“I couldn’t let him…” He shook his head in frustration. “I realized that to keep you safe, I had to fight for you.” He touched the rose, and his finger came away red. “This was the only way I knew how.”
She was consumed with the thought of Finn. Waves of passionate bliss swept over her body as he spoke, and she could hardly contain the emotions that bubbled in her chest. A sly smile crept across her lips as she realized what he had done—won the contest. Finn’s words kept coming, and all she wanted to do was touch him.
“I had worked for years on that horse,” Finn confessed. “Each time, thinking of you. That was to be my gift to you. But Kage stole it and tried to pass it off as his gift.”
Ari’s gaze stroked his face. From his handsome square jaw to the dark curl that fell forward on his forehead. Then her stare settled on his beautiful blue eyes. The eyes she had fallen in love with.
“I was afraid that you would choose my horse and be forced to marry Kage.” He paused, straightening with resolve. “I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let you make that mistake. Because itwouldhave been a mistake. You don’t belong with him or with anyone else for that matter.” His gaze grew tender, and he brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. “You belong with me.”
Her heart swelled with an ache to be in his arms, to feel his lips against hers again.
“I love you, Ari,” he admitted, reaching for her hand. “I always have.”
Those were the words she had been longing to hear. She had announced the contest for Finn. She had always wanted Finn as her husband. When Finn reached out and lovingly caressed her hand, the tingles that resonated through her body gave her a joy she had never felt before.
“You won the contest,” her father said to Finn, breaking the moment. “She chose you.”
Ari turned to him, her chin lifted and ready to defend Finn. He had won despite all of her father’s interference.
Her father’s expression shifted from despair to resignation. He took a deep breath. “Congratulations,” he finally relented. “I can no longer fight what the two of you have.”
Ari’s mouth was agape as she turned to Finn, her eyes twinkling with delight. She barely registered his outstretched arms before launching herself into them. Laughing, Finn swept her off her feet and spun her around in circles, their happiness contagious.
Epilogue
Finn entered the Great Hall, carefully stepping around toppled chairs and spilled food the hounds were gobbling up. The festivities had ended, and the servants were cleaning.
His gaze scanned the room until he spotted Ari sitting before the hearth in a large, comfortable chair that seemed to swallow her. The Yule log cast a cozy orange glow over her skin, accentuating her high cheekbones and delicate features. Her long golden hair was almost luminescent in the bright light of the fire, and he couldn’t help but appreciate how stunning she looked. He felt humbled by the fact that someone as beautiful and kind as Ari had chosen him.
A moment later, he noticed a fond grin on her lips. As he drew closer, he saw that she held the metal rose in her hands. He stopped just behind her. “Why did you pick the rose and not the horse?”
Her smile grew. “I liked it better.”
He knelt at her side. “I should be insulted by that. I worked for two years on the horse.”
She lifted her sparkling blue eyes to him. “The horse is a reminder for you of me.” She twirled the rose in her fingers. “This is a reminder of our love.”
His heart pumped with joy, and he moved nearer to her until his stomach touched her knee.
She leaned toward him. “Did they find Kage?” she asked, running a hand along his cheek.
The calmness of her touch, like a gentle wave, washed over him. The warmth of her skin against his reminded him of what it meant to be truly content. “Yes. Kage is in the dungeon for now until your father can figure out what to do with him.” As she trailed her hand near his lips, he kissed her fingers. “He asked me to decide Kage’s fate, but I’m not…I’m no lord to make that judgment.”
“You will be. If you didn’t know the thief, what would your punishment be?”
“A typical punishment for a thief would be cutting off their hand. But I think that is extreme.” His gaze scanned her face and, as if pulled by a heavy weight, dipped to her lips. “I suppose I would have him make it up to the person he stole from.”
“How?”
“By working for them. Depending on the crime.”
She grinned. “You have your answer.”
He cringed. “Kage working in the smithy with us?”
“You won’t be there. You’ll be here in the castle.”
His eyebrows rose in entertainment. “He’d be working with Conrad.” A mischievous grin stretched his lips at the thought but then faded. “That punishment would be enough for stealing the horse, but he also ambushed me. That I can forgive, but he tried to trick you into marrying him. That is unforgivable.”
