Page 44 of Irish Rose
“But you like him?”
“I’ve always had a soft spot for Burke. He’s got a kind heart, though he’d rather no one noticed. He’s a tough one, but I believe he’d do his best not to hurt someone he loved.”
“I don’t know if he loves me.”
“What’s this?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Erin said quickly, and rose to pace. “Because I love him enough for the two of us.”
“Why would he want to marry you if he didn’t love you?”
“He wants me.” Better to face it now, head-on, she told herself as she turned back to Dee.
“I see.” And because she did, she chose her words with care. “Marriage is a mighty big step for a man to take only for a want, a bigger step yet for a man like Burke. If the words are hard to come by, it might be that he hasn’t learned how to say them.”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t need words.”
“Of course you do.”
“Aye, you’re right.” She turned back with a sigh. “But they can wait.”
“Sometimes a person needs to feel safe before he can speak what’s in his heart.”
“You’re good for me.” Erin reached out both hands and grasped Dee’s. “I’m happy, and despite the both of us I’m going to make him happy.”
Brave words aside, when she stood at the top of the staircase two days later, clinging to Paddy’s arm, Erin wasn’t sure she could walk as far as the atrium, where the ceremony would take place. The music had begun. In truth, she could hear nothing else. She took one step and stopped. Then she felt Paddy’s comforting pat on her hand.
“Come now, lass, you look beautiful. Your father would be proud of you today.”
She nodded, took two slow, easy breaths, then descended.
Burke thought the tux would strangle him. If he’d had his way, they would have walked into the courthouse, said a few words and walked out again. Mission accomplished. It had been Dee who had browbeaten him into a wedding. Just a simple one, she’d said, Burke thought with a grimace. A woman was entitled to white lace and flowers once in her life. She herself hadn’t been given the choice, but she wanted it for Erin. He’d relented because he’d been certain she couldn’t pull it off in the two weeks he’d given her. Of course, she had.
The simple wedding she’d promised had swelled into what he considered a sideshow, with two hundred people eager to watch him juggle. The house was full of white and pink roses, and he’d been forced to pull himself into a tux. She’d ordered a five-tiered wedding cake and enough champagne to fill his pool. Wasn’t it enough that he was about to make a lifetime commitment without having a trio of violins behind him?
Burke stood with his hands at his side and his face carefully blank and wondered what in the hell he was doing.
Then he saw her.
Her hair was glowing, warm and vibrant under layers of white tulle. She seemed pale, but her eyes met his without hesitation. How was it he’d never noticed how small she was, how delicate, until now, when she was about to become a permanent part of his life? Permanent. He felt the quick sliver of panic. Then she smiled, slowly, almost questioningly. He held out a hand.
Her fingers were icy. It was a relief to find his equally cold. She held tight and turned to face the priest.
It didn’t take long to change lives. A few moments, a few words. She felt the ring slip onto her finger, but she was looking at him. Her hand was steady when she took the gold band from Dee and placed it on Burke’s finger.
And it was done. He lifted the veil and touched the warm skin beneath. He brought his lips to hers, lightly, then more strongly. With a laugh, Erin threw her arms around his neck and held him. And it was sealed.
Then, almost from the moment she became his wife, she was spun away to be congratulated, complimented and envied.
It became like a dream, full of music and strangers and frothy wine. She was toasted and fussed over. Cameras flashed. There was caviar and elegant little hors d’oeuvres and sugared fruit that sparkled like diamonds under the lights. Erin found herself answering questions, smiling and wishing herself a hundred miles away.
Then she was dancing with Burke, and the world snapped back into focus.
“This didn’t seem real. Until now.” She rested her cheek against his and sighed. “I always dreamed of a day like this. Are we really married, or am I still imagining?”
He lifted her hand, running a finger over her ring. “Looks real to me.”
Smiling, she looked down and caught her breath. “Oh, Burke, it’s beautiful.” Stunned, she turned her hand so that the layers of diamonds and sapphires glittered. “I never expected anything like this.”
