“Hidden talents,” he explained while Maddie wrapped Chrissy in a warm blanket.
They took their places on either side of Chrissy on the sofa, while she cautiously sipped her cocoa. Exhausted, emotionally drained, she leaned her head on J.C.’s strong shoulder. Maddie smoothed the child’s drying hair, incredibly grateful that she was all right, that they had found her before the storm could sweep her away.
Chrissy handed her uncle the mug, unable to finish her cocoa. With her free hand, she reached for Maddie’s hand and clung on.
Tears stung Maddie’s eyes. Tears of gratitude and love.
“Do you promise we’ll always be together?” Chrissy asked.
“I promise you’ll always be with me,” J.C. replied.
Maddie pushed away the dart of pain. He hadn’t included her.
“Together,” Chrissy said, her voice sleepy.
“Together,” J.C. echoed.
Chrissy’s eyelids drooped, then drifted shut. Carefully, J.C. eased off the sofa so that he could prop Chrissy’s head on the armrest and allow her to stretch out.
“Do you want to take her home?” Maddie asked.
“I want to keep an eye on her tonight. I can’t sleep anyway.”
Maddie tucked the blanket closer, then reluctantly rose, following J.C. into the kitchen. Again switching roles, he turned on the electric kettle and reached for two cups. A canister of tea sat on the small breakfast table. But she didn’t feel like sitting. Or drinking tea.
J.C.’s voice remained even. “Do you still love him?”
Maddie wanted to scream, flail, pound the wall. All too aware of Chrissy and her mother, she couldn’t. Tears smarted, but she refused to give in to them. “How can you even ask that?”
“Because I have to know.” He no longer looked forbidding.
“Of course I don’t.”
“And what about me?”
Tears tortured her eyelids, flooded her voice. “You’re a man who deserves a loving wife who can devote everything to her family.”
J.C. stepped closer. “And what do you deserve?”
Helplessly she held open her hands.
Taking one more step, he smoothed her hair back over one shoulder. “What do you want?”
Tears snuck out, one by one. “It’s not about what I want. I am going to take care of Mom, that won’t ever change.”
“Of course not,” he replied calmly.
She bit her lip. “But until you meet the right woman, I’m where I want to be.”
“I’ve met her.” He cupped her chin. “You’re the right woman.”
Irony was like a sword to her throat. “Afraid not. Mom and I come as a package deal.”
“So?” J.C. stroked her cheek, savoring the softness of her skin.
“So I can’t be that right woman, the one who can devote herself completely to you.”
“Funny, I don’t remember writing that on my application.” His upturned lips were close to hers. “I believe I asked for the woman with the largest heart in the world, who can love her mother, an orphaned child and if I’m very, very lucky, me.”
Heart quaking, she felt his breath mingle with hers. “You deserve more—”
He placed two fingers on her lips, hushing her words. “I don’t deserve you, Maddie Carter, but I love you. I think I fell in love with you the first day you walked into my office.”
Her eyes searched his. “I’ll never put Mom in a home.”
“Not even ours?”
Breath stuttering, she tried to control her tears.
Gently, he smoothed each drop from her cheeks. “We’re a family, Maddie. We might not have planned it that way, but we are, and I wouldn’t trade one member for anything in the world.”
“I can’t believe …”
“Believe.”
She traced the outline of his strong jaw. “Did I tell you that I love you?”
His eyes said it all, the gold flecks reflecting each unspoken word.
“I love you, J.C. With all my heart, with every breath I take.”
That breath caught as he touched his lips to hers, possessive, loving, completing. And Maddie knew it was for real.
Hammers and electric saws pounded and buzzed; Sheetrock dust and wood shavings littered the floors. Ripping down the exterior walls between the apartments had been J.C.’s idea. Maddie suggested an arched opening for the connection. And Seth found the perfect spot for the exterior door just past the head of the stairs. With some reconfiguring, he was able to create an entry hall, and fashion the two living areas into a den and living room. J.C.’s old bedroom became Lillian’s new room, right next to Chrissy’s, which pleased both of them immensely. The wall between Maddie’s bedroom and Lillian’s old one was shifted so they would have a larger master bedroom with an adjoining smaller space perfect for a future nursery.
They were able to stay in the apartments until it was time to alter the bedrooms. Sam and Bret opened their home, inviting them all to stay until the work was done. Seth had a strict deadline. Their new unified home had to be completed by the time they arrived back from their honeymoon.
J.C. offered Maddie the world. She chose Paris. Not having traveled outside Rosewood since college and never having left the United States, Maddie had vacationed in her mind, exploring the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay, walking the banks of the Seine, gazing at the Eiffel Tower, strolling beneath the Arc de Triomphe. Now, she would retrace those imaginary steps with her groom.
Initially, she worried about leaving Lillian and Chrissy for two weeks. But practically everyone in Rosewood stepped up, offering to help. Familiar with the shop, Sam would run the Tea Cart. Chrissy and Lillian would keep to their normal routine, then spend evenings with Samantha and Bret. Each and every one of Maddie’s protests was shot down, made null and void.
J.C. took care of her primary concern, telling Owen that he would never sell him the Wagner Hill. Not long afterward, J.C. was contacted by the superstore Owen had intended to build on the site once the Wagner Hill was demolished. The entire plan exposed, and realizing that Maddie was really going to marry J.C., Owen left Rosewood for Dallas where his family’s corporate headquarters were located.
Maddie was filled with relief. Not that she had much time to worry anyway. Caught up in wedding preparations, every hour was full to the brim. Emma insisted on designing the wedding gown, but she didn’t have to do much persuading.
Still, on the big day, Maddie touched the silk confection reverently. “Emma, it’s too beautiful to wear.”
Accustomed to dealing with brides, Emma took the comment in stride. Still, her smile was soft. “It’s not nearly as beautiful as you are.”
“Ditto,” Samantha chimed in.
“Maddie is the most beautiful woman in the world,” Lillian declared, then patted Chrissy’s knee. “And I’ve got the most beautiful girl in the world right next to me.”
The sweetness that perfumed the bride’s room had little to do with the scattered rose petals and everything to do with the bond between the occupants. It was as smooth as the silk that settled over Maddie’s hips, then trailed to cover her bare toes and puddle like a swirl of icing. Long sleeves of soft, delicate lace came to perfect pyramids on each hand. The same lace fitted around her neck and shadowed the silk bodice. Tiny pearls were hand sewn on the waist. The same pearls festooned the veil that flared down her back to trail behind the full-skirted dress.
Samantha clasped her chest. “Oh, my. Maddie …”
Carefully, slowly, Maddie turned to the full-length mirror. “It’s this incredible dress.”
“Every time she makes one, I think it’s the most gorgeous ever,” Samantha murmured. “And it is.”
“But it’s the bride wearing it that makes the dress beautiful,” Emma insisted. “You are an exquisite bride, but then I expected nothing less.”
“Ditto,” Samantha muttered, wiping at a tear.
“Honestly, Samantha, you have become the soggiest, most romantic person I know
.” Maddie sniffled.
Emma softly clapped her hands together. “Makeup, ladies. We’re all be reapplying if you two don’t stop.” She glanced at her watch. “Chrissy, it’s time for you and Mrs. Lillian to take your places.”
While Chrissy wheeled Lillian to the vestibule, Samantha helped Emma adjust the veil so that it fell perfectly over Maddie’s loose curls that were softly gathered in an upsweep. “I feel like I’m sending my child out into the world!” Samantha wailed.
“Knowing the kind of friend you are, you’ll be a great mom someday.”
“Glad you think so.” Samantha patted her slim stomach. “Someday’s arrived. A few more weeks and Emma would have had to let out my dress.”
“Oh, Sam!” Forgetting about her dress or makeup, she pulled her matron of honor into a hug. Sam and Bret had been hoping for some time. “I’m so happy for you.”
“You crush Maddie’s dress and I’ll wish twins on you,” Emma threatened.
They all laughed.
Wiggling her bare feet, Maddie slipped on her shoes. “I think that’s it.”
“Perfect,” Emma declared.
“Are you ready?” Samantha asked.
“Oh, yes.” She had been ready since the moment J.C. proposed.
Emma opened the wide double doors. Organ music floated from the sanctuary. Now the scent of roses did permeate the air. As a botanist, Samantha had lovingly helped Maddie choose the perfect flowers. They agreed that white roses suited the innate beauty of the aged sanctuary. Nestled among them were exquisite hand-chosen orchids.
But Maddie wanted her bouquet to be a declaration of her love. Flawless scarlet roses. The eternal symbol of love, her love for the man not only of her dreams, but who had made her dreams a reality.
Anxious to see J.C., to begin their new life together, Maddie practically floated to the archway that opened onto the center aisle of the sanctuary. There, waiting to give her away, were Lillian and Chrissy.
Lillian grasped Maddie’s elbow, which would ensure she was steady as they walked to the alter. “I know you’ll be as happy as your father and I were.”
“Oh, Mom.” Maddie kissed her cheek.
Chrissy tugged at the waist of her chiffon dress made of the palest of lavenders. She and Lillian, as well as Samantha, wore the same color, their dresses a delicate blush of lavender with just enough color to accent Maddie’s gown.
Samantha squeezed Maddie’s fingers. “Be happy, my friend.” Despite her cane, her steps were even as she proceeded up the aisle, holding a nosegay of white roses.
“Ready?” Emma asked.
Maddie smiled. “Absolutely.”
Emma signaled the organist and the familiar notes of the wedding march trumpeted through the sanctuary. With her mother and Chrissy on either side, Maddie felt as though her feet didn’t even touch the ground as she walked toward her groom.
Tall, achingly handsome, he was dressed in a black tuxedo and crisp white shirt. The boutonniere he had chosen was also a scarlet rose, one that matched hers. His eyes lit up as he caught sight of her and didn’t waver, holding hers as she came to stand beside him.
The pastor began the age-old words, soon asking, “Who gives this woman?”
Lillian and Chrissy chorused, “We do.”
Chrissy held Lillian’s hand as they sat in the reserved pew.
Gazing at J.C., Maddie wanted to pinch herself, to believe this wonderful man was to be her husband. The pastor’s words spilled over her like polished diamonds on velvet.
“Do you take …”
“In sickness and health …”
“Until death do us part.”
“I do,” Maddie vowed.
J.C. echoed her response.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
Their lips met, a gentle kiss of promise. An overture of love flooded them both.
J.C. took Maddie’s hand, holding it as though he would never let it go. “Are you ready, Mrs. Mueller?”
A love so overpowering it filled every particle, every pore, sang through her veins. “Are you ready, Mr. Mueller?”
J.C. drew her hand to his lips, kissing it softly. “Only for the next fifty years or so.”
Music poured from the organ, guiding their first married steps as they traveled down the aisle and into the future created from faith and love, their own family by design.
Questions for Discussion
1. Because of Maddie’s decision not to put her mother in a nursing home, she lost the man in her life. Would you have done the same thing as Maddie, or made a different decision. Why or why not?
2. Nine-year-old Chrissy experienced an unexpected and profound loss when both her parents died. How do you think Chrissy was handling the loss? What about J.C.?
3. Did you agree with J.C.’s solution to finding Chrissy a secure home?
4. After seeing that they could both help each other, J.C. offers a solution to their situations. If you were Maddie, would you have accepted the solution, or would you have gone a different way?
5. Have you ever had a relationship with someone not born into your family, but who feels that way? Please explain.
6. Just when Maddie’s dream of opening a tea shop is becoming reality, her ex-boyfriend Owen comes back into her life, acting strangely. Do you think Maddie should have tried to learn more about the man Owen had become?
7. Do you think that J.C. jumped to conclusions about Maddie’s relationship with Owen too quickly? What could he have done differently to save them both heartache?
8. Chrissy and Lillian seem to get along very well. Why do you think that is?
9. Maddie had given up many of her life’s dreams and goals to care for her mother. Which dream do you think became most important to Maddie? Why or why not?
10. Maddie eventually finds out who’s been trying to ruin her plans for her tea shop—and her “family.” Have you ever experienced betrayal by a loved one? A friend? How did it turn out for you?
11. If you were J.C., would you have sold the Wagner Hill building? Did you agree with J.C.’s decision? Explain.
12. Did you feel that J.C. and Maddie had the basis for a strong marriage? Do you think they will have a “happily-ever-after”?
ISBN: 9781408951354
Family by Design
© Bonnie K. Winn 2011
First Published in Great Britain in 2011
Harlequin (UK) Limited
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, including without limitation xerography, photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
This ebook is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated, without the prior consent of the publisher, in any form or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
All characters in this work 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.
This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises II B.V./S.à.r.l.
® and TM are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.eharlequinuk.co.uk
Table of Contents
Excerpt
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Copyright
Family by Design Page 19
