Page 395 of Conveniently Wed
Katie thought for a moment, then smirked at a most ingenious idea. “Fine. Josiah it is. However, I prefer Katie to Katherine. I’ve been called Katie by those close to me all my life.” She counted on the formal, socially proper Mr. Richardson not approving of such informality. Maybe this would make him as uncomfortable as she was.
He studied her before lowering his spoon back into the bowl. A smile split across his face. “Now, that’s encouraging.”
“What?”
He leaned back in his chair. “You said everyone who is close to you calls you that. That opens up a world of possibilities. I think I’ll take it a step further and have a nickname for you—Kat.”
Knots tightened in her shoulders as she forced herself to sit up straight and pretend his banter did not irritate her.
“I quite think Kat suits you,” he said. “Much like the mountain lion. Beautiful, yet ever so dangerous.”
She dropped her head and shoveled her stew in as if it did not bother her in the least that he had outsmarted her.
“Now, back to your original question, because I’m sure I heard a Josiah in there somewhere. I expected this question on that day you said you would marry me and wanted to ask three questions, but you were more interested in whether I liked cats. Today, my love for Kats grew exponentially.” He chuckled.
She could not resist shooting him a glare.
“I’m thirty-five, almost thirty-six. That makes me fourteen years your senior. What do you think of that?”
She ignored him and finished every bit of her stew, the fruit, bread, and cheese. For the first time in over a month, she ate slowly, savoring every bite. How, on the day when she should have been the most nervous, had she found her appetite? Most likely, it was the fact that she was in no hurry to sample what lay beyond the kitchen door.
“What, has the Kat got your tongue?”
She tried to hold back a grin, then a giggle slipped out and she was laughing. “You win, Josiah. Enough of the cat jokes.”
His laughter filled the room. “And?”
“And you don’t want to know what I think about you being only seven years younger than my pa.”
The laughter left his eyes, and his jaw muscles tightened.
Once again, she’d said too much. “Ma always told me to swallow my thoughts before they reach my lips, but I never quite mastered that one.”
An awkward silent moment followed as he stared past her and ran his fingers over his mustache and through his neatly trimmed beard. “And my ma said, ‘Don’t ask if you don’t want to know.’ I’ll have to keep that in mind around you.” He stretched and sat up straight. “I guess it’s about time to retire?—"
“What, no dessert?”
His smoky-gray eyes held an emotion she could not quite figure. He pushed the chair back from the table and spread his long legs out in front of him. His huge frame dwarfed the chair he leaned back on, making her regret her hasty words about his old age. He looked anything but old and far from the father figure she had just likened him to.
“You have room for more food? Or are you trying to stall from your end of our bargain?”
Her heart hammered inside her chest, but she lifted her chin with determination. “Of course, I would like dessert.”
He rose and sauntered to the sideboard, lifted a towel, and pulled out a freshly baked pie. He returned with a generous piece and slid it in her direction.
“Won’t you join me?”
He cracked a smile. “Dessert for you, then dessert for me.”
She gasped and shoved a piece of pie into her mouth.
“Just joking, Kat, relax.” He eased back onto the kitchen chair and watched her finish every bite. By the time she was done, her corset cut into her flesh, and her stomach turned. She picked up the cloth napkin, dabbed at her mouth, and lowered it to her lap where she twisted it tighter and tighter in her hands.
“All done? Or would you like another piece?”
She shook her head, and he rose, lit the candle in the portable dish, and picked it up. The day was gone and the night upon them.
With an outstretched hand, he beckoned her. “Come, my little Kat. You’re well fed, so let’s get you settled. I won’t bother showing you the house tonight. There will be ample time in the morning.”
