Free His Forbidden Bride (The Brides of Paradise Ranch (Spicy Version) Book 7) by Merry Farmer

bristled in fury and turned to Solomon, murder in his eyes.
    “No.” Solomon echoed his wife. “I made a promise to Honoria, and I intend to honor it.”
    Silence crackled through the church. No one dared to move or breath.
    At last, Rex bared his teeth in what could have been a wicked smile or a snarl. “You will regret this,” he hissed. “I will hound your every waking moment and put every ounce of my power and influence to work bringing you down.”
    “You can try.” Solomon met him with stoic calm.
    Rex narrowed his eyes further. “If I can’t end this marriage where it started, I can end it in other ways.” His meaning was as clear as if he had laid out detailed plans for murder. “You’d do well to get your affairs in order.”
    Howard had only just opened his mouth to object, and no one else had had a chance to move, when Vivian burst in at the back of the church and shrieked, “My wedding is ruined!”
    Strangely, the dark tension that had wrapped itself around the group at the front of the church snapped like a spring breaking loose from a clock. The sudden shift almost had Solomon laughing.
    Vivian trounced up the aisle, her bouquet—looking a little worse for wear—still in one hand. Her face was twisted in an expression of peevishness.
    “Rance keeps drinking whiskey instead of wine, only a few people have come up to tell me how beautiful I am, and now the only thing anyone is talking about is that she got married too?” Vivian reached the front of the aisle with her last complaint and pointed her bouquet at Honoria. “It can’t possibly be true.”
    “It is true.” Honoria stood straighter and inched forward, still holding Solomon’s hand. “Solomon and I were married.”
    “No,” Vivian yelped, not in protest, but as if she’d been told a ridiculous lie. “No, you weren’t. You can’t marry him, it’s illegal.”
    “It is not illegal in my town,” Howard answered, full of bombast, probably glad that he could finally say something to help the situation.
    “Well you can’t,” Vivian went on in a grinding voice. “This is my wedding day, and I won’t have you ruining it.”
    “Your sister hasn’t ruined anything,” Solomon said. “The reception out there is still for you. The cake and the gifts and the band is all yours.”
    “But everyone is talking about her,” Vivian protested. “They’re supposed to be talking about me!”
    Solomon opened his mouth to reason with her, but Honoria squeezed his hand and shook her head. He closed his mouth. She had far more experience dealing with her sister than he did.
    “We’ll leave,” Honoria said. “I can’t stop people talking, but I won’t stay around and detract from your party.”
    Vivian’s face pinched as though she couldn’t figure out whether that was a good thing or a useless one. “Fine,” she huffed at last. “Go on. Get out of here. If you really did marry this…man—” She curled her lip as though she’d wanted to call him something else. “—then I don’t ever want to see you again.”
    Solomon wondered if that would hurt or delight Honoria beyond telling.
    Honoria nodded. “I wish you every happiness in your new life,” she said, quietly but sweetly. She turned to her father. “I’m sorry to have disappointed you, Papa, but this was something I had to do.”
    “It was not—” Rex stopped cold when Solomon shot a silencing look his way. He bristled, rubbed a hand over his face, then seethed, “Go!”
    With a quick sideways look to Solomon, Honoria pushed forward, silently leading him down the church’s aisle and out the door.

    * * *
    A lmost the entire town of Haskell was celebrating Vivian and Rance’s wedding, and in spite of the rumors that were quick to spread through the revelers, Honoria and Solomon were able to sneak away without much notice. A few of their friends spotted them and ran to offer congratulations, but Solomon urged them to return to the party, saying there would be