Poppy: Bride of Alaska (American Mail-Order Bride 49) Read Free

chicken bone — up on his offer of an annulment once his business was finished, whatever that meant.  
    Matthew Turner stood like a marble statue beside her, so uncomfortable that a pang of pity zipped through her. His expensive clothes and perfectly combed blond hair made him the spitting image of an upper-crust snob from a wealthy Boston family. Except for the tattered cuffs, that is. And the fact that such a handsome man was in desperate need of a wife. To go to Alaska.
    None of it really made sense but, as he said on the platform earlier, she didn’t really care about the why. Despite his blatant attempt to charm her with those disturbingly long eyelashes earlier, his promise to not attempt to bed her sounded genuine to her ears — ears that had heard so many lies that it was rare for her to fall victim to them any longer. Still, Poppy didn’t give her trust lightly. No matter what he claimed, one sharp eye would stay focused on his every move, just in case.
    Her pride still stung a bit, though, at how disgusted he looked at the thought of making her his wife in more than name only. Perhaps the women he courted back in Boston were fancier, but enough heads turned when she walked by for her to know that she wasn’t a hideous ogre.  
    Stop being vain , she chided herself. None of that mattered, except to her silly ego.
    A muscle twitched in Matthew’s jaw as the justice spoke of love and forgiveness, and Poppy wondered what had happened in his life to make the man so desperate and angry. It came off him in waves, and she was almost sure he had no idea. Curiosity gnawed at her. Exactly how did a posh fellow like him fall so low as to marry a gutter rat like her?
    Time would tell. Or it wouldn’t. Poppy didn’t really care. All she cared about was getting to Alaska to start her new life. It didn’t matter that she had no idea what she would do once she arrived, but she had Matthew’s promise of one month’s rent so at least she wouldn’t be left out in the cold…literally. Hopefully he would keep that promise. If he didn’t, he’d be sorry.
    Visions of John Muir’s famous glacier kept Poppy entertained through the rest of the ceremony. All that solitude and peace. No one to hurt you. No one to tell you that you’re less than. Only a pure blue-white river of ice that held the promise of scouring away the sins and horrors of the past.
    After the ‘I dos’, the justice pulled out two copies of the marriage certificate. “Please sign here,” the justice said, pointing to the appropriate line on each form, then handed one to Matthew. “And congratulations. You’re officially wed. You may kiss the bride.”
    Poppy stiffened as Matthew turned to her, suddenly worried that she’d misread him, that he was going to take advantage of the situation, despite his promises. Lifting one knee slightly, she readied herself to make good on her promise at the depot. Relieved breath whooshed out of her when he barely brushed his warm, soft lips along her cheekbone. Strange, though, how the spot he kissed tingled.  
    Stepping out of the justice’s office, the sharp, clean odor of sea and rain and green filled Poppy’s nostrils. It was exactly how she thought Alaska would smell. The scent of freedom, of a new life. And if this was how Seattle smelled, she could hardly wait to discover the aromatic delights of her new home.
    “You must be famished,” Matthew said, looking down at her kindly. She still couldn’t get over how tall he was. It was a good thing this wasn’t a real marriage because she would develop a permanent kink in her neck looking up at him. Of course, the view was quite pleasing…
    Stop that!
    In response to his question, Poppy’s stomach chose that moment to grumble loudly, as if it had heard him.  
    “Well, I guess that’s your answer,” she laughed.  
    A funny cross between amusement and embarrassment flashed in his warm, hazel eyes, a look she’d seen a few times since stepping off the