Free A Good Woman by Danielle Steel Page A

with everything else. I would like to share children with you, and the rest of my life. And I will always, always be your friend.”
    “So would I,” she said, looking misty. And the thought of having children with him shocked her a little, but touched her heart. As she listened to him, she tried not to think about all the antics Hortie had described in Paris. What she shared with Josiah seemed so much more pure. She hated to spoil that. But Hortie had always been a little crazy, and now that she’d discovered sex, she’d gotten worse. The only thing that was slowing her down now was getting fatter day by day.
    “Would you like some time to think about it? I know this came as a surprise. I’ve been biting my tongue for a long time.” And then he laughed. “That’s why I had a scotch, and half a bottle of wine tonight, and now champagne. I guess your mother should have warned me not to get drunk. It took a little courage to ask. I wasn’t sure if you’d slug me or say yes.”
    “Are those my two choices?” she asked, reaching for his other hand. She was already holding one. “Slug you or say yes?”
    “Essentially.” He smiled at her, and squeezed both of her hands in his own.
    “It’s simple then. The answer is yes. If I slug you, it would make a terrible mess. They might throw us out of the restaurant. And you might not be my best friend anymore.”
    “Yes, I would.” And then he asked her the same question she had inquired of him when he first proposed. “Are you serious?” He was referring to her timid “yes.” It was gentle, but heartfelt.
    “Yes, I am. I never thought of us that way before. And whenever my mother suggested it, I thought she was insane. But now that I think about it, there’s no one else on earth I’d want to marry. Except Hortie maybe, but she can be such a pain in the neck. So if I’m going to marry my best friend, I’d rather marry you.” They were both laughing while she explained.
    “Have I told you that I love you?” he asked her.
    “I think you did. But you can always say it again,” she said primly, with an enchanting little smile.
    “I love you, Annabelle.”
    “I love you too, Josiah. I love you very, very much. I guess this is the best way to protect our friendship forever.” And then as she said it, he saw her eyes fill with tears, and her lip quiver, and he could see she was upset.
    “What’s wrong?” he whispered.
    “I wish I could tell Robert and my father. This is the most important thing that’s ever happened to me, and I have no one to tell. My mother already knows. And who will walk me down the aisle?” As she said it, tears rolled down her cheeks.
    “We’ll figure it out,” he said gently, as he wiped her tears away with his hand. “Don’t cry, sweetheart. Everything is going to be all right.”
    “I know,” she said. She felt absolutely certain that with Josiah she would always be in good hands. Suddenly, it made perfect sense to her, although it never had before. But now it was his idea, and her own, not someone else’s crazy suggestion that made no sense. Now it all did. “When do you want to do it?”
    “I don’t know. That’s up to you. I’m at your disposal from today on. We can get married whenever you want.”
    “What about in Newport this summer?” she said, looking pensive. “In the garden. That would be less formal than a church.” And there would be no aisle, which was so upsetting to her now. She had no uncles to walk her down the aisle, no one to stand in for her father or brother. There was no one at all. She’d have to walk down the aisle all by herself. “Maybe we could do the actual wedding very small, and have a big party later. With Daddy and Robert gone, it doesn’t feel right to do a big wedding, and I think it would be too hard on my mother. What about Newport in August?”
    “Sounds great to me.” He beamed at her. Things were going even better than he’d planned, or dared to hope since last