A strange silence followed.
The reverend smiled awkwardly.
“You may kiss your bride.”
More whispering began.
Mabel’s stomach dropped.
This was the part everyone wanted.
The spectacle.
Would Gideon hesitate?
Would he kiss her cheek?
Would disgust show?
Would the mountain man who had supposedly accepted a fat bride to clear a debt prove everyone correct?
Mabel prepared herself.
Gideon turned fully toward her.
He lifted one hand.
Slowly enough that she could move away.
His fingertips touched her cheek.
Warm.
Gentle.
Mabel’s breath caught.
He leaned close enough that only she could hear.
“Do you want me to?”
The question nearly destroyed her.
No man had asked her that before.
Not about a kiss.
Not about anything that mattered.
She whispered:
“Yes.”
Gideon kissed her.
Not theatrically.
Not timidly.
His mouth met hers with warmth and certainty, one hand still holding hers while the other rested lightly against her cheek.
The entire church vanished.
Mabel’s fingers tightened around his.
The kiss remained proper enough for an altar.
But there was nothing reluctant about it.
When Gideon withdrew, Mabel opened her eyes.
He was watching her.
Not the congregation.
Her.
Heat touched her face.
Gideon’s thumb brushed once beneath her cheek.
Then he turned toward the pews.
No one laughed.
Jonah Abernathy hosted the reception because refusing would have looked suspicious.
That was Gideon’s conclusion.
Mabel did not disagree.
The Abernathy house sat on a hill overlooking Ridge Creek, a wide two-story structure built from profits Jonah claimed came from ranching and prudent investment.
Mabel knew better.
Some came from her mother.
Some from the mine.
Some from loans given to desperate neighbors at terms designed to take land rather than earn interest.
The wedding party filled the lower rooms.
Champagne appeared.
Whiskey.
Roasted beef.
Cakes.
Flowers.
Music.
Mabel stood beside Gideon greeting people who had mocked her an hour earlier.
Their transformation would have been amusing if it were not so predictable.
Pearl Mason smiled sweetly.
“You look lovely, Mabel.”
“Thank you.”
“Marriage agrees with you already.”
“We’ve been married forty minutes.”
Pearl laughed too loudly.
Then looked at Gideon.
“You’re very fortunate.”
Gideon answered:
“I know.”
Pearl’s smile faltered.
Mabel glanced at him.
He did not appear to be joking.
That troubled her in the best possible way.
After Pearl left, Mabel whispered:
“You don’t have to perform.”
Gideon looked down.
“Perform what?”
“Being pleased.”
“I’m not performing.”
Her pulse changed.
Gideon’s gaze moved over the ornate dress.
“You chose this?”
“The seamstress helped.”
“You look…”
He stopped.
Mabel waited.
The feared mountain man appeared briefly incapable of language.
That almost made her smile.
“You look what?”
His eyes returned to hers.
“Dangerous.”
Mabel blinked.
“That is not usually a compliment.”
“It is from me.”
“Why dangerous?”
“Because I’ve forgotten twice that there are people in this room.”
Her face went hot.
“Gideon.”
“What?”
“You cannot say things like that.”
“Why?”
“People may hear.”
“Let them.”
Mabel looked away.
She had been married less than an hour and her husband was already more difficult than expected.
Also more interesting.
That frightened her.
A servant approached with two glasses of champagne.
Gideon’s expression changed immediately.
He took neither.