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arms.  “That’s unreasonable.  Two weeks?” 
    Malinda looked at Ellen in surprise.  How low would she go?   She wouldn’t say only five days , would she?
    “One week,” Wesley suggested.  “That gives us all time to get to know one another
     a little better and to decide whom we want to marry, but it doesn’t make us feel like
     you’re trying to put off the marriage forever.”  Wesley’s voice sounded perfectly reasonable, but his eyes were on Malinda the whole
     while.
    Ellen turned to Malinda.  “Are you okay with one week?” 
    Malinda nodded.  “I don’t think we’re going to be able to talk them into anything
     more than that.”   Maybe she’d be able to stretch it longer than that.  The longer she could put off
     her wedding night, and the better she knew her husband before, the better she’d feel
     about it all.
    “One week.”
    “A week it is.  Not a day more.”   Patrick stood and grabbed Ellen’s hand, pulling her to her feet and out of the room. 
     Malinda heard a door close.
    She looked at Wesley, wondering if he’d be angry.  He and Patrick and been sitting
     in arm chairs across from the sofa where Ellen and Malinda sat.  He stood and moved
     to sit beside Malinda.  “Thank you for talking to your sister.”   His fingers skimmed along her cheek as he stared into her eyes.
    Malinda nodded.  She didn’t tell him that Ellen had brought it up first.  Why hurt
     his feelings by making him think her sister didn’ t want to marry him?  “I’m glad we’re going to take a little time to get to know each
     other.”
    He put his arm around her shoulders along the back of the sofa, pulling her close
     beside him.  Dropping his head, he pressed his lips to hers in a kiss with a great
     deal more passion than they’d shared in the buggy.  Her lips parted under his insistent
     tongue and he slid his tongue inside her mouth to toy with hers.  His hands were against
     her back, pressing her into him. 
    She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him.  She had been thinking about
     what Harriett had told her about what happened between a husband and wife, and hadn’t
     even been able to see herself undressed with a man.  With Wesley, though, all she
     could think about was stripping off all of their clothes and climbing onto his lap. 
     She couldn’t help but wonder how Ellen would react if she found them naked together
     on Patrick’s sofa when they came back.  She pulled back as a giggle escaped her lips.
    He looked down at her questioningly.  “Are you laughing at me?”   He had one eyebrow raised and looked stern
    She shook her head.  “Not at all.”  She blushed, knowing she could never tell him
     what she’d been thinking.
    “Share the humor.  I can always use a good laugh.”
    She shook her head emphatically.  “I couldn’t.”
    “Then I’ll just assume you were marveling at having such a handsome man beside you,
     and thinking about how inc redibly fortunate you are, and you just couldn’t help but laugh with joy.”
    She giggled again.  “That’s exactly it.”
    He stroked her cheek, smoothing the hair that had fallen out of her bun.  “Have I
     mentioned yet that I’m happy you’re here?”
    “Not since you quit thinking I was Ellen.”   Ellen would make him a better wife, she knew.  Could she even handle the daily chores
     that would be a part of being his wife?
    He grinned.  “That was a fun little mistake, wasn’t it?”
    “I don’t know that I’d call it fun.  It makes everything so confusing.”   If only he were Patrick and had the money to make her feel secure.  But Patrick
     wasn’t the man for her, and she knew it.
    He studied her for a moment.  “How does it make things confusing?” 
    She shrugged.  “It just is.  I don’t really know how to explain it.”   How could she tell him she was afraid of being poor without angering him?
    “You’re not seriously considering marrying my brother, are