She caught his eye as they sat in front of the fireplace in the master cabin later that evening, and blushed. The fire sparked, but they could still hear the muffled sounds of consummation down the hall.
He hadn't meant anything to her before, really, until Gladys entered the parlor in her borrowed wedding gown. The flash of white blinded her to the inanity of staging a ceremony just to vacate the alcove even as it illuminated her heart.
How did I miss this, she wondered as he commanded her look with a single gaze.
Silently, she accepted his troth.