Page 92 of Calling on the Matchmaker
From where she stood at the back of the church, she was more beautiful than he’d remembered, with her hair flowing in long waves around her, highlighting the paleness of her skin and framing all the freckles. Her blue eyes were bright and intense, and the dimple in her chin was adorable.
Even so, her fear was escalating, becoming more palpable with every passing second.
As she took another tiny step back, Riley couldn’t restrain himself any longer. He wouldn’t risk losing her again. He loved her too much.
He held out his hand toward her, hoping she knew he was offering her another chance together, that he still cared, that he would wait for her as long as she needed.
Her attention dropped to his hand. She studied it for a moment before she lifted her gaze to his.Please be mine,Finola, his heart whispered.
Her eyes suddenly turned glassy, almost as if she’d read his thoughts. She glanced at his hand again, still outstretched toward her. Then she started down the aisle toward him, tears spilling over onto her cheeks. She picked up her pace, and in the next instant she was running toward him, as if she couldn’t get to him fast enough.
His heart kept time with her so that it was racing too. She didn’t slow down when she neared him. Instead, she launched herself against him, wrapping her arms around his torso.
He eagerly gathered her close, but before he could completely draw her in, she lifted on her toes and touched her lips to his.Not in a chaste, quick kiss. No, she opened up fully and passionately, hungrily tasting him as if she’d been denied what she wanted for too long.
Since he wasn’t in the habit of denying her anything, he gave her what she was asking for. He let her feast, while at the same time giving himself permission to do the very same.
He savored the softness and the heat of her lips, dipping in, sampling, nibbling. Her fingers glided up his chest, to his neck, and into his hair. And she dug in, as if she couldn’t get enough, wouldn’t ever be satisfied until she had all of him.
Each stroke of her mouth and of her hands lit him so that he was burning. His blood, his muscles, his body—every inch of him was on fire. A fire that only she could fuel, and a fire that would only burn for her.
With each passing moment, he knew she was telling him what she couldn’t express with words—that she needed him, needed him more than she needed anything else in life. He was her sustenance. Without him, she had nothing.
As he tore his lips from hers, she released a murmur of protest. The sound only added to the desire building inside, the desire to make her his, once and for all.
But as much as he wanted to sweep her up in his arms, take her away, and kiss her for the rest of the day, he had to be patient with her. Just because she’d thrown herself at him and kissed him as if she never intended to stop, didn’t give him permission to lose self-control.
He had to be careful, couldn’t scare her away again. He gentled his touch, kissing her jaw, then her neck, then her ear.
Her fingers tunneled deeper into his hair. “Oh, holy mother, Riley.” Her nose and mouth hovered against his ear too. And the desire in her whisper, the warmth of her breath, the brush of her skin—he had to close his eyes to fight against the raging need to claim her lips again.
She pressed in harder, as though feeling the same urge. “Ilove you.” Her whisper was breathless. “I’m just sorry I didn’t say it sooner.”
“You’re saying it now.” He nuzzled his nose into her hair. “That’s all that matters.”
“Will you marry me, Riley?”
He closed his eyes against a sudden swell of emotions. When he’d ridden away from her house this morning, he never dreamed he’d be standing here with her. Not only had she just declared her love. But she was agreeing to marry him,andshe was asking him.
“Will you?” She kissed his ear, giving him no choice but to slide his hands into her hair and let the thick, silk waves float through his fingers.
“Yes.”
At a loud clearing of a throat, Finola hopped and broke away, glancing in the direction of the sound.
There standing a dozen paces away in the center aisle were James Shanahan, Enya, and Bellamy, having been witness to not only their passionate moment of kissing but to Finola’s proposal of marriage. Their eyes were rounded with surprise. Likely at seeing the way he’d been kissing Finola.
What would James Shanahan say to him now?
“Da?” Finola’s question contained mortification. “Enya?” She pushed against Riley’s chest, trying to back up.
But Riley held her fast. “Stay here with me, Finola. Please?”
Thankfully, she ceased her attempt to extricate herself, because now that he had her in his arms, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to let her go.
“What is everyone doing here?” Finola’s cheeks were rosy, and she didn’t meet their gazes.
“They’re here for the wedding.” Bellamy spoke with a confidence that made Riley want to grin. How had Bellamy been able to make this all work?
