“This is nonsense, Lily,” Marcy said, her tone sharp.
I looked at her with surprise.
“This man would be lucky—more than lucky—to have both you and Natalie.” Her eyes narrowed. “I’d like to give that woman a piece of my mind for saying those things to you. The nerve of some people.”
I smiled at her passion in defending me and was so glad I’d come. “Thank you, Marcy. That’s very kind of you.”
“Now, have you told Marcus about the things his mother said to you?”
“Well, no. I think his hands are pretty full right now.”
“Her attitude is not your problem. You know that, right?”
“But she’s his mother. I don’t want to be the cause of a family fight.”
With sternness, she said, “That’s between the two of them.”
My self-doubt reared its ugly head again. “I can’t help but think that there’s someone better for him out there, and that maybe I should encourage him to explore a little more before he settles for me.”
“Listen to yourself. You are a beautiful, smart, capable young woman. You’re doing a wonderful job with your daughter, and all on your own.” She shook her finger at me. “Don’t doubt yourself. There’s no ‘settling’ in this equation.”
I smiled, but I had to admit, I wasn’t completely convinced that she was right.
As the day went on, I enjoyed talking to Marcy more and more and felt like we were getting closer. I considered calling Marcus to touch base with him, but decided he had enough going on, and that if he wanted to talk to me, he would call me—he had my cell phone number, after all.
Marcy had an appointment in the afternoon, and while she was gone I sat quietly in the living room—Natalie was taking her afternoon nap—and thought about what Marcy had said versus what Trish had said. My own self-doubt pushed me to believe Trish over Marcy—after all, Marcy and I hadn’t spent a lot of time together. The thought even crossed my mind that maybe I should sell my new house and buy a place down here, closer to John and Marcy. They’d made it clear that they wanted me to live closer, and if things didn’t work out with Marcus, I would have them to fall back on. If I stayed up north, I had no one.
My mood bounced between despair at ever finding happiness, and hope that everything would work out. But when my phone finally rang, and I heard the voice of Marcus’s dad on the other end, a new problem presented itself.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“We don’t know where Marcus is,” Jeff said. “His cell phone goes straight to voice mail, and his work said he ran out the door hours ago without saying anything to anyone.” He paused. “Have you heard from him?”
I shook my head. “No.” I paused, my mind racing. “What about Trish? Has she heard from him?”
“No. She’s right here, and she doesn’t know anything either.”
Frantically trying to think where he could be, I came up blank. I had no idea.
“If you hear anything, will you let us know?” Jeff said.
“Of course. And if you’d do the same for me, I’d appreciate it.”
“Sure.” He was quiet for a moment. “Lily, I’m sorry about everything that’s happened.”
All my self-doubt floated back into my mind, and that, coupled with my fresh worry about Marcus and where he could be, made me shrink in on myself. “Okay,” I whispered, wanting him to know I heard what he’d said.
“Trish wants to talk to you,” he said.
Before I had a chance to object, she was on the phone.
“Lily?”
“I’m here,” I said.
“I’m so sorry about the way I reacted.” She paused, and I thought I heard the sound of her voice cracking. “Will you forgive me?” Yes, she was definitely crying.
The sting of her words was still fresh in my mind, but I wasn’t one to hold a grudge. “Yes, of course,” I said.
“I was wrong. You must know that.”
But was she? My self-doubt flared within me. Maybe her gut instinct was right and I wasn’t the best match for Marcus. Marcus. Where was he? I needed to get off the phone with his mother and try calling him myself. “Okay,” I said, just wanting to hang up now.
“He told me how much he loves you. I can see it now. I understand.”
“He told you that?”
“Yes.”
I smiled as tears filled my eyes. He stood up to her for me. He really does love me. “Thank you, Trish.”
“For what?”
“For raising such a wonderful man.”
“Oh, Lily.” I could hear the smile in her voice. “I can see why he cares so much for you.”
“I’ll let you know if I hear anything,” I said.
“Okay. Good-bye now.”
The moment our connection was broken, I dialed Marcus’s phone, but Jeff was right. It went straight to voice mail. Where could he be? What had happened that had made him leave work in such a hurry, and without a word to anyone? My worry growing, I didn’t know what to do. Marcy wasn’t back from her appointment, and Jeff had gone to run errands. I was all alone there, except for Natalie.
Maybe he’s on his way to see me, I thought. But I hadn’t told him I was coming down here, so he wouldn’t even know where to find me. Maybe there was a problem with Greta at the kennel. But no, that wouldn’t take hours, and they would have called me, not him. He didn’t even know she was there.
At a loss, I paced the living room, anxious for Marcy or Jeff to get home so I could get some advice about what to do. As the afternoon stretched on, I tried to call Marcus several times, and left a voice message when he didn’t answer. While I was feeding Natalie, someone rang the door bell. John and Marcy were still gone, so I hurried to answer it. As I began pulling the door open, I expected to see a salesperson, but when I saw who it was, I nearly dropped the jar of baby food I held in my hand.
“Marcus,” I said, my voice barely audible.
“Are you okay?” he said, his face serious.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be? What are you doing here?” I shook my head. “How did you even know I was here?”
He smiled hesitantly. “Can I come in?”
“Yes.” I held the door open and he walked in. “I’m just feeding Natalie.” I turned and went into the kitchen and he followed me. I set the jar on the table and turned back to him, but after all my thoughts about whether I was good enough, and if we were really meant to be together, I was ambivalent about throwing my arms around him. I ached to be in his arms, but why torture myself if this was the end?
“Marcy called me,” he said.
“What?” Confusion washed over me. “When?”
“This morning.”
“Why?”
“She told me about the conversation you’d had with her. She said you were on the verge of ending it with me.” His voice choked up. “Lily, how could you even consider that? After all it took for us to finally get to this point?”
Stunned that Marcy had called him, and more than that, astounded that he’d raced down here to talk to me, I stared at him in amazement, trying to digest what he’d said. “Your parents are worried sick about you. They said you ran out of work hours ago, without telling anyone where you were going.”
“After I talked to Marcy, I knew I had to come see you right away, so I booked a flight and I only had enough time to race to the airport. I almost didn’t make it in time, then I took a cab here.”
Love and hope blossomed inside me. He loved me so much that he did that, all for me, just to talk to me. “But why didn’t you just wait until I came home?”
He shook his head, his expression grave. “I couldn’t take a chance on you convincing yourself to end it with me. I know you well enough to know that once you make up your mind, it’s hard to change it.” He smiled. “I had to intervene.” He stepped toward me, and gently ran his finger down my jaw. “Will you marry me, Lily?”
I gazed at him, my love for him filling me up completely, and I nodded. “Ye
s. I will.”
His smile grew. “Today. We have to do it today.”
My eyes grew wide. “Today?”
He nodded, then moved closer to me. “Yes. I don’t want any more of this nonsense about whether we’re right for each other or not. I want to make it official so that no one can get in the way.”
A thrill of desire raced through me, and I nodded, helpless under the gaze of his incredible green eyes. This wasn’t like with Trevor, who had pressured me to marry him when I was still uncertain if I should. I wanted this as much as, if not more than, Marcus. Yes, there was no doubt that this was the right thing for me to do.
He slid his arms around me and pulled me close, and my arms went around his neck, then our lips met, and I thought I would fly apart with the depth of feeling I had for him.
After a moment Natalie reminded us that she was there, and we reluctantly separated. I turned to take care of her, then I remembered my promise to Jeff that I would let him know if I heard from Marcus. “You need to call your parents,” I said as I spooned some food into Natalie’s mouth.
He sighed. “Yes, I do.”
“What are you going to tell them? About us, I mean.”
“I’m going to tell them that I’m going to make you my wife today.”
I frowned. “Won’t they be upset not to be here?”
“We can have a more formal wedding later, but I won’t let them talk me out of making you my wife. Today.”
I smiled, loving the determination he had to make me his wife. His wife. The phrase I’d dreamt of, but had lost hope of ever having come true. I nodded, leaving his family issues in his capable hands, as Marcy had said I should. It felt good to not worry about it. I wanted to make his family my family also, but after Trish’s apology, I was confident it would happen in time.
I listened to his side of the conversation, but focused on caring for Natalie. When he ended his call, I asked how it went.
He grimaced. “You were right that they aren’t thrilled about this, but as you heard, I made it clear that this is what I want, and in the end, they supported me.” His grimace turned to a smile. “And I promised my mother that we’d have a more formal wedding soon.” His eyebrows rose. “She’ll probably want to be involved in the planning.”
“That’s fine with me.” I put Natalie on the floor to crawl around, then put my arms around him. “As far as I’m concerned, she can plan the whole thing. The only thing that matters to me is that I’ll be your wife.”
He held me close, and a few minutes later I heard the front door open.
“Oh,” Marcy said as she walked into the room where we stood.
We turned to face her. “Marcy, this is Marcus.” I grinned at her. “I believe you’ve talked to him on the phone before.”
Her face flushed, and she stepped forward and gave Marcus a hug. “I didn’t know you’d be coming down.” Then she looked at me. “I’m sorry, Lily. After you told me how you were feeling, I just thought I needed to call him and let him know what was happening.” With a look of chagrin, she said, “I borrowed your phone when you were taking care of Natalie this morning.”
I smiled. “It’s okay. I’m glad you did.”
She looked relieved. “It’s not something I would normally do, but I just felt like it was the right thing to do.”
I nodded. “I understand.” I paused. “We have some news.”
A look of expectation swept over her. “Yes?”
“We’re getting married.”
She chuckled. “You kind of mentioned that this morning.”
I laughed. “What I mean is, we’re going to get married today.”
“Oh! That is news. Congratulations.” Then she laughed. “This is Las Vegas. Lots of places to get married here.” She looked at Marcus. “But what about your parents? Surely they’d want to be here.”
“I talked to them and let them know this is what we’ve decided to do. They weren’t thrilled, but we’ll have another ceremony later.” He paused. “And I hope you and your family will come to that one.”
Marcy put her arm around my shoulder. “Of course we will.”
It felt great to have this support from her, and impulsively, I hugged her close. “Thank you, Marcy. For everything.”
“I consider you one of my daughters, sweetie,” she said, smiling. “Now, do you know where you’re going to go to do this?”
I looked at Marcus, but he just shrugged.
“First of all,” Marcy said, “I hope you’ll allow John and me to be there.”
I nodded. “Yes, I’d like that.”
She smiled. “Good. Second, I hope you’ll let us babysit Natalie overnight tonight. It will be your wedding night, after all.”
I slipped my hand into Marcus’s. “Yes. Thank you.”
“Good. Finally, let’s find a place nearby where you can get married. John should be home soon, and we can go whenever you’d like.”
Excitement pulsed through me. Marcus and I would be married in a matter of hours. I didn’t care that I wouldn’t have the fancy wedding dress, or all the guests, or the flowers and the walk down the aisle—I’d had that once before. All that mattered was that Marcus would make me his.
A short time later John got home. Marcy explained what was going on, and he graciously welcomed Marcus to their home. Then we looked online and found a place where we could be married, and we called and reserved a time slot.
An hour later, the five of us were on our way. I’d put Natalie’s car seat in John and Marcy’s car so they could bring her home afterwards, so they drove her to the chapel we’d chosen. We arrived a short time later and walked in together. John, Marcy, and Natalie sat on the front row of the chapel to witness the ceremony.
As Marcus took my hands in his, and promised to love and cherish me forever, tears filled my eyes. We’d only had time to buy a pair of cheap rings on our way to the chapel, but that didn’t matter—they were only a symbol. The only thing that mattered was the officiant pronouncing us husband and wife.
“You may kiss your bride,” he said.
Marcus pulled me into his arms and kissed me passionately, and I allowed myself to be enveloped by the feelings that poured through me. When he released me, I was breathless, and we gazed at each other, love flowing between us.
Marcy and John hugged us, and we took pictures of us holding Natalie. A short time later John and Marcy took Natalie home, and Marcus drove me to one of the fancy hotels. After checking in, we walked hand in hand to the elevator, and rode up to our floor. We walked to our room, and I waited while Marcus unlocked the door.
“Allow me to carry you across the threshold, Mrs. Oliver,” he said, grinning.
My smile matched his as he scooped me into his strong arms and carried me into our room, then set me on the floor. He put a Do Not Disturb sign on the door, and locked it from the inside, then turned to me with love in his eyes.
I gazed back, then moved into his arms and reveled in the security of his embrace. His lips met mine, and this time when feelings of desire overwhelmed me, I let them engulf me, and I savored being his wife, hardly able to believe that my dreams had come true, and I’d found love at last.
Epilogue
One Year Later
Holding Natalie’s hand, Marcus walked into my hospital room. “Look there, Natalie,” he said. “You’re a big sister now.”
She raced over to me and jumped onto my bed. She was nearly two years old and had been excited for this baby to come. As she gazed at our new baby boy, she tenderly touched his head, then she turned to Marcus. “Look, Daddy.”
“Yes, sweetheart, I see.” Marcus leaned over and kissed me on the lips. “You are amazing, Lily.”
I smiled at him, feeling like I was lit from within with love and happiness. He’d been so good to me ever since the day I’d met him, and he’d never let me down. I knew he loved me with all his heart, and he always put me and my needs first. “And you’re wonderful,” I said, touching his face.
She’d explained that she’d always had a picture in her mind of what Marcus’s life would be like, and it didn’t involve a widowed woman with a baby. But she’d come to realize that things didn’t always turn out the way she’d planned, which was probably a good thing, as she knew now that maybe she didn’t always know what was best for everyone.
As promised, John and Marcy attended the formal wedding, as did Chris, Scott, and their families. Chris was polite, and seemed to be warming to me, and I felt confident that we’d be friends one day, although I suspected his attendance was due to John and Marcy’s urging. His wife, Melody, pulled me aside after the wedding and confided to me that after she’d learned the details of Trevor’s actions, she’d had a long conversation with Chris, which seemed to help him soften towards me.
Alyssa and Ty had come to the wedding as well, and after having a chance to get to know Marcus, Alyssa had finally discovered for herself why I was so in love with my husband, and she’d told me that she believed I’d made the right choice. She told me she’d talked to Cameron before coming to the wedding and not only was he happy for me that I’d finally found happiness, but he’d found a wonderful woman who he was getting serious with. In the short time I’d known him, he’d been really sweet to me and I was glad to know he was finding his own happiness.
With John and Marcy’s blessing, Marcus had formally adopted Natalie, which thrilled me to no end. And now we’d added a baby boy to our growing family. Even though Marcus was officially Natalie’s father, I planned on Natalie spending plenty of time with John and Marcy. I wanted her to know her grandparents. I’d expressed as much to John and Marcy, which I’m certain was instrumental in them feeling good about Marcus adopting Natalie.
Now, as I looked at my husband and two children, I knew my life couldn’t be any better. I’d been through extremely difficult times, but I’d persevered, and now it seemed my joy knew no bounds. I knew there would be challenges ahead—who didn’t have challenges? But with Marcus by my side, I knew I could get through anything.
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