by Jean Oram
“Who’d have thought, huh?”
“Surprising you with a wedding? That’s Blueberry Springs for you.”
“Another reason to love my town.”
“My town, huh? This mayor business is going to your head.”
Mandy took Olivia’s empty chair at the head table and they watched Nicola and Todd for a moment. The two were smiling, looking like the most awake couple in the hall as the reception wound down. Something about being up crazy hours with twins had them fully prepared for an impromptu wedding.
Mandy was smiling in that soft way of hers whenever she saw babies lately, and Devon watched her. Her gaze flicked to her husband and best friend, Frankie.
Totally in love. He wondered if he looked that sappy whenever he glanced at Olivia. He had a pretty good idea that he did. In fact, he couldn’t wait to get her home and out of that gorgeous gown.
“You’re so lovesick,” Mandy said, nudging him.
He grinned. Coming home had never been as sweet as when Olivia had been there waiting for him, and he looked forward to many decades of doing so.
“Speak for yourself,” he retorted. “I saw you ogling the twins. What’s that about?”
Mandy turned somber, her gaze finding its way back to her husband.
“What? What’s wrong?” Anxiety built inside Devon. He knew how devastating a miscarriage could be, and it was something he’d never wish upon his sister, no matter how big a pain in the butt she was.
“We’re adopting.”
“What?”
“Yeah.” She smiled. “But shh. It’s not totally firm yet and you know how these things can go.”
“That’s awesome, Fluff.”
She growled. “Don’t call me that, Demon Boy.”
“Why not?”
She swung her arm back to slug his arm and he leaned away, laughing. Life was good, and his sister would make an amazing mother.
Olivia’s father strode over, looking stern as usual, and Mandy scooted off while Devon straightened his bow tie in anticipation. He stood, shaking his father-in-law’s hand. He still didn’t know how anyone had convinced his new in-laws to come to the surprise wedding.
“I’m taking Joan back to the hotel,” Mr. Carrington said gruffly. He turned to look out over the dance floor, where Olivia was strutting her stuff with Ginger, Logan’s daughter Annabelle, and Emma, the three of them laughing like they didn’t have a care in the world. It looked a lot like they were doing the Funky Chicken. In other words, it was undignified and horrible. And it brought a wistful smile to the businessman’s face.
“She’s happy,” Mr. Carrington stated.
“I intend to keep her that way.”
“Good.”
They shook hands again, this time Mr. Carrington giving Devon a slap on the biceps with his free palm, letting the contact linger in as much of a man-hug as he’d ever give. With a curt nod, and looking as though he wanted to say more, the man was off.
“They offered to send us on a honeymoon,” Olivia said, coming to join Devon after hugging her parents goodbye.
“Really?”
“I told them no. I’m not taking their money.”
Images of a luxury vacation fell from Devon’s mind. “Oh.”
She hooked a finger in his aquamarine cummerbund and gave him a wicked smile. “But as a gift, I said we’d be happy to accept.”
He pulled her tight to him, kissing her ear, ending with a playful nip that made her growl.
“Be careful or we’ll be consummating this marriage in the coatroom.”
“Works for me.” He pretended to stand. “Because I haven’t seen a stitch of ‘something blue’ on you and I have a feeling it’s a special lingerie treat meant for my eyes only.”
She laughed in delight, yanking him onto the chair beside her and in the process pulling the head table’s white linen tablecloth askew. He slung an arm across her shoulders, bringing her close enough that he could inhale her perfume and that special scent of hers that brought back a treasure trove of wonderful memories.
“How did they manage to pull all of this off?” she murmured in wonder, taking in the room.
The space had a magical glow from the tiny white fairy lights strung above. Black material behind them gave the effect of a night sky, and there were flowers everywhere. Elegant and simply gorgeous. Just like his bride.
She bit her bottom lip, her eyes sparkling as much as her mother’s borrowed diamond earrings as she leaned forward and kissed him. “I love you.”
Devon stared into the depths of her warm brown eyes. “I love you, too, Liv.”
The bride and groom smiled at each other.
“So how did they convince your parents to come to this?” he asked.
“Emma threatened them.”
“It was that easy?”
“Not quite, but my father…he just wants what’s best for me and I think her illness has made him realize the truth—life’s short.”
Devon kissed her nose, taking in the implications of her statement.
“What do you think?” Ginger demanded, interrupting their tête-à-tête. “Did we do okay?” She was standing at their table with Wanda, Mary Alice and Trish, glasses of champagne mixed with orange juice in hand.
“Amazing,” Olivia and Devon said at the same time.
“You’ll send us a bill?” Devon added.
“We’ll figure it out eventually,” his stepmom said. “Maybe.” She was smiling, happy. For all the teasing they’d given her as teens, she wasn’t half-bad.
“Thanks. For everything,” Devon murmured.
The women scattered and Nicola came by, baby in her arms. “Can you hold her? I need to use the ladies’ room.”
Olivia popped up, arms extended for the handoff, and Nicola shuffled the sleeping baby into Olivia’s care. Devon felt the familiar sting of their lost infant once again, more pronounced in the natural way Olivia was cuddling the child. The light in her eyes was soft, her expression one of consummate love.
“She’s adorable,” she whispered, taking her seat beside Devon.
Devon tickled the baby’s chin, stunned by the tender feelings the child evoked.
“Maybe we should have a few of these,” he whispered, feeling slightly choked up.
Olivia nodded. Her expression wasn’t one of pain, as he’d expected, but rather one of curiosity and longing. She met his gaze. “Think we could do this? For real?”
He slipped an arm around her shoulder, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, even though he knew the tendril had been intentionally left out of her blond twist.
“Yeah, I do.”
“I’d like to do some work for Ginger. It was fun working with dresses again. But I need to finish up things with Carrington—hand the project off to Emma and see if she can get things back on track. Then maybe finish my minor in fashion. Have it all.”
“Yeah?” He loved it when she dreamed big, and in his mind there was nothing sexier than the woman in his life following her heart, her dreams.
Her lip got tugged into her mouth again as she stared at the sleeping child. “But we’re already in our thirties. The doctors said I’m okay after what happened with my pregnancy…but I’m not getting any younger.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
“What if there isn’t time to do it all?” Olivia asked. Her expression turned hopeful. “Maybe you could be a stay-at-home dad and we could have a baby right away?”
“I could tote around a mini mayor?” he joked.
“Would you do that for me? Be a stay-at-home dad?”
“How would we afford it?”
“If I came up with a plan, would you trust me to follow it?”
He watched her, knowing she was asking for more than just a parenting plan. She was looking for him to trust them, trust her.
“For you, I would resign.”
Olivia frowned. “That doesn’t feel right, either.”
He pulled her close, kissing her temple. “
We’ll get it figured out,” he repeated. “We don’t have to have everything planned today. And if you do find a way for us to have it all, just tell me where to show up and I’ll be there.”
“Hey, congratulations,” Ethan said, sitting beside Devon. He looked out across the room and frowned. “What’s Gramps doing? He doesn’t drink sherry.”
Devon followed his gaze and laughed. It looked like Gran was filling their grandfather’s glass with some special blend from her handbag.
“Has Gramps seemed…off…to you lately?” Ethan asked, massaging his bad leg.
“He’s eighty. He’s not the same spring chicken he was when he was seventy-six.”
“Ha,” Ethan said humorlessly. His brother was one of the few in the family who could handle spending time with Gramps, a man almost as curmudgeonly as Alvin Lasota.
“Want to buy a catering business?” Ethan asked, breaking into Devon’s thoughts.
“Nope. I have a job.”
“Seriously? Not even for a steal of a deal? Do it part-time while running the town? Come on. Please?”
“Seriously.”
“You know who should take it over?” Olivia asked, leaning forward, the baby still sleeping in her arms. “Lily.”
“Lily who?” Ethan was a horrible actor. His brow had furrowed in fake confusion at the mention of Lily Harper.
“She’s just finishing chef school and is thinking about coming home,” Olivia announced.
“Totally your type.” Devon smiled at his brother and clapped him on the shoulder. “She likes grumpy apes.” He tossed his head back and laughed, enjoying the way he was torturing his brother with what could maybe one day bloom into love.
“Devon? Where can I put this?” Olivia had a rare abstract print in her hands from a well-known New York artist. It was fairly small, but she’d still have to move something on Devon’s walls—sorry, their walls—in order to hang it.
“That’s hideous,” he said, his body pressing into hers as he glanced over her shoulder. She leaned into him, savoring the fact that she could.
“It’s very expensive.”
“Sorry. Expensive and hideous.”
Olivia gave the print another look. He was right. “I’ll put it in the garage sale pile.”
“You sure?”
“Our world, remember?”
She set the print in the growing stack of things they were parting with. Devon cupped her chin, smiling at her as if he couldn’t quite believe they were truly together.
“If you like it, it doesn’t matter what I think.”
“Maybe I like how you break the mold in my head.”
“What does that mean?” His blue eyes narrowed in confusion.
“I have certain ideas about what’s right or proper or good. Sometimes it’s limiting. I like that you accept me for however I happen to be in the moment. You, my dear, are more than enough for a woman like me.”
His mouth grazed hers, sending electric shocks through her body. Her fingers went flying up, knotting in his hair as he took her mouth with an urgency that had the two of them knocking into the couch as they struggled for equilibrium.
Their dogs began barking, thinking it was all a game.
Devon’s kisses were consuming, his mouth fully over hers. She could barely breathe, barely think. It was just like college. Consuming. Rapid-fire kisses, brain meltdowns and seduction in one small touch that ignited everything. It was just like before, only hotter, because now they were married, their love enough to conquer everything that came across their path, their worlds united as one.
Finally, Devon Mattson was hers.
Thank you for reading THE SURPRISE WEDDING. I hope you loved Devon and Olivia’s happy ending! Find out what happens to Devon’s brother Ethan when an old friend steps into his life with a proposal he can’t refuse in A PINCH OF COMMITMENT.
* * *
When falling in love isn’t part of the contract.
Chef Lily Harper grew up tagging along after Ethan who saved her from bullies, mud puddles and being an outsider. When Lily flees a nasty ex who won’t take a hint, she comes running home to Blueberry Springs, striking a deal with her childhood protector, Ethan. If he marries her, she’ll take his restaurant off his hands, giving him more time to spend on his dream tech business. It seems like an ideal agreement…until she begins to fall in love with the man who’s made it clear his heart will never be part of their fake marriage deal.
Click to start reading A PINCH OF COMMITMENT now!
Ethan and Lily will grab your heartstrings and pull. Hard.
—Reader review from SpecialAngel.
* * *
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* * *
How did matchmaker Ginger McGinty snag her husband and get her title as a matchmaker? Find out in the Indigo Bay novel SWEET MATCHMAKER.
Ginger hates liars…and she just married a spy!
When Ginger says yes to a marriage of convenience to help keep Logan, the father of a special-needs child, in the country she figures it’ll also get her matchmaking grandmother off her back. But as inconvenient feelings develop for her new, handsome husband, she discovers he's also an undercover secret agent. When his mission ends, what will it mean for their marriage… and her heart?
Click to start reading SWEET MATCHMAKER now!
* * *
…Or turn the page for a sneak peek of Ethan and Lily’s book, A PINCH OF COMMITMENT…
Sneak Peek from A Pinch of Commitment
Ethan Mattson scribbled his initials on the delivery form and returned to the kitchen, grumbling about women not wanting half a man. He’d been shot down. Again.
In the kitchen he found himself face-to-face with his sister, Mandy, and the hottie she’d been chatting with for the past twenty minutes. He quickly turned away, embarrassed that they’d likely witnessed him being rejected.
He went to push past Mandy, but she stopped him, giving him a light smack on the chest. “What’s your problem?” she scolded.
“What’s yours?” he retorted just as quickly. Having a sister who picked up on his every mood—and he had plenty—was a colossal pain in the you-know-what. It was as if she thought him smiling more would fix his life.
Ethan glanced over at the hottie, who looked even sexier from the front. All curves and low neckline and high hemline. She dressed like a powerful businesswoman from the city and his mind spun down Dirty Avenue before his gaze had a chance to make its way up to check out her pretty face.
She had beautiful eyes and a familiar pert nose speckled with freckles.
Aw, man.
Hottie was totally off-limits.
He’d been checking out his sister’s childhood friend, Tagalong Lily. Sure, she wasn’t a kid any longer, but she was like a sister to him, a year younger than Mandy and several more junior to him. Not that it mattered as adults, but you didn’t think about a woman’s legs wrapped around your waist so you could fall into her if she was essentially family. You protected her from men with thoughts like his.
“Hey,” said Hottie. Scratch that. Lily. Lily, Lily, Lily and her newfound hotness.
Her cheeks were pink, her eyes filled with happiness at seeing him. Or something else. Probably something else. People generally weren’t delighted to see him thanks to his stormy moods that frequently rolled in. He should probably do something about that. If, say, he desired a social life.
“Hey, Lilypad.”
She gave him a sassy head tilt that exposed an expanse of smooth neck. Then, as though unable to hold back any longer, Lily yanked him into a fierce, brief hug that left him stumbling, his mind imprinted with one impression—she felt amazing pressed up against him.
Last he’d heard from Moe—the bartender at Brew Babies—his younger sister, Lily, had been working in the city as some fancy-pants chef after cooking school or whatever it was called, and had broken up with the latest douche in
a long line of men not good enough for her. Was she here to stay, or just to torment him with the fact that he hadn’t been with a woman in what felt like long enough to re-grant him his virginity and her middle name had been changed to Hot Stuff? Lily Hot Stuff Harper.
Hello, libido, so nice of you to pop in and turn me into an imbecile with a one-track mind that likes to play in the gutter like a neglected orphan.
Lily leaned in, her perfume soft and sweet, her hands light on his elbows as her lips neared his.
He flinched, jerking away. Too late, he realized she was only going in for a polite cheek kiss to top off her hug.
She gave a smile, but the hurt in her eyes wasn’t easily masked. It reminded him of when, as a family guest at his high school graduation, she’d tried to kiss him goodbye since her family was moving to South Carolina to be closer to cousins. She’d been vulnerable, and it had been his job to protect her like a sibling, not take advantage of her. He’d pulled away, receiving the same look she was giving him now.
“She wants to relieve you of your burdens,” Mandy said, jabbing a thumb in Lily’s direction.
“She what?” His mouth went dry. Surely not that burden.
All right. Gutter mind needed to take some time off. His eyes drifted to her long legs again before he caught himself.
“Lily wants to buy your catering biz as well as Benny’s.” Mandy was speaking slowly, letting the lifeline hit the water, swirl around him, tempting him to change his drowning tune, grab hold and haul himself in.
He could ditch this job.
He could build his website company to where he wanted it, pay back his dad so he could finally retire—his retirement fund had ensured Ethan could live at home after a paralyzing car accident and helped cover the cost of the nineteen surgeries it had taken to get him on his feet again.
He glanced at Lily. She seemed serious about buying him out.
“I’ve already done a pile of research and have asked around about it,” Lily said. “I’m interested.”
