Be Mine, Sweetheart (Something Borrowed)

by Codi Gary

  In Kelly’s eyes, she was the most beautiful bride she’d ever seen.

  Kelly shot a glance at her dad. Her eyes grew misty at the transfixed expression on his face as he stared at her mother coming down the white fabric aisle runner. There was so much love there that Kelly was almost envious.

  Then she looked at Chris again and his lips moved. After a moment, she realized he was mouthing something.

  I love you.

  Kelly wanted to say it back, but they hadn’t told their parents yet. After two weeks of blissfully tearing each other’s clothes off every chance they got, they’d spent the last two nights apart. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to tell their families, but she hadn’t wanted to draw attention away from her parents’ happiness and Chris had been worried his mother wouldn’t be able to resist meddling if they told them too soon. They still had three days left in Hawaii; plenty of time to let the cat out of the bag.

  Her mother held her hand out to her father, and before turning her back on Kelly, her mom gave her the brightest smile she’d ever seen.

  The non-denominational minister her mother had hired was a robust man named Hani. He’d told them all that his mother had named him Hani, which meant happy, because she swore he came out of her laughing. It was either funny or disturbing, depending on how you looked at it.

  “Family and friends,” Hani said loudly. “We are here to celebrate the recommitment ceremony of Leah and Tim Barrow. Forty years ago, these two beautiful souls vowed to love, honor, and cherish each other for the rest of their lives…and in my opinion, they’re well on their way to fulfilling those vows.”

  After reciting the same poem that they had used at their wedding, he asked them to say their vows.

  Kelly watched her father sweat bullets as he spoke, telling her mother that after all these years, she wasn’t the girl he married. She was even better, because the twists and turns they’d ridden together had made her a stronger version of that girl. And she was even more beautiful now because of all that she’d accomplished.

  That got Kelly’s eyes watering, but her mother pushed her over the edge when she told him that he was more than the man of her dreams. He was the one she knew would stick around long after the music faded and she woke up. He was the hand she always wanted to be holding before she closed her eyes at night.

  Kelly pulled a tissue she had hidden in her bouquet out, and dabbed at her eyes as her parents exchanged the new, upgraded rings, sliding them onto each other’s fingers. When the ceremony was finally over, Kelly slipped her arm through her Uncle Kenny’s, her dad’s younger brother, and they followed the happy couple back down the aisle to a secluded area of the beach for pictures. Although she smiled and posed and hugged and kissed, she couldn’t wait to find Chris and be in his arms.

  An hour later, Kelly snuck up behind Chris while he was getting a drink, and slipped her arms around his waist.

  “Hey, handsome.”

  “Hi.” He covered her hands on his abdomen with his own. “I missed you. Think we might be able to sneak off for a little while? I wouldn’t mind getting to kiss my girlfriend.”

  “That could probably be arranged.” She let him go and came around to face him. “Or, we could just tell our parents we’re together now.”

  His brow furrowed. “I thought you wanted to wait so we didn’t take the attention away from your parents.”

  “I think the two of us together would pretty much be the best vow renewal present we could get my mom.”

  “And your dad?” Chris asked.

  Kelly shrugged. “He’ll get used to it.”

  “That’s not comforting. At all.”

  “Come on, sissy. Let’s get this over with.” Kelly laced her fingers with his and asked, “Unless you aren’t ready, in which case, I will back away slowly before either of our mothers notice anything suspicious.”

  Chris brought her hand up to his mouth, brushing her knuckles with his lips. “Ready when you are.”

  Kelly’s heart practically took flight out of her chest, it was fluttering so hard. Together, they made their way over to her parents, who were standing next to the buffet.

  Suddenly, a strong odor of seafood filled her nostrils and her stomach turned violently.

  She pulled up short as her throat constricted, bile rising up the back.

  “Kel? You okay?”

  She shook her head. “That smell. It’s awful.”

  “What smell?”

  “Seafood.”

  Chris seemed to be sniffing the air, and then studied her. “You look a little green. Want me to take you back to your room to lie down?”

  “No, I’m not missing this. It was probably just something I ate. See,” she said, breathing through her mouth. “All better now.”

  “If you’re sure…”

  “I am. Do you maybe want to go tell your parents first?” She didn’t want to tell Chris that she was afraid if she got any closer to the buffet she was going to upchuck all over the place.

  “We can do that.”

  Chris let her lead him over to where his parents stood. Marcy and Keith Ryan were younger than her parents by several years. While both of his parents were blond, Kelly always thought Chris looked more like his father with his mother’s eyes.

  “Chris. Kelly. Wasn’t it a beautiful ceremony? I’m trying to convince your father we should do something like this for our anniversary. Maybe in the highlands of Scotland or something.”

  “I’m not going to wear a kilt,” Keith said. “Your mother discovered that show Outlander and now all she can talk about is going to Scotland and dressing up as thought we were in the fifteen hundreds.”

  “What your father won’t admit is that he’s watched several episodes of the show and loved it. He even does a lovely Scottish accent. You should show them, darling.”

  Chris’s dad looked murderous and Kelly laughed, squeezing Chris’s hand in hers. She was surprised that Marcy hadn’t noticed their entwined fingers, as they weren’t doing anything to hide it.

  “I want to see Outlander, but I don’t have cable,” Kelly said.

  Chris groaned. “She just got through binging Reign a month ago. I really cannot take another romantic show so soon.”

  Kelly bumped him with her hip. “Stop it, you were totally Team Bash. Admit it.”

  “Fine, the show was okay. Bash was the only cool character though. What can I say? I love a redeemed bad boy,” Chris teased.

  Kelly saw Marcy’s gaze finally fall on their hands and her eyes widened. “Oh, my God. Are you two…are you dating?”

  Chris smiled at Kelly, making her stomach flip. “Yeah, Mom. For a couple weeks now.”

  “Oh! I am so happy.” Marcy hugged first Chris and then pulled Kelly into a tight embrace. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me! Isn’t that wonderful, Keith?”

  “Yes, of course.” Keith was usually a little hard to read, but as he slapped his hand on his son’s arm, Kelly saw the genuine affection in his eyes. “Congratulations.”

  “Thanks. We haven’t told Kelly’s parents yet, so if you could just keep this to yourselves until we talk to Leah and Tim that would be great.”

  “Talk to us about what?”

  Kelly turned to the right to find her mom and dad standing next to them.

  “Well, we wanted you to know that Chris and I are dating.”

  Kelly’s mom squealed louder than Chris’s as she embraced them both.

  “I knew it! The two of you have been acting shifty since you got here!”

  “We have not been acting shifty,” Kelly protested.

  Then Kelly’s mom was hugging Marcy, and Kelly turned to Chris with a bemused expression. “We told them.”

  “Yep. Think we can finally stay in the same hotel room?” he whispered.

  Kelly glanced at her dad, who was w
atching them with a protective gleam in his eyes.

  “Maybe we should just wait until we get home.”

  Chris followed her line of vision and swallowed. “Good plan.”

  Kelly stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I love you, though.”

  “I love you, too. Now back up a step. Your dad looks ready to throttle me.”

  Chapter 32

  The morning of Julia Townsend’s wedding, Kelly felt like death warmed over. For the last week, she’d been tired and nauseous. The smell of cooking meat turned her stomach, especially. Chris had made sausage and eggs yesterday morning, and Kelly had about dry heaved her back out.

  Kelly wanted to blame the stress of the last few weeks, but things were actually turning out better than she imagined. With Hank and Teresa’s endorsement and Alejandro’s retraction, most of her clients had come back with their apologies. She’d been humble and understanding, of course. In addition, they’d booked four more weddings for later in the summer and early fall. Something Borrowed was officially in the clear.

  Sitting in Julia’s room at the Love Shack Hotel, Kelly nibbled on some toast while Julia and her three reed-thin friends stood in front of the available mirrors. It was just before eleven, and even though the wedding wasn’t taking place until four, Julia had wanted them to get there early so they had plenty of time for hair and makeup.

  And as a bonus, Kelly had managed to convince Julia that her maid of honor and bridesmaids would look much better in periwinkle than pumpkin orange.

  “Feeling sick?” Julia asked, her accent less defined than her brother’s. She sat down next to Kelly on the bed and took a sip from the bottled water in her hand. Julia was dark haired like her brother, with unnatural green eyes. They were so bright, Kelly was convinced they might just glow in the dark. Clad in a salmon pink camisole and yoga pants, she was tall, lithe, and gorgeous.

  And incredibly down to earth, just like her brother.

  “Yeah, a little. The last week, actually.”

  Julia grabbed a Danish from the room service plate. “Oh, how far along are you?”

  “Pardon?” Kelly asked.

  Julia ran her hand over her flat stomach. “I’m fourteen weeks, but you can’t tell, right? I’m over most of that morning sickness stuff, although certain smells can still make me queasy.”

  Kelly blinked several times, completely boggled by what the other woman was telling her. “Wait, I’m not pregnant.”

  Julia looked aghast. “Oh, sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed.”

  Kelly’s heart pounded loudly in her ears. “Does your brother know you’re pregnant?”

  “I told him yesterday. He was actually excited about it. I gave him a little onesie that says, ‘My Uncle kicks arse.’”

  Oh yeah, Hank would love that.

  “Well, congratulations. I am so happy for you.”

  “Thank you. And sorry again about the mix up.”

  “It’s fine.”

  One of her bridesmaids called her name and she patted Kelly’s knee. “I appreciate everything you’ve done and being a part of this. My brother speaks highly of you.”

  When she was gone, Kelly mentally calculated the last time she’d had her period. She had never been great at remembering her pill, even when she set her alarm on her phone, but it hadn’t been an issue, since she wasn’t sexually active.

  Until Chris.

  Kelly stood up and abandoned her toast in the trash. “Do you girls need anything? Coffee? Tea?”

  “Yes, that would be amaaaazing,” Julia’s maid of honor, Aurora, said.

  After taking down their drink order, Kelly hurried down the hallway to the elevator, tapping her toe against the floor as she waited for it to open.

  Finally, she managed to get out of the hotel and head over to the supermarket without anyone stopping her to chit chat. There was no way. Even with human error, the pill was like 90% effective. She just had some kind of bug, was all.

  Kelly grabbed the first test she saw, and went through Jason Dalton’s line. He was eighteen and barely glanced at her item as he checked her out.

  She couldn’t be gone too long, and so going home was out of the question. The bathroom at Something Borrowed’s office would have to suffice.

  Kelly shoved the test box into her purse and walked through the glass doors. Maggie shot her a look of confusion as she hurried past.

  “Hey, boss, shouldn’t you be getting ready for the Townsend wedding?”

  “Yes, I just forgot something in my office.”

  She checked over her shoulder to see if Maggie was watching her, but it was clear. She ducked into the bathroom and locked the door with a click.

  Three minutes and thirty seconds later, she was staring at two pink lines in the view window of the pregnancy test.

  Oh, my God, I am having Chris’s baby.

  What was she going to tell him? That she was great at running a business and lousy at remembering to take her pill? That would go over well.

  Kelly continued to stare at the results of the test and mixed with the fear and the anxiety was…excitement. She was pregnant. There was a tiny person growing inside her.

  Of course, her mother would say she was doing everything ass backwards if she told her, but there was no reason to go there yet. If anyone was going to hear this news first, it was going to be Chris.

  Kelly slipped the stick back into the box and then into her purse. After she washed her hands, she tried to sneak back out, but…

  “Hey, boss, find what you were looking for?” Maggie asked, cheerfully.

  “I did, Maggie. Thanks for asking.”

  Kelly made it back to the hotel with coffees in hand, and after hours of beautification, she stood along the side of the outdoor reception’s dance floor, watching Julia share her first dance with her award-winning director husband. The Mason jar favors filled with mixed berry jam sat on every table with a sweet little card attached, thanking each guest for sharing in their special day. Kelly had been surprised that all three hundred guests, some of them traveling as far as Scotland, had come in. Every hotel in a fifty-mile radius had been booked to accommodate everyone.

  The room sparkled with glittering ribbons of lavender, blue, yellow, green, and pink. The brightly colored rose centerpieces were arranged in white vases.

  The entire affair had run smoothly and the happy couple seemed to be having the time of their lives.

  “Well done.”

  Kelly jumped as Hank came up alongside her, standing shoulder to shoulder as they watched Julia. He wore a black tux on his top half and a blue and red kilt. The look was rather dashing, and more than a few women had been checking out his legs through the whole event.

  “Thank you. Hats off to you too, since you had a hand in it.”

  “I suppose I did lend a hand.”

  Kelly glanced his way when he didn’t say more and she realized that Hank looked nervous.

  “Something on your mind?” she asked.

  “Actually, I was wondering. Your assistant, Veronica…”

  “Yeah?”

  “Is she single?”

  Kelly’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry, but it just sounded like you were asking about my employee’s relationship status. Besides, aren’t you going back to La-La-Land tomorrow?”

  “I was looking at buying property up here between filming and I find her…fascinating.”

  She laughed.

  “What, you don’t think I’m sincere?” he asked.

  “Oh no, I think you mean it. But I also know Veronica.”

  “And?”

  Kelly patted his shoulder. “If you screw with her, she will eat you alive.”

  “Does that mean I have your blessing?”

  “You don’t need my blessing. If you want to ask Veronica out, go for it. Just don
’t be surprised if she turns you down flat.”

  “Does she ever talk about me?”

  “Besides calling you weird? No.”

  “That’s discouraging.”

  Kelly glanced at her watch and relief spread through her. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Hank’s cheek. “If anyone could win Veronica over, it’s you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, this woman’s work is done, and I am ready for bed.”

  Hank gave Kelly a hug before she could pull away. “It was wonderful working with you, Ms. Barrow.”

  “Likewise, Mr. Townsend.”

  Kelly slipped away from the reception and headed to her car. The moment she was inside, she texted Chris.

  Hey, I’m done. Can I come over?

  Yeah, I’ve been waiting for you.

  See you soon.

  Kelly took a deep breath and started the car, scared to death of how he was going to react when she dropped this bomb on him.

  It’s Chris. Mr. Supportive. It will be fine.

  Chapter 33

  Chris pulled the plane tickets out of his drawer, rolling them over in his hands. On the way home from Hawaii, Kelly had gone on and on about all the places she wanted to see, starting with Ireland and Scotland and working her way down to England, France, Italy, and Spain. She’d been so animated, talking about the places she’d always dreamed of going, that Chris had come home inspired. He’d been researching the best times to travel all week and impulsively bought plane tickets for them in the middle of September. It gave him two months to book hotels, plot train routes, and above all, plan how he was going to ask Kelly to be his wife.

  Watching her stand up there with her parents had been the moment he’d known he wanted to take that step with Kelly. He didn’t care if they had only technically been together a month; they had been the other half of a whole for a lot longer than that.

  Fungi jumped up onto his bed and meowed loudly. Chris put the plane tickets back in his drawer and picked the kitten up, placing him over his shoulder.

  “Sorry, was I ignoring you?”