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deemed part of a glorified boarding house, she’d certainly be upset when she discovered the size of their quarters and learned that on the other side of a very thin wall was the room where Allison and Wes lived. He swallowed his unease and continued on.
    “ I hope you don’t mind my friends. They’re just—” Jack shrugged as if he didn’t know exactly how to describe his friends and their irritating habits.
    “ It’s all right,” she assured him, fussing with a lock of her raven hair with her free hand. “I must confess, I didn’t realize that I’d be meeting your friends so soon, which is silly of course. You did mention that you were close to them...”
    Tension crackled in the air as the unsaid part of her sentence hung between them.
    “Yes, I did,” Jack said smoothly. “Ella, I am sorry that I didn’t explain the situation better.”
    She swallowed so hard he thought she might have swallowed her tongue. But when no choking sounds came from her throat, he knew better. It wasn’t that she was tart-tongued, and of course, he did understand her situation, but still, to his mind, he hadn’t done anything wrong. It wasn’t his fault she’d misunderstood. He’d said he worked for the army and didn’t have crops, and she’d been sending letters to a fort. How could she have possibly misunderstood?
    The walk across the field that separated the Lewis’ home, where Ella was dropped off by the stage, and the little shop in which Chaplain Malone worked seemed like three miles rather than the three hundred feet that it was.
    When they finally reached the shop, Jack thought he might expire from heat—or be suffocated by the undeniable tension that was still filling the air between them, choking them both.
    Three minutes later, the vows were said and it was time for the awkward kiss that would seal their union.
    Most men would be put off by the wide eyes and tight lips that presented themselves to him; Jack was not.
    He obviously lacked the charm and finesse that Gray oozed in the company of ladies, yet he had no intention of letting her expression deter him from what might be the only kiss he’d be allowed to have for a while. Not that he thought it would be a long time before he was kissing her again, of course. If he kissed her right the first time, it would just make her that much more susceptible to his charm. He liked the idea of that and a slow smile crossed his face at the same time something flickered in her eyes. It wasn’t fear exactly, nor did it appear to be the excitement that shone in them earlier; frankly he didn’t know what it was, nor did he have time to contemplate it when Chaplain Malone’s gruff cough tore him from his trance.
    Right. He still needed to kiss her.
    Cupping her face in his hands, he lowered his lashes until all he could see of her through his slightly parted eyelids were her red lips and bent his head toward hers to capture her mouth in a warm kiss that should melt her resolve.
    Their kiss did not ignite a scorching level of passion in her as he’d hoped it would, however.
    In fact, their kiss didn’t even ignite that feeling in him .
    For just as quickly as he brought his lips to hers and was about to kiss her for the first time, she swiftly pressed her puckered lips to his, kissed him, then pulled away, giving him a chaste kiss better suited for two young lovers meeting behind the barn for the first time than for a husband and wife.
    There was no doubting it now. There was certainly something wrong, but damned if he knew what it was. As fluidly as he could in order not to make it appear worse than it already was, he released her and backed away, refusing to meet either Ella’s or Chaplain Malone’s eyes.
    “ If you two will excuse me,” the older man with bushy brows who’d just ordained this ‘union’ said, snapping his Bible closed, “I need to be gettin’ back to work. I need to finish one last thing before dinner.”
    “ Right,” Jack clipped. He