by JoAnn Ross
“I’d say yes,” she said on a joyous laugh as he lifted her off her feet and carried her out of the saloon.
Epilogue
September
Although Finn would have preferred to get married right away, he should have realized that Barbara Ann would insist on a full-out Southern shindig. Needless to say, her partner in crime, and, it had turned out, Finn’s aunt by marriage, Mary, was right there with her. And if that wasn’t bad enough, his aunt, Claire, who’d been in contact with both of them by Skype, flew up two weeks early to help the other two females put on the finishing touches.
They held the wedding in the house where Finn and Tori had been living and where they’d turned one of the rooms into a studio for her to record her new album for Pegasus Records.
Thanks to the numerous bedrooms and guesthouse, there was room for Claire, as well as all six of his brothers and their wives and fiancées, making Finn wonder yet again if their father had originally built the house with family reunions in mind. Although his brothers had initially been stunned to discover they’d had a secret uncle, Mary’s warm welcome to her native Alaska had smoothed over what could have been an uncomfortable situation.
Now, while their women were in the master suite with Tori’s best friend, Zoe, who’d flown up from L.A., fussing over the bride, Finn gathered with his brothers in the study. It was a decidedly masculine room, with heavy leather furniture, a towering river-rock fireplace, and paneled walls lined with books. The fact that the books all seemed well read revealed that Colin Brannigan had done more than fishing during his annual visits to Caribou. The idea of his father slowing down enough to relax was something Finn was still wrapping his head around, but if there was one thing this past year had proven, it was that there was a great deal about their father none of them had known.
“I realize it’s customary to toast the groom,” Finn said. “But we Brannigans have always had our own way of doing things, so I’m going to mix it up.”
He saw James’s brows arch as he pulled out a bottle of Villa Pietro Rosso Riserva from a cabinet. “Knox ordered this for me from the Positano winery our big brother inherited,” he said. “I thought it would be a good change from the Bushmills. A new toasting drink for our generation.”
He opened the bottle, then poured the wine into the heavy Waterford glasses he’d already set out. In the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the rich red color gleamed like rubies. When each of them had a glass, he lifted his.
“To Dad,” he said, “who sent us each on a journey to find ourselves, knowing that once we did, we’d become open to the type of forever-after love he was fortunate to have shared with Mom for so many years.
“And while our individual quests proved a reward in themselves, they brought us back to family. So, also here’s to brotherhood, and to the future generations of Brannigans, which, one of us, being an annoying overachiever, has already gotten a head start on.”
He grinned at James, whose fiancée had arrived from Positano with a cute baby bump. His formerly staid, workaholic brother grinned back, his face beaming with paternal pride.
All seven brothers lifted their glasses and drank to the man who’d changed their lives over the past twelve months. And to each other.
Then, united, they moved to the sunroom, where Finn went to the head of the white runner and stood, awaiting his bride.
Although he knew every inch of Tori’s body, he was still stunned at the sight of her walking down that aisle in a strapless white gown fit for a fairy-tale princess. She’d pulled her hair up, which accentuated that sexy slant of her gypsy dark eyes. When she reached his side, she smiled up at him, and as Finn knew it would still do when they were old and gray watching their great-grandchildren jumping into the lake outside the window, his heart took a now-familiar tumble.
The vows were both simple and timeless.
To love. Honor. Cherish.
Without taking his gaze from hers, with hands far steadier than his heart, Finn slipped the ring onto Tori’s finger. Her eyes, moist with happy tears, placed the gleaming symbol of promise on his.
“You may kiss the bride,” the priest, who’d come to Caribou from Our Lady of Guadalupe in nearby Healy, announced.
“About time,” Knox said, earning a laugh from the others.
Finn lowered his head, and as their lips touched for the first time as man and wife, an audible sigh could be heard rippling through the guests.
Then, hands linked, Finn and Tori Brannigan walked down the white runner to Tori’s “Carry Me Home,” which was playing from the hidden speakers, into the arms of their friends and family.
* * *
Dear Readers, I hope you enjoyed this collaborative series 7 Brides for 7 Brothers. I had a grand time collaborating on these seven sexy brothers’ love stories with such wonderfully talented, bestselling authors Barbara Freethy, Ruth Cardello, Melody Anne, Christie Ridgway, Lynn Raye Harris, and Roxanne St. Claire!
For those of you who might be new to my books, I hope you’ll check out my other books at my website. Also, while on my site, you can listen to fabulous singer/songwriter Jasper Lepak’s “Carry Me Home,” which she wrote for Tori, on the book’s page. bit.ly/7BridesFor7BrothersFinn
* * *
Did you miss the beginning of the Brannigan Brothers series? Start with LUKE, from New York Times bestselling author Barbara Freethy.
Luke Brannigan lives for the adrenaline rush, which makes his job as a filmmaker of extreme sporting adventures the perfect career choice. He loves to travel the world, risking life and limb to capture the most amazing shot. Some might say he’s running away from something… or someone.
When Luke’s billionaire father Colin Brannigan dies unexpectedly, Luke is shocked to receive title to the mountain lodge where his parents first met. Having been estranged from his father for years, Luke has no idea why his dad picked him to inherit this very personal piece of property… until he realizes the pretty blonde manager is Lizzie Parker, his former college girlfriend.
Luke and Lizzie have an emotional and heartbreaking past, but will they have a future? Will love be Luke’s greatest adventure yet?
Other Books from JoAnn Ross
The Shelter Bay series
The Homecoming
One Summer
On Lavender Lane
Moonshell Beach
Sea Glass Winter
Castaway Cove
You Again
Beyond the Sea (pre-publication title, A Sea Change)
Sunset Point
Christmas in Shelter Bay, 2017
The Castlelough series
A Woman’s Heart
Fair Haven
Legends Lake
Briarwood Cottage
Beyond the Sea
River’s Bend Series
River’s Bend (Cooper’s story)
Long Road Home (Sawyer’s story) Pre-publication was Hot Shot
Orchid Island Series
Sun Kissed
7 BRIDES for 7 Brothers Series
Finn—7 Brides for 7 Brothers (Book 7)
Rum Runner Island Series
A Place in Time
Somewhere in Time, 2017
About The Author
JoAnn Ross wrote her first novella—a tragic romance about two star-crossed mallard ducks—for a second grade writing assignment.
The paper earned a gold star.
And JoAnn kept writing.
She’s now written around one hundred novels (she quit keeping track long ago), has been published in twenty-six countries, and is a member of the Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll of best-selling authors. Two of her titles have been excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine and her books have also been published by the Doubleday, Rhapsody, Literary Guild, and Mystery Guild book clubs.
JoAnn lives with her husband and two fuzzy rescued dogs, who pretty much rule the house, in the Pacific Northwest.
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