“Okay,” he said, taking her tiny, gift-wrapped box out from behind a sofa cushion where he’d hidden it for this very occasion, “but for my sake, please spin a fabulous yarn about how I asked you to marry me in the most romantic way ever.”
“Wait,” she said, feigning a pout. “You mean, you’re just going to straight out ask me, and then stick a ring on my finger?” She shook her head. “That will never do.”
Growling, he nuzzled her neck. “How about I tell you how much I love you, we share a repeat performance of last night, and then I put your ring on your finger?”
All smiles, she said, “Works for me.”
Long after they’d made love and his perfect fiancée had drifted off to sleep wearing her ring, Brady stared at the ceiling, wondering what he’d done right to deserve so much happiness.
How lucky he was that Lola had even fallen in love with Steph. And he knew he loved Steph, too. At first, he’d worried it was the excitement of the proposal that had his pulse racing and mouth dry, but then he’d seen the depth of his feelings reflected back to him in Steph’s big blue eyes. From that moment on, he knew he’d never again doubt they were making the right decision. Yes, it was hasty. Yes, they should probably wait to marry. But did he want to? Hell, no.
How often in life was a man given the ultimate do-over? His first marriage might’ve gone horribly wrong, but this time, he was going to get everything right.
Sounded convincing, so why, when Brady rolled over to find himself facing Michael’s pictures, did his gnawing stomach not seem so sure?
Chapter Fourteen
“Good Lord,” Gabby said upon admiring Stephanie’s engagement ring. While Brady had taken the girls to the Little Rock Zoo, Stephanie indulged in a playdate with her favorite big girls. They all shared a roomy corner booth at Senor Fajitas, enjoying a pitcher of margaritas and plenty of chips and salsa. “This guy must seriously like you.”
“I hope so,” she quipped, “because I seriously like him.”
“Yeah, but don’t you think this is moving too fast?” Lisa dredged a chip into the queso they’d also ordered. “You hardly know the guy. When we talked on Christmas, I knew you two were officially dating, but how did you get from your first date to marriage in a night?”
“Do you always have to be such a downer?” Stephanie snapped. “For once in a long time, I’m happy. What’s wrong with you that you can’t celebrate with me?”
“Oh—” Lisa said with plenty of attitude “—if I thought for one minute you knew what you were doing, I’d support you all the way, but you seem to have forgotten that just a couple of months ago you suffered from panic attacks. One so severe it nearly landed you in jail. What happened to them? Since meeting Brady, you’ve stopped going to your doctor and seem to spend your days skipping around like—like I don’t know, some perpetually high sugarplum fairy.”
Hand on Lisa’s forearm, Olivia said, “How about toning it down a notch. Steph’s got a great head on her shoulders and if she likes Brady, I’m sure he’s a truly wonderful guy. He has a great job, loves and supports his daughter, and is prepared to do the same for Steph’s girls.”
Gabby piped in with, “I, for one, couldn’t be happier for you, sweetie. Though I’m miffed about still not having met the man, I’m sure I’ll love him just as much as you.”
A lump in her throat the size of a small house, Stephanie nodded, profoundly grateful for her friends’ support when her own twin seemed hell-bent on canceling the wedding before it even happened.
“Let’s toast,” Olivia said, raising her margarita glass, “to Steph and her girls. May you all live happily ever after.”
While everyone else shared glass-clinks and smiles, Lisa sat with her arms tightly folded. Her expression unmistakably read that she thought Stephanie was making a huge mistake. But from Steph’s point of view, the only cloud hanging over her future marriage was her poor choice in her maid of honor.
“I HATE GOODBYES,” STEPHANIE said two days later when Brady had his car loaded up to head back to the airport. He’d hoped to spend New Year’s with her, but flu was again making the rounds, and he’d been called back in to work. Lola had wanted to stay with Steph, but logistically, he couldn’t work out getting her back to Seattle in time for school.
“Me, too,” he said, wrapping her in a bear hug, “but I’ll be back soon, and we can start fighting over wedding cake flavors.”
Smiling through silent tears, she nodded, leaving him to hug his daughter. “I’m going to miss you, Lola. You’re an awful lot of fun.”
“I’m gonna miss you, too,” Lola said, “but when I come back for our wedding, we’re gonna have the best time ever.”
“Absolutely,” Stephanie said with a firm nod.
While Lola fussed over the twins, who sat in their stroller, Brady took Steph’s hands, giving them a squeeze. “Hey, don’t be so glum. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“I know,” she said, freeing one hand to swipe more tears. “I’m being silly, blubbering like this.”
“It’s not silly, but sweet. Endearing. But you have to know I hate seeing you cry—especially over a lug like me.”
She nodded.
“You going to be all right?”
“Yes,” she managed through a grin. “Just get out of here before I make an even bigger scene.”
He gave her and the twins one last kiss and hug before climbing behind the wheel.
Now, Lola was crying, too. “I love you,” she said as she wrapped her arms around Stephanie’s waist.
“Love you, too.” Kissing the crown of Lola’s head, Stephanie patted her behind to get in the car. “I’ll see you real soon. And don’t forget to e-mail me. I want to know how Becky likes all of your new clothes.”
“Okay,” Lola promised.
With one last wave, Brady turned the ignition and backed his rental car out of the drive. Seeing all of his girls teary-eyed had him choked up, as well.
“I sure like them,” Lola said. Fat tears lined her cheeks and at the first stop sign, Brady pulled her into a hug.
“They’re pretty great, huh?”
She nodded. “Do you think Mom’s gonna be mad at me for liking Stephanie, too?”
“No way,” he instinctively said while making a left out of Steph’s neighborhood. Along with a fresh start with Steph, he figured it was about time he forgave Vince and gave him his blessing on helping to raise Lola. “I’m sure she’ll be happy that you’re happy.”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t sound so sure.” He glanced her way. She’d opened her pink Barbie purse and took out a fluffy, pink ball gown.
“I know. It’s just that sometimes when I talk about you, Mom doesn’t like it. She doesn’t say bad stuff about you, or anything, but she acts like she’d be happiest if you went away.”
Nice.
“I’m sure she doesn’t mean it like that,” he covered while secretly believing his ex would like nothing better than for him to fall off the planet.
“I guess. But, anyway, she always likes getting new dresses, so she’ll be glad about that.”
“What do you mean?” Brady asked, merging the car onto the highway.
“Don’t you think she’ll want a fancy dress to wear to the wedding?” With an excited squirm, she added, “Maybe me and her can even be flower girls together!”
“SURE THIS IS THE ONE?” Olivia asked Stephanie on a blustery January Saturday morning. They’d been shopping for wedding dresses for two weeks with no luck, yet in Little Rock’s Bridal Emporium, the first white satin gown she’d slipped on fit like a dream.
“Look at it,” Stephanie said, admiring herself in a three-way mirror. Thanks in part to an angry sky threatening snow, aside from a lone sales attendant they had the place to themselves. “It’s got the sweetheart neckline I like, tons of beading on the bodice, a full, tulle skirt—even the eighty million buttons I wanted in the back.”
“You do know you’ll have to pay me extra fo
r helping with all of those?” Olivia teased.
“Fair enough.” Since her falling out with Lisa, Stephanie had asked Olivia and Gabby to be co-matrons of honor. On this day, Gabby was unfortunately with Dane at a Vegas legal conference. They’d had a good laugh about hundreds of judges meeting up in Sin City. Brady was home watching football with the twins, who were all of the sudden walking like crazy, and refused to be in their stroller a second longer than necessary. “What kind of veil should I wear?”
“Honestly, with all of your gorgeous curls, I’d wear your hair down and wild, letting it be your veil. For extra pizzazz, you can top it off with a tiara.”
“Ooh, that sounds cute. What about shoes?”
After a moment of surveying the dress, Olivia said, “If you want to go all out, I’d say matching satin pumps. But knowing your aversion to heels, how about we get you a fancy pair of sneakers? You know, the ones with all the beading and lace. Your skirt is so full, no one will see them but you, and you’ll be a lot more comfortable at the reception.”
“You always give the best advice.” Hopping down from the alterations podium, she gave her friend a hug. “Thank you. For not just putting up with my endless dress shopping, but helping me deal with Lisa. She’s really putting a damper on my fun.”
“Don’t let her get to you,” Olivia said, fluffing Stephanie’s hair. “She’ll eventually come around, and when she does, she’ll give you a big apology and everything will be better between you.”
“Hope so.” Staring at herself in the mirror, Stephanie suddenly felt old. Tired. She’d been through a lot for such a young age. It seemed as if only yesterday since she’d been dress shopping for her wedding to Michael. Her budget had been much smaller, and she’d ended up having a friend’s mother make her gown. It’d been simple, yet elegant. Perfect for their summer garden wedding.
Eyes closed, she saw Michael standing at the end of the morning glory-covered gazebo that’d served as their altar. He’d worn his navy dress whites. His white rose boutonniere matched the flowers in her hair.
Lightning bugs glittered like stars in the trees and the perfection of the moment they shared their first kiss as man and wife had been spellbinding.
From out of nowhere, her heart began to race.
Eyes open, she said to Olivia, “I have to get out of this dress.”
“What’s wrong?” her friend asked. “Are you sick?”
Unable to speak, Stephanie just nodded.
Clawing frantically at the row of buttons she’d once thought charming, she felt light-headed and queasy and drenched with sweat. “I have to get out. Please, help me.”
“I am,” Olivia assured, “but just like it took a while to get you into this fancy number, it’s going to take time to get you out.”
“No,” Stephanie said with a wild shake of her head. “I need air. I can’t breathe. Seriously, I’m going to die.” Bolting from the dressing room with her dress only half-undone, she found an emergency back exit that when she pressed the panic bar, launched a fire alarm’s wail.
The clerk came running. “Is everything all right?”
Outside, sleet pelted Stephanie’s bare arms and face. She didn’t care. She was beyond caring. All she knew was that she had to run as far as possible to escape. To find her way back to Michael. But she was so tired, and her limbs ached. She tried reaching Olivia’s SUV, but her legs turned numb, buckling with her every step.
“She can’t wear that dress out of here,” the clerk shouted. “It’s over three thousand dollars.”
“Leave us alone for a second,” Stephanie heard Olivia tell the woman, “and I promise we’ll be right in to pay.”
“Do I have stupid written on my forehead? Your crazy friend just set off my fire alarm, and now she’s out in the snow, wearing one of my priciest gowns.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Olivia snapped, digging through her purse and then flinging her Visa Platinum across the pavement. “We’re paying for the damned dress. Just leave us alone.”
With an indignant string of insults, the woman finally left.
“Steph? Honey?” Olivia slowly approached. “Where’s your medication?”
“I don’t know,” she said through messy tears. “I don’t have attacks anymore, so I didn’t think I’d need it.”
“Uh-huh.” With so much of her skin exposed, in the midteen temperatures, Stephanie’s teeth began to chatter. Olivia wrapped her arms around her, urging her back into the shop. “Come on, honey. Let’s get you warmed up.”
Exhausted, Stephanie went along with whatever Olivia wanted her to do. She usually insisted on making her own decisions, but with Michael’s heartbreakingly handsome image still haunting her, she was just too tired.
“YOU CAN STOP TALKING ABOUT ME like I’m not here.” Dressed in a gray sweatsuit with her feet snug in thick, white socks and her hair crammed into a scrunchie, Stephanie knew she was far from looking her best, but at the moment, her appearance was the least of her worries. With Brady and Olivia sharing the sofa, the twins happily gumming blocks in their playpen, the afternoon should’ve been idyllic. Far from it. After she’d slept the whole way home, and then crawled directly into bed from there, her best friend and fiancé stared at her as if she’d sprouted alien antennae. “I know I freaked out, and I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“That’s the problem,” Brady said, “you obviously don’t know when one of these attacks are coming. What if this happened when you’re alone with the girls?”
“It won’t,” she barked, sitting hard on the armchair across from the sofa.
“Honey,” Olivia said, her voice softer than Brady’s, “we’re understandably concerned. Do you have any idea what triggered it? One minute, you were happy and smiling, and the next, out of your mind.”
“Thanks,” Stephanie said with a heavy dose of sarcasm. “It always makes me feel better knowing my friends are on my side.”
“I’m totally on your side,” Olivia argued, “but Brady and I are both worried that Lisa may have been right. Maybe you aren’t ready for another wedding so soon after losing Michael.”
“So soon?” Stephanie shook her head. “It’s been nearly two years. I think that’s long enough to sit in my self-imposed depression prison. I’m tired of being sad. I just want things to go back to the way they were meant to be.”
“Please don’t take this the wrong way,” Brady said, “but you do get the fact that I’m not Michael, and never could hope to take his place? I love you, sweetie, but the two of us have to make a fresh start, and if you’re still hung up on—”
“Quit,” Stephanie pleaded, hands over her ears. “For heaven’s sake, I’m over him. Why won’t any of you believe me?”
Instantly by her side, Brady knelt, cupping his hands to her knees. “Maybe because you just flipped out in the middle of a bridal store? Sweetie, I hate to say this, but I have to agree with Olivia that maybe marrying so soon isn’t the best idea.”
“It’s a wonderful idea,” she snapped. “And you’re awful for suggesting what we’re doing is wrong.”
“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m worried about you. We all are.”
“Well, stop.” Leaning forward, she forced a smile and gave him a kiss. “I’m fine. Great. I had a little setback and it won’t happen again.”
Chapter Fifteen
“You sure you took your medicine?” Brady asked Steph on board their Seattle-bound flight. He wished he’d been able to fly her out himself, but with his schedule full, there hadn’t been time. Steph had seemed anxious through the Little Rock to Dallas leg of their travels.
She nodded.
Holding tight to Steph’s cold hand, Brady wasn’t sure that with only two weeks until their wedding, flying out for a whirlwind weekend shopping trip for Lola’s flower girl dress was a good call, but since Steph had seemed fine since her incident, he’d agreed with her plan. He’d managed to snag first-class seats, which he hoped would help calm her.
&nb
sp; With coach-class passengers still streaming by, he said, “We don’t have to do this, you know? If you’re not feeling it, you can change your mind.”
“Why are you making this a big deal?” she asked. “I used to fly all the time. The only reason I had trouble on the way to Miami was because it was the first time I’d flown since Michael died.”
“That’s all I wanted to know. I love you.”
“Me, too.” Sleepy from her tranquilizers, she rested her head on his shoulder and promptly fell asleep.
Though Brady was relieved that the flight would be stress-free, he couldn’t help but worry that more was going on with Steph than he knew. Most times they were together, he felt as if he’d known her forever. Then there were days when she seemed quiet and withdrawn. And when he asked what was bothering her, she always said she was tired. But what if it was more? What if she still suffered from depression over Michael’s death and her marriage to Brady was nothing more than a bandage for her still-raw wounds?
Another issue nagging him was the fact Steph had never once said she loved him. Oh, she’d shown she cared for him a hundred different ways, but she’d never said the words. A small thing, but important. At least to him.
About twenty minutes from landing, Steph roused. “Did I sleep through the whole flight?”
“Pretty much,” he said, kissing her forehead. “You didn’t miss anything too exciting.”
“I’ve never flown first class. What was the meal?”
“A little filet mignon, lobster, caviar. The usual.”
“And you didn’t wake me?” she complained with the cutest pout.
“I’m teasing. Dinner was tasty, but nothing fancy. Some kind of chicken stuff. I’m sure you wouldn’t have liked it.”
The plane hit a patch of turbulence, causing Steph’s face to pale.
“We’re fine,” he said. “Take deep breaths.”
Nodding, she said, “I know. Thank you for putting up with me. I’ll be better once we’re down.”
The Baby Twins (Babies & Bachelors USA) Page 14
