A Paper Marriage (20 page)

`You told my father that you wanted to marry me.'

`It was the truth.'

`Oh, Jonah!' She sighed. If she was dreaming, she never wanted to wake up. 'But- you didn't feel you could tell me-um-how you felt?'

Lydie pulled back this time. `Would you have told me, if I hadn't slipped up?'

Jonah placed a tender kiss on her upturned face and, looking adoringly into her shining green eyes, `I was hoping we would grow closer on our honeymoon, hoping I could earn a little of your love,' he owned.

`You have it all,' she whispered, and was soundly kissed in exultation.

She had no idea they had moved until she found she was seated on a sofa with Jonah, one of his arms around her, one hand holding her hand.

`Oh, sweet, sweet Lydie, how you brighten up my day.'

`Do I?"

'Did I not tell you?' Lydie shook her head. `I've wanted to, so many times. Little love, since knowing you again I've come to know that I only come alive inside when you are there.'

What a wonderful thing to say. `I love you so,' she said softly, spontaneously.

Jonah beamed her the most sensational smile. `That's all I've longed to hear.'

`Truly?' she asked breathlessly.

`Truly,' he answered. `I've ached so.'

`Me too,' she confessed. `When did you know?'

`That I was in love with you?' The answer was in her eyes, and he smiled gently, and quietly began, `It was that Friday that your dear great-aunt died. You were supposed to be coming here for the weekend. I'd had business not far away from Beamhurst Court and, while I wasn't fully ready to acknowledge it, I couldn't wait to see you. All I had to do was make a small detour and I could enjoy seeing you sooner. Respecting your wish that I kept away from your home, I waited, about to ring on my car phone to find out if you were still home. But suddenly what do I see but you flying along-in totally the wrong direction.'

`You were furious,' she recalled.

`I was outraged,' he agreed. `I have never in my life felt so churned up.'

`Because I was going in the wrong direction?' she teased gently, loving that she was able to do so.

`Because when I caught up with you, you said you weren't coming to Yourk House, and I saw your overnight bag in the back of your car. You were obviously spending the weekend with someone-someone who wasn't me.' `You thought...'

`I thought you were going to spend our weekend with some other man.'

`Charlie?' she asked faintly.

`How could I, my darling? You hadn't shown the smallest sign of caring for me. Hell, I'd kissed you-you'd pushed me away. Then there was Charlie ever-present.'

`Charlie?'

Jonah smiled. `Nerves were getting to me-any man who looked at you was a threat. I wanted you. To my mind there wasn't time for me to come courting. You were proud; that fifty-five thousand stood between us. What was the point of my trying to date you? That fifty-five thousand would always be there.' Lydie stared at him in amazement. All this had gone through his head! `To tell it how it was, Lydie,' he continued, `I was running scared that someone else would get you.,

'Oh Jonah,' she whispered.

Gently he placed a kiss on the corner of her mouth, pausing to gaze at her beautiful face before going on, `I wasn't sure you would swallow that line about your father preferring to owe money to someone inside the family...'

`But you tried anyway-and it worked.'

He grinned. `It worked. But I knew, when you tried to find an "out" to say no, that it was too soon to tell you of the depth of my feelings for you. You said it would be cheating to marry me if you could find the money to pay me back, but I couldn't tell you that I was cheating you by not telling you of the proposition I had just put to your father. And if I needed more evidence that you weren't thrilled about marrying me, then I didn't need to look further than when, while accept me you did, you made no bones about telling me you didn't want my kisses.'

`Oh, Jonah, did I hurt you?'

He smiled. `It started to get better.' And, when she looked at him questioningly, `About a fortnight ago?' he hinted.

She stared at him a second or two longer, then went a delicate shade of pink. `When we came here so I could get away from our two mothers sending me potty.'

`It was a wonderful weekend. While I'd been working all hours, afraid to find time to see you more than briefly in case I blurted out how much I cared for you, I at the same time became desperate to see you, to spend some time with you.'

`It was the same for me,' Lydie confessed. `I couldn't wait for that Friday.'

`Little love!' He kissed her because he just had to. `It was a perfect weekend. Up until then you had shown all too plainly that you didn't even want me to kiss you.'

`We did kiss, didn't we?' she softly reminisced.

`Oh, we did,' he agreed, his eyes on her lovely mouth. `It was wonderful. Though I'd still no intention-with our wedding so close-of blowing it all by telling you of my feelings.' He paused, then added, `And when I rang you from Sweden on Wednesday, and you coolly suggested that ours wasn't the normal head-over-heels thing, I was glad I hadn't-even if I did feel a bit defeated.'

`Defeated?'

`Defeated, and not knowing where in blazes I was. For me, my darling, it was, and is, a headover-heels thing. But there you are, dropping me down one moment and the next raising my hopes again. Making my heart lift by telling me "I wish you were here", only to crush my hopes by as good as telling me the only reason you wanted me there was because of the amount of luggage you had to transport.'

Lydie looked at him, stars shining in her eyes. It seemed incredible to her that anything she said should have such an effect on him. `I meant it about wishing you were there, with me,' she confessed. `The words just slipped out, and I had to hurriedly use the amount of my luggage as a cover in case you thought I was coming over all-um-personal.'

His smile broke through, and, as though that word `personal' was some kind of a signal, Jonah stood up, taking Lydie with him. And, looking adoringly down at her, he then gently kissed her. `It's been a long day, dear wife,' he said softly, and, picking her up in his arms, `Unless you've any strong objection, I suggest it's time for bed.'

A delicate pink began to flush her skin, but she smiled as she shyly answered, `I've no objection at all, dear husband.'

Looking down into her face, Jonah laughed softly in delight. And, his head coming nearer, `Don't worry about a thing, sweet love,' he breathed against her mouth, `I shall be with you.'

He carried her to the stairs, kissed her again, lovingly, lingeringly, and together they ascended.