Marriage in Name Only? (16 page)

‘You didn’t try to find her? Get something back?’

‘I suppose I could have, but why would I expose myself for the idiot that I was? Even Foolish Freddy wouldn’t try to find her. That’s an end to it, Chloe. I don’t ever want to talk about her again.’

‘Thank you for telling me. Let’s make a deal to not talk about our past again.’

‘Done.’ His stomach grumbled at that moment, and, glad for the opportunity to change topics, she smoothed her palm over his lean, hard torso. ‘Hungry?’

He covered her hand and brought it to his lips for a nibble. ‘Since I haven’t eaten since I left Melbourne, yes.’

‘Gosh, when was that?’

‘It was dark, that’s all I remember. Chloe.’ He slid the gold band onto the finger on her right hand and eased it over the knuckle. A tight fit but manageable. ‘Wear your ring on this hand until we get married. Whenever that might be—a month from now or a year—up to you. But I want to see my gold there and know we’re partners. That we’ve made a promise. A commitment. That you’re prepared to take on the biggest challenge of your life.’

She smiled at that man she loved through misty eyes. ‘It’s a deal. And now we’ve made that promise … how does Christmas sound?’

Jordan felt a grin break out on his face, a relief after the tension he’d endured since he’d made his decision. ‘It sounds amazing. Like you.’ He breathed in the scent of her hair and
let it out on a sigh of contentment. Home. He was finally home. ‘Do you want the big event or the register office?’

‘I don’t care, but do know I want my family there when we do it.’

That knowledge pleased him immensely. For all her adventures, he knew she missed them, that she needed that bond of family. ‘So have you seen them yet?’

‘I was waiting till I got this place fixed up …’ She shook her head. ‘I know I said I was up for any challenge, but, even though I’ve talked to Mum and we understand each other better now, I’m still a bit scared of actually facing up to them.’

He reached for her hand, his fingers sliding over the ring of golden promise. ‘We’ll go face them together.’

‘We will?’

‘Of course we will. We’re partners, a team. And they’re my future in-laws. I’m looking forward to being part of a family again.’

Chloe rested her chin on his chest, looked into the cerulean-blue depths of his eyes and saw forever. ‘Partners. Pookie and Blondie.’

He nodded, those eyes crinkling up at the edges. ‘And they lived happily ever after.’

All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.

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First published in Great Britain 2013
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of Harlequin (UK) Limited.
Harlequin (UK) Limited, Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road,
Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR

© Anne Oliver 2013

eISBN: 978-1-472-00190-0