“Maybe there’s another album of the nine months before your dad was born?” Shelby asked.
“Maybe. I only have these two. I’m sure my parents will have all the albums. They’re not much into nostalgia but I’m sure they kept old photos.”
“And you’re all right with me doing a little careful poking into the memories of my elderly customers? The Minnow sisters were very involved in the town when they were younger and they’ve been in Wedlock Creek all their lives. Maybe they’ll remember when your grandmother was pregnant. Or not pregnant.”
“As long as you ask in a roundabout way. If my father was adopted and doesn’t know, which I imagine he doesn’t, I certainly don’t want him and his story becoming gossip.”
“I’ll be careful, I promise. I trust the Minnow sisters.”
He nodded. “Well, I’ll show you around the rest of the house and property and then we’ll both go to work. Like it’s just a normal day.” He laughed and shook his head. “As if there’s anything normal about finding out on Friday that your baby was switched at birth, and then getting married on Wednesday to the mother of the baby he was switched with. And we can’t leave out finding a secret half-century-old note about my father.”
“It does feel good to go about our lives as normally as possible,” she said. “Being at Treasures always makes me feel connected to myself. And I’ve been very at odds and ends this entire weekend.”
He reached for her hand again. “I know. But hopefully once we’re married and we’re settled in here as a family, that’ll become the new normal.”
She smiled at his optimism. For someone who didn’t believe in love or happy-ever-after, he sure was open to possibility. That was good.
But she couldn’t imagine anything about any of this feeling remotely normal. Ever.
* * *
Shelby closed Treasures early for the day and met her sister, mother and Aunt Cheyenne at Finders Keepers, the one shop in Wedlock Creek that sold dresses.
“Um, Shelby, you can’t get married in a denim jumper,” Norah said, sliding dresses on the rack and shaking her head. “Oh, a turtleneck dress with long sleeves that goes to the ankles. Very bridal.”
“I’m not really going for bridal,” Shelby reminded her family.
“Sweetheart,” her mother said, “you may not be going for bridal, but you are getting married. For real. Legally wed and all that.” She paused in front of a pale pink dress. “How about something like this? It’s pretty but not formal.”
Shelby stared at the dress, which she did like. Very much, actually. It was silky and floaty. “I think I should wear something a little less pretty. More functional.”
“Like this,” Aunt Cheyenne said, handing Shelby a pale yellow sundress, simple and cotton with eyelet around the hem.
“That screams barbecue at the Mercer mansion. I’m thinking more...workish.”
“This?” Norah asked, wrinkling her nose at how clearly plain and dull she found it.
Shelby smiled at the off-white, sleeveless shift dress. “Perfect.”
Her relatives looked incredibly disappointed by the lack of adornment.
“At least wear amazing shoes,” Norah said. “You’ll have the photos forever.”
“I have a pair of slingbacks that’ll work,” Shelby said. “Well, we’re done.”
“I hope you’ll consider wearing Grandma’s earrings,” her mother said. “I wore them for my wedding and they brought me luck for over two decades.”
Shelby could use some luck. “I’d love to. Thanks, Mom.”
But the mention of her own grandmother reminded her of Liam’s. Just what went on fifty-eight years ago between Alexandra Mercer and the woman who wrote the letter to Harrington? Who was the woman? How did they meet? And what happened to her? Shelby had so many questions and not a single answer.
“I’m closing the Pie Diner for a private party tomorrow from twelve-thirty to one-thirty.”
“Oh?” Shelby asked. “What’s the occasion?”
Her mother shook her head. “My daughter’s getting married.”
Shelby smiled. “Ah. That’ll be nice, Mom.”
“I’ll leave it to you to invite the Mercers,” her mom said. “We can meet and get to know one another at the party.”
Shelby nodded. A casual wedding reception might be just the thing to bring Liam and his dad back together. She knew his father’s attitude about Alexander had caused a rift between the men that both might be too stubborn to try to fix.
She thought about the letter, about the fact that Harrington Mercer was likely adopted and might not know it. Would finding out destroy him? If he couldn’t handle his own grandson not being a “real Mercer,” how could he ever accept not being one himself?
She was about to remind herself that this wasn’t her business and should butt out and let Liam handle it. But she was marrying into this family. And Alexander and Shane were forever tied to the Mercers. So it was her business.
And wasn’t she about to be a Mercer herself?
Chapter Ten
On Wednesday morning, Liam set a jar of Alexander’s favorite baby food, sweet potatoes, on the tray of his high chair, and a jar of Shane’s favorite, apricots, on his, and did double duty, a spoonful to Alexander and a spoonful to Shane.
“Guess what, guys?” he said as both boys slurped around the spoons. “I’m marrying your mother today. We’ll put you in your best sleeper outfits.”
Shane stared at him with his big blue eyes. As Liam fed the baby another spoonful of apricots, he reached over and caressed Shane’s cheek. The little guy wrapped his little hand around Liam’s pointer finger.
“Bwabawa!” Shane gurgled, a big smile on his adorable face.
And just like that, something shifted inside Liam, a door opened a crack and love beams filtered through.
You’re my son, Liam said silently to Shane, his heart about to burst. We have a lot of lost time to make up for, don’t we?
At least I can feel it for babies, he thought, even if his heart was closed to romance. At least he wasn’t a total goner.
“I’m your daddy,” he whispered to Shane. “And I’m your daddy,” he whispered to Alexander, spooning apricots into his open mouth.
“Bahababa!” Alexander babbled, picking up his toy key set and banging on the high chair.
His phone buzzed with a text. His cousin Clara.
We’ll see you at the chapel at noon and then at the Pie Diner immediately following.
Did we’ll include his father? Liam had called his parents yesterday to tell them about the wedding, and his mother had been surprised but happy and agreed it was a good solution. He’d heard his father grumbling about a prenup and Liam had sighed and told his mother the wedding plans and said a hasty goodbye.
He had no idea if his father would show up.
At least he knew the bride would be there. Last night Shelby had been quiet and had spent most of the night in her bedroom. Twice he’d knocked to see if she was okay and twice she said she was fine, just mentally preparing for a major event in her life.
He knew the impending marriage was keeping her up at night. Joining together as husband and wife solely to keep the family together. They’d make it work because they had to.
“I guess it’s okay for you to see the bride before the ceremony in our case,” Shelby said, coming into the kitchen. “Anyway, I’ll be getting dressed at my mom’s house and so I’ll meet you over there. You’ll bring the boys or should I take one with me?”
“I’ll bring them both.”
He watched her take a deep breath. “Well, I’ll see you at noon, then.”
“Shelby,” he said as she was about to leave the kitchen.
She turned around.
“Everything’s going to be okay. I know I keep saying that. But it really will be oka
y. Better than okay. It’ll be great. We’ll make sure of it.”
She managed something of a smile. “I’m holding you to that.”
He wouldn’t let her down. He might not be able to give her everything she wanted, but he’d give her a solid family.
“Bababa,” Alexander said, slapping his tray.
“Bababa,” Shane repeated happily.
Shelby smiled. “They’re holding you to it, too.”
He thought of the gold bands in his pocket. A symbol of strength and forever and infinity, of their vows to stand by each other. Yesterday he’d called Shelby’s sister, Norah, for Shelby’s ring size and he’d picked up two matching rings he thought Shelby would like.
Making good on the promise was everything to him. He wanted nothing more than for Alexander and Shane to have their mother and father, for him and Shelby to have both their babies. This way, everyone was happy.
Except happy wasn’t how he’d describe the look on Shelby’s face as she left.
His cell rang, and he was glad to avoid thinking too much about it.
His brother, Drake. “Sweating bullets?” he asked.
“Not in the slightest,” Liam said. “Cool, calm and collected.”
“Cut me a break, Liam. You’re getting married. It’s a big deal.”
Liam put down the spoon and jar of apricots. “Shelby and I are getting married so that we can both keep our babies and have the ones we were denied. It’s a partnership based on a fundamental need. Like most mergers.”
Drake laughed. “You’re more like Dad than you realize, big brother.”
Liam frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that sometimes you need someone to kick you upside the head.”
“About?” he asked. Drake, who had a steady stream of “women in his life,” was hardly someone he’d take advice from on the subject of marriage. “I know what I’m doing, Drake.”
“I’m just saying you might be in for a rude awakening.”
“Again—about what?”
“About what marriage is really going to be like,” Drake said. “It’s not a business partnership. Shelby is a person. Shane is a mini person. You can’t crunch them like numbers and make everything add up. Or not.”
“And what makes you an expert on marriage?” Liam asked.
“I’m not. But I know you. You don’t look at Shelby the way you look at acquisition reports.”
“Acquisition reports aren’t a beautiful woman.”
“Exactly.”
“Can I go now? I’m halfway through feeding my sons.”
He froze, staring in wonder at Shane. At Alexander.
His sons. Plural.
There was dead silence on the phone. “Jesus, Liam. You just said sons. You went from having one son to two in less than a week.”
“I know. I think it was the first time I said that, actually. Sons. I have two sons now. And that’s why I’m marrying Shelby. And it’s going to be the best-run partnership I’ve ever formed.”
“Well, I’d never miss your wedding. I’ll see you at the chapel at noon.”
Unsettled, Liam hit End Call and tried to focus on the happy babies in their high chairs. Liam offered Alexander a Toasty O but he flung it at his cheek. Shane threw his toy keys across the room.
Now this, he was familiar with. This, he knew how to handle.
How he actually felt about Shelby or getting married—really, deep down? That was something he didn’t want to think too deeply about.
* * *
The Wedlock Creek Chapel was a beautiful white clapboard building that looked a bit like a wedding cake. Built in 1895, the Victorian chapel had scallops on the tiers and a bell at the top that almost looked like a heart. Shelby had been surprised that when she’d gone inside, her heart hadn’t dropped; she hadn’t been thinking about her first wedding in the chapel at all. Her mind was on Liam and Shane and Alexander.
She stood in front of the floor-length mirror in the “bridal” room, her stomach doing flip flops. Her mother and aunt had kindly given her space and left her alone with Norah, who always had a way of calming Shelby down.
“My God, is he gorgeous,” Norah was saying, peeking out past the opaque curtain on the arched window on the door. “He’s in his Sunday best.”
“Really?” Shelby asked, coming over to the door to look through.
She sucked in a breath at the sight of Liam, so incredibly handsome and sexy in a dark blue suit and tie. Shane and Alexander were in their carriers, and if Shelby wasn’t mistaken, they were wearing sleepers that looked like tuxedos.
“Those babies are too adorable,” Norah said. “God, you’re lucky. You’re getting a gorgeous, rich husband and two babies. I know last weekend was rough, Shelby, but God, did it turn around.”
“It’s not exactly fun and games to marry a man for any reason other than love and wanting to spend the rest of your life with him,” Shelby reminded her dreamy-eyed younger sister.
“I know. But if you need to marry a guy, you couldn’t do better than Liam Mercer.”
Shelby took one last look at her groom, hardly able to drag her gaze away from him.
“Okay, let me see you,” Norah said, inspecting her from every angle. “Dress, perfect. Makeup almost nonexistent but the bride insisted. Grandma’s earrings—stunning. Ancient off-white sling backs from the back of your closet, passable. All in all, Shelby Ingalls, you look absolutely beautiful.”
Shelby looked in the mirror. The dress might not be lace or beaded or have a train, but it was just right for her noontime wedding. She wouldn’t have expectations in this outfit, in these old shoes; and her grandmother’s earrings, worn by her mom at her own wedding, would serve as a blessing from generations past. Shelby liked that.
There was a tap at the door. “If you’re ready,” Annie, the elderly officiant, said. “Oh, and Shelby, you look absolutely lovely.”
Shelby smiled at Annie, who poked her head back out and shut the door. “Am I ready?” she asked her sister. “To marry someone I didn’t know last Thursday?”
“You’re ready to marry Shane’s father. You’re ready to be Alexander’s mother. Right?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then you’re ready,” Norah said, opening the door.
There was no bridal march, but there was a red carpet creating an aisle to her groom. And there were three Ingallses on the left and five Mercers on the right, all in the same row.
Shelby focused on the babies in their tuxedo-printed sleepers and they looked so cute and sweet that she couldn’t help the smile bursting from inside her. But when she glanced at her groom, waiting by the mayor’s side, her smile faded. From nerves.
She was marrying this man. He would be her husband. Not in every sense of the word, but he would be hers.
As she stood inches across from Liam, facing him, she forced the cotton from her ears and the strange sensation from her head to focus on the mayor’s words.
“Do you, Shelby Rae Ingalls, take Liam West Mercer as your lawfully wedded husband?” Annie asked.
She looked at Liam, who was looking directly in her eyes, not a hint of worry or concern. Because he’s getting exactly what he wants and needs. The family unit. A mother for Alexander. His biological child, Shane. An agreement: no love, no romance, no passion.
She glanced at the babies in their tuxedo sleepers. You’re doing this for them. And for you. So you can have them both without worry.
And you’re doing it for Liam, whom you’ve come to care deeply about.
Because he’s a good man.
A thoughtful man.
A kind man.
“I do,” she said.
Liam repeated his vows, and rings were slid on their fingers, hers fitting so perfectly that she knew her new husband must have involved
her sister for her ring size.
Some plain gold band. The ring was beautiful, gold and studded with diamonds. It twinkled on her finger.
“You may now kiss the bride,” Abe said, and Liam reached over and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Mercer!” Annie and her husband, Abe, shouted.
The audience stood and clapped.
Shelby noticed that Liam’s father took a minute to get himself up, as though he barely thought it necessary. The man was angry and upset in a place deep inside, Shelby could tell. Liam’s mother looked a bit confused, as though she didn’t understand how she’d gotten here, at her son’s wedding to a woman she’d never heard of before last weekend. Liam’s brother, who’d announced that he was the best man in spirit if not practice, clapped Liam on the back and shook his hand then hugged Shelby and welcomed her to the family.
“It’s not like this is a real marriage,” Harrington Mercer said. “You two only got married because of the situation you found yourselves in.”
“If real and legal are synonyms when it comes to weddings, then this is real,” Liam said, a slight growl in his voice.
His father turned away, and Larissa Mercer frowned in commiseration with her son and new daughter-in-law and said, “We’ll see you at the Pie Diner.”
Liam’s cousin Clara and Shelby’s family jumped in front of the newlyweds with their phones, snapping photos, so there was no time for Liam to react to his father’s dismissal.
“Guys, pick up the babies,” Norah said. “We need a few shots of you holding your children.”
That was what this was all about, Shelby thought, scooping up Alexander while Liam picked up Shane.
She gasped. “This is the first time I associated the words your children with Alexander,” she said, tears coming to her eyes. “Normally I’d go for Shane. But I went straight for Alexander.” She snuggled him against her chest. “You’re my son and you always will be. Just like Shane.”
Liam kissed Shane’s forehead. “Switch for more pictures?”
They switched. The familiarity of Shane in her arms was comforting. Now she’d have all the time in the world for Alexander to feel as familiar. She held him close, taking in every bit of his sweet little face, the tiny dimple in his right cheek, his inquisitive blue eyes and quirking bow mouth.
The Baby Switch! Page 12