Jon's eyes widened. "Wait—Do you love me or the man everyone thinks I am? I'm not perfect!" He could never let her think he was perfect. He hated that most everyone he knew thought it.
She grinned at him, leaning forward to kiss him softly. "I love the real you. The perfect man doesn't exist in my mind. I love the man who brought me a box of condoms as a gift on our honeymoon, and the man who storms off because I told him I would throw away his holey clothes. I love you, Jon. Not the perfect pastor everyone else sees."
He stared at her for a moment, a smile crinkling the corner of his mouth. "I think I loved you from the moment I first saw you walking down the aisle toward me. I had no idea how positive you'd be—mornings don't count," he said when she started to argue with him. "You're the woman I needed as my bride. Lachele could see that. She's a smart woman."
Michaela grinned. "A very smart woman."
"About the baby thing—Why don't you keep using birth control for a month or two, and we'll see how things go from there? When we're both ready for a baby, that's when we'll start trying to conceive." He leaned forward until his lips touched her ear. "Everything we do until then will just be practice."
"You're sure?" she asked. "I don't want you to be disappointed."
He laughed, pulling her across the couch and onto his lap astride him. "Did you really just say you think I'm going to be disappointed? I'm married to a woman I love, who is sitting on my lap, and about to make love with me. How could I be disappointed?"
"I didn't agree to make love to you!"
He grinned, pulling her down for a kiss. "You will."
Epilogue
Lachele Simpson set down her office phone and stared at it for a minute. A man from Culpepper, Wyoming, needed some brides. Four of them. He wanted special arrangements though. He wanted four brides that he and his brothers could choose from that would all stay with their mother at "the big house."
It was something to think about. Different than anything she'd ever done, of course, but a challenge was always good.
The phone rang again, and Lachele grabbed it, her mind still on the Culpeppers. "This is Lachele."
"Hi. My name is Brenda Holt, and I'm a friend of Michaela's. She told me you set her up with Jon."
Lachele smiled at the nervous sound of the girl's voice. "I did. I have a company called Matchrimony. Did she tell you that you're required to meet your man at the altar? And sign a contract to stay together for a year?"
"She did. I want to do it. How do I sign up? Can you deliver my man by Saturday? I have this wedding to go to."
"Saturday's not really in the realm of possibilities. Let's make an appointment, and we'll get things started. Where are you?"
"Boston area."
"Well, Brenda, I'll take the train up there later this week and we'll talk. What day is good for you?"
After she'd made the arrangements with Brenda, Lachele set the phone down. She'd help Brenda. That wasn't a problem. The Culpeppers might be a bit trickier. Four brothers? How was she going to make that happen?
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Only in Oklahoma (At the Altar Book 6) Page 12