The Risqué Resolution by Jillian Eaton Page A

the
archbishop,” he said, answering her unspoken question, “and the parish priest
is ready to marry us. We can be wed tonight, if you wish it, and you need never
worry again for the future of your family. Between myself and your father’s
will, they shall be well provided for.”
    “T-tonight?” Lily croaked. “But… but it
is all happening so quickly.”
    James steadied her against his chest
when she would have pulled back. His arm tightened around the curve of her hip,
holding her against him, refusing to let go. “Do you think my feelings will be
any less a month from now? Or a year? For the first
time in a long time I know exactly what I want, Lily Kincaid. And nothing will
change that.”
    “You barely know me.” Lily didn’t know
why she was resisting. This was what she wanted. What she’d dreamed of. But to
wish for something wondrous to happen and then to actually be granted such a
wish were two very different things entirely. How could James possibly want
her? She’d been rude to him. Tricked him. Called him names. And loved him , a softer voice intruded. Listened to him. Held him while he slept.
Treated him as a man, not a monster. Seen him as he is now, not who he used to
be.
    James slowly slid his arm from around
her back. He cupped her jaw, his thumb reaching up to trace along the delicate
curve of her cheekbone. “I know you are intelligent. I know you are witty. I
know you are beautiful. I know you are brave and strong and stubborn to a
fault. I know you make me want to be a better man.” He took a deep breath. “I
am not healed, Lily. I have scars on the outside and within. I am not perfect,
but I know we are perfect for each other. We may have only known each other for
a short time, but my soul knows you, Lily. I know you.”
    Her lips parted. She scrambled to think
of the right thing to say but her heart was melting, and her mind was quickly
following suit. In the end, she said what she felt in the depths of her soul.
Staring up into James’ eyes, seeing the love shining through as bright as the
stars in the sky, she whispered, “I know you.”
    And she did.   
     
     

 
     
     
     

 
 
 
 
    EPILOGUE

 
     
     
    In the end, they were not married on Christmas
Eve.
    Lily did not want James to think the
only reason she was marrying him was to preserve the inheritance, and even
though he was adamant to the contrary, she stood firm.
    “Stubborn brat,” he told her with great
affection.
    “Goose livered nincompoop,” she replied
before she looped her arms around his neck and kissed him senseless. 
    They told Lily’s mother on Christmas
morning. She wept, and declared it was the best present she had ever received.
The two families dined together, and Natalie and Elsa were already on their way
to becoming the very closest of friends.
    The only damper on an otherwise perfect
evening was the arrival of Cousin Eustace and Venetia, who came uninvited while
dessert was being served. Lily still wasn’t certain what James said to her
cousin; all she knew was Eustace vowed not to lay a finger on her dowry and
left with all haste, dragging his squabbling wife behind him.
    They were married the day after
Christmas. True to his word James had been able to procure a special license
and the parish priest, a short, bald man with twinkling blue eyes and a ready
smile, wed them before their closest family and loved ones.
    When Lily and James emerged from the
church shoes were thrown – for luck – and as if on cue snow began
to fall from the sky. Tipping her head back, Lily caught a flake on her tongue.
With her face tilted up towards the heavens she saw, for an instant, a bright
flash of light. Warmth spread over her, and she tightened her grip on her
husband’s arm. He gazed down at her, and she knew the love in his eyes was
echoed in her own.
    Lily still wasn’t sure exactly when it
happened, or how. She only knew she loved the man standing beside her with all
her heart, and she was