“Um, actually,” Chance put in, “Paige and I split up before she left for Corpus Christi.”
Harry looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Now, son, there’s no need to do anything rash. Women act strangely sometimes. There’s no reason for you to break things off with Paige over one foolish indiscretion.”
Chance started to explain, but became aware again of the crowd gathered behind him, hanging on every word. “Mr. Baxter, I think the best course of action is for you to take your wife to one of the rooms until she recovers. Bobby and Paige can join you when they’ve had a chance to dress. Then all of you can discuss this calmly.”
Harry noticed his passed-out wife for the first time. “Marcy!” He knelt, grabbing her hand. Then his eyes lifted, filled with panic. “Someone call an ambulance!”
“Harry, she’ll be fine,” Chance’s mother said. “Let’s just get her somewhere comfortable.” Ellen looked up at Chance.
“Marguerite’s room,” he said. “It has a bed where Marcy can recover and a sitting room where they can talk in private once Paige and Bobby join them.”
Nodding, his mother turned and shooed the onlookers away. “Go downstairs, folks. Peep show’s over.”
Once they were gone, Harry carried his wife toward the tower suite with Ellen following to see to her friend. Chance spared Paige a look of empathy before he closed the door the best he could against the splintered doorjamb, leaving himself and his father alone in the upper hall.
“What a mess,” his father said. Then he looked at Chance. “I’m sorry, son, this must be difficult for you, having Paige behave so outlandishly.”
“Actually, it isn’t. At least not the way you mean. I realized two weeks ago that things weren’t working out for us, but Paige wanted to wait until after the ball to tell her parents we’d split up.” He shook his head at the irony. “She didn’t want people gossiping about us during the ball.”
His father snorted. “Well, thank God we’ll all be spared that.”
Chance tried not to laugh, but it was hard.
“I am sorry, though, that things didn’t work out.”
His father placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “A breakup is never an easy thing to deal with, even though I’m sure you handled it with the same good sense you always use.”
The devastation Chance had felt earlier at Aurora’s rejection washed back over him. No, a breakup wasn’t easy to deal with.
“You know,” his father said, “I’ve never understood why people have to make such fools of themselves when it comes to this business of falling in love. Much better to approach it calmly and rationally.”
Chance stared at him, seeing far too much of himself— his old self—in his father’s words. How boring his life had been before he’d fallen in love with Aurora. And how filled with joy it had been since. There was nothing calm or rational about what he felt for her.
Suddenly, it all came together, like pieces of a puzzle, and he realized where he’d gone wrong. He’d tried to apply logic to falling in love!
He laughed at the absurdity. “Don’t you see, Dad? The things in life that make us foolish are the very things that make life worth living. And you know what they say, there’s no greater fool than a fool in love.”
He slipped his hand into his pocket and curled his fingers around the jeweler’s box. He’d wondered several times over the last week what he’d be willing to do to win Aurora, and now he knew. Anything. He’d do anything.
“Where are you going?” his father called when he headed down the stairs.
At the landing, he turned and smiled. “To make a fool of myself. Where else?”
* * *
Rory realized that hiding in Jackie’s cabin was the coward’s way out. Although she was grateful her brother had stopped her mad dash for the house. When he’d seen how upset she was, he’d hustled her below deck with very few people seeing her since the guests had been watching the performers. If she’d continued toward the house, she’d have created quite a stir.
Still, it wasn’t fair to Adrian and Allison for her to abandon her duties. The ball would be over soon, and it was time she pulled herself together and went back out there—even if it meant possibly running into Chance. As she ducked into a tiny lavatory in the captain’s cabin, she wondered where he was. The memory of his stunned expression when she’d told him about the baby, and the anger that had followed tore at her heart. Adrian was right, she should have told him weeks ago.
Determined not to think about it right then, she splashed water on her face. She needed to get through the night, first. Tomorrow she’d call Chance and they’d talk things out somehow. Drying her face, she looked in the medicine-cabinet mirror. Her eyes were puffy and her nose was red, but only noticeable if someone looked closely.
She left the cabin, which was tucked beneath the quarterdeck, and wound her way past the crew’s quarters, the galley, then up through the center hatch to the main deck. It was far more crowded than she’d expected for so late in the evening. Surely the guests would start heading home soon, leaving the staff with the chore of cleaning up.
But no one looked the least interested in leaving. They stood in groups along the railing, gesturing toward the house and talking in scandalized tones while the band played on the quarterdeck.
“Are you saying it wasn’t Chance?”
“No; it was that guy who runs the tour-boat business, Captain Bob.”
“Poor Chance. How humiliating.”
“Actually, Chance said he and Paige weren’t even dating anymore, but that could just be him saving face.”
Rory headed to where Jackie was directing her crew to clear dishes off some of the tables. “What’s going on?”
Jackie turned to her, looking uncomfortable. “You okay?”
She nodded, embarrassed to remember that Jackie had led the way down to the cabin earlier and seen her blubbering like an idiot. “I’m better. Thanks.”
“Well, you missed all the excitement,” Jackie told her, sounding none too pleased. “That jerk, Mr. Baxter, got some harebrained idea that Paige had been kidnapped and he had the balls to accuse my crew. Chance convinced him to get off my ship before I threw him overboard. So he charged up to the house to look for her there. Apparently he kicked in one of your doors and found his precious baby with Bobby.”
“With Bobby? As in with Bobby?”
“Well, ye-ah,” Jackie said as if any fool would expect as much. “They’ve only been all over each other for the past two weeks.”
“Paige and Bobby?” Rory looked around, trying to get her bearings. “Where are Adrian and Allison?”
“Up at the house, I suppose.”
Rory nodded and headed across the deck toward the steps.
“Aurora St. Claire!” a deep voice boomed over the crowd.
She turned, as did everyone else, to find Chance standing on the quarterdeck, bracing his hands on the rail. He looked every inch the dangerous sea captain with the determined look on his face.
“I have a few things to say to you.”
“Chance...” She looked nervously about. He’d certainly gained everyone’s attention, talking loud enough for even the people on the pier to hear. “What are you doing?”
“Setting you straight,” he told her, clearly not the least concerned about their audience. “First of all, I don’t know where you got the idea that you’ve ruined my life, because nothing could be further from the truth. You saved me from a fate worse than death—and that’s a boring life. So how dare you say I don’t belong here at the inn? That I don’t belong with you? You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, and I’m not going to give you up just because you want to be noble and force me back into a life I don’t even want. I want a life with you, woman. You got that?”
She stared at him, afraid to believe her ears. Then she nodded, numbly.
“In fact,” he went on, “the only thing you ruined tonight was my proposal.”
“Your p
roposal?” she said, her heart starting to flutter.
“Yes, my proposal. I had it all planned out. I was going to have Carmen fix a dinner for us and leave it at my apartment. Then I was going to tell you it was a thank-you for all the meals you’ve fixed for me lately, so you wouldn’t suspect what was coming. You see, for dessert, I was going to have Carmen make this chocolate thing she does that’s hollow.” As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. “And when you broke open your dessert, this was going to be inside.”
He opened the box and she gasped as an enormous diamond sparkled to life. “Oh, my God. Is that a ring?”
“An engagement ring, to be exact.”
“For me?”
“No, it’s for me.” He gave her a look of exasperation. “Of course it’s for you.”
She kept staring at it, wondering how it had magically appeared in his pocket. “But how did you get it?”
“I ordered it from a jeweler in Houston several days ago.”
“Several days ago?” She thought back over the last week and how strangely he’d been acting. “All this time you’ve been planning to propose? Why didn’t you say something? You’ve been acting so weird, I thought you were planning to break up with me.”
“Is that why you wouldn’t go home with me last night?” He looked incredulous.
She nodded as relief and joy had her eyes welling again.
“Aurora.” He sighed. “Why would I break up with you when you make my life complete? The only thing that’s missing is for you to say yes.”
She stared at him through a blur of tears, not sure that this was real. He was offering her exactly what she wanted, a life with him here at the inn. He was willing to give up his old life to make a new one with her. It seemed too wonderful to be true. “Can I...” She sniffed. “Can I see the ring?”
Understanding softened his face. He turned toward the steps that led down from the quarterdeck but found them crowded with onlookers. They were all smiling broadly, although some of them looked on the verge of laughing. Well, he decided, as long as he was giving everyone a show, he might as well make it a good one.
Spying the rope the crew had rigged up for the performers, he dropped the ring back into his pocket. He grabbed the rope, climbed onto the rail, and nearly lost his balance.
“Chance! Be careful,” Aurora called.
Yeah, no kidding, he thought, looking down. The rail was higher than he’d thought, and suddenly this didn’t seem like such a great idea. Well, no guts, no glory, he told himself, and jumped.
The world flew by in a blur as he headed straight for the mast. He heard Aurora shriek and managed to lift his legs in time to save his face from hitting first. He tried to push off and land on his feet, the way Jackie had done it, but he let go too soon and landed on his butt right at Aurora’s feet.
How appropriate, he thought, shaking the stars from his eyes.
“Chance!” Her skirts bellowed about her as she dropped to her knees. “Are you hurt?”
“Only my dignity,” he said, wincing. “But then, who needs dignity?” He smiled up at her. “All I need is you.”
“Oh, Chance,” she sighed, cupping his face with her hands. “Don’t scare me like that. I need you too badly.”
“Does that mean the answer is yes?” he asked as he pushed his glasses back into place.
She grinned at him. “You haven’t actually asked anything yet.”
“I haven’t?” He thought back over everything he’d just said and realized she was right. “Oh, well, give me a minute, will ya? This isn’t as easy as it looks.” He sat up, grimacing at the pain in his back, then dug the black velvet box out of his pocket. He opened it and stared at the ring, a five-carat marquise-cut diamond solitaire with perfect clarity. Everything hinged on her accepting this ring, accepting him.
With a deep breath for courage, he turned the box toward her. She stared at it with a look of wonder as it winked and sparkled.
“Aurora,” he said softly. “Will you marry me?”
She lifted tear-filled eyes and smiled. “Yes, Chance. Oh, definitely yes.” She flung herself into his arms.
He held her tight, closing his eyes to savor the moment as everyone cheered.
* * *
Up on the veranda, Ellen leaned against her husband’s shoulder, smiling at the scene on the ship. “Remind me not to be on the planning committee next year.”
“Why is that, dear?” Norman asked, looking suitably rattled by the whole evening.
“Because”—she slipped an arm about his waist—”nothing could ever top this year’s Buccaneer’s Ball.”
Epilogue
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered today to reaffirm the vows between this man and this woman, spoken once before the laws of man, spoken today in the eyes of God.”
Rory hadn’t expected the day to be so emotional. After all, she and Chance had technically been married a year. Mere days after he’d proposed, he’d hauled her before a judge, insisting they’d do it legally for the baby’s sake, and again later for their own sake. She’d tried to tell him that one ceremony was enough. She’d had her brother and sister there, he’d had his parents, and they’d had each other. What more did they need?
Now, standing in a clearing near the house at first light, she was glad he’d insisted. They’d created the clearing for just this occasion, but it was so perfect she knew they’d host other weddings for years to come. The giant oaks spread their limbs overhead like the rafters of a chapel. Potted flowers offered blossoms even in the shade while newly planted ivy climbed up the arbor where she and Chance stood with the minister.
Behind them were the people who’d come to mean the world to her: her brother and sister of course; but also Chance’s parents, with his mother holding six-month-old Lauren; Aunt Vivian, who’d flown in from New York; and Bobby and Paige.
Tears of joy misted her eyes when the minister asked her and Chance to face each other and join hands. Chance looked so handsome in his pearl-gray suit, the first suit she’d seen him wear in nearly a year. She wore her grandmother’s dress, a tea-length gown of cream silk covered in white lace. A circlet of white roses and baby’s breath adorned her hair. From the expression Chance had worn since she’d walked into the clearing on her brother’s arm, he liked what he saw.
“Do you, Oliver Chancellor, take this woman, Aurora Chancellor, to be your wife, not merely in the eyes of man, but in the eyes of God? In sickness and in health? To love, honor, and cherish her as the other half of yourself until death do you part?”
He smiled and spoke with surety. “I do.”
As the minister turned and repeated the words she and Chance had decided on, the present blurred behind months of memories. Memories of Chance’s excitement the day they’d checked in their first guests, and how that excitement had grown for both of them as the inn grew in popularity. Memories of the house he’d built for them a short walk down a tree-lined path behind the inn. His pride as he’d watched her stomach swell with his child. The way he’d slept at night with his hand on her tummy so he could feel the baby move.
And the awe on his face when the doctor had laid their screaming daughter, Lauren, in his arms.
“Miss?” the minister whispered. “Hmm?” she said, coming out of her daydream.
“You’re supposed to say, ‘I do.’ Unless you don’t.”
“Oh.” She blushed. “I do. I definitely do.”
“Then, by the powers vested in me by God and the state of Texas, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
Chance kissed her as their families sighed with approval.
They turned to accept congratulations and hugs from the small gathering. Adrian and Allison came first, then Chance’s mother, who had tears in her eyes. She held Rory close and whispered, “You’re so good for him.”
“Thank you.” Still misty-eyed herself, Rory reached for Lauren, who was happily snuggled in her grandmother’s arms. How in the world would sh
e leave her baby for even a brief honeymoon? Already her heart ached.
“Oh, must you take her so soon?” Ellen protested.
“Come on, Gran’ma,” Norman teased. “Give the baby back to her mother. You’ll have her for three whole days while they’re in New Orleans.”
“It’s not three whole days.” Ellen pouted even as she relinquished her grandchild. “It’s one whole day and two half days. Hardly a proper honeymoon at all.”
“We promise to take some longer trips when Lauren is weaned,” Chance said, beaming at his daughter. He was such a good father, Rory turned to mush every time she watched them together.
Realizing she was the center of attention, Lauren kicked her feet and let out a gurgling coo that had everyone laughing.
“I need to talk to her about that.” Aunt Vivian, who looked every bit the stylish Broadway actress in her linen suit and flame-bright hair, leaned forward to stroke the baby’s cheek. “No overacting, young lady. And no upstaging your mother on her special day.”
“How about we move this inside?” Adrian suggested. “I have a champagne breakfast waiting in the dining room.”
Crossing the lawn, Rory smiled at the house that filled her life with such joy. Because of the wedding, they hadn’t booked any guests this weekend. The place seemed oddly empty without people on the veranda, children playing in the yard, or sunbathers on the beach.
“Can I hold her?” Paige asked, coming up beside Rory.
Rory gave her an arch look. “You’re not practicing, are you?”
“Heavens, no.” Paige blushed and looked at her husband. She and Bobby had married months ago in an enormous society wedding. That had been their one concession to the Baxters’ wealth. The couple now lived on the houseboat they’d bought and ran the tour business as a team. The lunch ran to Pearl Island had become so popular, they’d recently added a dinner run on the weekends. “Bobby and I are happy with just the two of us for now.”
Aurora settled Lauren on Paige’s shoulder, and watched Bobby soften at the sight of his wife holding an infant.
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