by Marie Force
“Yes, it certainly is,” Sam said softly as her eyes flooded with tears. She frantically blinked them back. “Stop the schmoopy stuff before I have mascara running down my face!”
Tracy smiled and stepped back.
Angela leaned in to kiss Sam’s other cheek. “We love you. We love him. And we’re so very, very happy for you.”
“Okay, now you really have to stop it,” Sam said, waving her hands in front of her face.
Angela laughed and handed Sam a tissue.
“The limo is downstairs when you’re ready,” Tracy said. “We can put the garter on in the car.”
“As long as we’re being schmoopy,” Sam said, willing the tears away, “thank you both for seeing me through some rough times. I doubt I’d be standing here in one piece if it wasn’t for you guys, and I love you both. Very much.”
“Aw, Sam,” Angela said, dabbing at her eyes. “Now you’ve got me going too. Not that it takes much these days.”
“Let’s get you to the church before we descend all the way to maudlin,” Tracy said, her eyes bright with tears too.
Sam stepped out her father’s front door to a warm spring day and a crowd gathered on Ninth Street to watch the proceedings. Police cruisers with lights flashing were positioned in front of and behind the black limo.
“What’s with the cops?” she asked Shelby.
“Apparently, Chief Farnsworth ordered an escort for you.”
Sam smiled. “That’s sweet of him.” The flash of a camera interrupted the moment, and Sam looked over to find several of the roving pack of photographers who’d dedicated themselves to documenting her and Nick’s every move over the last few months. While her first inclination was to scowl at them the way she normally did, this time she smiled radiantly, refusing to let them ruin her mood.
Shelby shepherded Sam and her sisters smoothly into the limo. As they proceeded through the city to the church at 16th and H Streets, Sam marveled at the people who’d come out apparently hoping for a glimpse of her. That, more than anything else that’d happened in the last few months, told her how popular they’d become in the city. As someone who preferred life well below the radar, it certainly was a jarring realization.
The closer they got to the church, the bigger the crowd seemed to get.
“Damn,” Tracy said. “Look at all the people!”
“I wonder if William and Kate will get this big of a crowd for the royal wedding,” Angela said.
“Shut up,” Sam muttered. “I’m not a princess, and this is just another wedding.”
“Whatever you say, Your Highness,” Ang joked.
From the front seat, Shelby turned to them. “Don’t worry, Sam. We’ve got security all around the church.”
“What if Nick and my dad can’t get in?”
“They’re already there,” Shelby assured her with a comforting smile.
Sam was once again grateful for her presence. At first she had balked at the cost of a wedding planner, but she couldn’t imagine how they would’ve pulled this off without her.
Sam’s stomach, which had been on remarkably good behavior lately, took a nosedive as she experienced the day’s first flutter of nerves.
Tracy reached over to pat Sam’s arm. “It’s all good. It’s just you and Nick and a few thousand of your closest friends.”
Sam laughed, which helped with the butterflies.
They managed to get her inside St. John’s with a minimal amount of fuss, which Sam appreciated. She was escorted to a holding room at the back of the church where her father waited for her.
“There you are,” he said. “Quite a madhouse out there, huh?”
Sam bent to kiss his cheek. “My future husband is too popular for his own good.”
“I think his future wife is just as popular. She’s certainly beautiful today.”
She squeezed his right hand. “Thank you.”
Tracy and Angela came in a minute later looking frazzled.
“What’s the matter?” Sam asked.
“Small problem,” Angela said. “Leo just let us know that Nick’s mother is here.”
Sam gasped. “No. She can’t be! She wasn’t invited!”
“That doesn’t seem to have stopped her,” Tracy said.
Sam’s mind churned as she pondered the implications. She turned to Shelby. “Please go get Graham and Harry. And Leo Cappuano. Hurry.”
“What do I tell them?”
“Make something up. Some sort of wedding duty you need them for, but don’t let Nick know there’s something going on.”
“I’m on it.” Shelby scurried from the room.
“I’m sorry, Sam,” Angela said. “I hate to see anything ruin this day for either of you.”
“Nothing will ruin this day. Not if I have anything to say about it.” All she could think about was how badly Nick had wanted this one perfect day to celebrate their love and begin their life together. No way would she let his witch of a mother ruin it for him.
“As much as I want to see this, the kids are getting restless,” Tracy said. “We’ll wait for you outside.”
As her sisters stepped out, the men came in with Shelby.
“Sam,” Graham said. “You look positively gorgeous.”
“Radiant,” Harry added.
“Beautiful,” Leo said.
“Thank you,” Sam said, embarrassed by the praise. “We have a problem.” She explained about Nick’s mother crashing the wedding and watched their smiles fade. Leo looked down at the floor, his face unreadable. “We have to keep her away from Nick. Whatever you have to do, no matter how rude you have to be, keep her away from him.”
“Don’t worry,” Graham assured her. “We’ll take care of it.”
Sam focused on Harry. “It’s very important that she not get anywhere near him. You understand why.”
Harry nodded somberly. “It won’t happen. I’ll personally make sure of it.”
Sam turned to Shelby. “Do you have a copy of the invitation?”
“Of course.” Ever efficient, Shelby crossed the room to her pink leather briefcase and produced the green and lavender invitation Sam had loved on first sight. “Here you go.”
“Thanks. Will you please go get Nick’s mother? I’d like a word with her.”
“Sam,” Skip said. “Are you sure about that?”
Ignoring the concern coming from the other men, she nodded. “Go ahead, Shelby.”
“I’ll point her out to you,” Leo said, following Shelby.
While she waited, Sam vibrated with tension. She deeply resented Nick’s mother intruding—uninvited—on their special day. But she would take care of it and get on with the wedding with him none the wiser.
Shelby and Leo returned a minute later with a beautifully dressed woman who, as Nick had once said, resembled Sofia Loren. As she came closer, however, Sam saw the hard edges lurking beneath the shiny surface. This woman had nothing on Loren. Nick’s parents were just fifteen years older than him, and while Leo remained youthful, Nicoletta appeared worn. She cast a hateful glance at Leo, who looked away from her as if he couldn’t stand the sight of her. Sam could relate to that.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Nicoletta said, extending her hand to Sam.
Sam ignored the proffered hand and held up the invitation. “Did you receive one of these?”
“I did not, but I figured it had to be a mistake. How could I not be invited to my own son’s wedding?”
“You were not invited,” Sam said, “because neither of us wants you here.”
Nicoletta’s face turned bright red. “How dare you speak to me like that minutes before you marry my son?”
“You’ve done nothing but hurt and disappoint him his entire life. You will not do that today. I won’t allow it. You may sit quietly in the back of the church for the service, after which you will leave—quietly—or security will have you removed. From now on, you will stay far, far away from him or you’ll deal with me. Do I make myself clea
r?”
Nicoletta glared at her. “My son is marrying a bitch!”
“Hey now,” Skip growled. “Watch yourself, or you won’t be watching a wedding.”
Nicoletta appealed to Leo. “You have nothing to say about this, you spineless excuse for a man?”
Leo shook his head. “I don’t want you here any more than they do.”
“I’m about to change my mind and have you removed before the wedding,” Sam said, glowering at her. “What’s it going to be?”
“I’d like to see my son.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“You can’t decide that for him!”
Sam smirked. After what this woman had put Nick through, Sam was rather enjoying this. “You don’t think so?”
With Harry, Graham, Leo and her father united as one behind her, Sam stared down the older woman. “You have one minute to decide because I have no intention of keeping my fiancé waiting. He’s waited long enough for a family of his own.”
She often used the same time limit with perps when giving them the choice between cooperating with an investigation or going straight to jail. This woman had emotionally abused Nick his entire life. Her crimes were nearly as egregious as those of the criminals Sam dealt with.
“Fine,” Nicoletta huffed. “You may think you’ve won this round, but you haven’t seen the last of me.”
“Yes, I have. And believe me, you don’t want to try me on that.”
“God help my poor son,” Nicoletta said as she turned and stalked from the room. “He’ll need all the help he can get married to a shrew.”
Sam let her have the parting shot. She’d made her point.
“I’m so sorry you had to deal with that today of all days, Sam,” Shelby said, clearly undone by the whole thing.
“I’m not sorry, so don’t you be either. It would’ve happened eventually.” Sam turned to Harry. “Go on back to Nick, and please keep her the hell away from him.”
“I will, Sam. I promise.”
“Graham,” Sam said when he started to follow Harry. “What I said about Nick having a family of his own…”
“I understand, honey. We did our best to fill the void, but there’s no substitute for the real thing.”
“He loves you all very much.”
“And we know that. We love him just as much.”
Sam nodded, and Graham left so he could be with Nick.
“I probably shouldn’t be here either,” Leo said morosely. “I didn’t do much better by him than she did.”
“You’ve never shaken him down for money or refused to introduce him as your son,” Sam said.
Leo stared at her, agog. “She did not.”
“She called him a month or so ago. She’d fallen down some stairs and was in the hospital. He went to her and came home twenty-five thousand dollars poorer. The last time she got married, she refused to introduce him as her son because she didn’t want the guy she was marrying to think she was lying about her age.”
“Bitch,” Leo said. Sam was surprised by his tone. She’d never seen Leo angry before.
Sam extended her hand to him.
Hesitantly, he took it.
“You’ve made an effort to right some of the wrongs. You and Stacy have made him part of your family. You’ve never asked him for anything other than his time and his forgiveness. You have every right to be here.”
“Thank you, Sam.” He embraced her carefully. “For what it’s worth, I think my son is a very lucky man.”
“It’s worth an awful lot coming from you.”
“I’ll see you out there.”
“I’ll be right along.” When they were alone, Sam turned to her father. “Well, nothing like a little drama to keep things interesting.”
“I’m so proud of you, baby girl. I sure wish Nick could’ve seen that.”
“I was just doing for him what he’d do for me.”
“What was it exactly that you asked of Harry?”
“When Nick was a kid, she’d promise to come visit and then never show up. He’d wait all day for her only to be disappointed. Then when she would come, he’d be able to smell her perfume on his skin for days afterward. He’d refuse to take a bath until his grandmother made him. To this day, the smell of her perfume sends him off a cliff. It just happened the last time he saw her. Takes him a while to get past it, which is the last thing either of us needs today.”
“And Harry knows this?”
Sam nodded. “Nick told him once in a weak moment. He cued me in after Nick saw her in Cleveland. Harry won’t let her get close enough to do that to him again.”
“It’s amazing Nick came through it all as well as he did.”
“Isn’t it?” Sam glanced at the clock on the wall. Five minutes to four. Feeling euphoric and victorious and ready to marry the love of her life, Sam looked down at her dad. “Well, my friend, you and I have a wedding to get to.”
“After you, my love.”
Chapter 12
As the soloist Shelby had hired sang “At Last,” Sam stood next to her dad’s chair in the back of the church and watched Nick’s brothers, her nephews, nieces and sisters precede her down the aisle. She had yet to allow herself to look at Nick for fear she’d lose her cool if she caught his eye before she was ready.
“I like the song,” her dad said gruffly. “Perfect.”
“I thought so too. I’m glad you approve.” Sam bent at the waist to look him in the eye. “And I’m glad you stuck around so you could give me away today, but don’t get any ideas about punching out now that all your girls are happily married.”
The right side of his face lifted into a smile. “As it happens, I am too.” His Valentine’s Day wedding to his faithful nurse Celia had given them all something to celebrate. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve got plenty to live for, and I know it.”
Shelby approached them. “Ready?” She handed Sam her bouquet of dark purple orchids.
“Thank you, Shelby. For everything. I truly couldn’t have gotten through this without you.”
“My pleasure. You have a very handsome senator waiting anxiously for you.” Shelby gestured to the doorway. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Sam placed her hand on her dad’s shoulder. “I’m with you, Skippy.”
“Let’s go then.”
When they moved into the doorway, Sam took a deep breath and finally dared to look at Nick. Her throat closed at the sight of him. Tall, handsome and sinfully sexy in a sharp black tuxedo that emphasized his broad shoulders and muscular build. The orchid on his lapel matched her bouquet. Despite the sleepless night, he appeared happy and relaxed and maybe just a tad bit nervous. In fact, he looked so good standing with Graham, Harry, Andy and Scotty that Sam deduced he had no idea his mother was in attendance.
And there was no chance of him noticing now because he never took his eyes off her as she moved with her father down the aisle.
Nick told himself to keep breathing. Just a dress. Right. He’d never seen her looking more beautiful. That wasn’t even a good enough word. Breathtaking was more like it. And happy. Her pale blue eyes were bright with excitement, and she positively glowed as she and Skip came toward him. Everyone else in the crowded church faded away, and there was only her.
When they reached the front, Nick stepped forward to squeeze Skip’s right hand.
“Take good care of her,” Skip said so softly that only Nick could hear him.
“Always,” Nick said.
Sam bent to kiss her father’s cheek. “Love you.”
“Love you too, baby girl. Go be happy now.”
Celia stood to help Skip get his chair settled next to the front row. Across the aisle, the kids in the wedding party sat with Nick’s father, his stepmother Stacy and Laine O’Connor.
Nick held out his hand to Sam, feasting his eyes on his stunning bride. “That’s the best you could do?”
She threw her head back and laughed, and it was all he could do to resist the urge
to lean in and kiss the spot on her neck that drove her wild. Instead, he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and escorted her to the altar.
Nick tried to pay attention to the ceremony, but truthfully, he wanted it over with. When he thought about the crazy, wild ride they’d taken to get to this day, he just wanted to hear the words “husband and wife.” He tuned back into the proceedings to hear Celia read the passage from the Book of Ruth that he’d chosen. “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”
Angela read from the Book of the Corinthians. “Love bears all things, believes all things, endures all things, hopes all things. Love never ends.”
He and Sam lit candles, and the pastor spoke to them about love and fidelity and the importance of working every day to make their marriage successful. The pastor led them through the recitation of the traditional vows to love, honor and cherish each other that they’d wanted included in the ceremony.
Finally, he had them turn to each other and join hands.
Sam passed her bouquet to Tracy and reached for his hands, linking their fingers.
The pastor gestured to him. “Nick?”
He squeezed her hands and tried to forget that more than a hundred people were watching them. “This day was six years in the making.” Nick hoped he could get through this without embarrassing himself. “From the first instant I ever laid eyes on you, Samantha, I knew you were the one for me. It took far longer to get here than it should have, but all that matters is that we’re finally here. Since I already promised all the most important things, I thought I’d throw in a few things that I know are important to you.”
Sam’s smile warmed his heart and gave him the courage to continue.
“So I promise to be a little less freakishly neat—”
That drew a laugh from his bride.
“—and slightly less obsessed with your safety.” He paused for another laugh from her. “You’re not supposed to find all of this funny.”
Sam tried—and failed—to wipe the grin from her face.
“I promise not to let my phone ring more than twice, to do my best not to constantly clean up after you and to let you be you—even when you drive me crazy.” He stepped closer and leaned his forehead against hers. “I promise I’ll always love you and put you and our family first in my life because there’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be than with you.”
