She yanked her hand from Mr. Wentworth’s. Without thinking, her feet were already moving, her legs carrying her toward Isaac. She barely registered the shocked gasps of the guests as she closed the distance between them and set a hand on his forearm.
He stepped between her and the approaching guards, his palm hovering over the hilt of his sword. “I’m not here to fight. But I will if I must.”
Her father, face twisted with fury, stalked forward, each step a heavy echo in the stillness. “Are you going to risk straining relationsbetween our countries over this?”
“Are you?” Isaac didn’t flinch. He stood firm, unwavering, his eyes locked on her father with a steady defiance. “As governor, I would hope you’d be willing to reason.”
The air crackled, thick with the impending violence. Isaac’s hand closed around the worn leather grip of his sword, the motion slow and deliberate.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Mr. Wentworth stepped from the altar and put a hand on her father’s shoulder. “I’ve spent enough time on this earth to know when to admit defeat. Why not let these two have a chance?”
Her father’s face twisted with disbelief. “She’s been promised to you.”
Mr. Wentworth locked eyes with Josephine. “And I thought she was willing. An unwilling woman is nothing but a liability.”
Her father crossed his arms and faced Isaac, the fire in his eyes burning hotter than ever. “You truly want her, even after all the trouble she’s caused?”
A slow smile spread across his face. “Especiallybecause of it.”
His words sent a thrill through Josephine, her pulse leaping at the heat behind them. Her breath caught as the intensity of his gaze locked with hers, his meaning clear.
After a long moment, her father threw up his hands. “This is madness.”
Isaac turned to her and brushed a tendril of hair from her damp cheek. Was she crying again? She blinked up at him, barely breathing, the chaos around them fading. “Is this real?” The words left her in a strangled whisper.
With a smile, he closed his hands around hers, the warm weight anchoring her to the moment. “I sure hope so.”
He turned to the crowd. “You’ve all gathered for a wedding, and I’d hate to disappoint you. What do you say, Josephine? Shall we getmarried?”
She stared into sparkling blue eyes, her heartbeat thrumming in her throat. “Are you sure?”
“Am I sure? What kind of question is that? Let me tell you what I’m sure of. I’m sure I’ve never met anyone like you. I’m sure I fell in love with you long before I had the good sense to admit it. And I’m damn sure I don’t want to face another day without you in it. So, Josephine Montclair, I will ask you one more time, will you marry me?”
“You love me?” The timid question tumbled forth before she could stop it.
His eyes softened as his thumbs swept slow circles over the backs of her hands. “More than you will ever know.”
New tears welled in the corners of her eyes and she managed a smile.
His lips tugged into a crooked half-grin. “Is that a yes?”
A laugh, watery and disbelieving, bubbled up her throat. How could this be happening? How could she possibly say no? She nodded, breath catching, heart full to bursting.
He glanced toward the stunned priest, mischief dancing in his eyes. “Father? What do you think?”
The priest blinked. “Well… I mean…” With an exasperated look around the church, he waved them forward. He glanced at the book in his hand and the crowd. “I suppose we can start where we left off.”
“Josephine Montclair,” the priest began, his voice suddenly calm and serious, “do you take the lieutenant to be your lawfully wedded husband?” She nodded, her throat tight with emotion.
“And Lieutenant Caldwell, do you take Josephine to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
Isaac’s voice came steady and firm. “I do.”
There was a pause, and the priest lifted his hands in blessing. “Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband andwife.”
The words barely reached her ears before Isaac was there, his hand sliding around her waist, pulling her closer. His lips found hers, soft and reassuring, a promise wrapped in the quiet heat of a thousand unsaid things. The crowd erupted into applause, but the steady thrum of her heartbeat in her chest drowned it out.
Colette surged forward through the onlookers and wrapped her in a warm embrace. “When I told you I knew you’d find your happiness, I never imagined it would come so quickly. Congratulations.”
