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He lifted an eyebrow and grinned. "Darlin', I swear on my horse that I will never order you liver and
onions." He crossed his heart.
He was so handsome when he grinned like that. Her heart expanded like a balloon with pure
happiness.
"Actually," she whispered, lifting up to him. "I'd even eat liver and onions for you."
"The real test of love," he agreed, gathering her up hun-grily. "And I'd eat squash for you," he
offered.
She smiled under the slow, sweet pressure of his mouth. Amie said he'd actually dumped a squash
casserole in the middle of the living room carpet to make the point that he never wanted it again.
"This is nice," he murmured, lifting her completely off the floor. "But I can do better."
"Can you really?" she whispered, biting softly at his full lower lip. "Show me!"
He laughed, even though his body was making emphatic statements about how little time there was left
for teasing. He was burning.
He put her down on the sofa and crushed her into it with the warm, hard length of his body.
"Jordan," she whispered breathlessly when he eased between her long legs.
"Don't panic," he said against her lips. "Amie's a scream away. Lift up."
She did, and he unfastened the bra and pushed it out of the way under her blouse. He deepened the kiss
slowly, seductively, while his lean hands discovered the soft warmth of her bare breasts in a heated
silence.
Her head began to spin. He was going to be her husband. She could lie in his arms all night long.
They could have
children together. After the tragedy of the past few months, it was like a trip to paradise.
She moaned and wrapped her long legs around his hips, urging him even closer. She felt the power
and heat of him intimately. Her mouth opened, inviting the quick, hard thrust of his tongue.
"Oh, yes," she groaned into his hard mouth. Her hips lifted into his rhythmically, her breath gasping
out at his ear as she clung to him. "Yes. That feels...good!"
A tortured sound worked out of his throat as he pressed her down hard into the soft cushions of the
sofa, his hands already reaching for the zipper in the front of her slacks, so far gone that he was
mindless.
The sound of footsteps outside the door final y penetrated the fog of passion that lay between them.
Jordan lifted his head. Libby looked up at him, dazed and only half aware of the sound.
"Amie," Jordan groaned, taking a steadying breath. "We have to stop."
"Tell her to go away," she whispered, laughing breathlessly.
"You tell her," he teased as he got to his feet. "She gets even in the kitchen. She can make squash look
just like a corn casserole."
"Amie's Revenge?"
He nodded. "Amie's Revenge." Jordan paused. "I want to marry you," he said quietly. "I want it with all
my heart."
She had to fight down tears to answer him. "I want it, too."
He drew her close, over his lap, and when he kissed her, it was with such breathless tenderness that
she felt tears threatening again.
She slid her arms around his neck and kissed him
back
with fervent ardor. But he put her gently away.
"You don't want to ravish me?" she exclaimed. "You said once that you could do me justice in thirty
minutes!"
"I lied," he said, chuckling. "I'd need two hours. And Amie's skulking out in the hall, waiting for an
opportunity to congratulate us," he added in a whisper. "We can't pos-sibly shock her so soon before
the wedding."
She hesitated. "So soon...?"
"I want to get married as quickly as possible," he in-formed her. ' 'All we need is the blood tests, a
license, and I've already got us a minister. Unless you want a formal] wedding in a big church with
hundreds of guests,"
he added worriedly.
"No need, since you've already got us a minister," she teased.
He relaxed. "Thank God! The idea of a morning coat and hundreds of people..."
She was kissing him, so he stopped talking.
Just as things were getting interesting, there was an im-patient knock at the door. "Well?" Amie called
through it.
"She said yes!" Jordan called back.
The door opened and Amie rushed in, grinning from ear to ear.
"She hates squash," he said in a mock whisper.
"I won't ever make it again," Amie promised.
He hugged her. After a minute, Libby joined them. She 1 hugged the housekeeper, too.
"Welcome to the family!" Amie laughed.
And that was the end of any heated interludes for the rest of the evening.
The next few days went by in a blur of activity. When the votes were counted on Tuesday at the
primary election, Senator Merrill lost the Democratic candidacy by a ten-to-one margin. A recall of
the city fathers was announced, along with news of a special election to follow. Councilman Culver
and the mayor were both implicated in drug trafficking, along with Julie Merrill. Julie had managed
to get bail the day before the primary, but she hadn't been seen since. She was also stil in trouble for
the arson conspiracy. Her father had given an impressive concession speech, in front of the news
media, and congratulated Calhoun Ballenger with sincerity. It began to be noticed that he improved
when his daughter's sins came to light. Apparently he'd been duty-bound to try and protect her, and it
had almost killed his conscience. He'd started drinking heavily, and then realized that he was likely to
lose his state senate seat for it. He'd panicked, gone to the mayor, and tried to get the charges dropped.
One irresponsible act had cost Senator Merrill everything. But, he told Calhoun, he still had his house
and his health. He'd stand by his daughter, of course, and do what he could for her. Perhaps retirement
wouldn't be such a bad thing. His daughter could not be reached for comment. She was now being
hunted by every law enforcement officer in Texas and government agents on the drug charges, which
were formidable. Other unsavory facts were still coming to light about her doings.
Jordan finally understood why Libby had tried so hard to keep him out of Julie's company and he
apologized profusely for refusing to listen to her. Duke Wright's plight had made him somber and
afraid, especially when he realized how much he loved Libby. He was afraid to take a chance on her.
He had plenty of regrets.
Libby accepted his apology and threw herself into politics as one of Calhoun's speechwriters, a job
she loved.
But, she told Jordan, she had no desire to do it for a pro-
fession. She was quite happy to work for Mr. Kemp and raise a family in Jacobsville.
On the morning of Libby's marriage to Jordan, she was I almost floating with delight. "I can't believe
the things that | have happened in two weeks," Libby told her brother at the church door as they waited
for the music to go down the aisle together. "It's just amazing!"
"For a small town, it certainly is," he agreed. He grinned. "Happy?"
"Too happy," she confessed, blushing. "I never dreamed I'd be marrying Jordan."
"I did. He's been crazy about you for years, but Duke Wright's bad luck really got to him. Fortunately,
he did see the light in time."
She took a deep breath as the first strains of the wedding march were heard. "I'm glad it's just us and
not a crowd," she murmured.
He didn't speak. His eyes twinkled as he opened the door.
Inside, all the prominent citizens of Jacobsville were sitting in their pews, waiting for the bride to be
given away by her brother. Cash Grier was there with Tippy. So were Calhoun Ballenger and Abby,
Justin Ballenger and Shelby Jacobs Ballenger. And the Hart brothers, all five of them including the
attorney general, with their wives. The Tre-maynes. Mr. Kemp, with Violet! The Drs. Coltrain and Dr.
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