by Kim Law
“That was his idea?”
Her mother nodded. She gave Andie a tentative smile.
Maybe Mark had paid a bit of attention to what meant the most to her after all.
“He called and invited all the guests himself. We helped him with names, but he set it all up.”
“He called me, too,” Maggie chirped. She grinned at the adults, showing two overlarge front teeth.
Andie smiled down at the girl. She was going to miss her a lot.
She peeked back at her mother. “So I’m just supposed to walk down there and marry him? After not talking to him for almost two weeks?”
Her mother lifted a shoulder. “It’s kind of romantic.”
Yeah, Andie thought. She supposed it was. Especially for someone terrified of marriage.
“Are you sure it’ll be official if Aunt Ginny does it?”
Cassie nodded. “Unbreakable.”
Would serve him right if she did marry him, then. That way he couldn’t get out of it.
And then she really got it. Whatever had happened since he’d left, he was letting her know that she could count on him. He would marry her whenever she wanted.
They would no doubt still have issues arise occasionally, but they had a ton of love for each other. Given that she’d been about to chase him down so she could stick by his side anyway, it suddenly seemed silly to stand there one minute longer.
“He also said to tell you that he doesn’t want to push you,” her mother said. “If you don’t want this yet, we’ll simply turn this into a beach party. No one will mind. But he wanted to let you know that he’s ready.”
Andie looked at her mother, at the love shining from her, and was thankful to have her in her life. “I’m going to miss you, Mom,” she whispered.
Her mother kissed her on the cheek. “I will never be far away again,” she promised.
A single tear slipped down Andie’s cheek.
Kayla appeared from nowhere and held out a document. “Sign here. It’s your wedding license.”
As Andie signed beside Mark’s signature, Kayla wiped the tear from Andie’s face and smoothed out her makeup. She applied more gloss to Andie’s lips. The bartender stepped onto the patio, and he and Kayla signed the license as witnesses, then Kayla thrust a bouquet of white orchids into Andie’s hands and pressed something small into Cassie’s.
Andie’s heart began to race. She was about to get married.
“One more thing,” her mother said. She turned her hand over and opened her fingers. “Your aunt and I bought you an ankle bracelet to match ours.”
A thin gold chain lay in the palm of her mother’s hand. It held a moon charm, a star charm, and the sea turtle her mother had taken from her neck earlier. It represented all three of them. Several more tears slipped out and Kayla sighed at her side.
She once again fixed Andie’s makeup before taking the bracelet and stooping to lock it around Andie’s ankle. When she stood, she gave Andie a wavering smile. “Now quit making a mess of yourself and go marry that man,” she whispered.
Andie nodded. That was exactly what she was going to do.
She kicked off the flip-flops and leaned down to whisper into Maggie’s ear, “Let’s go get married, Maggie Moo.”
The little girl squealed and turned to the crowd. Andie stood straight. She caught Mark’s eye, and then she smiled at him with all the love she held inside her. His entire body relaxed. She suddenly wanted to run as fast as she could to the beach. She took a step forward.
“Hold on,” her mother said, tugging against her. “Maggie has flowers she’s been looking forward to scattering for two days.”
Andie glanced at the girl. Maggie nodded, her brunette curls bouncing.
“Then let’s do it,” Andie said with a wink.
Maggie grinned and took off skipping toward the sand. Chords from a piano started, and Andie jerked to a stop. She looked around. Below the far corner of the patio, just on the edge of the beach, sat a platform that hadn’t been there before. It held an upright piano with Roni sitting behind it, and Andie realized she hadn’t even noticed it had been missing inside. Her gaze met her friend’s and her heart swelled.
“That was all Mark, too,” her mother confirmed.
The gesture was the icing on the cake.
She was going to marry that man, right there, right then.
And she was going to love him for the rest of her life.
Mark watched Andie step off the patio and head in his direction.
“Hmph,” Ginny said at his side. “Looks like you did good.”
He nodded. He had done good. He’d figured out what was important, and she was now walking toward him.
“About stinking time,” Ginny muttered.
He ignored her, knowing she was just teasing him.
Andie glowed as she headed toward him, and he knew that he’d finally done it right.
She reached the front of the aisle, and the music changed to Roni playing the wedding march. Mark surveyed the crowd. He’d called everyone he could think of who meant something to her, and had begged them to be there that night. He hoped he hadn’t missed anyone.
Finally, his gaze fell on Andie’s and he smiled at her. He was the luckiest man in the world. He would spend the remainder of his days proving it.
As Andie drew near, her arm linked with her mother’s, he couldn’t miss the happiness shining from her. It wasn’t purely for him, he knew. She’d found her way with her mother these past weeks. He couldn’t have been more thrilled.
Mark watched everyone in the crowd, all eyes on Andie, and knew his mother had been right. He wasn’t defined by his job but by what he made of his life. And he was going to make his life with Andie.
When she reached him, she kissed her mother on the cheek and then looked up at him, and he couldn’t breathe.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
She nodded. “Me, too.” She gently touched his hand. “Are you okay?”
The concern in her eyes was his undoing. All the stress of the last two weeks fell away. She was giving him another chance.
“I am now.” He wanted to kiss her but held himself back. “We don’t have to do this now if you don’t want to,” he hurried to say. “I know women like to plan their weddings themselves.”
Her mouth curved. “And I am a wedding planner.”
He nodded. “I probably got something wrong. We can wait. We’ll just party. But I wanted you to know that I’m serious. My guilt over Tiffany was holding me back, but it isn’t anymore. Now it’s just you and me.” He grabbed her hands, the bouquet of flowers between them. “But even if we wait, I’m staying here.”
“You’re what?” Confusion clouded her face. “For how long?”
“I’m moving in,” he told her. “Me, you, Ginny, and Cassie. I’m never leaving you again.” He grinned wide, thinking that was a lot of estrogen in one house, but he couldn’t wait to do it.
“But your job is in Boston.”
“And my life is with you.” He couldn’t wait any longer. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Ginny cleared her throat. He pulled away but didn’t glance at Ginny for fear she’d give him one of her looks. Instead he focused on Andie.
“We’re hiring another lawyer for the firm. I’ll have to make the occasional trip back, but I’m staying here. Will that work?”
Her smile wobbled. “I was coming to Boston for you,” she told him. “They kept me from getting on the plane.”
Shock registered. He glanced at Ginny, and she smirked. She’d known all along that he had nothing to worry about, yet she’d let him panic and stress over his plans all week. He narrowed his eyes on her. Oh yeah, living there was going to be a blast.
“We’re soundproofing our room,” he grumbled.
Andie and Ginny both laughed, and Ginny muttered, “I hope so.”
A lovely blush covered Andie’s cheeks. “We’ll work it out,” she told him. “I think I could stand to be away from these tw
o occasionally.”
The laughter died, and he and Andie stood there staring at each other.
“I love you,” he stated. He was pretty sure at least half the crowd sighed at his words.
She nodded. “And I love you.”
“So we’re going to make this a party, then?”
“Oh no.” She chuckled. “I’m not risking you not showing up again. We’re going to make this official.”
Any remaining nervousness left him. She was his.
“I knew I wanted this the first moment I saw you again,” he told her.
She leaned in and kissed him. This time Ginny didn’t interrupt.
When they parted, Andie turned to hand her flowers to Ginger but paused as she caught sight of Roni standing beside her as well. She had run from the piano to be by her friend’s side. She took the flowers from Andie, and both she and Ginger gave Andie a nod. They’d given their blessing.
Andie faced Mark once again and took both his hands in hers.
“Marry me, Mark,” she whispered. “I think it’s meant to be.”
He rested his forehead against hers. “I know it is, sunshine. It’s fate.”
Author Biography
Photo by Amelia Moore, 2012
Kim Law wrote her first story, “The Gigantic Talking Raisin,” in elementary school. Although it was never published, it was enough to whet her appetite for a career in writing. First, however, she would try her hand at a few other passions: baton twirling, softball, and music, to name a few. Voted Bookworm and Most Likely to Succeed in high school, she went on to earn a college degree in mathematics. Law spent years working as a computer programmer and raising her son, and she now devotes her time and energy to writing romance novels (none of which feature talking raisins). She is a past winner of the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award and currently serves as president for her local RWA chapter. A native of Kentucky, she lives with her husband in Middle Tennessee.
This book was originally released in episodes as a Kindle Serial. Kindle Serials launched in 2012 as a new way to experience serialized books. Kindle Serials allow readers to enjoy the story as the author creates it, purchasing once and receiving all existing episodes immediately, followed by future episodes as they are published. To find out more about Kindle Serials and to see the current selection of Serials titles, visit www.amazon.com/kindleserials.
