Four-Karat Fiancee

by Sharon Swan

  She felt the tension holding his body rigid, felt her pulse begin to leap in response. He’d meant every word he’d said. There was no mistaking the clear ring of truth in his voice. He really did intend to spend the rest of his life with her. But would those intentions slip away as time went by?

  She would never know unless she took him at his word and simply believed. That was crux of the matter, of course. She had to believe in him.

  And not only in him, she suddenly recognized. She had to believe in both of them and what they could have together. She had to believe in his ability to settle down for a lifetime, and in her ability to put fears arising from past events aside and trust him, day after day, year after year, no matter what they might face in the future.

  When in doubt, do what your heart tells you, the grandmother she’d adored as a very young child used to say.

  And what did hers say right now? Reaching deep down inside herself, Amanda listened with all her might…and learned.

  “Yes, I’m willing to take a chance,” she whispered back. “On you. On us. And on the fact that my heart is telling me that I love you.”

  Dev let out a surge of air. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath. Watching his wife walk down that aisle, looking everywhere but at him, he’d known he had to try to make things right between them, no matter what the outcome. So he’d taken a risk that would affect the rest of his life—and, thank God, he’d netted himself the role of family man.

  Pulling back, he gazed down at Amanda. “Sweetheart, you won’t regret it.”

  Her lips curved at the tips. “No, I don’t believe I will.”

  He glanced at the judge, then back at the woman in his arms. “I think we’re ready to start the ceremony.”

  “All right. Would you folks like to go with the same traditional vows the second time around, or just say what you feel this time?”

  Amanda looked straight into her husband’s eyes. “I think we should let everyone here know how we feel.”

  Dev swallowed. Despite his reputation as a sweet-talker, he’d never made any fancy speeches. And he didn’t have to now, something in the back of his mind told him. All he had to do was put one word in front of the other, and if he spoke the plain, unvarnished truth, it would be the best speech he’d ever made.

  So he gave Amanda the words that came from gut-deep inside him, and she in turn told him what was in her heart. And as they declared their love for each other, loudly and proudly, more than a few sniffles could be heard in the background before rings were once again exchanged and the judge declared them husband and wife. Then the groom kissed the bride, slowly and thoroughly, as the crowd issued a loud cheer worthy of the Heartbreaker’s longstanding status as the rowdiest spot in town.

  “Don’t I get to kiss the bride, too?” the best man asked at last. “I got all gussied up for this shindig, you know.”

  Roy’s idea of “gussied up” was to wear a string tie with his faded Western garb, Dev thought with amusement as he let the older man have his way. It wasn’t long before he found himself being kissed by the matron of honor.

  “Aren’t you glad we surprised you?” Shelly asked.

  “You don’t know the half of it,” Dev replied.

  Connor O’Rourke, minus his doctor’s uniform today, walked up and put an arm around Shelly’s waist. “Just don’t make a habit of kissing my wife, okay?”

  Dev tucked his tongue in his teeth. “I’ll try not to.”

  “For the moment,” Shelly said, “he’ll be too busy obliging a whole bunch of other females.”

  And he was. Enthusiastic kisses from the women in attendance and hearty handshakes from the men followed. After which Dev pulled the bride away from yet another man bent on kissing her and got in a second one for himself. He wasn’t even aware that Louise Pearson had stepped up beside them before she spoke.

  “Congratulations. That was a lovely ceremony,” the social worker remarked, sounding as though she truly meant it.

  Was that a hint of a stray tear in her eyes? Dev asked himself, studying her. Nah, it couldn’t be.

  “We’re glad you enjoyed it,” Amanda said.

  “I have no intention of keeping you from your celebration,” Louise told them. “I simply wanted you to know what I just witnessed has convinced me of your sincerity. If yours isn’t a love match, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one.”

  “Does that mean…?” Dev let the question hang.

  She nodded. “Yes, I’m recommending that the petition for adoption be allowed to proceed.”

  He slanted a look at Amanda and saw pure relief swiftly followed by sheer joy displayed on her face. In the next breath, she was hugging Louise. “Thank you.”

  The social worker hugged her back. “Do you suppose I could get a kiss from the groom?”

  “You bet,” Dev assured her. And then he made good on his word, in spades.

  “Oh, my,” Louise said when he let her up for air.

  He resisted the devilish urge to do it again for good measure and settled for offering his own thanks as Mabel and Ike walked over with the kids in tow. “They were jumping up and down with excitement when the judge declared you two married for a second time,” Mabel told the Devlins.

  Amanda bent and hugged all of the children soundly. Dev exchanged man-to-man handshakes with Caleb and Patrick and dropped a brief, smacking kiss down on a smiling Liza’s cheek. Then it was Betsy’s turn to win his attention as she left Amanda’s side and toddled over to him.

  “Up, Deveee!”

  He nearly winced. He’d gotten used to hearing her call him that, but not in front of an audience. Lifting her into his arms, he aimed a glance at several men who stood close by. Dean Kenning, who’d abandoned his barber smock in favor of a red shirt bright enough to make a person blink, was plainly trying to swallow a laugh and barely succeeding. Luke McNeil, usually every inch the tall, dark and stalwart sheriff, coughed into his hand to hide a grin—and failed. And Dev’s own best man was obviously on the verge of letting out a howl.

  Don’t give me any grief over this, Dev told them with a silent stare. Then he looked at the little girl he held. “Do I get a kiss, your majesty?”

  She thought about it for a moment, then leaned in and pressed her tiny lips to his cheek. And that made it all worthwhile. Just like that, he didn’t give a damn if anyone gave him a hard time. He was a contented man.

  “Time to open the champagne!” Roy declared, finally getting a handle on himself.

  “Yes,” Amanda agreed, “it’s time to celebrate.”

  Dev met her gaze across the heads of the older children as the band struck up a lively tune. “I get the first dance with you. And the last.”

  She smiled a knowing smile, as if she’d somehow read his mind and latched on to his newly formed plan to have their last dance take place when they were finally alone—after he carried her over the threshold and all the way up to their bedroom. “You can have as many dances as you want.”

  He wiggled a wicked eyebrow. “Then I’ll take more than my fair share.”

  “I don’t wanna dance,” Caleb said.

  “Me, neither,” Patrick chimed in.

  “I do,” said a soft voice.

  Everyone looked at Liza. “I’ll be sure to take you up on that,” Dev told her, “and we’ll have a whopping good time. This is a special day, and we’re going to make it count.”

  “Maybe the most special day,” Amanda added. Once again her gaze locked with her husband’s, and there was no mistaking the love shining in it. “After all, this is the day we found out that we’re going to live happily ever after.”

  In the hours that followed, champagne toasts were offered and much food was consumed by many, including four towheads who had worked up enough of an appetite watching their big sister get married to eagerly request second slices of her wedding cake. People of all ages danced to their heart’s content as afternoon drifted into evening, and no one seemed more content
to put their feet to good use than the bride and groom. With their attention centered on each other, they seldom spared a glance around them to see how frequently heads came together as some late-breaking news began to circulate among the crowd.

  The rising whispers said that Sam Cade, Ruby’s estranged husband, had been seen in town. And that was news, indeed.

  “Wonder where he’s been,” Finn remarked to Dean as the two men stood at the edge of the dance floor.

  “I’ve got to wonder how long it’ll be before he and Ruby have it out about some things,” the barber replied. “Doesn’t seem as though a military man would just stand by and let her divorce him if he decides he wants his wife.”

  Finn studied the two people who had brought so many of Jester’s residents to the Heartbreaker that day. “Well, if Dev Devlin and Amanda Bradley with all their differences can make a marriage work, I suppose anything’s possible.”

  “Yep,” Dean said. “I guess that’s right.” As the newlyweds glided by, he called out to them. “Looks like you can thank your lucky stars, Dev, that a real lady decided to take you on!”

  Dev grinned from ear-to-ear. “That’s something Amanda and I won’t ever argue about!” he called back. Then he lifted the woman in his arms right off her feet and waltzed her around in a wide circle, just as he had on the snowy night he’d become a Main Street Millionaire.

  Only this time, he didn’t let her go.

  Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Sharon Swan for her contribution to the MILLIONAIRE, MONTANA series.

  ISBN: 978-1-4603-6866-4

  FOUR-KARAT FIANCÉE

  Copyright © 2003 by Harlequin Books S.A.

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