Christmas Candles, page 16
part #2 of Holiday Hearts Series
He gave a gusty sigh of satisfaction. “Now there’s a life sentence I can live with! I wonder how long it will take to find a parson? I want to get a ring on your finger before you change your mind.”
"I decided to have a grand Christmas feast tomorrow in your honor," she said hesitantly. "Well, not a grand feast, but a friendly Western one. Pastor Swenson is going to be one of the guests and he'll hold a short service before the meal."
Drew gave a whoop of laughter. "Perfect! We'll say we wanted to make our vows again in front of all our friends. No one need know it's our real marriage ceremony." He bent to give her another lingering kiss. "Are you willing, my lovely Liza?"
In a flash of pure knowing, the last of Liza’s doubts vanished. Maybe they had started their relationship in the middle rather than the beginning, but that didn’t mean their feelings weren't real. This was right, and she'd never been more sure of anything in her life. "I'm willing, Drew," she breathed. "You're my Christmas miracle and I'd be a fool to let you get away!"
He smiled with relief and circled her shoulders with one arm. "Now that that's settled, I would dearly like to go to bed.” He cocked a mischievous eye at her. “Preferably with you.”
When she halted in mid-stride, he said hastily, “Just to sleep. I imagine that after what happened, you’re not ready for anything more.” His voice became intense. “But, Lord, I’d like so much to spend the night with you in my arms, and wake up and find you there.”
“I’d like that, too." She grinned. "I hope you don't mind having Jenny on the bed with us.”
He laughed. "She's a very persuasive dog, isn't she?"
"Indeed she is." Liza slipped her arms around his neck. “Did I mention that I love you?”
For a suspended moment, there was silence. Then he said quietly, “The feeling is entirely mutual, my darling girl.”
This time she started the kissing, losing track of time and place in a rush of joyous emotion. Vaguely she became aware that they were wrapped around each other like squash vines, her back was flat against the wall of the corridor, and the velvet robe had fallen around their feet.
Lifting his head, he said hoarsely, “We’re not making much progress toward that bedroom!”
She laughed and started unbuttoning his dilapidated shirt. “I’m feeling fit as a fiddle. We can see how it goes. Of course, if you’re too tired…" Her voice trailed off provocatively.
“Not that tired!” He swooped her up in his arms and carried her, laughing, to the bedroom as Jenny trotted behind them. After he deposited Liza gently on the bed, he bent over her, his arms braced on either side of her head. “A good thing you didn’t manage that letter to my parents. Now when I write, it will be good news instead of bad.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
She slid her arms around his neck and pulled him down beside her. “The best news, my dangerous man. The very best!”
About Mary Jo Putney
Mary Jo Putney was born in Upstate New York with a reading addiction, a condition with no known cure. Her entire writing career is an accidental byproduct of buying a computer for other purposes. Most of her books contain history, romance, and cats. She has had ten RWA RITA nominations, two RITA wins, RWA's 2013 Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award, and she's so distractible that she’s amazed that she ever finishes a book.
For more information on Mary Jo and her books, her website is at http://maryjoputney.com. You can subscribe to her newsletter to keep informed of new releases.
She also blogs with other historical romance writers at the Word Wenches. (http://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/) You can find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MaryJoPutney.
If you enjoyed Christmas Candles, Holiday Hearts #2, look for Christmas Revels, Holiday Hearts 1, which contains five classic Christmas novellas, four historical and one contemporary.
Mary Jo also has stories in three holiday anthologies: Christmas Roses, done with her friends Patricia Rice and Susan King, and two Kensington anthologies done with all eight Word Wenches: The Last Chance Christmas Ball and Mischief and Mistletoe.
Copyright © 2015 Mary Jo Putney
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Mary Jo Putney, Christmas Candles
