Grace excused herself to decorate the wedding cake, while the others continued to primp and laugh with each other.
The next two hours were spent being pampered in a way that was unrivaled for Patience. Chastity painted her toenails while Faith did her hair. Felicity came back dressed and looking adorable, and she was forced into a chair as well.
When they were ready, the cousins left the room, leaving the two sisters with a moment alone. “I feel a rousing rendition of ‘Get Me to the Church On Time,’ coming on, but I don’t want to spoil the moment,” Patience said with a grin.
“How could a show tune ever spoil anything?” Felicity returned.
“Oh, I know. We’ll wait until Honor and Grace have to hear us so we can drive them crazy by singing it!”
Felicity giggled. “It sure did stop their fighting on the way here, didn’t it? They became quickly united in their hatred of us and our show tunes.”
Patience giggled, sounding amazingly like her sister. “I wonder what they’d say if they knew we’d planned the whole thing to annoy them.”
“Oh, I’m sure they’d kill us both.” Felicity’s smile slowly faded, as she grasped her sister by the hands, taking a step back. “You make a beautiful bride.”
Patience sniffed, determined not to cry and smudge her make-up. “Thank you! I wish I could say I wasn’t nervous, but that would totally be a lie.”
Felicity smiled. “He cares for you. Anyone can see that.”
Patience shrugged. “The marriage is more for Corinne than anything else, but I think he will come to care for me.”
“And how do you feel for him?”
“I love him. I wouldn’t be willing to marry him otherwise.”
Felicity hugged her sister tight. “That’s what I thought.”
“You know me better than anyone.” Patience sighed. “I wish Mama were here.”
“Not Daddy?” Felicity asked with a grin, knowing what the answer would be.
“Can you imagine his reaction to me marrying a man he hasn’t personally approved? Or seeing me in this dress? It fits and isn’t six sizes too big. Daddy hated when we wore clothes that actually fit!”
“It doesn’t matter what he thinks anymore, Patience. Only what you and Ryan think. You two will be perfect together.”
“I hope so. I think he still loves his late wife, but maybe he can come to love me too.”
Felicity squeezed Patience’s arm. “Just remember, if you try to fight a ghost, you’re only shadowboxing. You have to work with the ghost for everyone to be happy.”
“How’d you get so smart?”
“I’ve always been this smart. You just usually ignored it.”
Patience laughed, opening the door to go into the hallway. “I’m glad you’re my maid of honor.”
“And you know you’ll be mine.” Felicity shook her head. “Can you imagine trying to figure out who would be our maid of honor with five sisters? I don’t envy our cousins that.”
“Me neither.” Patience stepped into the living room, and every eye in the room turned toward her.
“You look beautiful,” Karlan told her. Patience had spent little time with the man who considered himself the head of the Culpepper family, but she was happy to have the praise all the same.
“I just hope Ryan thinks so.”
Chris smiled at her. “Don’t worry, I know Ryan well. He was in the same grade as Marcus and me at school. He will think so.”
“How can you be so certain?”
“He’s never been stupid,” Chris answered simply. Marcus nodded emphatically beside him.
Patience took a deep breath. “Thank you. All of you.” She looked at the clock on the wall before holding her hand out to Corinne. “I think it’s time to get this show on the road. Who’s going to drive me and my butterfly ballerina to the church?”
“I am!” Felicity told her, linking her arm with Patience’s. “It’ll be our last few minutes together as single sisters.”
“We’re going to have to start looking for a man for you, Felicity.”
Felicity shook her head. “I’m not ready for that yet. Besides, if there’s another Quinlan wedding this summer, poor Linda won’t have a single rose left in her garden.”
They all laughed before going outside and piling into several cars to make their way to the church in town.
Patience closed her eyes, concentrating on her breathing as they drove. She couldn’t believe how nervous she was, but it wasn’t about the wedding night—no, she was looking forward to that. It was the idea of tying herself to a man who didn’t love her. How would she make it through a marriage where she was the only one who loved?
“Miss Patience?” Corinne asked from the backseat.
Patience turned and gave her attention to her future step-daughter. “Yes, Corinne?”
“When you’re married to my daddy, can I start calling you ‘Mama?’ Please?”
And that’s how she’d make it through. The little girl’s words told her she was doing the right thing for three different people. “Absolutely. I can’t think of anything I’d like better.”
Corinne smiled. “I’m so glad we’re going to be a family.”
“Me too.”
*****
Ryan paced the back of the church. It was ten minutes before the wedding was supposed to start, and he was there alone with Brother Anthony and Lovie. What if Patience had changed her mind? What if she’d decided to run away to Mexico with his daughter? What if…
He shook his head. No, she was coming, and so was Corinne.
Brother Anthony called him from the front of the church. “Come on up here, Ryan. You’re going to wear a hole in the rug back there, and the congregation is not going to be happy with you when they have to renovate the church again.”
Ryan walked to the front to stand beside Brother Anthony. “Sorry. I guess I’m just nervous.”
“As any normal red-blooded man would be on his wedding day. Tell me, what is your bride’s name again? I’ve forgotten the name of every one of her cousins during the ceremony, and I’m not going to let that happen this time. She is not going to become ‘pretty blond girl’ in the middle of the ceremony.”
“I hope not! She has red hair!” Ryan winked at Lovie over Brother Anthony’s shoulder. “Her name is Patience. And I’m out of it.”
“Out of what, dear?” Lovie asked.
“Patience! I’m out of patience! They should have been here by now!” He looked at his watch for the twentieth time in five minutes.
He heard the door of the church open then, as if on cue, and the whole mess of Quinlan ladies hurried in with their men. They filed in taking their seats toward the front.
Ryan took a deep breath and stood at attention next to the pastor, Marcus, Grace’s husband, coming to stand beside him as his best man. “What are you doing?” he hissed.
“I forgot to ask you to be my best man, so I’m making up for it by being your best man without being asked.”
Ryan thought about that nonsense for less than a second before his head started hurting. “Whatever.”
Lovie started pounding on the piano in her own inimitable way then, and he watched as Felicity Quinlan walked down the aisle toward him. She was pretty enough, but the person he really wanted to see was his beautiful bride.
When Corinne started dancing down the aisle toward him, doing plies, ballet leaps, and twirling the whole while, he forgot to be nervous and just grinned. He had a strong feeling Patience had either not thought to tell his daughter to walk down the aisle, or Corinne had ignored the order. Either way, it made his heart happy to see her dance toward him, the only flowers that came out of her basket flying out as a result of her dancing.
When she reached the front, Hope reached out and caught her hand, pulling her down into the pew next to her. Corinne looked so proud of herself as she sat there with her empty basket in her hands. She waved at Ryan, just a little wave, but enough to remind him he was doing the right thing
. For all of them.
Then his eyes went to the back of the church again, and he watched Patience walk toward him, her eyes locked on his. Her red hair was down around her shoulders and she seemed to just glow. She walked straight to him and reached for his hand.
Ryan pulled her closer and held her hand tightly as they turned their attention to Brother Anthony.
“My people! We are here to gather—No, that’s not right. Let me start over!” Brother Anthony cleared his throat loudly and started again. “My people! We are gathered here together to join in the bond of holy matrimony this here man, Ryan, who I’ve known since he was just a little tyke, with his beautiful bride who is not a blonde.”
Lovie shook her head and hissed loudly enough for everyone to hear, “Patience!”
“Stop telling me to have patience, Lovie. I’ve been patient every day of my dad-blurned life!” Brother Anthony shook his head at his wife.
“The bride’s name is Patience!” Lovie explained.
“Oh. Patience.” Brother Anthony blushed bright red and continued on with the ceremony as if nothing had happened. “Do you, Patience, take Ryan here to be your husband? To love, honor, and respect him ‘til one of you dies?”
“I do.” Patience sneaked a glance at Ryan’s face and saw that he was doing his best not to laugh.
“Do you, Ryan, take the pretty little redhead beside you to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love, honor—wait, Lovie! Wasn’t one of the other brides named Honor recently?”
“Yes, that was her cousin,” Lovie countered.
“Oh! Well, do ya, Ryan?”
Ryan wasn’t quite sure what he was agreeing to, but he nodded emphatically as if he’d followed everything perfectly. “I do.”
“Of course you do. You’ve never been a dumb one.” Brother Anthony waved his hands wildly in the air. “Well, you’re married. Kiss her so we can all watch!”
Patience turned to Ryan, laughter in her eyes. “You’d better make it good since everyone is watching.”
Ryan shook his head at her. “Oh, I definitely plan on that.” He caught her by the waist and pulled her to him, kissing her softly.
As he kissed her, Patience felt something hit her around the waist. She turned and looked down at her new daughter, hugging both her and her father. Without missing a beat, they both leaned down and kissed one of Corinne’s cheeks, making sure she was part of the ceremony. “And I promise to be the best mama I can possibly be to my sweet little Corinne,” she added loudly for everyone gathered to hear.
When she stood straight, she saw that all of the women in the church were patting their eyes suspiciously. All except for Felicity, who was just letting her tears fall where they would. Patience loved that about her sister. Her heart was huge, and she wasn’t afraid to show whatever emotion was in it.
Patience brushed her own tear away, and held Corinne’s hand, who held Ryan’s hand. Maybe she wasn’t holding her new husband’s hand directly, but it was close enough, because there was an unbroken chain through their sweet little girl.
Ryan looked over at her. “Are we done?”
Patience shook her head. “We have to go back to the Culpeppers’ for cake.”
“Cake? Who had time to bake a cake?”
“Grace always keeps a few layers ready for emergency weddings. She decorated while the rest of us were getting ready for the wedding.”
He shrugged. “I guess we’re going for cake then, aren’t we?”
She could see the disappointment on his face. “We can back out, but I don’t really think that would be very kind of us.”
“No, we’ll go. Corinne will want us there, at least for a little while.”
The three of them rode back to his house together in his truck, Corinne talking a mile a minute. “Did you see me dance down the aisle, Daddy?”
“I thought we decided you were going to walk slowly and drop flowers while you walked, Corinne.” Patience reminded her.
“We did, but I just couldn’t! The way I did it was easier, because I didn’t have to drop any flowers. They just magically flew out of my basket!”
Patience laughed. “They did. But now you’ll have to walk when Aunt Felicity gets married.”
“No, because Aunt Felicity already said I could dance down the aisle at her wedding. See, Mama, the way I did it is really smart. I get to dance down the aisle at two weddings, and not just one.”
Patience looked over at Ryan and saw that he was suppressing a laugh. “She takes after you, doesn’t she?”
He pulled into the driveway in front of Linda’s house before turning to her and raising an eyebrow. “Can you really picture me in a pink tutu?”
Patience tried and dissolved into hysterical laughter. “I can, and it’s not a pretty sight.”
Corinne scrambled out of her car seat. “Mama has a point, Daddy. You’d look pretty silly in a pink tutu.”
Patience laughed even harder at that, waiting as Ryan came around and opened her door and let Corinne out. Corinne ran right for the house, leaving her parents there looking at each other. “We won’t stay long,” Patience promised. “I need to get my clothes anyway.”
“Did you tell your parents you were marrying?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I texted my mom, but I’ll call her tomorrow while Dad’s at work. He won’t be happy about it.”
“From what I’ve heard about your father, he’s rarely happy about anything.”
“That’s probably true.” She put one hand on his shoulder and smiled. “Our wedding kiss got interrupted.”
“It did. Does that mean you want to try again?”
“I’d like that a lot.” She was still sitting in the truck so they were closer to eye level than they’d been before, and she leaned forward the short distance it took to meet him halfway.
Ryan put his hands on her waist and pressed his lips to hers, opening his mouth slightly. At her gasp of surprise, he swept his tongue into her mouth, touching the inside of her top lip with his tongue.
Patience had heard of people who kissed that way, but it didn’t seem like something she would ever be part of. When he deepened the kiss, she liked it, moving closer to him, pressing against his chest.
After a moment, Ryan lifted his head, his breath coming much deeper than before. “Let’s get this part of the day over with, so we can get onto the good part.”
“The good part?”
He nodded. “The wedding night. I assure you. You’ll think it’s the good part too.”
She smiled, stroking his cheek with her hand, and feeling the faint stubble that had grown there since he’d shaved before church that morning. “I’ll take your word for it.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I promise, I’ll prove it to you.”
Chapter Six
Ryan and Patience stayed only as long as absolutely necessary before they left the party in their honor. Neither of them really wanted to be there, so Patience slipped away as soon as she could, with Corinne at her side, to pack up her belongings. She hadn’t brought a whole lot with her from Kentucky, because her father thought it was just going to be a short visit. Only their mom had known they were going to start a bakery once they arrived.
“Is this where I’m going to sleep tonight?” Corinne asked as Patience carefully packed her things. She’d be back the next day, so it wouldn’t be a huge deal if she forgot something, but she preferred to take care of it all the first try. She’d always been very organized, and she hated when she forgot things.
Patience nodded. “It is, if this is where you want to sleep. I’m sure Auntie Felicity would let you sleep in her room as well.”
“She would?”
“Of course, she would. You’re her only niece, so that makes you awfully special.”
Corinne grinned. “That sounds nice.” She stood and did a little ballet spin, smiling happily. “I’m glad you’re my new mama.”
“I am too. But you can call me Patience or you can call me Mama. Wh
atever feels easier for you.”
“I want to call you Mama.”
Patience felt a tear prick her eye at that. “I’d like that. I’m going to be the best mama to you that I can possibly be.”
Corinne flew at her, hugging her tightly. “Just help my daddy be happy again.”
Patience wrapped her arms around the little girl, sniffling a little. “I’ll do my very best.”
A few minutes later, she emerged from the bedroom she’d used with a suitcase in one hand. She’d changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, not wanting to risk messing up the dress. Hope had made it herself, and she knew her cousin well enough to know she’d want to pass it on to her own daughter.
As soon as she came back into the dining room, Ryan’s eyes met hers. “Are you ready?”
She nodded, turning to Felicity. “Send Mama those pictures you took first thing in the morning. I’ll FaceTime her tomorrow as well. She’ll want to see and talk to me, and I can’t wait to tell her all about the wedding.”
Felicity nodded, tears streaming down her face. “I can’t believe we won’t be living together anymore.”
Patience grinned. “We’ll still be working together five days per week, so don’t think you’re rid of me.” She swiped at her own tears. “I’ll be by to get Corinne for her ballet camp. We’ll need to take a few minutes to FaceTime Mom from the bakery one day this week. I think she’d loved to see what we’ve done.”
“I’ll make sure Corinne’s ready. And I agree about calling Mom.”
“Thank you.” Patience squeezed her sister’s hand before heading over to hug Linda. “Thank you for letting me stay here for so long. I hope you know how much we all appreciate you.”
Linda smiled. “I know you’re going to be happy, but I’m sad you’re leaving. I’d have kept you forever if I could have gotten away with it.”
“I still think you need to turn this house into a bed and breakfast. You are the most amazing hostess I’ve ever met.”
“That would make it work. Who wants to turn what they like to do into work?”
Patience grinned, walking over to Ryan’s side. He took her suitcase from her, before taking her hand. “I feel like I need to make some kind of speech before I take Patience away, but I’m not going to.”
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