A Matter of Marriage by Ann Collins Page B

Your
search is over.”
    “But
what about your dream of children and a wife who loves you?”
    “I
haven’t given up on any dreams. I won’t be abandoning you after the ceremony.”
He glanced at their linked hands and felt a kind of bond he had never shared
with his wife. “We barely know each other, but I think we have a good chance
together. Certainly better than what you would have had with him.” Alex tilted
his head toward the door. He avoided telling her how his heart had taken flight
when she claimed him as her fiancé.
    She
tugged her hand free of his. Acting skittish all of a sudden, she opened the
distance between them. Her behavior didn’t bode well for their wedding night,
or even the ceremonial kiss that would start their marriage off right, showing
everyone in attendance that their vows were real. Alex could hardly wait to
share a kiss with her, one befitting a bride and groom.
    “Have
you changed your mind?” He held his breath.
    She
plopped herself into the upholstered chair. “No.”
    He
breathed again, more relieved than he expected. He truly wanted this marriage.
In this storybook castle of turrets and towers, happily-ever-after seemed
possible. Alex remembered the strange sense of belonging he’d felt upon his
first sight of the hotel, and then again when Julia saw his scar and didn’t
flinch or turn away. Perhaps they had been fated to meet at the very moment when
she needed him.
    “But,
Alex,” she continued, “we are virtual strangers. With Tom, at least I knew what
I was getting.”
    “Which
is exactly why you didn’t deny my claim to your hand.”
    She
slumped deeper in the chair. “You’re very sure of yourself.”
    “Am
I wrong?”
    “No.”
    “Julia,
if we have a chance at a happy future together, then we need to do everything
we can to make our marriage work. If, however, after a suitable time has passed
we discover we are not a good match, I’ll go, leaving you with my name.”
    Her
posture straightened. “Really?”
    “You
don’t have to look so hopeful.”
    “Sorry,
but it is what I’ve wanted from the first.”
    “Yes,
well, we’ll see how long that lasts.” Alex looked forward to the challenge of
wooing her.
    “What
about the money?” she asked.
    “I
won’t accept anything I haven’t earned as a carpenter. I won’t be paid for
being a husband and protector.” He stepped up next to her chair. “So, are we
going to do this?”
    “We
need to talk about children.”
    “Okay.”
Taking care with his ribs, he eased himself onto one of the sofas. “You said
you’re terrified of having them. I think most women are afraid of childbirth,
but medicine has come a long way in recent years. Doctor Dolan should be able
to appease your fears. Have you talked to him?”
    She
shook her head. “Childbirth is not what worries me most.”
    “If
you’re afraid you won’t be a good mother, then I think I can quell those fears.
From everything I’ve seen today, you’re a compassionate, caring woman who can
also maintain discipline. I believe you’ll make a wonderful mother when the
time comes.”
    Her
breath came out on a shudder. The lamplight glistened on the moisture in her
eyes. “Thank you for your belief in me. When I was a little girl, I dreamed of
having babies of my own. Of course, in my dreams, they were going to be my
playmates. I didn’t have any brothers or sisters.”
    He
nearly smiled at her revelation, but an expression of loss moved into her face.
    “That
was before I knew about the trials of childbearing.” She scraped a fingernail
over the chair’s padded leather arm. “My parents and I lived in Philadelphia, where my father owned a small but successful hotel and tried to father a son.
I was born, but apparently there were complications. I arrived three weeks early
and was very small. Father said it was because I was too eager to enter this
world. He said I lived because I had a stubborn streak as deep as the ocean.”
    Alex
chuckled. “No