by Rita Herron
The song he was trying to sing to her was one of her favorites. "'I love you, and you know I do.'"
Mimi stifled a giggle and propped her head on the windowsill. As he continued to butcher the song, the sincerity in the way he bellowed out the words tugged at her emotions.
"'I love you, and you know I do.'"
She stared into his eyes and realized that she did love him, loved him with all her heart, and that he loved her, too. Really loved her. The baby was a bonus.
Her earlier fears evaporated—just because her mother had left her didn't mean Seth would. She had to put him out of their misery and tell him how she felt.
"I love you, too, Seth. And yes, I'll marry you." She tossed the towel on the floor, smiling when his gaze found her naked body through the moonlit window. "Now, come here."
Seth dropped the guitar and stubbed his toe on the CD player as he raced up the porch to her. Seconds later he dragged her in his arms and sang the chorus again.
"'I love you, and you know I do.'" He threaded his hands in her hair and said in a husky voice, "I'll do anything for you, Mimi. If you want to pursue acting, we'll move to New York or California or wherever you want, and I'll support you."
She narrowed her eyes and brushed snow from his jacket.
"Emotionally, I mean, or what the hell, financially, too, if I want to. Marriage is a partnership. Sometimes you have to let the people who love you do things for you, 'cause you certainly do a lot for them."
"I do?"
"Yes, and if you want to work after the baby's born, I'll arrange my schedule to be home."
"Okay," Mimi whispered, tearing at his shirt. "I get the idea. But we're not moving anywhere." She quickly explained about turning down the job and the new venture she'd undertaken. "I'm going to call it Sugar Hill's Hotspot."
Seth's gaze softened. "Is that what you really want, Mimi?"
"Yes, I want to be your wife and a mother to our baby, and I want us to live here in Sugar Hill near our family—although we have to work on yours a bit, and we might need to change a few teensy-weensy things about the house."
Seth feathered kisses across her jaw. "Whatever you say. Whatever you want. We'll throw all the furniture away and start over." He belted into the chorus of the song again.
"Okay, okay," Mimi whispered with a giggle. "You can stop the serenade now."
Seth grinned wickedly. "I'm pretty bad, aren't I?"
Mimi laughed. "Yeah, but you're a fantastic lover. And you'll make a wonderful daddy."
He dipped his hand to tease her neck.
She said, her tone serious, "I'm sorry. I've been pretty difficult about stuff."
He nibbled at her neck and grinned. "Hormones."
"Sure, we can say that now, but what excuse will I have after the baby's born?"
Seth slipped his hand over her stomach. "I don't know. I might just have to keep you barefoot and pregnant."
"Sounds good to me," Mimi whispered. Except she did have a new business to run. He knelt and kissed his way down to her belly. Oh, well, she'd worry about that later. Much, much later.
* * *
Chapter 20
« ^
Seth stood in the middle of the gazebo on Mimi's grandmother's property on Pine Mountain, his knees knocking. Just his luck, his bride had insisted they write their own wedding vows. He'd pored over poetry books, listened to a litany of love songs on CD and even found a book on-line entitled Love Letters, but everything he'd read sounded too clichéd, too dramatic or too sappy.
He'd finally written a few words straight from his heart and scribbled them on the palm of his hand in case he got nervous and forgot—he'd just have to check his hand without letting Mimi see his little cheat sheet.
White chairs filled the lawn, the first spring bulbs peeked through the ground, and lilies and white-satin ribbons decorated the gazebo. His bride had been late today, sending him into a momentary panic and reminding him of his first near-wedding disaster, but she'd simply explained that her feet had swollen since she'd purchased her wedding shoes and she'd had to run out and buy a new pair. Sounded logical to him, at least Mimi's kind of logic.
A folk guitarist, Mimi's idea of course, strummed soft rock music, then moved into a more modern version of the "Wedding March." Grammy Rose waved a handkerchief at him and he grinned, remembering the last time he'd been here, the day she'd given Mimi her hope chest and he'd offered Mimi a ride—the day his life had changed and his whirlwind romance with Mimi had begun.
Hannah and Alison strolled down the center aisle, their tea-length pale-yellow dresses shimmering in the twilight, and took their places. Then Wiley appeared, decked out in a dark gray tux with a yellow ruffled shirt, and Mimi appeared beside him. His breath caught—she looked radiant in a snazzier, shorter rendition of a modern wedding dress with her wild hair piled on top of her head, curls spiraling out of a pair of silvery combs, lips painted a kiss-me red, hands clutching a bouquet of lilies.
Her smile set his insides on fire.
The preacher greeted them. "And who gives this woman in marriage?"
Wiley stepped forward and gestured toward Mrs. Hartwell, who was sitting on the front seat. "Her mother and I."
Seth took Mimi's slender hand in his and squeezed.
The preacher read a short scripture passage and commented on the sanctity of marriage. "I believe you've written your own vows?"
Mimi nodded enthusiastically. Seth's stomach knotted. He angled his hand beside his jacket and flipped it over to read the first line, but the ink had disappeared. Panic hit him. His hand had been sweating so much he'd smeared the ink onto Mimi's hand!
"Seth?"
He saw Mimi looking at him expectantly. He'd have to wing it.
Seth Broadhurst had never winged anything in his life.
She was still staring at him, so he took a deep breath, gathered her hand in his and slowly slipped the golden band around her finger. "Years ago in college I heard an old folk song by John Prine. He sang a song about wanting a woman who could make a man's knees knock." He grinned at the stunned look on her face. "Mimi, you make my knees knock. You've given me laughter in my life, you've taught me how to have fun, but most of all you showed me how to love. You make my heart quiver with longing and my soul complete. I love you now and will love you forever and always."
Mimi wiped tears from her eyes and he winced, praying the ink didn't smudge onto her beautiful face. Then she noticed the ink stain and one eyebrow shot up. He mouthed the words I love you, deciding he'd probably use them daily to get him out of trouble with his wife.
Mimi shook her head slightly, indicating he was hopeless, then smiled, took his hand and slid a matching gold band on his finger. "Seth, you helped me find myself, you helped lead me to a peaceful place in my own soul so that I could love and be loved by another. You make me laugh, you make me dream, you make me want to grow old and share our stories with our grandchildren. I love you forever and always."
Seth instinctively reached for her to draw her mouth to his, but the preacher cleared his throat. "We'll get to that part in a minute, son."
The guests laughed. "Guess I'll forever be making a fool of myself over this woman," he said.
Mimi giggled and the crowd clapped.
"With the power now invested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. Now, you may kiss the bride."
Mimi blinked back tears at the love in Seth's eyes as he swooped her over his arm for a long, hungry kiss. Catcalls and whistles echoed behind them, then applause rang out. Even Seth's parents, who had surprised them by coming, smiled.
"I'm glad your parents changed their mind," Mimi said softly.
Seth nodded and lay a hand over Mimi's stomach in a protective gesture. "I told them if they wanted any part of their grandchild's life, they had to accept us."
Mimi nuzzled his neck as they started down the aisle. "I say we cut the cake and get to the honeymoon fast." She hooked her arm through Seth's and headed toward the reception are
a, cutting a sideways glance at Alison. Her younger sister had brought a date, the ob-gyn who worked with Hannah. Would wedding bells be ringing for Alison next?
"I can't wait to throw the bouquet," Mimi whispered to Seth. "I have a feeling I know who will catch it."
Mimi saw Grammy's eyes twinkle. She wondered what Grammy would put in Alison's hope chest.
* * * * *