CHAPTER EIGHT

Where Antonio had found a Catholic priest in Ireland in the middle of the wilderness, Gavin would never know. And he didn’t care. All that mattered now was that in one hour, Sophia would be his wife and a few hours after that, his in every sense of the word.

His stomach cramped at the thought and he glanced nervously at his soon-to-be father-in-law as if the man could read his mind. Antonio Borgnino stood beside Gavin, his face solemn as befitting the occasion but with a twinkle in his eye that communicated his good mood. He was a striking man. Even Gavin who normally didn’t notice such things, could see that. Jet black hair although he had to be well into his fifties, and dark, nearly pupil-less eyes. Beside Antonio stood Benito, Sophia’s teenage brother. Benito wasn’t the kind of bloke Gavin would normally choose to hang with—a little too intense for his tastes. But, hey, you don’t get to pick your family, do you?

Gavin cleared his throat and smiled nervously at the priest who faced him. The man was severe and disgruntled. Not, Gavin, had to admit, unlike most priests of his acquaintance. He felt a twinge of anger when the thought came to him. That bastard Father Ryan had led him with a lie to the woods where the fecking druids had bashed him about. Gavin’s cheeks burned at the memory of how Ryan had made him believe that his girl Regan was waiting for him in the woods and that it was God’s will that the two be united.

How stupid can one randy fecker be? Gavin thought, shaking his head. He glanced at Antonio who was frowning at him as if worried that Gavin was about to bolt. The very thought made Gavin smile again.

Was the man barking? Would anybody in their right mind run in the opposite direction from the vision that was the lovely Sophia? In fact, now that Gavin put the two notions together, if it weren’t for that tosser Ryan, Gavin would never have met her and for that reason alone, he could forgive the fecker, lying bastard though he was.

When Gavin had cut through his ties with his hidden boot knife in the druid camp and escaped into the forest, he set out going due north because he knew how widespread the druid’s reach was east and west. The plan had been to go north and then east to the coast before coming back around south to the compound. Unfortunately, he’d had to escape with only the pants and boots on his feet, the head wanker druid having stripped him of his favorite shirt. Bastard! Just thinking about that first freezing cold night spent hidden in the leaves and underbrush of the woods with no shirt made Gavin want to go back with a shotgun and find the twitchy bastard.

Instead, he’d been found by Antonio and his family. When they came upon Gavin they hadn’t hesitated but swept him instantly into their community. They fed him, clothed him and even promised vengeance for him on the druids—although nothing ever came of that. They were good people and it was nothing short of providence from God Almighty that they’d found him when he needed so badly to be found.

But of all the good fortune that Gavin had to be grateful about nothing could top the one amazing bit of luck that he never in his whole damn life ever thought he’d experience.

Sophia.

Dear God, just thinking of the lass now turned his insides around in seriously gratifying waves of desire. The second he laid eyes on her he knew he loved her. He knew he’d do anything for her. He knew, if God was in his heaven and Sophia was daft enough to have him, that he’d never leave her side not even to save his own life if she’d have him, please God.

Never had he even come close to the way he felt when he was with her. And when he held her in his arms? He swallowed and moved his feet, not bothering to look at Antonio. Holding her in his arms was like a living sacrament and he didn’t care how blasphemous that sounded. It was as true as rain in winter.

A flash of color and movement caught his eye and he turned his head with his heart pounding in anticipation of what he knew his eyes would see.

Sophia stood at the end of the path, her mother and two cousins flanking her like attendants. There was a glow from the climbing sun behind her that gave her a radiant outline as she moved toward him. She held a bouquet of winter flowers in her hands. Her long, black hair was down, curled in flowing tendrils. She wore a gown made from several dresses but Gavin didn’t notice the seam lines or the different colors on the multiple hems. He saw an angel with dark brown almond-shaped eyes and a smile of promise on her full lips as she walked slowly toward him.

He was getting married today. Married to a goddess he’d never imagined could possibly exist—let alone love him. As he stood there waiting for his bride to come to him, he knew that nothing and nobody mattered except this perfect moment.