The music changed again and Ben’s heart raced in anticipation. As everyone stood, Kline appeared in the rear with her uncle Zeke. Kline’s eyes locked with his, and when she smiled, he nearly lost it. She was such a beautiful woman, but in that dress, and with that smile, she was radiant. He was the luckiest guy in the world.
When Kline finally joined them, he took her hands and couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She was glowing in her gown, and her eyes turned misty as his grandmother said words Ben couldn’t hear. All he could think about was how close he’d come to never having this moment and it choked him up again.
His grandmother’s foot landed on his shin. “Snap out of it, boy. Gonna need you for this part.”
Ben rushed through his vows, eager to get to the kissing part to make her his forever.
Kline wiped away a tear and then said her part next. They slipped rings on each other’s fingers and then Ben looked at his grandmother for the declaration he’d waited forever to hear.
She said, “By the power vested in me by the Internet, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride, Benjamin.”
He pulled Kline close and laid his hungry mouth on hers. Loud clapping faded away as she kissed him back, and he got lost in Kline. She was all his for the rest of their lives. And he couldn’t wait to get her to Tahiti and all to himself for ten solid days.
When his grandmother’s shoe found Ben’s shin again, he took that as his cue to slowly break the kiss.
Grandma declared, “Settle down now, everyone. We’re not done here. We still have us a mayor to inaugurate. If you two would, please?” Grandma held her hand out to a table filled with papers to sign. Ben signed the marriage license above the witnesses’ signatures first and then stood back to let Kline sign the license and what looked like the inauguration papers.
While Kline scratched her name by all the little colored tabs, Grandma whispered, “Anyone else want to get married while we’re all here gussied up and I’m still breathing? Tara?”
She shook her head. “My mother would kill me. She’s been planning our wedding for months.”
Grams turned to Zane. “How about you two?”
He glanced at Casey and a guilty look passed between them. Casey whispered, “We didn’t want to wait until September anymore to get pregnant. We were married last weekend in Lake Tahoe. But this is Kline’s big day, so not a word, Grandma.”
“Dagnabbit!” Grandma threw her hands up. “You eloped again on me, Casey?”
She nodded. “How about you and Zeke? We gained an Anderson today, so we could stand to lose one to become a Grant.”
Zeke suddenly appeared with a ring in his hand. “How about it, Ruthie? Will you marry me?”
Grandma picked up the ring and examined it. “Not bad. I guess I could live with this weighing my hand down for the few years we got left. But I don’t want all this fuss. I always secretly wanted one of them Elvis impersonators to marry me in Vegas. That way we could party all night after and play the slots. It’d be fun to win a jackpot or two while we’re at it.”
Kline burst out in laughter as she wrapped her arm around Ben’s waist and gave a squeeze. “See? I wasn’t the only one who wanted a quick wedding.”
Ben shook his head and then kissed his grandmother’s cheek. “Then a Vegas wedding you’ll have. Congratulations.” He shook Zeke’s hand. “Welcome to Club Crazy.”
Grandma chuckled and then slipped her glasses onto her nose. She shuffled through the pages. “These look like they’re all in order.”
After swearing Kline in as the new mayor, Grandma grabbed Kline’s arm and raised it above her head. “I present to you the new mayor of Anderson Butte. Kline Anderson! Now let’s go get us some fancy champagne and cake. I’m starving!”
The wedding party crowded around to hug Kline as Ben’s chest filled with pride. Kline would be a fantastic mayor. He turned to gauge his father’s reaction. Dad’s jaw clenched, but he clapped along with the rest of the people. Maybe he’d help Kline after all.
After all the obligatory pictures, the cake cutting, and the shoving pieces into each other’s faces, Ben finally dragged Kline out to the dance floor in the school’s gym for a moment alone with her. She snuggled close to him and sighed. “I’ll bet I go down in history as the only mayor to ever be inaugurated in a wedding gown.”
“That, and the best-looking mayor this town has ever seen. I haven’t had a chance to tell you how pretty you look today, Kline.”
She leaned back and smiled. “You didn’t have to. I saw it in your eyes. Something I’ll never forget.” She laid a soft kiss on his lips. “This was perfect, Ben. As easy as a courthouse wedding.”
“Yeah, for you. I did all the heavy lifting.”
“But at least we discussed the wedding plans together. Mostly. We’re getting the hang of this.” She gave him another quick kiss. “And we’re very proud of you for doing all of this and pulling off the perfect wedding.”
“Wait. Did you say we? As in plural?” His heart nearly soared out of his chest. “Are you pregnant already?” They’d decided she’d go off birth control, figuring it’d take a few months to get pregnant.
She nodded. “I was going to tell you this afternoon. That’s why I wanted to move the wedding up so badly. But looks like all three of us are going on the honeymoon. Not that we’ll mention that part to little baby Grant-Anderson.”
He stopped dancing. “You hyphenated your name when you signed everything earlier?”
“What? Do you think I should’ve talked that over with you before I did it?”
Well, yeah! What was she think—“Nope.” He’d better not go there. Not after the stunts he’d pulled in the past. “Did I mention how pretty you look, Kline?”
“Gotcha.” She laughed. “I was just kidding about the hyphen.”
“Thank you, Mayor Anderson. But speaking of that, there is this one other little thing I did that maybe I should’ve told you about . . .”
“Stop.” Kline laid a soft finger on his lips. “I vowed I’d take you as you are, but maybe you’d better tell me after the honeymoon so I don’t have to kill you and go alone.”
“Deal.” He smiled and pulled her closer. Yeah. He was the luckiest guy in the world, all right. Well, until after the honeymoon, anyway. Then he’d just have to take his chances.
The End
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I owe a heartfelt thanks to my critique group, Sherri, Robin, and Louise, and to my family for always being there to support me. And to my editors, Maria Gomez, Charlotte Herscher, and the whole Montlake team for just being such awesome people to work with. And to my many writer buddies who continue to inspire and encourage me, particularly Gina Robinson and Lauren Christopher.
But mostly, I’d like to thank my readers. Thanks for believing as much as I do that everyone deserves their own happily ever after.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2012 Robyn Adams
Tamra Baumann got hooked on writing the day she picked up her first Nora Roberts novel from her favorite bookstore. Since then, she’s dazzled readers of contemporary romance with her own lighthearted love stories. She was the 2012 Golden Heart winner for Contemporary Series Romance and has also received the Golden Pen Award for Single Title Romance. Born in Monterey, California, Tamra led the nomadic life of a navy brat before finally putting down permanent roots during college. When she’s not attending annual Romance Writers of America meetings, this voracious reader can be found playing tennis, traveling, or scouting reality shows for potential character material. Tamra resides with her real-life characters—her husband, two kids, and their allergy-ridden dog—in the sunny Southwest.
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It Had to Be Them (An It Had to Be Novel Book 4) Page 25