by Amy Reece
“We don’t have that information.”
Mac could tell the man was lying and figured Izzy could too. “Guys, she needs to get her shoulder looked at. Could we finish this tomorrow? I’ll make sure she gets to the station.”
They nodded and handed him a business card with phone numbers and an address.
She was silent as they walked away, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”
He sighed and reached for her hand. “I think so. Please don’t tell me you feel responsible in any way for that man’s death. He was an assassin and a domestic terrorist.”
She pulled her hand away and crossed her arms, anger apparent in every line of her body. “I don’t know how I feel, Mac.”
He’d known her long enough to realize she needed to say her piece. “But?”
She glared at him, her jaw tight and her chin thrust forward. “But they’re my feelings! If I want to feel guilty about shooting someone, I will!”
Jesus Christ. “Izzy, love, you didn’t shoot him—”
“I think I did. I think I pulled the trigger. We were fighting and I got my hands on the gun and I felt the trigger and I think I squeezed it.” She rambled for another moment, making less and less sense as she talked.
“Come here.” He opened his arms.
She glared at him again, then finally broke and launched into his embrace. “Please get me out of here.”
“You got it.” He steered her through the crowd to the ballroom doors. “Where’s your purse?” He remembered at the last minute that he hadn’t driven to the hotel.
She looked around helplessly. “I don’t know. I think I lost my phone too.”
He found a chair for her and told her to wait while he jogged back to the tables and began scouring them for any sign of her handbag. He finally found it under one of the tables in the back, then headed to the curtain to see if he could locate her phone. It lay discarded on the floor, right where she’d said she dropped it. As they exited the ballroom, she grabbed her shoes, which were stashed in a potted plant. Against her loud protestations, he drove her to the emergency room and sat with her while they examined and x-rayed her shoulder. It was badly bruised, but nothing was dislocated or broken, so the doctor taped it up and put her arm in a sling, instructing her to alternate ice and heat, along with Tylenol and rest. Her eardrum was ruptured and would take up to six weeks to fully heal.
She called her mother to pick Janey up after daycare, then acquiesced to being taken home and tucked into bed for a well-deserved nap after she changed into sweats. “Do you have to go back to work?”
He shook his head. He had no intention of leaving her alone after what she’d been through. “I’ll be here when you wake up, love.”
She reached her good arm toward him. “Would you lie here with me for a little while? Please?”
He melted at the vulnerable look in her eyes. “Sure. Scoot over.” He lay on top of the comforter and spooned around her body. He’d intended to put her filthy clothes in the wash, but it could wait. She needed him right now. In his opinion, it was good riddance to the shooter, but he’d been trained to kill in battle—and he definitely considered what Izzy had been through a battle—and she hadn’t. He knew she would have a tough time in the days and weeks to come; he would strongly encourage her to get some counseling as soon as possible.
“Mac?” Her voice was a soft whisper.
“Yeah, love?”
“Is it over? I need it to be over. I don’t know how you and Finn and Chris do it every day, but I want to go back to crunching numbers and running payroll. I can’t handle any more shootings or stabbings.”
He pulled her closer. “It’s over for you, hon. I promise. But for the record, I think you can handle anything life gives you. You’re the strongest, bravest woman I’ve ever known. I can’t even begin to express how proud I am.”
“I don’t feel brave or strong. I’m so tired.” The last words were stifled by a yawn.
He smiled and kissed her hair. “Sleep, sweetheart. Janey and I will be here when you wake up.”
Epilogue
Mac
He woke to the sound of retching coming from the bathroom. He flung the covers off and rushed to find Izzy hunched over the toilet. He wet a washcloth and handed it to her as she nodded her thanks, then crumpled against the side of the tub, pale and shaky.
“Nerves, huh? Is the thought of marrying me today so awful? You wouldn’t fake an illness to try and get out of it, would you?” He crouched beside her and brushed her messy hair behind her ear.
She gave a weak half-smile and shook her head. “Did that,” she pointed to the toilet, “sound fake to you? God, I hate throwing up. No, I’m not trying to get out of it.”
The smell was enough to tell him it wasn’t fake, but he declined to mention it. “Good. Are you going to be okay? Are you nervous, sweetheart?”
“Nope.” She stood and crossed to the sink to rinse out her mouth and quickly brush her teeth. “I’m pregnant.”
He stared at her blankly as his brain tried to process what she’d said. “Oh, my God.”
“Yeah, it’s a real kick in the pants, huh?”
The impact of what she’d said finally registered; a slow grin spread across his face, and he pulled her into his arms and swung her around. “Oh, my God!” He kissed her and then laughed. “We really suck at the whole birth control thing, huh?”
She laughed with him. “Yeah. We might want to figure that out before we end up with six kids.”
“Hey, it worked for your parents. Janey is going to be so excited!”
“She will be beside herself. Sorry to spring it on you the morning of our wedding.”
“I can’t think of a more perfect time to tell me. How long have you known?” He led her to the bedroom and pulled her into his lap in the large chair in the corner.
“I’ve suspected for about a week, but I bought a pregnancy test yesterday. I was trying to keep it a surprise for after the wedding, but it’s hard to keep morning sickness to yourself. I’ve made a doctor’s appointment for next week when we get back from our honeymoon.” They were taking a cruise to the Bahamas, something neither of them had ever done. “This could be a Christmas baby.”
“Best Christmas ever.”
She sat up and stared at him, a frown between her brows. “You’re not upset by this, are you?”
“Of course not. Why should I be? We’re going to be married in,” he stopped to look at his watch, “three hours. You are about to be my wife, and this time I get to be here for your pregnancy. I want to go to all your doctor appointments.”
She leaned in to kiss him softly, reverently. “You are the most amazing man in the entire world, and I love you more than I can ever express.”
He pulled her back for a longer, deeper kiss. “Mmm. The feeling is quite mutual. Although I would love to continue this, we have a wedding to get ready for.”
She kissed him again before slipping from his lap. “Do you mind getting Janey up and feeding her breakfast? I desperately need a shower.”
“Will do. Do you want some toast or something to settle your stomach?”
“Maybe after my shower. Do you mind if we wait to tell my family until after we get back from the honeymoon?”
He put his arm up to block her from entering the bathroom. “Izzy. I don’t mind, but can I ask why?”
She shrugged, but refused to meet his eyes.
He sighed and pulled her into his arms. “I can’t pretend to understand what you went through with Janey, being pregnant and single, but I’m here this time. You don’t have to do this alone. I kinda want to shout it from the rooftop, you know. I’m inordinately proud that I’ve managed to knock you up.” He attempted to coax a smile from her.
“You’re crazy. Let me think about it, okay? It’s just…I don’t know. I’m happy, but I wish I could have done it right this time.”
“What’s right, Izzy? We love each other and we’re
getting married today. We have a beautiful daughter and we’re having a baby. Life is pretty wonderful for us.”
She reached up to stroked his cheek. “You do have a way of putting things into perspective, Mr. MacNeil.”
“You better believe it, Ms. DeLuca.” He grinned and kissed her. “Soon to be Mrs. MacNeil.”
***
Izzy
“Are you sure you want this, Isabelle? If you’re not, I will walk out there and tell everyone to go home. You won’t have to see anyone.” They stood together at the door of the bride’s room. Cara and Janey, her attendants, had just left to precede them up the aisle.
She smiled up at her father and fussed with his tie before smoothing his lapels. “I’m sure, Daddy. I love Mac and want to spend my life with him.”
“Well, he’s a good man. I couldn’t stand to let you go if he wasn’t.”
She bit her lip and refrained from pointing out that she hadn’t lived at home for more than a decade. “He is a good man.” She paused, then asked. “Did you give Cara the same option when she married Aidan?”
He cleared his throat and nodded. “I truly wish she would have taken me up on the offer. It would have saved us all a lot of heartache.”
Izzy smiled sadly. “She loved him. I think she still does. Nobody could foresee what happened.”
“I know, but it doesn’t make it any easier. She’s my little girl and I hate that she had to go through that. Just like I hate that you had to go through your pregnancy all by yourself.”
She hugged him and reached up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “I wasn’t by myself. I had my family. And this time I’ll have Mac.”
“This time?”
She smiled up at him and rubbed her hand over the silk covering her stomach. “Yep. I’m pregnant. At least I’ll be married in a few minutes.”
He laughed and hugged her again. “Does your young man know?”
“He does. He’s ridiculously happy.” She shook her head and laughed. “He isn’t bothered at all by the timing.”
“He’s a good man,” he said again. “Are you ready, my little Izzy-belle?”
She teared up at his childhood endearment. “I am.”
As they approached the doors of the sanctuary, the wedding coordinator signaled for them to pause. She cracked one of the doors and waved to the organist. She pulled open the double doors as the “Wedding March” began. Izzy found herself inexplicably nervous as she saw all the congregants turn to stare. They rose as she and her father began to proceed up the aisle. She gulped and forced one foot in front of the other. When she glanced up and saw Mac beaming at her from the front of the church, she breathed a sigh of relief. It was all going to be okay. All she had to do was walk to him.
The ceremony passed in a blur as she focused on Mac’s face and the feel of her hands in his. She hoped she said the right words; no one laughed or gasped, so she’d apparently done all right. Before she knew it, the priest was leading the Lord’s Prayer and reciting the blessing. Then Mac swept her into a magnificent kiss that had the congregation applauding.
They’d decided to have the reception at a winery in the North valley. She’d toured it when Mel was looking for a wedding venue and had fallen in love with it. She was secretly glad Mel had decided to have her wedding and reception in the backyard of her parents’ house and left the winery for Izzy and Mac. They hadn’t gone all out on a totally formal wedding; Izzy wore a simple ankle-length ivory dress and Mac wore a regular suit and tie. With only a month to plan, there had been no time to order a wedding dress and Izzy hadn’t wanted one. Mac had been agreeable as long as the wedding was soon. When they sat down to dinner, she noticed he joined her in filling his wine glass with sparkling water.
“Just exhibiting my solidarity,” he said when she raised her eyebrows at him.
“You are a very sweet man.” She pulled his face down for a kiss. The room filled with the sound of clinking as everyone laughed and wolf-whistled while banging their knives against their glasses.
“Let’s give ’em something to talk about.” And so saying, he stood, pulling her up with him, and bent her over his arm in a dip. Then he kissed her, full and deep.
“Show offs,” Cara muttered as Izzy regained her seat a few moments later.
Mac simply grinned at her and took a sip of his water.
Cara looked pointedly at the water in his glass, in Izzy’s glass, then at Izzy’s stomach, and then at Izzy. “Really?”
Izzy grinned even as she felt herself flush. “Yeah.”
Cara stood and pulled Izzy into a huge hug. “Oh my God! Congrats, you little sex maniac! Remind me to tell you about the pill someday.”
“Apparently I need a refresher.” She laughed and hugged her sister back.
“I wish you could see your face right now. I’ve never seen you look so happy.”
“I am. I love him so much.” She turned to watch her husband accepting congratulations and back slaps from his new brothers-in-law.
He saw her glance and winked at her.
“You two are so perfect together.” Cara sounded wistful.
Izzy slipped her arm around her sister’s waist, realizing weddings must kind of suck for her. “We are. It will happen for you too, Cara. I know it will.”
Cara laughed unconvincingly. “Sure. But this is your day, Iz, and since you can’t drink and Mac won’t, I better take up the slack. Challenge accepted.” She refilled her glass from the nearby bottle of wine.
Mac came to claim her at that moment; she gave Cara’s hand a quick, sympathetic squeeze and went with him to greet their guests.
“Everything okay with your sister?”
She shrugged. “I think weddings are a bit tough for her. She’ll be fine.”
He nodded and walked her through one of the open French doors. “Come here, Mrs. MacNeil. I need a moment alone with my wife.”
She grinned. “I really like the sound of that. And I think I need a moment alone with my husband.”
“You can have all my moments, Izzy.” He laughed self-consciously. “That was pretty sappy, huh?”
She brushed her thumb over his lips. “Sappy works today. I love you, Mac.”
“And I love you, Izzy.”
She pulled his head down and kissed him, sealing their love and commitment in the cool night air. “Mmm. What if we slipped away right now? We could get a lovely head start on our wedding night.”
“Don’t tempt me, girl.” He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her to the open doors. “We have all sorts of wedding stuff to do still. And I plan to take your garter off with my teeth.”
She laughed, but allowed him to usher her back to the party. “If you think I’m going to object, you can think again. My dad, maybe, but not me.”
“Yeah, well, your dad can just…never mind. I guess I won’t use my teeth, at least not here at our reception. Later though.”
“Definitely later.” She smirked at him, then they returned to their reception.
The End
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Acknowledgments
I wrote the first draft of this book during November 2016, and many of you know what that means: NaNoWriMo. I want to express my thanks and appreciation to this amazing organization for all they do to encourage writers.
I want to send out a special thanks to my editor, Toni Rakestraw. She does such an amazing job and is so patient and helpful. I really love working with you. Toni!
Extra-special thanks to proofreader extraordinaire, Lacey Reece, who nitpicks beautifully. Love you, Lacey!
/> Thanks always to my wonderful husband, Lyle, who supports, encourages, and loves me through all the writing chaos.
About the Author
Amy Reece lives in New Mexico with her incredible husband and two ridiculous mutts, Greta and Sodapop. When she’s not writing, she’s teaching high school English and social studies or maybe wandering through a thrift store in search of the next lucky teapot for her vast collection. She is an unrepentant bookaholic and has overflowing bookshelves in nearly every room of her house. Her favorite authors include J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, and C.S. Lewis–must have something to do with initials! She loves to travel and is hoping to need many research trips for future writing projects.
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