Always Dakota - Debbie Macomber [39]
Margaret loved him. Bernard Clemens had said as much and Margaret had told him so herself. In time, he hoped to love her with the same intensity. In fact, he was counting on that. He didn’t yet, but he would. Dear God, he prayed that would happen.
“Is everyone ready?” Larry Dawson asked. He stood before them, his open Bible in his hands.
Margaret looked at Matt with such adoration, it was all he could do not to turn and bolt from the room. It amazed him that she couldn’t see the truth. He half expected someone to step forward and stop the wedding, claiming he wasn’t a fit husband. But he hoped to be, wanted to be.
Margaret’s friends and neighbors were as somber as if they were attending a funeral. No one seemed happy except Margaret, who, oblivious to the tension in the room, beamed with joy.
His bride wore a long white dress and held a small bouquet of pale rosebuds. White…she wore white. He closed his eyes, barely able to concentrate on Pastor Dawson’s words.
Margaret was a virgin. In all his life, Matt had never slept with a virgin. His women were as experienced as he was. He understood there was pain involved when a woman made love for the first time, and the one thing he didn’t want to do was hurt Margaret. Marrying her might appear heartless, but he did care for her. She was giving him so much—her life, her trust—and little as he had, he would willingly offer that up to her.
“We are gathered here this afternoon to share in the…”
Matt blocked out the minister’s words, his thoughts whirling. This was wrong. He knew it even as he repeated his vows, his voice flat and barely audible. Not wrong for him, but for her. Margaret’s loving him was the best luck of his life, but marrying her, pledging himself to her, proved that everything she’d said about him was a lie. A man who was honorable and decent wouldn’t do this.
Matt tried to concentrate on the words, but his mind soon drifted. He remembered how love had changed Jeb McKenna and Gage Sinclair. Jeb had been a surly, bitter man until Maddy came into his life. He recalled how Gage and Lindsay Snyder had been continually at odds. Every time Matt talked to him, Gage had predicted that Lindsay would abandon the town after the first snowfall. Yet, months later, when she really was about to go, he’d driven his tractor across a freshly planted field in an effort to stop her. Yes, love had changed both men. The only thing Matt expected Margaret to change in his life was the state of his bank account.
Margaret’s eyes shone as she held Matt’s hand and repeated her vows, her voice loud, clear, distinct.
After they’d exchanged plain gold bands, Pastor Dawson proclaimed them married. His emotions in turmoil, Matt brought his bride into his arms and kissed her lightly, almost as if they were brother and sister. He saw the disappointment in her eyes and feared this was only the first of many.
It didn’t surprise him that none of their guests seemed eager to stay. The ceremony was followed by cake and champagne, and a couple of halfhearted toasts. The weather was a perfect excuse to rush home. They were all polite, cordial, but Matt realized he hadn’t fooled anyone, with the exception of Margaret.
A half hour following the ceremony, they were alone.
“Hello, husband,” Margaret said, happiness radiating from her. She threw her arms around his neck and gazed lovingly up at him.
“Wife,” Matt said. Deception was never his strong suit. He kissed her and felt the muscles of his stomach tighten with dread.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. All I’ve had today is wedding cake.”
It was all he’d eaten, too. He couldn’t force anything into his stomach earlier, and had skipped both breakfast and lunch.
As they headed into the kitchen, Matt saw that his wife had thought of everything. She had dinner ready to serve, along with wine