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  “True. And I’ll admit that I felt a bit guilty about that. But I was desperate. And there was no way in hell I was going to let the woman I loved—the only woman I’ll ever love—get away again.”

  “You love me?” She’d known that, of course. It was just nice hearing the words for the very first time.

  “Absolutely.” He kissed her lightly. Sweetly. “Positively.” His lips punctuated his claim. “Forever and ever.” He dipped into his pocket and took out a black velvet box.

  “Oh, Alec, I love you, too,” she breathed as he slipped the woven gold band back onto her finger where it belonged. Where it had always belonged. “Absolutely. Positively. Forever and ever.” They could have been exchanging their marriage vows all over again.

  “Amen,” he said with a huge sigh of relief and pleasure. As he had that first night, and again at the festival, he lifted her into his arms and carried her off the stage. Still lost in one another, neither paid any attention to the thunderous applause.

  A thought suddenly occurred to K.J. “Since you’re still not a bachelor, it’s certainly a good thing I bought you.”

  “I wasn’t that worried. Since your friend had a back-up bundle of bucks in her purse.”

  “You gave Molly money to bid on you?”

  “Only if you ran out of dough. Then she was going to hand me over to you.”

  “Well, you certainly seemed to have thought of everything.”

  “I’m yours, Kate. And I was willing to do whatever it took to keep it that way.”

  Since it was what she wanted, K.J. magnanimously decided to forgive them all—Alec, Rafael and Molly—for their various deceptions.

  “Will we be going to Lapland after our honeymoon? ” she asked.

  Alec looked down at her, his expression as serious as she’d ever seen it. “Only if you want to. Because I’ve recently discovered, albeit a little late, that the only treasure I really want—or need—is you.”

  “That’s so sweet.” She lifted a hand to his dark, rugged cheek. “And, of course, I want to go find your Viking ship with you, Alec.” Her smile faded to a slight frown. “Although I suspect it’ll be freezing in Lapland, which means we’ll probably have to wear clothes.”

  “Don’t count on it, Mrs. Mackenzie, since I intend to get you naked as often as possible. We’ll just have to keep each other warm.”

  And as their lips met and clung in a kiss sweeter than any they’d shared before, K.J. had not a single doubt that was one vow neither she nor Alec would have any trouble keeping.

  ISBN : 978-1-4592-5740-5

  MACKENZIE’S WOMAN

  Copyright © 1999 by JoAnn Ross.

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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