kind, and honest—’
‘Too much so on occasion,’ she put in, a warm glow starting to build inside her, a warmth that was becoming stronger by the minute.
‘Never that.’ Jude gave a firm shake of his head. ‘You’re beautiful, desirable, everything that I could ever want in the woman I love—’
‘You’re making me blush now,’ she murmured self-consciously as the warmth reached her cheeks. ‘Jude…’ She took a tentative step forward, still looking up at him uncertainly.
His hands moved up to cup either side of her face, his gaze intent on hers. ‘Do you care for David Melton?’
‘David…?’ she echoed frowningly. ‘Certainly not. What on earth—?’
‘I love you, May Calendar,’ Jude told her fiercely. ‘I love you, I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life loving you. Will you have me?’ he added less certainly.
Would she have him? The thought of Jude walking out of her life had been tearing her apart for days. Would she have him!
‘Oh, yes,’ she told him forcefully. ‘But on one condition…’ She held back slightly.
‘Anything,’ he promised without hesitation.
He really did love her. Not that May had had any doubts after what he had just said, but this complete capitulation confirmed it; there would be no half measures in their marriage. Ever.
‘Buy the farm,’ she told him huskily.
‘But—’
‘We all grew up there, and, despite everything, it was a happy childhood,’ May continued determinedly. ‘But it’s time for us all to move on now. I will always love my father,’ she told him huskily. ‘But I think the future belongs to my mother.’ Getting to know her, having her get to know all of them; it could take the rest of their lives. But, however long it took, May now accepted that April deserved to know her daughters.
‘And us,’ Jude prompted softly.
‘Oh, definitely to us,’ May assured him, her eyes glowing with her own love for him as she looked up at him confidently. ‘I love you so much, Jude. So very much…!’
‘You said it was only physical attraction,’ he reminded her painfully.
‘Self-protection,’ she admitted huskily.
The next few minutes were taken up with Jude kissing her, thoroughly, purposefully, deliciously.
‘We could make it a triple wedding,’ he suggested some time later.
‘So we could,’ she immediately agreed. ‘With April as the maid of honour, and David as best man—now that the original chief bridesmaid and best man have decided to get married themselves.’
It really was a wedding with a difference, Jude thought wryly as he stood at the church altar waiting for May to arrive at the church, Max and Will standing beside him as they waited for January and March.
Not only was the stepfather of all the brides acting as best man to all the bridegrooms, but the mother of the brides, having only recently been reconciled with her three daughters, was now about to give them all away to their future husbands.
It had been suggested by the three sisters, at a family get-together to discuss the wedding, that this role was much more suited to April than maid of honour, April obviously deeply touched by this honour from her three daughters.
April had married her David in a quiet ceremony the previous month—well, as quiet as it could have been when one of the newly married couple was an international film star, and the other an international film director, Jude recalled wryly.
But they had all been there, May acting as April’s witness, Jude as David’s, the eight of them disappearing off to a restaurant for a quiet meal to celebrate before the happy couple went off on a two-week honeymoon.
If anything, Jude’s love and admiration for May had deepened during the last eight weeks, April’s transition from film star into ‘Mum’ made all the easier for all the sisters because of May’s obvious complete acceptance of her as such. The press, he had no doubts, would have a field day early next year once they realised that mother and daughter were appearing in a film together…
His heart began to beat faster as the playing of the church organ announced the arrival of the brides, a nerve pulsing in his jaw as he clenched his teeth together in anticipation.
‘I’ve just seen May, Jude, so she hasn’t changed her mind,’ Max turned to softly tease him.
‘They’re all there, thank goodness,’ Will added huskily after a brief nervous glance towards the back of the church.
Jude grinned at the two men. Strange, he had always thought of these two men as close as brothers, and now they were about to become that in fact…
But all other thoughts fled his mind as he turned and saw May as she led the way down the aisle, a proud April at her side, the love shining in May’s eyes echoed by the love in his own.
His own…
As he was May’s.
Always.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7302-7
THE DESERVING MISTRESS
First North American Publication 2004.
Copyright © 2004 by Carole Mortimer.
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