Seth put up two fingers. “Deuces, clown.”
Natalia’s knees were shaking so hard she doubted whether they would support her and sank down to the top step. She did not want to believe the audacity of her ex coming from Philly under the pretense he wanted to return her pet when he actually wanted a reconciliation. And Seth compounded it with a lie that they were engaged, and there was no doubt Daryl would return home and spread the rumor that she was engaged to be married to a lawman in a town that barely made the map. She spoke to her mother two or three times a month and at no time had she mentioned she was involved with a man.
As the car slowly maneuvered away from the curb, she watched the taillights until it disappeared from her line of vision. Natalia shrank when Seth folded his tall frame down next to her. “Why did you lie to him?” The question was flat, emotionless.
“I had to say something to get him to leave and take what I told him as sheriff to never come back”
“I don’t need you to fight my battles.”
“You think not? He continued to manhandle you even after you told him to take his hands off you.”
“You didn’t have to tell him we were getting married. You did to me what I’d allowed Daryl to do to me. And that is to make decisions for me because he thought he knew what was best. And knowing him, he’s going back to Philly and telling everyone he knows that I’m engaged. Then my family is going to blow up my phone with questions that I can’t or won’t answer.”
Seth stood and glared down at Natalia. He was in an emotional tumult because he had allowed Natalia to break through the wall where he had kept women at a distance since his divorce. Not only had he fallen in love with her, but he also wanted her in his life—for all time. When he’d told her ex that they were engaged, he wanted it to be true.
“You’re going to have to make up your mind, Natalia. Either we’re in this together or we can go back to being neighbors.”
“You don’t get it, do you?” Natalia asked.
“Get what?”
“We’ve never talked about marriage. In fact, neither of us has ever mentioned it.”
“That’s because you’ve never given me an opening.”
She gave him a wide-eyed stare. “Oh, now you’re blaming me.” Natalia shook her head. “No, Seth. This is not on me. You talk about how I’m your fiancée, and then expect me to go along with it. I’m not one of your deputies or men under your command in the Marines where you give orders and expect them to be followed without question. I wasted too many years with a man who deemed it was his right to bend me to his will, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to have a rerun with you.” Turning on her heel Natalia walked into her house, leaving Seth to stare at the space where she had been.
* * *
“Why do you look as if you’ve lost your best friend?”
Natalia closed her eyes and struggled to keep her emotions in check. It had been more than three weeks since the two men she’d known intimately had walked out of her life. “I have.”
Mya moved over to sit next to her on the love seat. “Seth?”
“Yes.”
“Talk to me.”
Natalia she told Mya everything about her relationship with Daryl and how she was given a second chance at love when she met Seth and then about his confrontation with Daryl. “He didn’t have to tell Daryl we were engaged to be married when it’s the farthest thing from the truth.”
“You think not, Natalia?”
“It’s a lie.”
“It’s not a lie,” Mya insisted. “He’s in love with you and he does want to marry you.”
“That’s not the point. The problem is he never asked me what I want, just like Daryl never did. I don’t intend to share my life or my future with a man who believes he knows what’s best for me.”
“But he does want to marry you,” Mya insisted.
“How do you know this?”
“Seth stopped by the house one night and I overheard him talking to Giles about how much he loves you and that he’s finally found the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with and she just happens to be his neighbor.” Natalia clapped a hand over her mouth. “Has he told you that he loves you?” Mya asked.
“Yes. Once when we were making love and men will say anything in the throes of passion.”
“What about you? Have you told him you love him?”
“No.”
“Why not, Natalia?”
“I didn’t want to ruin what we have. No, had. Every time I tell a man that I love him, he takes it as a signal to crap all over me.”
“Why are you lumping Seth into the same category as those other losers?”
“Thrice burned, thrice shy.”
“That’s a lot of bologna and you know it. Sometimes, we have to kiss a few frogs before we find our prince. Believe me, I’ve kissed more than my share of frogs before I realized Giles was a keeper. Last month we began trying for a baby and hopefully by this time next year we’ll give Lily a brother or a sister.” Mya reached for Natalia’s hand. “Now I want you to promise me that you’re going to give Seth a chance to come to his senses before you write him off completely.”
“Why is it that I’m so secure as a doctor, but I’m a mess when it comes to dealing with a man?”
“Do you think it’s easy for a man?”
“No, but I don’t think I’m being difficult. Asking him to consult me before planning our future is a perfectly reasonable request.”
“I don’t think you’re difficult, Natalia. Just promise me you’ll not write Seth off until the two of you are able to work things out.”
“It’s already been three weeks.”
Mya smiled. “Give him another week, and if he doesn’t come around, then you’ll know it’s over. But if you do get back together, then I’d like you to consider having me as your matron of honor.”
Natalia eased her hand from Mya’s. “If things work out and I marry Seth, you will be my matron of honor.”
Natalia pressed her cheek to Mya’s. “Thanks for hearing me out.”
“That’s what sisters are for.”
She left Mya’s house and scanned the road for oncoming cars and then dashed across. Natalia didn’t know if Seth was at home because no light shone through the windows and his pickup was parked in the driveway adjacent to hers. He garaged the Charger, so she didn’t know if he had taken it out.
She felt better now that she had talked to Mya. And as promised, she would give Seth another week before relegating him to her past as she had with the other men in her life.
After walking up the steps to the porch, she went completely still. A dark figure rose from the chair and she detected the familiar scent of Seth’s cologne. There was enough illumination from the light over the door to see his expression. Their three-week separation had taken its toll. His face was thinner, and there were new lines bracketing his strong mouth. “We need to talk.”
She nodded. “Yes, we do.”
“May I come in?”
Natalia unlocked the door and held it open. “Yes. We’ll talk in the living room.” Natalia sat on the edge of the love seat staring directly at Seth who’d folded his body down to an armchair. She missed him so much that she felt like weeping. It wasn’t only his lovemaking, but the way he always made her feel protected whenever they were together. And she missed that they were so cognizant of the other’s moods. She knew when he’d had a rough day at work or felt his frustration in trying to identify who was supplying the drugs that were slowly destroying lives.
* * *
Seth curbed the urge to cross the room and sit beside Natalia. A sad smile twisted his mouth. “Do you know how long it’s been since we’ve last been together?”
Natalia blinked slowly. “No.”
“Three weeks, four days and approximately fourteen hours
.”
She laughed softly. “What about the minutes and seconds?”
“I lost track of those.”
Natalia quickly sobered. “What do you want to talk about?”
Seth sandwiched his hands between his knees. “I want to apologize for being presumptuous. For assuming because we were sleeping together that if I proposed marriage you would accept it without question.”
“You still don’t get it, do you? You’ve never proposed, Seth. How can I accept or reject your proposal if you don’t ask?”
His hands tightened into fists. “What do you want me to do?”
Natalia gave him a long, penetrating stare.
“For an intelligent man, you can be really obtuse. Ask me properly, Seth.”
“Ask you what?” he asked.
“I need to hear you propose to me.”
Seth didn’t want to believe he had wasted three weeks pining for Natalia when all he had to do was open his mouth and ask her to become his wife. He had told her he loved her, but it was apparent that wasn’t enough. “Natalia Rachel Hawkins, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife and hopefully the mother of our children?”
“Hey, how do you know my middle name?”
“I’ll tell you after you give me your answer.”
“Yes, Seth Collier, I will marry you and have your babies.”
Seth moved over and sat next to Natalia and placed tiny kisses all over her face. “I ran your license plate through our database with a protected server and found out everything I needed to know about my beautiful, sexy neighbor.”
She giggled. “That’s snooping.”
“No, it’s not. I had to find out what I was in for once I decided I was going to snap you up before the other guys in The Falls hit on you.”
“That wasn’t going to happen because you had me when you offered to help me paint Chandler’s kitchen. I knew then that you were a keeper.”
Seth kissed her forehead. “I promise never to make a decision for us without running it past you first.”
Natalia pressed her mouth to his. “I’m going to hold you to that promise.”
“Do you want an engagement ring now or at the rehearsal dinner?”
“I’d like one to celebrate our first anniversary.”
Euphoria swept over Seth and he felt slightly light-headed. He had waited for Natalia to come to him day after day, night after night, while stubbornness and false masculine pride kept him from approaching her. Then he knew if he didn’t take the initiative and apologize for doing to her what her ex had done, he would lose her forever.
“What about dates? We have to decide on one before we call our folks with the news?”
“I moved here on Saturday, May 1, so why not the first of May next year?”
“Then May 1 it is.”
“I’d like Mya and my sister to be my attendants.”
Seth smiled. It was apparent Natalia had already planned their wedding. “I’m going to ask Giles to stand in as my best man and Roger as a groomsman. By that time, he should be svelte enough to fit into a tuxedo without popping the buttons of the vest.”
“I love you so much. Kiss me, darling, to seal the deal.”
“I remember when you first said that to me, we wound up in bed making love,” Seth said, reminding her of when he’d committed himself to her physically and emotionally.
“And it was the first time you told me you loved me.”
“And it won’t be the last.” Seth kissed her and then whispered in her ear what he wanted to do to her.
Natalia giggled in anticipation. “No! That’s nasty!”
“Good nasty or bad nasty?”
“I don’t know. Let’s go the bedroom so I can find out which one I like best.”
Epilogue
The weather was perfect for a white wedding. Natalia and Seth had decided to hold the ceremony and reception outdoors under a tent on the church lawn. She had met his family when they came up from Savannah the weekend before, and her parents and siblings had arrived two days before the ceremony.
Wickham Falls had changed in a year. Seth had run unopposed in the election and won by an overwhelming margin. The town council had accepted his proposal to wage a war on drugs and thanks to the generosity of Giles Wainwright and Sawyer Middleton, who’d donated the money, they could rent office space in the building housing the newspaper and an accounting firm, and cover the salaries of a full-time and a part-time substance abuse counselor. Natalia had volunteered her services as medical director and all first responders were required to carry naloxone to reverse the effects of a drug overdose.
Natalia stopped pacing in the small room at the church when she heard a knock on the door. “Come in.” Her sister looked like the prototype for an exquisite African American doll in the shrimp-colored gown that accentuated her curvy petite body. “You look so pretty, Rena.”
“Never mind me. I’m certain Seth is going to lose it when he sees you.”
It had taken Natalia a month before she found a gown she felt comfortable wearing. It was a Monique Lhuillier strapless design with a sweetheart neckline, seeded pearl bodice and a rose-pink sash that flowed down the back of the chiffon skirt to the hemline. On her head she wore a chapel veil attached to a feather headpiece that would be removed following the ceremony.
There was another knock on the door and Dr. Pearce Hawkins entered in his wedding finery. He was still incredibly handsome for a man in his early sixties. Pearce had been a very eligible bachelor until he met Sylvia who hadn’t made it easy for him to claim her as his wife. He had asked her out every week for six months before she agreed and because she didn’t appear eager for a second date, Pearce proposed marriage to convince her he was serious about her.
Pearce and Seth bonded within minutes of meeting each other. Pearce had openly admitted that he liked Seth a lot better than that pompous cretin she’d first planned to marry.
He offered Natalia his arm and she placed her hand over the sleeve of his tuxedo jacket. “Let’s go and get you married because your young man is wearing a hole in the carpet pacing up and down like a big cat.”
Holding up her skirt, Natalia walked down the hallway to a door the led to the entrance of the tent. She bit back a scream when she saw Mya in a rose-pink gown holding her bridal bouquet in one hand and a flower bedecked white basket with a tiny brown poodle puppy with Seth’s wedding ring on a pink ribbon tied around its neck.
Mya handed her the bouquet. “Seth says this is his wedding gift to you. Cocoa is your ring bearer. Giles and I will take care of him until you return from your honeymoon.”
The wedding planner approached the wedding party. “We’re starting now.” She signaled for the two men standing at the entrance to the tent to open the flaps. Prerecorded music played softly as Mya proceeded slowly over the white carpet as those in attendance pointed to the puppy in the basket. Serena followed with Roger Jensen who had shed weight and appeared ten years younger.
And when the familiar chords of the “Wedding March” echoed throughout the tent, Natalia looked straight ahead, her eyes meeting her future husband’s for the first time in more than twelve hours. Her breath caught in her throat when she stared at his ramrod-straight back, willing him to turn around. Giles did turn to catch a glimpse of her and nudged Seth with his elbow.
It seemed like an eternity before she reached his side and her father placed her hand on Seth’s arm, indicating he had relinquished responsibility for his daughter to the man who’d promised to love her forever.
She stared up at him through her lashes unable to believe she could feel this happy. It was Sunday, May 1 and the significance of the date would stay with her forever. Seth’s head came down in slow-motion and he barely touched her mouth with his.
“Hold up, Sheriff Collier,” the pastor admonished, laughing. “She’s not
your wife until I complete the ceremony.” Those sitting close enough heard the clergyman burst into uncontrollable laughter. The noise woke Cocoa, who let out a piercing sound that elicited more laughter.
Seth nodded. “Let’s do it so I can seal this deal.”
Natalia lowered her head and eyes. Seal the deal had become a catchphrase for them making love. They planned to spend their wedding night at the house and Giles’s wedding gift to them had been to charter a private jet to fly them down to the Bahamas the following morning. He had arranged for them to stay in a private villa at a Wainwright vacation property for a week in what had been touted as a tropical paradise.
Her hand shook slightly when, after repeating their vows, Seth slipped a gold band on her finger. She untied the ribbon around the puppy’s neck and slipped a matching band on his hand. When the pastor told Seth he could kiss his wife, he bent slightly, picked her up and met her eyes.
“Are you ready to seal this deal, Mrs. Collier?”
Natalia scrunched up her nose. “You bet, Mr. Collier. Let’s do it.”
The skirt of her gown flowed over his tuxedo as she put her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the passion she summoned from a place she hadn’t known existed.
Thunderous applause filled the tent as camera phones recorded the instant their Wickham Falls sheriff had claimed their lady doctor as his own.
* * * * *
Catch up with all the residents of Wickham Falls in
these other great entries in the
Wickham Falls Weddings series:
Home to Wickham Falls
Claiming the Captain’s Baby
Her Wickham Falls SEAL
Available now wherever Harlequin Special Edition
books and ebooks are sold!
And look out for the next book in this
heartwarming series,
coming January 2019!
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Little Maverick Matchmaker by Stella Bagwell.
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The Sheriff 0f Wickham Falls (Wickham Falls Weddings Book 3) Page 17