“I don’t believe you.”
“Then what do you suggest?” I blurted out, my infamous, never-yielding pride in tatters. People were gulping in every second of this. This was too good to be true. The town’s screw-up being rejected by the national darling. “I can’t just give you up. I love you.”
“I understand. The way I see it, there is only one solution.” He folded his arms over his chest.
“What is it? I’ll do anything.”
“Anything?”
“Okay, not a threesome. And no pee stuff in the bedroom.”
Snorts and laughter came from the audience, but not all of them were amused. Some covered for uncomfortable coughs.
My mother fainted.
Catherine looked like she was about to leave and was waiting for someone—anyone—to stop her.
No one did, and so she stayed anyway.
“That narrows ‘anything’ down pretty significantly,” Cruz pointed out.
“Oh, just tell me, Cruz.”
“Marry me.”
“What?”
“Make an honest man out of me, Tennessee Turner, and I’ll have you back. Any other solution just won’t work for me. I already told you it’s all or nothing. You said nothing doesn’t suit you—well, give me your all.”
All eyes clung to me, waiting for my answer.
Bear squeezed my hand under the table, whispering under his breath, “I want a game room, Mom.”
My mother murmured that she was going to disown me if I refused him. Apparently, she’d come to.
Dad grunted that he really couldn’t afford another wedding.
Trinity whimpered in Wyatt’s ear that her thunder had been stolen once again.
And Catherine Costello keeled over and emptied her stomach on a nearby patch of lawn.
“Yes,” I heard myself say, a smile spreading over my mouth. “Yes, I will be your wife, Dr. Cruz Costello.”
I nearly tackled my entire family to the ground on my way to Tennessee, mowing over Wyatt and parts of my mother’s dress.
I picked Tennessee up and kissed her long and hard in front of an audience who’d come to celebrate Wyatt and Trinity’s love and, until moments ago, were pretty sure there was no love lost between their siblings.
I’d feel bad if it wasn’t for the fact that Wyatt and Trinity were in it for the arrangement. Or that I’d been in love with the woman I just got engaged to since before she was out of diapers.
Tennessee clung to me, her lips glued to mine almost childishly, like I could disappear at any moment.
“I missed your mouth so much. The rest of you, too.”
“You’re going to have a lot of one-on-one time with both of us, sweetheart. Starting today.”
“Gross,” I heard Bear grumble behind my fiancée’s back. “I’m still here, you know. And the rest of the county, too, for that matter, so get your hands off my mom. Dad, can you believe what he’s doing to her?”
He can, and he’s done much worse, I was tempted to say.
Rob chuckled and clapped his son’s shoulder as I put Tennessee back down gently, pushing away strands of her golden hair so I could take a better look at her.
Mine.
I tucked her under one of my arms, so she couldn’t run off. She was laughing and crying at the same time. I let her have her moment while people trickled to the table to congratulate us, stunned and amused in equal measures.
No one looked overtly annoyed or disappointed with the announcement, other than Mrs. Holland, who got up and left around the time Tennessee had confessed her love for me.
Wyatt appeared in my periphery, Trinity by his side.
“You sure know how to make a scene.” He arched an eyebrow, slapping my back in a bro-hug.
I tilted my head toward Trinity. “Sis-in-law?”
“What?” she spat in annoyance.
“You mad?”
“Mad doesn’t even begin to cover it, Dr. Costello.” She pinched her lips. “But not at my sister. She couldn’t help what left her mouth. I pushed her into a corner with that little speech. She just rambled her way into this confession. You, on the other hand, proposed to someone else on my wedding day.”
“I’m sure that happens all the time. You know how many people are dying right now?”
“At my wedding, too, I should add.”
“What can I do to make it up to you?” I gave her a genuine smile.
“Nothing you can do will ever make it up to me.” She stamped her heeled foot on the raised ramp of the table, then scowled. “Aw. Now I think I sprained my ankle.”
“Even if I pay for your honeymoon?”
“Even if you…hold on, expenses, too?”
“Promise not to get too wild with my credit card?”
“Never. And you’ve got yourself a deal.” Trinity reached to shake my hand, and I took it, laughing. She turned to Tennessee, scrunching her nose. “I really am sorry about everything, Nessy. I was so wrapped up in making this day the best of my life, I totally forgot that I was making it a miserable few weeks for everyone else, you included. You’ve been there for me, even when I didn’t deserve you, and I will never forget that or take you for granted ever again. I promise to do better.”
“Me, too.” Donna Turner wedged herself between Trinity and Wyatt, giving Tennessee an intense kicked-puppy look. “The wedding stress is no excuse. We were so unfair on you and Cruz. I’m so sorry, honey.”
Behind them, I could see my dad poking my mother to enter the human circle we’d formed. She tried to swat him away, but he only gave her a more solid push.
She stumbled into us, pouting.
“Guess I have my own apology to hand out.” She rolled her eyes like a sulky teenager. “I may or may not have been wrong to tamper with Cruz’s love life. It’s just that he’s always been so perfect and I had his entire fairytale planned for him. So when he went off-script, I got so…so…”
“Mad?” Tennessee finished for her.
“Yes!”
“I know, same here. Half the time we were together, I asked myself what the heck he was doing.”
My mother gave a low, appeased chuckle. “It never occurred to me that he’d have different plans. Does seem a bit controlling, put that way.”
There was a brief silence before Rob shrugged and said, “This may be one of the rare times when I don’t have a reason to apologize to anyone, but in the spirit of being the town’s new favorite fuck-up, now that Nessy is showing promising signs of being Dr. Costello’s dutiful and esteemed wife, I’m sorry, too.”
“What for?” Bear asked, frowning.
Rob put a hand on the teenager’s shoulder. “Well, son, I can’t be sorry for the day you were conceived because that turned out to be the only thing to keep me going during the dark days—these last few weeks changed my life. But, uh, let’s see. I guess I’m sorry for not giving Bear my obvious, undisputed athletic gift.”
“Your humility, too,” Tennessee pointed out.
“I’m glad for you, bro.” Rob shook my hand. “And thank you.”
“For what?”
“For officially crowning me Fairhope’s newest hottest bachelor. Unless you have second thoughts and want to try to make it work again?” Rob winked at Tennessee.