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  “Because,” he answered, “if you wouldn’t be satisfied, then I’d opt to go with the whole package.” He gestured around the large ballroom to get his point across. “With this,” he specified. “Although it would mostly be up to you to fill it up.”

  “And we’re back to ‘why,’” she said. “Why would it be up to me to fill up a large room?” Her brain felt as if someone had shaken it like one of those snow globes. There were falling snowflakes all around her and nothing was clear. “Did you skip a step or did I miss something?”

  She was utterly confused at this point. Moreover, she was really afraid to jump to a conclusion because she was afraid it would be the wrong one.

  Shane took her further aside so that they were away from the other guests. “No, you didn’t miss something. I’m the one who skipped a step.” He took in a deep breath before continuing. “Mainly because I’m afraid that you’ll shoot me down again if I ask.”

  Gina discovered that it was really difficult to talk with her heart in her throat, but somehow, she found a way. “I won’t shoot you down,” she promised, then whispered, “Ask.”

  It’s now or never, he told himself. And with that, he started talking. “I have been in love with you for the last twelve years. Even after you laughed in my face and demolished my ego, I didn’t stop loving you. I didn’t want to love you,” he admitted, “but there are some things that a person just doesn’t have any control over.” And loving her fell into the category.

  “I didn’t laugh in your face,” she insisted. “That was just nervous laughter. I told you, I turned you down back then because I didn’t want to get hurt.”

  “That still doesn’t make any sense to me. I don’t understand,” he confessed.

  Gina shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that I should have said yes then, the way I’m saying yes now—that is,” she qualified nervously, “if you’re seriously asking me to marry you now.”

  “Seriously, laughingly, I’ll ask you any way you want me to, as long as your answer is yes,” he told her. “I’m tired of missing you, Gina. Tired of regretting the life we should have had, but didn’t. I don’t want to waste any more time like that.” He took her hands in his, looked into her eyes and quietly said, “Marry me, Gina.”

  “With my whole heart and soul, I want to say yes,” she told him.

  He caught the hesitation in her voice and the phrasing she had used. “But?”

  Her response wasn’t the one he expected.

  “Did you tell Ellie about this? I’m not just marrying you, I’m marrying her, too. She belongs in this decision, Shane. What if she doesn’t want you to get married?” she asked, clearly concerned.

  Shane laughed with relief. “As a matter of fact, she gave me her blessing. Not in those exact words, of course, but I talked with her about this last night and she’s very excited about the prospect of the three of us living together. She’s got the whole thing planned out,” he told Gina. “So, you see, if you turn me down, you’ll also be disappointing Ellie because you’ll be turning her down, too.”

  The wave of relief that flooded over her was unbelievable. “Then it’s a good thing I won’t be turning her down,” Gina told him.

  “So it’s yes?” Shane asked her, wanting to be a thousand percent sure before he allowed himself to celebrate.

  “It’s yes.” All of her was smiling now, inside and out. “Yes to both of you,” Gina told him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

  “That’s good,” he told her. “Ellie will be overjoyed.”

  She cocked her head as she looked up into his face. “And Ellie’s uncle?”

  He laughed. “That goes without saying,” he said, about to lean in and kiss her.

  But she drew her head back, trying to look serious, but not managing to quite pull it off. “Humor me, Ellie’s uncle. Say it.”

  “Oh, I’ll do better than that,” he told her. “I’ll show you.”

  And he did.

  He showed her for a long, long time.

  Epilogue

  “I don’t know how to thank you!” an elegantly attired Anna Bongino cried, throwing her arms around Maizie’s neck. The floor-length silver mother-of-the-bride gown caught the light, shooting out bits and pieces of sparkling rainbows around the church. “You truly are a witch—the beautiful, good kind,” Anna quickly clarified. She definitely didn’t want to risk insulting her friend. “How did you ever manage it?” she asked. “How did you find Shane and bring them together?”

  Celia smiled her pleased, mysterious smile. “Well, we could tell you, but then we’d have to kill you,” she deadpanned.

  “Don’t pay attention to Celia,” Theresa told Anna, waving a hand at her friend. “She’s been watching way too many mystery thrillers on TV lately.”

  Glossing over Anna’s question—they never liked going into the details involved in their process—Maizie told her friend, “It’s really very nice of you to have Gina invite us to the wedding.”

  “Nice?” Anna echoed. “Without you, there would be no wedding. I don’t know how you did it, but I will be grateful and indebted to you until my dying day,” she told the three women. “And whatever you need, whatever you want, all you have to do is ask.”

  Maizie’s eyes shone as she smiled at her friend’s enthusiasm. “We’re just happy we could finally bring these two together.”

  “I hate to interrupt this, but I think we should find seats,” Celia told the others. “I can see the organist getting ready to start playing.”

  Anna placed her hand over her heart, as if to ensure that it remained in her chest. She looked like a child on Christmas morning after being told that Santa Claus had been there, Maizie thought.

  “It’s happening,” Anna cried excitedly. “It’s really happening.”

  “Yes,” Maizie replied with the pride of someone who had once again accomplished what she had set out to do, “it’s really happening.” Placing a hand on Anna’s shoulder, she urged the woman, “You’d better take your seat up front.”

  Anna snapped to attention. “Oh right, of course. I’ll see you all at the reception,” she told the trio just as an usher approached her side, ready to escort her into the front pew.

  “It isn’t often we see a mother of the bride acting even more excited than the bride,” Celia commented, amused, as she and her coconspirators filed into a pew on the bride’s side of the church.

  “I think it’s kind of cute,” Theresa said.

  “Yes, it is,” Celia agreed.

  “Well, ladies,” Maizie whispered to the others as all three sat down. “Mission accomplished. Again,” she added with a twinkle in her eye.

  Theresa chuckled. “Was there ever any doubt?”

  * * *

  Finally, Gina thought as she heard the organist begin to play the wedding march—her wedding march. After being a bridesmaid in so many weddings, it was finally her turn. She almost had to pinch herself.

  It didn’t seem real.

  “Ready?” her brother-in-law asked, peering into the room.

  Gina smiled at Eddie. Because her father had passed away several years ago, her sister’s husband had volunteered to give her away.

  “Ever so ready,” she replied. Scooping up the ends of her veil, she walked out of the room, joining Eddie. “Thanks for doing this,” she told him.

  He carefully led her toward the inner doors of the church. “It’s good practice for when I have to give Addie away,” Eddie answered.

  Gina wanted to run into the church to make sure that Shane was up there at the altar, waiting for her. But she forced herself to move slowly. And then they were in position, just behind the pint-size flower girl, ready to proceed to the altar.

  Ellie turned around to flash a huge grin at Gina, then instantly adopted a very serious expression as she turned bac
k around. Moving slowly with a surprising level of maturity, Ellie carefully scattered rose petals in front of her.

  Shane’s niece was out of petals by the time she reached the altar and it was clear she felt she had completed her job well. Winking at Gina, Ellie allowed herself to be led off to the side where the bridesmaids were gathered.

  Gina’s breath caught in her throat as she came to the end of her short journey. Her eyes met Shane’s.

  “You’re on your own, Gee,” Eddie told her affectionately, pausing to brush a quick kiss on her cheek.

  Gina was barely aware of her brother-in-law or what he had just said. Every fiber of her being was totally focused on Shane.

  Shane’s smile was warm and welcoming. “You came,” he whispered.

  “Wild horses couldn’t have kept me away,” she answered just as the priest began to recite the time-honored words that would forever bind them together.

  The warm, pleased smile on Shane’s face burrowed into her heart.

  This time, Gina thought, it was going to be all right.

  Finally.

  She wanted to memorize ever single nuance and syllable of the ceremony, but the words the priest was reciting kept buzzing in and out of her head like bees filled with adrenaline. Gina found herself waiting to hear the ones that counted.

  And then she did.

  “I now pronounce you man and wife,” Father Scanlon declared. Smiling, he told Shane, “You may kiss the bride.”

  Shane lifted up the veil from her face, the veil she had just discovered her mother had lovingly made for her ten years earlier in anticipation of her wedding.

  “I’ve been waiting to kiss the bride for a long, long time,” he told her just before he followed the priest’s suggestion.

  The kiss, they both thought, was well worth waiting for.

  * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from What Makes a Father by Teresa Southwick.

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  What Makes a Father

  by Teresa Southwick

  Chapter One

  Annie Campbell didn’t know exhaustion of this magnitude was even possible. Since suddenly becoming a mom to newborn twins three months ago, she’d been tired, but in the last week she’d counted sleep in seconds and minutes rather than hours. Either Charlie or Sarah was always awake, hungry, wet, crabby or crying uncontrollably for no apparent reason. Childhood had been challenging for Annie, but raising twins was the hardest thing she’d ever done.

  And she wouldn’t trade being their mom for anything. With one toothless grin they had her wrapped around their little fingers. Now they had all the symptoms of teething—drooling, gnawing on their fists, crying—and Annie honestly wasn’t sure she’d survive it.

  Her apartment was small, perfect for a single woman. Then she brought infants home from the hospital, forced by circumstances to care for two babies at once and too overwhelmed to look for a bigger place. And she was still overwhelmed. On a good day she could sneak in a shower. Today hadn’t been a good day but there were hopeful signs.

  Sarah was quiet in the crib. Charlie was in her arms but she could feel him relaxing, possibly into sleep. Oh, please God. She would walk until her legs fell off if that’s what it took. With luck he’d go quietly in with his sister and Annie could close her eyes. To heck with a shower.

  Slowly she did a circuit of the living room, past the bar that separated it from the kitchen, around the oak coffee table, gliding by the window that looked out on the center courtyard of the apartment complex. As the baby grew heavier in her arms, she could almost feel victory in her grasp, the euphoria of having two babies asleep at the same time.

  Then some fool rang her doorbell. Charlie jerked awake and started to cry just on general principle. Sarah’s wails came from the bedroom.

  “Someone is going to pay.” Annie cuddled the startled baby closer and kissed his head. “Not you, Charlie bear. You’re perfect. But if someone is selling something they’ll get more than they bargained for.”

  She peeked through the front window and saw a man wearing military camouflage. This was probably daddy candidate number three, the last one on her sister’s list of men who might be the babies’ father. This had to be Mason Blackburne, the army doctor who’d been deployed to Afghanistan. She’d contacted him by email and he’d claimed he’d get back to her right away when he returned to the States. She hadn’t expected that he actually would.

  In her experience, men were selfish, hurtful and unreliable. His written response was a brush-off any idiot would see. Except maybe not since he was standing outside. Not to be picky, but the least he could have done was call first. Come to think of it, how did he get her address? She’d only given him her phone number in the email. Apparently she was taking too long because he followed up the doorbell ring with an aggressive knock.

  The chain locking the door was in place so she opened it just a crack. “Your timing sucks.”

  “Annie Campbell? I’m Mason Blackburne.”

  “I gave you my number. You were supposed to call me. How did you get my address?”

  “From Jessica.”

  Pain sliced through Annie when she heard her sister’s name. Jess had died shortly after giving birth to the twins. The joy of welcoming her niece and nephew into the world turned to unimaginable grief at losing the person Annie loved most in the world. Her sister had lived with her off and on, couch surfing when she needed somewhere to stay. She didn’t trust men in general any more than Annie, so if she’d given the address to this guy, her gut must have said he was okay.

  Annie unlocked the door and opened it. For the first time she got a good look at Mason Blackburne. Two things stood out: he was tall, and his eyes were startlingly blue. And he was boyishly handsome. Okay, that was three things, but she was too tired to care. And some part of her worn-out brain was regretting that her hair was in a messy ponytail because she hadn’t washed it. Or showered today. Or put on makeup. And she was wearing baggy sweatpants and an oversize T-shirt.

  “Come in,” she said, stepping back. “I’ve got a DNA swab right here. Just rub it on the inside of each cheek for thirty seconds and put it back in the tube. I’ll send it to the lab with the other one and the results will be back in five business days.”

  But it wasn’t clear whether or not he’d heard her. The guy was staring at Charlie. The baby had stopped crying and was staring suspiciously back at the tall stranger. And he was sucking his thumb. The baby, no
t the stranger.

  She sighed. “Well, baby boy, now all my extensive research into the best pacifier on the planet to prevent thumb-sucking is down the tubes. Somewhere an orthodontist is doing the dance of joy.”

  Mason had a look of awe on his face. “What’s his name?”

  “Charlie.”

  “Did Jessica choose that?”

  “No, she didn’t get a chance. But she’d narrowed down the choices to Christopher and Charles. Sarah was always the top girls’ name.”

  He looked past her to the hallway where the baby girl was still crying. “Can I see her?”

  Annie wanted to say no. She didn’t know this guy from a rock, but again, Jess didn’t normally share her address with men and she’d given it to him. So maybe it was okay.

  After closing the front door, she headed for the hallway with daddy candidate number three following. The master bedroom and bath were on the right, and across from it was her office, now the twins’ nursery.

  “She’s in here. And before you ask, they share the crib. The pediatrician advised not separating them just yet.”

  “Because they shared quarters for nine months,” he said.

  “Exactly.” They walked into the room where the crib was on the wall opposite her desk. “She probably needs her diaper changed. I’ll have to put Charlie down since I haven’t yet figured out how to do it one-handed. Fair warning—he’s going to cry.”

  “Could I hold him?”

  Annie’s gaze snapped to his face. “Why?”

  “You need help. And he might be my son.” There was an edge to his voice and intensity in his eyes that made her think it really mattered to him.

  Annie thought it over. This guy might be Charlie’s father. Why not push him into the deep end of the pool, let him know what he was getting into. She held Charlie out to him and he took the baby, a little awkwardly.

  Annie walked over to the crib and lowered the side rail. She picked up the little girl to comfort her first. “It’s okay, Sarah. You’re fine. I’m here, sweet girl. I have to put you down again, just for a minute to change that diaper. Trust me on this. You’ll feel a lot better.”