by Marie Force
“We’re all so happy for you guys,” Adam said.
“Thank you. I know it means a lot to David to have your family’s support.”
It seemed like a long time now since David’s relationship with Janey had ended with him cheating on her. David had changed a lot in the last few years and had earned the McCarthy family’s undying respect when he delivered both Hailey and P.J. under difficult—and dangerous—conditions.
“How did he ask you?” Abby asked.
“It was very romantic and sweet,” Daisy said, blushing lightly as she conveyed the details of the proposal. “After we spent Christmas Day with his family and our friends, we came home to our place. He said he had one more gift he’d forgotten to give me earlier. I almost passed out when I realized what was happening.”
Abby laughed at the comical expression on Daisy’s face.
“It was perfect,” Daisy declared.
Abby hugged her. “I’m so happy for you. No one deserves to be swept off her feet more than you do.”
Adam wanted to tell his bride that she deserved it, too, but rather than tell her, he intended to show her. Later.
He and Abby had said to hell with superstition and had spent their wedding day together. In truth, he was still slightly afraid to let her out of his sight. Since their intense conversation on the night of his parents’ anniversary party, she’d been more resigned to her diagnosis. She’d been an enthusiastic if quieter-than-usual participant in the planning of their wedding. However, he still sensed an underlying fragility to her newfound strength, which was why they’d spent every day this week together.
He’d taken the week off from work and had given her his undivided attention. With her store closed down for the winter as of Christmas Eve, they focused on resting and relaxing in the days before their wedding. Adam couldn’t wait to give her the surprise he had for her later.
She’d suggested that the week in Anguilla for Evan’s wedding could count as their honeymoon, but Adam didn’t want to wait three weeks to celebrate their marriage. They were leaving tomorrow for a weeklong cruise to the Bahamas, and he was excited to have his new wife completely to himself for a whole week.
Hell, he was excited about everything where she was concerned—the good, the bad, the sickness, the health and everything in between. After his last relationship ended in spectacular fashion, he’d been resigned to spending the rest of his life alone rather than ending up with the wrong person.
At the lowest moment in his life, he’d come home to Gansett and found true love with his brother’s ex-girlfriend. He hadn’t seen it coming, but that was what made it so great. They’d been right under each other’s noses for years without realizing they were destined to be together.
As Abby chatted with Daisy about the flower delivery that would arrive from the florist, Adam squeezed her hand.
She replied with the genuine smile he hadn’t seen much of since her diagnosis, but it gave him hope that she would bounce back in due time. That she also looked excited about the wedding helped to soothe his battered nerves.
The rest of the day flew by with last-minute details and other preparations. With darkness descending as it did so early in the winter, Adam spent his last few minutes as a single man in the hotel salon with his brothers as well as Joe and Owen, all of whom were serving as his groomsmen. His nephew, Thomas, was the ring bearer. Owen was doing double duty and would provide music for the ceremony. Adam’s Uncle Frank would preside.
Abby had asked Grace to be her maid of honor with Janey, Maddie, Laura and Stephanie as her attendants. They hadn’t had time to come up with the usual matching outfits, so all the girls were wearing black cocktail dresses, and the guys were in dark suits. Abby had found a dress she loved at Tiffany’s store a couple of months ago, and Adam couldn’t wait to see it.
It had been rather easy to throw together an elegant last-minute wedding that would also serve as a New Year’s Eve party.
“Are you ready, bro?” Mac asked, clasping Adam’s shoulder.
“So ready.”
His brother Grant shook his hand. “Take good care of Abby. She deserves the very best.”
“She’ll never get anything less than that from me.”
Grant nodded soberly. Adam was thankful that there’d never been any ill will from his brother when he started seeing Abby. Grant knew he’d screwed up with her, and he’d told Adam that his experience with Abby had prepared him to do better with Stephanie. Everyone had ended up where they belonged, but it was still a relief not to have trouble with Grant. That would’ve forced Adam to make some awful decisions.
Evan approached him with a white rose, a huge pin and a demonic look in his eyes.
“Don’t even think about it, idiot.”
“I only thought about it. I wasn’t actually going to do it.” Evan, the best man, pinned the rose onto Adam’s lapel and then took a measuring perusal of Adam’s appearance. “You won’t ruin the pictures.”
Adam laughed. He expected nothing less from Evan. The two of them had spent their childhood beating the crap out of each other every chance they got, and were still known to wrestle on occasion. In fact, they’d gotten in trouble for wrestling too close to their mother’s tree on Christmas Day. Good times.
Despite the fighting—or maybe because of it—he and Evan were close, and there was no one else he’d rather have stand up for him today. He hoped Evan would resist the urge to headlock him during the ceremony.
Adam checked his watch. Ten minutes until six. Ten minutes until he married the love of his life. He couldn’t wait.
Clutching the arm of her father and following her attendants, Abby made her way downstairs to the salon, where she and Adam would exchange vows. The beautiful old hotel was awash in candlelight that created a soft, romantic vibe. She’d been skeptical that they could pull off a decent wedding with only eleven days to prepare, but as usual, Adam had shown her that anything was possible if you wanted it badly enough.
With every step she took toward her groom, Abby thought about the long journey she had traveled to arrive at this moment. More than ten years with Grant had led to heartache in the end, followed by another failed relationship with Cal—and a broken engagement.
She’d officially given up on men and love, which was exactly when her path had collided with Adam’s on a ferry ride home to Gansett that changed both their lives forever.
Even though her relationship with Adam was totally different from anything she’d known before, she’d still expected something to go wrong—because in her experience, something always went wrong. The devastating diagnosis last week had nearly derailed them, but he hadn’t let it. He hadn’t let her withdraw into herself. He’d fought for her and for them the way he always had and, she now knew, the way he always would.
She’d chosen an off-white silk dress with a deep V neckline that showed off the cleavage Adam loved. It fell to her ankles and included a slit on the right side. The dress was sexier than she’d normally have chosen for herself, but if her body was going to change dramatically due to her disorder, she wanted Adam to have the memory of a sexy, beautiful bride to cherish.
Abby had left her hair down because that was how he liked it best, and had worn the lightest possible amount of makeup. Marrying him was a dream come true, and she didn’t want to be unrecognizable to him. She and her dad turned the last corner before they entered the room where the ceremony would be held, and Abby took a deep breath, preparing herself for him.
She squeezed her dad’s arm, and they rounded the corner. Accompanied by the gentle tone of Owen’s guitar, Abby locked eyes with Adam, who appeared to brush a tear from his cheek. He was so beautiful and so sexy and all hers forever. In those final steps as a single woman, she let go of her painful past and her worries about the future. For right now, there was only Adam and her and the vows they would make to each other.
Adam shook hands with her dad and tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow, squeezing it once in rea
ssurance. “Stunning,” he whispered.
“Likewise,” she replied, smiling up at him.
“We’ve come together tonight to celebrate the marriage of my wonderful nephew Adam with his beautiful Abby.” Frank led them through the traditional recitation of vows and the exchange of rings that they’d ordered online and paid top dollar to have shipped to them in time for the wedding. “In addition to the vows they’ve already taken, Adam and Abby have written their own vows. Adam?”
As he took a deep breath, his eyes shone with unshed tears. “My whole life began the day I found you on that ferry ride home to Gansett,” he said gruffly, bringing tears to her eyes, too. “We were both at the lowest point in our lives and in no way prepared for what was about to happen to us. Since that momentous day, you have taken me places I never expected to go, including the tattoo parlor.”
Abby laughed, as did everyone else.
Adam touched his lips to the new tattoo of their wedding date on her inner wrist. He had the same one in the same place.
Releasing one of her hands, he cupped her face as he gazed into her eyes. “No matter what challenges may come our way, I’ve always got your back, and I know you’ve got mine, too. I love every single thing about you, and I always will.”
He used his thumbs to brush away her tears.
“I have never been more myself than I am with you,” Abby said. “I’ve never felt as completely accepted as I am with you. And I’ll never love anyone the way I love you. From those first moments on the ferry, you’ve taken care of me and protected me and encouraged me to go for what I want, even if it might seem out of reach. You’ve shown me that nothing is out of reach when you have the right person holding your hand through life’s challenges. The day I found you on the ferry was the best day of my life, until today.”
Before Frank could tell him it was time, Adam kissed her, and Frank declared them husband and wife.
“I’d tell you to kiss your bride, Adam,” Frank said, “but you’ve got that covered.”
Adam kissed her for a long time—so long that Abby began to burn with embarrassment as their family and friends laughed. She was about to break the kiss when he withdrew slowly, smiling brightly at her.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Frank said, “I present to you Adam and Abby McCarthy.”
As their guests cheered, Adam raised their joined hands to his lips and kissed the back of hers.
Finally, Abby thought. Finally, she’d gotten her happily ever after, and the best part was she got to spend the rest of her life with him.
Epilogue
“Four down, two to go,” Big Mac said to Linda as the clock headed for midnight and the party raged on around them. Jackets and heels had come off, ties were strewn over backs of chairs, and the champagne continued to flow.
The bride and groom were right in the middle of it all, dancing with their siblings and friends and having a generally fantastic time from what he could see. Tonight there had been no sign of the troubling diagnosis that had thrown them for a loop. Tonight had been all about celebration.
“It was a beautiful wedding,” Linda said.
“They’re a beautiful couple.”
“Look at them all. They’re incredible. Every single one of them—the ones we gave birth to and the ones we’ve picked up along the way.”
“They certainly are.” He took advantage of the opportunity to kiss her. “I can’t wait to see what the next forty years brings.”
“Neither can I.”
With his arms around her, Big Mac drew her into his embrace, looking forward to everything still to come with his own bride.
Turn the page to read Desire After Dark, Slim and Erin’s story!
Chapter 1
On the morning after Slim Jackson came home to Gansett Island, Erin Barton awoke to the scents of his cologne and starch on the dress shirt he’d worn to the McCarthys’ anniversary party. At some point, he’d discarded the suit coat he’d been wearing when he arrived.
She didn’t remember falling asleep with him on the sofa, or how they’d ended up snuggled together under a blanket. His chest made for a comfortable pillow, and his arms around her had kept her from tumbling off the sofa during the night. The last thing she recalled was kissing him—soft, flirty kisses that hadn’t gone much beyond lips stroking lips, with the promise of more to come.
The thought of that promise had her skin tingling with awareness of the man sleeping next to her. After they’d connected last fall, he’d left the island to work in Florida during the off-season. She’d been counting the days until she could see him again, which wasn’t something she did very often. In fact, she couldn’t recall the last time she’d looked forward to seeing any man.
Before he arrived last night, she’d tried to prepare herself for disappointment. Maybe the connection they’d forged months ago in person and maintained through texts and phone calls and FaceTime chats would’ve waned in the many weeks they’d spent apart. But it took only a few minutes in his magnetic presence to know the opposite was true.
Their connection was alive and well, and they had twelve days together to explore where it might lead. Though she’d enjoyed their many entertaining conversations over the last few months, Erin didn’t know where she wanted their “flirtation” to lead. She hadn’t been seriously involved with a man in years and wasn’t sure she had what it took to be in a relationship anymore—or if she even wanted a serious entanglement at this point in her life.
The last man she’d been serious about had been during law school, before she lost her twin brother in the 9/11 attacks on New York City, and her carefully crafted life fell apart in the aftermath of unimaginable loss. By the time she came up for air, the man she’d once planned to marry was long gone, not that she could blame him. The poor guy had tried, Lord knows he’d tried, but there had been no consoling her.
Thinking about those dark days was never a good idea, especially today when she had something far more positive to focus on. She moved carefully to disentangle herself from Slim’s embrace, hoping he would sleep awhile longer. He’d been tired last night from the long day in the air, flying from Florida to Rhode Island for the McCarthys’ party—and to see her.
Erin went upstairs to make herself presentable. She also couldn’t recall the last time she’d spent the night with a man. It had been a while, long before she moved to Gansett Island hoping to jumpstart her stalled life.
If the first few months on Gansett were any indication, the move had been a good one. Thanks to her close friend, the former lighthouse keeper, Jenny Wilks—now Jenny Martinez—Erin had been introduced to an amazing group of new friends. And she’d met Tobias Fitzgerald “Slim” Jackson Junior, the sweet, sexy pilot who’d come to her rescue after she sprained her ankle on a dark island road last September.
Thinking about that night made her feel giddy and breathless, which was silly, really. At thirty-eight, she was far too old for such foolishness. Regardless, he’d charmed his way into her life that night. He’d been dropping in regularly ever since, mostly via phone, text and FaceTime, until last night when he showed up in person, sparking more of that giddiness that seemed to happen any time he was around.
He’d met her parents at Jenny’s wedding in October, and they’d immediately adored him and tuned in to the crackling attraction between them. That had been a great night, capped off by a magical good-night kiss when he brought her home. But then he’d left the island for three months to work in Florida, and Erin had been surprised by how much she’d missed him.
He’d been a terrible flirt from that first night. Thinking about what he’d said to her the second night could still make her shiver all these months later. After she’d agreed to have dinner with him—once she was off the crutches—he’d stated his intentions rather boldly.
“I’m also persistent. If you’re going to make me wait until the crutches are gone, I guess I’ll have to come by to visit every day and make a pest of myself so you don’t forget about
me.”
“You’re going to drive me crazy, aren’t you?”
“Baby, that’s the very least of what I want to do with you.”
Thinking about that now made her smile. In addition to his sexy good looks, she loved how easygoing he was, how funny and confident. She loved calling him out when he got too cocky, and he made her laugh—a lot.
The thing she found most attractive about him, however, was his kindness, especially during the days leading up to Jenny’s wedding. He’d understood how difficult it was for Erin to see her beloved brother’s fiancée marry another man, even though she was thrilled for Jenny and Alex. Slim had provided the kind of support she would’ve expected from a longtime friend rather than a new one, and he’d helped to get her through what might’ve been a crisis otherwise. No matter what else happened between them, she’d always be thankful to him for that.
She took her hair out of the messy bun it had been in last night and brushed it until it fell in soft waves past her shoulders. After brushing her teeth and putting on a bra under her T-shirt, Erin crept down the stairs, taking a subtle glance at the handsome man still sleeping on her sofa, before continuing on to the kitchen to make coffee. While she waited for the coffee to percolate, she gazed at the collage of family pictures on the fridge, zeroing in on Toby’s smiling face. He’d be gone fifteen years later this year, but to her it might’ve been fifteen minutes. She missed him desperately, even after all this time.
It had taken a while, a couple of years, actually, for her to realize she would simply never get over losing him. So she’d stopped trying, which had freed up the emotional energy she’d spent railing at the circumstances under which he died. She smiled back at him now, thankful for the photos, the memories, the reminders that he’d once existed and had been closer to her than anyone, other than Jenny, of course.