It took a few minutes to appoint Rob and another guest to take charge of Colombe, and to reassure the guests and the boys that everything was all right. Ben’s heart turned to lead when Laney drew his mother aside and told her that they would let everyone know as soon as possible if the ceremony would be delayed or canceled altogether. Georgina took the boys upstairs, amid grumbling and protests.
Ben had a few protests of his own until Laney quietly informed him that Colombe had been Reese’s first wife and had confessed to killing Reese. Grimfaced, Ben asked the minister if he could use the phone.
The arrest was made as discreetly as possible. Then Ben went to find Laney, determined not to let Colombe cause her one more day of unhappiness.
LANEY SETTLED INTO a metal folding chair in the basement of the church and examined a section of torn cream-colored lace in her tea-length gown after she’d given her statement to the arresting officer.
It was over. Her wedding day had been the zoo she’d promised Colombe, and then some. Worse, the ceremony hadn’t actually happened. Josh and Scott were probably very upset. The guests had probably all gone home. At least she could make sure the restaurant donated the meal to the food bank. They could try again another day.
She felt a warm hand settle on her shoulder. She looked up into Ben’s heartbreaker blue-black eyes and felt cheated out of her wedding night in the Chateau Laurier with the prince of her dreams.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Disappointed,” she admitted ruefully.
“Me, too. And there are twenty people and a minister upstairs who are disappointed, too. Not to mention two little boys we know. They want you to know that if you’re up to it, they’d still like a wedding to happen today. Otherwise, they’ll all understand if you’d prefer for me to take you home. It’s your call, sweetheart.”
Laney rose and stood on tiptoe as Ben’s arms circled her, pulling her against him. “It’s not the romantic quiet little wedding I’d planned,” she wailed into his chest. “My hair’s a mess. Colombe tore my dress. My bouquet’s been trampled...”
She felt the soothing balm of Ben’s lips on her forehead.
“Your look beautiful,” he murmured, his warm breath tickling her temple. “There’s no damage a little combing won’t fix.”
Laney shivered as he laid a trail of heated kisses from her cheek to her earlobe.
His voice, low and intimate, and, oh, so persuasive, caressed in her ear. “And who needs flowers? You smell like a tropical garden. Mom’s probably got a sewing kit in her purse to take care of the tear in your dress.”
Laney laughed at Ben’s solutions to repairing the damage Colombe had done to their wedding. But, come to think of it, being rescued—a second time—by the man she loved was a hundred times more romantic than the illusion of romance she wanted to create with a perfect dress and flowers. Ben and the boys were perfect for her just the way they were. “Will you be this practical for the rest of our lives?”
Ben smiled and nuzzled the ultra-sensitive spot beneath her chin, making her knees quiver. “If I say yes, will you marry me and sleep with me tonight, Laney, my love?”
“Yes.”
Ben grinned. “Yes.”
Laney snared his firm chin and kissed him hard on the mouth, sighing with pleasure when his tongue stroked and teased and promised many more delights to come.
“I love you,” she said fiercely, breathlessly, when she finally broke the kiss out of fear they might indiscreetly start the honeymoon right there in the basement. “Send the boys down and tell the organist to start the music. I don’t want to delay the wedding another minute. Oh, and ask your mother to act as the Matron of Honor.”
Only seconds later it seemed, music rang joyfully through the church. Contentment wrapped a gay bow around Laney’s heart as she linked arms with Scott and Josh, who took their places on either side of her, faces beaming. When Laney’s eyes locked with Ben’s loving gaze as she took that first step down the aisle toward him and their life together, she knew she’d made the right, and only choice. After all they’d been through, it was time the Dobsons and the Forbeses became a family.
ISBN : 978-1-4592-5127-4
TO LANEY, WITH LOVE
Copyright © 1999 by Joyce David
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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