He dropped down to one knee, and winced. “Allison Stuart, would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”
She gaped like a guppy. “We can’t… What are you… We can’t get married! We need a license—”
“I can get that for you.” Judge Nichols stood in the middle of the doorway to the Bride’s Room, with Allison’s family crowded around him. “I’ll send Billy to the courthouse to get the form. And if you need someone to marry you, well, I find my afternoon is suddenly free.”
Luke took her hand. “All we need is love, and I don’t know about you, but I’ve got that in spades.”
Allison’s mom leaned her head against her father’s shoulder. She wiped her eyes.
Dazed, Allison looked down at Luke. “But, it’s insane. You don’t just decide to get married in one day.”
“When people say yes, that’s what they’re doing: deciding right there and then to marry someone.” He brushed his thumb over her knuckles. “We’re just skipping the engagement period.” He grimaced, and put a hand on his knee. “The floor’s really hard. I’m going to do the rest of this standing, okay?”
Allison nodded.
Luke straightened, and took both of her hands. “I’ve made a lot of hard decisions this past week, and this is the only one I have no doubts about. You’re it for me. I know it’s a leap of faith, but I hope you’ll take it.” He stepped close, and his toes nudged her pumps.
Allison glanced down, and the fine hairs on her nape raised. Black boots. Not his motorcycle ones; these looked Italian and expensive. But he had to be wearing black boots.
He tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “We haven’t done anything in the right order since we met. Living together, then dating, then getting serious. You’re impulsive and sweet and just a little bit crazy for opening your home to a man you’d known all of a week. But that’s what I love about you. You don’t walk through life; you jump right into it.” He rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip and sucked in a deep breath. “Fifty years from now, when we tell our grandkids our story, about my crazy proposal, don’t you want to be able to say that you jumped?”
“Our grandkids?” Allison’s voice wobbled, making Luke smile.
“I’ve already seen them,” he said. “Whether you marry me today or ten years from now, we’re together in the end.”
Breathless, Allison nodded. It seemed she couldn’t stop nodding. “Yes.”
“Yes to being together, or yes to taking a walk down the aisle today?”
Her heartbeat drummed in her chest. She was crazy. They were both out of their flippin’ minds. “Yes to both.”
Luke whooped. Wrapping her in a bear hug, he swung her in a circle.
Pandemonium erupted around them. Her sisters threw their arms around Allison and Luke, her mother couldn’t stop crying, and Miss Eugenie started shouting the news to the guests.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Allison said.
“To use your exact words, no taksies backsies.” Luke accepted another hug from her mother, a smile dancing around his lips.
Jerome and Billy walked out of the nave and conferred with the judge. Nodding, Billy trotted out the door.
“Give me a sec.” Luke kissed Allison’s cheek. “I need to talk to Jerome.”
Her sisters herded her back into the Bride’s Room, and this time it seemed surreal. She was the bride. Her mother rushed in, clutching one of the bouquets of flowers than hung from the end of each pew. “Okay, girls, time to make this into a bride’s bouquet.”
Allison sat in her chair and let the world spin around her. This was absolutely crazy. And nothing had ever felt so right. She was going to marry Luke Hamilton—the only man who could make her blush, who could rile her up in less than two seconds, and who could settle her back down with just one smile, the one that lit up his face and crinkled his eyes, the one he saved for Allison.
Her sisters fussed over her hair, applied more lipstick to Allison’s mouth, until Allison slapped their hands away. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about being a bride.
But she knew how she felt about marrying Luke.
Her body lit up when he walked back into the room, a package wrapped in a brown paper bag tucked under his arm.
“Should you be seeing her?” her mother asked.
Luke kissed her mom’s cheek. “Why should we start following tradition now?” He beelined to Allison. “Ladies, can my future wife and I have a moment alone?”
Her family filtered out, shutting the door behind them.
Luke handed her the bag. “I got you a wedding present.”
“What? How?”
He twisted his lips and shrugged. “Okay, it wasn’t intended as a wedding gift, but I was going to give it to you today. Jerome brought it with him.”
Baffled, Allison slid the box from the bag—and screamed with delight. “Caty Cowgirl?! How?”
“You know what they say about cops,” Luke said. “They have the best toys. I made him share his source.”
Allison hugged the box to her chest. “This is the best present a man could give his bride.”
Taking the box from her hands, Luke placed it on the floor and tugged Allison to her feet. “Wait to pass judgment on that. I have plans to give you something else tonight.”
And he gave her a hint of what was to come.
Someone knocked on the door, and her father poked his head inside. He narrowed his eyes, and Luke jerked his hand off her butt. “The judge says we’re ready if you are.” After closing the door, her dad walked up to Allison, and rested his hands on her shoulders. “I can’t believe my baby girl’s getting married. I’m going to miss you if you move to Chicago.”
“I sold my restaurant.” Luke cleared his throat. “I was thinking maybe Pineville could use a fine-dining option. And I know the perfect person to help me with my paperwork.” He squeezed her hip.
Allison ran her hands down his lapels. “How romantic,” she said dryly, but she was already running the numbers. If Luke took over some of her cooking duties at The Pantry, she could help manage his venture. She couldn’t wait to get started on the business plan.
“The guests have waited long enough,” her dad said. “Time to fish or cut bait.”
Rolling onto her toes, Allison kissed Luke’s cheek. “Go on up. I’ll see you in a minute.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Grinning from ear to ear, Luke strode from the room.
Her father gave her a sad smile. “Are you sure about this? He seems like a fine man, but if you feel rushed—”
“No.” Threading her arm through her father’s, Allison led him from the room. “I am absolutely positive about this.”
They paused before the open doors to the nave. At the end of the aisle, Luke stood with his hands clasped before him. Jerome was on one side of him, and her sisters on the other. Judge Nichols stood one step above in the center.
Allison swallowed, her heart racing. She tapped her toe as she waited for the music to start. She couldn’t imagine how she’d gotten so lucky, but she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The organ music swelled, and Allison tilted her head to whisper in her dad’s ear. “I hope you have good shoes on.”
“Why?”
“Because this is no time for a stroll.” Gripping her father’s arm tight, she shot up the aisle, never letting the man of her dreams out of her sight.
Meet the Author
Allyson Charles lives in Northern California. She’s the author of the Pineville Romance series (Lyrical Press). A former attorney, she happily ditched those suits and now works in her pajamas writing about men’s briefs instead of legal briefs. When she’s not writing, she’s probably engaged in one of her favorite hobbies: napping, eating, or martial arts (That last one almost makes up for the first two, right?). One of Allyson’s greatest disappointments is living in
a state that doesn’t have any Cracker Barrels in it.
If you’d like to be notified of upcoming releases and/or special giveaways, please join Allyson’s newlestter at www.allysoncharles.com/newsletter.
You can find her at: allysoncharles.com, @1allysoncharles, and facebook.com/AuthorAllysonCharles.
The Christmas Wedding Swap Page 25