CelebrationAfterDarkKobo (21 page)

Daisy Babson, head of housekeeping, had stepped up to help finalize their plans since the hotel’s event coordinator was on vacation. They couldn’t have pulled off the wedding on such short notice without Daisy’s able assistance.

“To say event planning isn’t your specialty, you sure arranged a miracle,” Adam said he and Abby walked with Daisy through the downstairs rooms that would be used for the wedding.
 

“I’m so glad you’re happy with it.” Daisy glowed with happiness after getting a big engagement ring from Dr. David Lawrence for Christmas. “It’s been good practice for planning my own wedding.”

“We’re all so happy for you guys,” Adam said.

“Thank you. I know it means a lot to David to have your family’s support.”

It seemed like a long time now since David’s relationship with Janey had ended with him cheating on her. David had changed a lot in the last few years and had earned the McCarthy family’s undying respect when he delivered both Hailey and P.J. under difficult—and dangerous—conditions.

“How did he ask you?” Abby asked.

“It was very romantic and sweet,” Daisy said, blushing lightly as she conveyed the details of the proposal. “After we spent Christmas Day with his family, we came home to our place. He said he had one more gift he’d forgotten to give me earlier. I almost passed out when I realized what was happening.”

Abby laughed at the comical expression on Daisy’s face.

“It was perfect,” Daisy declared.

Abby hugged her. “I’m so happy for you. No one deserves to be swept off her feet more than you do.”

Adam wanted to tell his bride that she deserved it, too, but rather than tell her, he intended to show her. Later.
 

He and Abby had said to hell with superstition and had spent their wedding day together. In truth, he was still slightly afraid to let her out of his sight. Since their intense conversation on the night of his parents’ anniversary party, she’d been more resigned to her diagnosis. She’d been an enthusiastic if quieter-than-usual participant in the planning of their wedding. However, he still sensed an underlying fragility to her newfound strength, which was why they’d spent every day this week together.

He’d taken the week off from work and had given her his undivided attention. With her store closed down for the winter as of Christmas Eve, they focused on resting and relaxing in the days before their wedding. Adam couldn’t wait to give her the surprise he had for her later.

She’d suggested that the week in Anguilla for Evan’s wedding could count as their honeymoon, but Adam didn’t want to wait three weeks to celebrate their marriage. They were leaving tomorrow for a weeklong cruise to the Bahamas, and he was excited to have his new wife completely to himself for a whole week.

Hell, he was excited about everything where she was concerned—the good, the bad, the sickness, the health and everything in between. After his last relationship ended in spectacular fashion, he’d been resigned to spending the rest of his life alone rather than ending up with the wrong person.

At the lowest moment in his life, he’d come home to Gansett and found true love with his brother’s ex-girlfriend. He hadn’t seen it coming, but that was what made it so great. They’d been right under each other’s noses for years without realizing they were destined to be together.
 

As Abby chatted with Daisy about the flower delivery that would arrive from the florist, Adam squeezed her hand.
 

She replied with the genuine smile he hadn’t seen much of since her diagnosis, but it gave him hope that she would bounce back in due time. That she also looked excited about the wedding helped to soothe his battered nerves.

The rest of the day flew by with last-minute details and other preparations. With darkness descending as it did so early in the winter, Adam spent his last few minutes as a single man in the hotel salon with his brothers as well as Joe and Owen, all of whom were serving as his groomsmen. His nephew, Thomas, was the ring bearer. Owen was doing double duty and would provide music for the ceremony. Adam’s Uncle Frank would preside.

Abby had asked Grace to be her maid of honor with Janey, Maddie, Laura and Stephanie as her attendants. They hadn’t had time to come up with the usual matching outfits, so all the girls were wearing black cocktail dresses, and the guys were in dark suits. Abby had found a dress she loved at Tiffany’s store a couple of months ago, and Adam couldn’t wait to see it.

It had been rather easy to throw together an elegant last-minute wedding that would also serve as a New Year’s Eve party.

“Are you ready, bro?” Mac asked, clasping Adam’s shoulder.

“So ready.”

His brother Grant shook his hand. “Take good care of Abby. She deserves the very best.”

“She’ll never get anything less than that from me.”

Grant nodded soberly. Adam was thankful that there’d never been any ill will from his brother when he started seeing Abby. Grant knew he’d screwed up with her, and he’d told Adam that his experience with Abby had prepared him to do better with Stephanie. Everyone had ended up where they belonged, but it was still a relief not to have trouble with Grant. That would’ve forced Adam to make some awful decisions.
 

Evan approached him with a white rose, a huge pin and a demonic look in his eyes.
 

“Don’t even think about it, idiot.”

“I only thought about it. I wasn’t actually going to do it.” Evan, the best man, pinned the rose onto Adam’s lapel and then took a measuring perusal of Adam’s appearance. “You won’t ruin the pictures.”

Adam laughed. He expected nothing less from Evan. The two of them had spent their childhood beating the crap out of each other every chance they got, and were still known to wrestle on occasion. In fact, they’d gotten in trouble for wrestling too close to their mother’s tree on Christmas Day. Good times.
 

Despite the fighting—or maybe because of it—he and Evan were close, and there was no one else he’d rather have stand up for him today. He hoped Evan would resist the urge to headlock him during the ceremony.
 

Adam checked his watch. Ten minutes until six. Ten minutes until he married the love of his life. He couldn’t wait.

Clutching the arm of her father and following her attendants, Abby made her way downstairs to the salon, where she and Adam would exchange vows. The beautiful old hotel was awash in candlelight that created a soft, romantic vibe. She’d been skeptical that they could pull off a decent wedding with only eleven days to prepare, but as usual, Adam had shown her that anything was possible if you wanted it badly enough.
 

With every step she took toward her groom, Abby thought about the long journey she had traveled to arrive at this moment. More than ten years with Grant had led to heartache in the end, followed by another failed relationship with Cal—and a broken engagement.

She’d officially given up on men and love, which was exactly when her path had collided with Adam’s on a ferry ride home to Gansett that changed both their lives forever.
 

Even though her relationship with Adam was totally different from anything she’d known before, she’d still expected something to go wrong—because in her experience, something always went wrong. The devastating diagnosis last week had nearly derailed them, but he hadn’t let it. He hadn’t let her withdraw into herself. He’d fought for her and for them the way he always had and, she now knew, the way he always would.
 

She’d chosen an off-white silk dress with a deep V neckline that showed off the cleavage Adam loved. It fell to her ankles and included a slit on the right side. The dress was sexier than she’d normally have chosen for herself, but if her body was going to change dramatically due to her disorder, she wanted Adam to have the memory of a sexy, beautiful bride to cherish.

Abby had left her hair down because that was how he liked it best, and had worn the lightest possible amount of makeup. Marrying him was a dream come true, and she didn’t want to be unrecognizable to him. She and her dad turned the last corner before they entered the room where the ceremony would be held, and Abby took a deep breath, preparing herself for him.

She squeezed her dad’s arm, and they rounded the corner. Accompanied by the gentle tone of Owen’s guitar, Abby locked eyes with Adam, who appeared to brush a tear from his cheek. He was so beautiful and so sexy and all hers forever. In those final steps as a single woman, she let go of her painful past and her worries about the future. For right now, there was only Adam and her and the vows they would make to each other.

Adam shook hands with her dad and tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow, squeezing it once in reassurance. “Stunning,” he whispered.

“Likewise,” she replied, smiling up at him.

“We’ve come together tonight to celebrate the marriage of my wonderful nephew Adam with his beautiful Abby.” Frank led them through the traditional recitation of vows and the exchange of rings that they’d ordered online and paid top dollar to have shipped to them in time for the wedding. “In addition to the vows they’ve already taken, Adam and Abby have written their own vows. Adam?”

As he took a deep breath, his eyes shone with unshed tears. “My whole life began the day I found you on that ferry ride home to Gansett,” he said gruffly, bringing tears to her eyes, too. “We were both at the lowest point in our lives and in no way prepared for what was about to happen to us. Since that momentous day, you have taken me places I never expected to go, including the tattoo parlor.”

Abby laughed, as did everyone else.

Adam touched his lips to the new tattoo of their wedding date on her inner wrist. He had the same one in the same place.

Releasing one of her hands, he cupped her face as he gazed into her eyes. “No matter what challenges may come our way, I’ve always got your back, and I know you’ve got mine, too. I love every single thing about you, and I always will.”

He used his thumbs to brush away her tears.

“I have never been more myself than I am with you,” Abby said. “I’ve never felt as completely accepted as I am with you. And I’ll never love anyone the way I love you. From those first moments on the ferry, you’ve taken care of me and protected me and encouraged me to go for what I want, even if it might seem out of reach. You’ve shown me that nothing is out of reach when you have the right person holding your hand through life’s challenges. The day I found you on the ferry was the best day of my life, until today.”

Before Frank could tell him it was time, Adam kissed her, and Frank declared them husband and wife.

“I’d tell you to kiss your bride, Adam,” Frank said, “but you’ve got that covered.”

Adam kissed her for a long time—so long that Abby began to burn with embarrassment as their family and friends laughed. She was about to break the kiss when he withdrew slowly, smiling brightly at her.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Frank said, “I present to you Adam and Abby McCarthy.”

As their guests cheered, Adam raised their joined hands to his lips and kissed the back of hers.
 

Finally
, Abby thought. Finally, she’d gotten her happily ever after, and the best part was she got to spend the rest of her life with him.

Epilogue

“Four down, two to go,” Big Mac said to Linda as the clock headed for midnight and the party raged on around them. Jackets and heels had come off, ties were strewn over backs of chairs, and the champagne continued to flow.