Page 65 of Dukes for Dessert

David touched the side of his face. “I remember.”

“You were eighteen,” Hart rumbled.

“Yes. It was a blow that lasted me ages.” David winked at Sophie. “I well deserved it.”

“I allowed you to defend yourself,” Uncle Lucas said in a pained voice. “You simply didn’t pay attention to your lessons. Now then, We are gathered together here in the sight of God, to join together this man and this woman ….”

His voice rose, and the crowd quieted, the children ceased their shrieking and running, friends converging to watch David and Sophie marry.

Sophie studied David as her uncle’s soothing voice went on. She recalled how David had lifted his head at the breakfast table the morning she’d met him, his eyes red-rimmed and bleary, his hair a mess, face unshaven. And yet, she’d felt the heat of him, the spark that woke her from her stupor. She’d looked into his eyes and lost a part of herself.

A part he’d never hurt. Sophie understood as he gazed at her now that she too held a part of him. They’d shared themselves, not only bodies but hearts, souls, secrets.

A true marriage, she thought as she squeezed his arm, strength enclosed by soft cashmere. A joining of thoughts and respect, love and wanting.

A forever bond, and one just for them.

David leaned to her again. “I love you.”

The whispered words warmed her to her toes. Sophie’s heart swelled, the freedom he’d given her to love and trust sweeping aside the last dust of her sorrows.

“I love you,” she said into his ear, against the rise and fall of Uncle Lucas’s voice. “My dearest darling, thank you.”

“It was my pleasure.” David grinned at her. “How else could I repay the woman who saved my life?”

Sophie broke all precedence for wedding ceremonies by rising on her tiptoes and kissing David on the lips.

The crowd behind them cheered. Applause, laughter, whoops, and shouts made Uncle Lucas look up from his open book. Hart laughed, the rumble deep and vibrating.

David slid his arms around Sophie and let the kiss deepen, never mind the escalating noise around them.

“Bless you,” he whispered as they drew apart once more. His fingers were warm as he brushed her hair back from her face. “You are the best woman in the world.”

“I knew that,” Uncle Lucas broke in. “Took you long enough to realize, Fleming.” He loudly cleared his throat and raised his voice. “Wilt though have this woman to be thy wedded wife?”

David’s shout—“I will!”—rang through the summer air, mingling with the laughter.

Sophie took his hands and said, “I will,” just as readily, something loosening in her heart as she joined with him in true and lasting love.

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