by Julie Benson
Nannette offered her wedding gown to Maggie, but she declined, insisting Avery should have the privilege of some day wearing her mother’s dress. Instead she, Nannette, Avery and Elizabeth drove to Denver where they found a strapless satin A line dress with an empire bodice that suited her.
For Maggie, who’d been too much of a loner since her mother’s death, the day had been magical. She’d never laughed so much as she did when Nannette and Avery regaled her with stories about Griffin. Apparently, he’d always been a handful.
As she stared in the mirror and adjusted her veil, a knock sounded on the bedroom door. “Come in.”
Avery, her maid of honor, floated into the room in her a short, Christmas red dress. “You all set?”
Maggie nodded, and reached for the bouquet of red roses Griffin gave her that morning. Then, her phone rang. When she glanced at the number, her stomach dropped.
* * *
GRIFFIN STOOD BEFORE the fireplace, Rory, his best man, beside him, and swore a herd of wild horses were stampeding in his stomach.
“Were you this nervous when you got married?”
“Yup. I kept worrying Elizabeth would change her mind.”
“Thanks, that’s reassuring. How about giving me some brotherly words of encouragement?”
“Forget it. I’m having too much fun watching you squirm.”
The rapid click of heels on the winding staircase drew Griffin’s gaze. Maggie raced down the stairs, with Avery chasing after her, calling her name.
She’d decided to call off the wedding.
A whirlwind in white, Maggie stopped in front of him. Her face flushed, her spectacular green eyes sparkling at him, offered him some reassurance. “This isn’t exactly how I imagined our wedding would start.”
“You’ll never guess who I just talked to.”
“Honey, there are almost seven billion people in the world. You’re gonna have to narrow it down some.”
“Mark called.”
“Your producer?”
“When he released a statement condemning our actions, the message boards went crazy and the tweets flew. According to Mark, the responses are overwhelmingly in support of us. Even though viewers didn’t see me on camera until the finale, they loved the idea of the ‘average’ girl, someone like them, winning your heart. Women are saying I gave them hope, that they don’t have to be beautiful and a size one to find love. They want to hear more about our love story.” Maggie’s voice broke. “The viewers are also coming down hard on the show for taking legal action. As a result, they’ve dropped their lawsuits.”
Griffin stood there shell shocked, but thankful.
“Thank the good Lord for that,” Nannette said.
“That’s not all.” Maggie’s face glowed with barely contained excitement. “They want to give you your own show. You know how The Food Network has a show called The Next Food Network Star? Your show would be like that, except you’d showcase up and coming rodeo cowboys across the country. They’re calling it The Next Rodeo Star.”
Life was pretty damn good. He’d fallen but avoided permanently damaging his spine. He might have a limp, but he should walk without a cane soon. The network had dropped the lawsuits. But more importantly, he’d found a woman he loved who would stand by him as a partner.
He cupped Maggie’s face in his hands. Her excitement was a thing of beauty to watch. “While all this is great news, can we talk about it tomorrow after our wedding and wedding night?”
“All right. This once I’ll do things your way.”
“’Bout time I won an argument.”
* * * * *
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ISBN: 9781459230781
Copyright © 2012 by Julie Benson
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