The Sullivans: Always On My Mind Part 21

When Lori turned to face the mirror again, she barely noticed how glossy her hair was, or the way her features had been perfectly played up with mascara and blush. All she knew was that with the wildflowers in her hair, she'd never felt prettier.

The room grew quiet and she noticed all of the women looking at each other in a particularly serious way. And her mother was gone. When had she left the studio?

"Hey, is something wr-" But she never got a chance to finish her sentence, because just then her mother walked back into the room holding a dress.

A wedding dress.

It was the most beautiful wedding dress Lori had ever seen...because it was the one that her mother had worn at her own wedding. And Lori knew it would fit perfectly.

"Oh, my G.o.d." She tried to stand, but when her legs were too wobbly to hold her up, she had to grip the arm rests and sit down again instead. "What-" Her brain wasn't working. "How-" Her mouth wasn't working either. "You-"

Her mother smiled at her and said one word. The only word that mattered. "Grayson."

Lori Sullivan wasn't a woman who cried. But she'd broken that rule on this farm in Pescadero again and again. Out of despair on her first night in Grayson's house. Out of pure sadness after Sweetpea died.

And now, out of pure joy.

"From the first moment I met Grayson," her mother told her, "I knew he was the man for you, sweetie. But if I'd ever had any doubts, his asking me to help plan a surprise wedding for you would have put them immediately to rest. Only a man who truly knew and loved you would think to do something this perfect for you."

Sophie put a Kleenex in one of Lori's hands and then pulled her out of her chair with the other. "Your groom is waiting. Rather impatiently, I believe."

Lori laughed even as her tears continued to spill. Everyone she loved was here with her today and they were all so amazing to help Grayson surprise her with this wedding.

"I love all of you so much." The girls all gathered around her in a group hug, all of them crying and laughing now.

Lori was notoriously steady, both on stage and off, but now her fingers were shaking so much that her mother and sister had to help her get her clothes off. After she'd put on the gorgeous silk lingerie Sophie handed her, her sister showed Lori the amazing heels they'd bought to go with the dress. Lori shook her head. "I'm going to wear my boots." They were her new white ones with colorful wildflowers st.i.tched up the side, after all. Then she lifted her arms and they slid the silk and lace wedding gown on, her mother lacing up the back while Sophie readjusted the flowers on her hair and dabbed at the tears under her eyelashes without smearing her new makeup.

A knock sounded on the door and her mother went to open it. Lori's oldest brother Marcus was standing there in a tux. He was smiling at her, but she could see his eyes grow a little gla.s.sy as he said, "You're absolutely beautiful, Lori." He held out an arm. "Ready to take a walk down the aisle?"

More tears threatened to spill as she put her hand in Marcus's. "Did you know about this?"

"All of us did." He brushed a lock of hair from her eyes and added, "You were right not to give up on Grayson. Talking with him these past few months has proved to me that he truly does love you the way you deserve to be loved. With absolutely everything inside him."

She hugged her brother, his support meaning more to her than he could ever know. Everyone else moved past them to go take their places at the surprise wedding set up in the middle of the open field. She knew she should have been amazed that they had been able to pull all this off without her guessing something was up, but she'd always known how wonderful her family was.

Her hand tightly grasped in her brother's, the two of them made their way to where the country band from her very-first-ever barn dance was playing a waltz, and Sullivans from all over the world, along with Grayson's parents, were there to celebrate with her and Grayson.

And then she saw him, standing at the end of the wildflower-strewn aisle, gorgeous in a tux, black cowboy hat, and boots. She didn't think before letting go of her brother's hand, lifting up her skirts, and running to him.

She no longer saw anyone else, no longer heard the band playing. All she could see were Grayson's dark eyes filled with such hunger, such pa.s.sion, such love. And all she knew was that he was everything she had ever wanted, everything she had ever waited for, as she flew into his arms and wrapped hers around his neck.

Laughing with her, he swung her around, her hair flying behind her as they did yet another perfect dance together. Their mouths found each other a moment later and the crowd of Sullivans cheered them on.

"I love you," she whispered when she was finally able to pull her mouth from his.

"I love you, too," he whispered back against her ear. "And I can't wait another second for you to be mine."

With that, he put her back on her feet and took her hands in his as the officiant began the ceremony.

"I'm very pleased to welcome everyone to what has to be the most unique wedding I've ever been a part of." Everyone laughed and then the man said, "Lori, Grayson, do either of you have anything you'd like to say to each other before I continue?"

Lori nodded. She moved closer to Grayson and looked up into his beautiful dark eyes. "I love you. Always. Forever." All her life, she'd talked and talked and talked. But today, standing with Grayson in her mother's wedding dress in front of their families, there was nothing else she needed him to know.

Grayson grinned down at her, somehow not at all surprised by the fact that she'd chosen this very moment to stop being a motormouth.

"Grayson?" the officiant asked. "Is there something you would like to say to Lori?"

"Yes, there is." His deep voice rumbling over her skin felt as good as the sweet caress of his hands always did. "When your mother and your siblings and I planned this wedding to surprise you, I wanted to be able to stand here and tell you the exact moment I fell in love with you. But I can't do that."

"You can't?" A pin could have dropped in the gra.s.s and it would have been heard in that moment as everyone grew perfectly silent to listen for his reply.

"No, I can't. Because every single moment I've spent with you is that moment, Lori." With a collective "Ahh" and "Isn't that sweet?" sounding from their audience, he told her, "I fell in love with you when you crashed into my fence post and chased after my chickens and fell down in the mud with the pigs. I fell in love with you when you taught everyone in town to line dance. I fell in love with you when you put Mo's feelings before your own and stayed with her for as long as she needed you." One fat tear slid down her cheek as he said, "And, most of all, I fell in love with you when you showed me that it was safe to love again. I keep falling in love with you again and again. Just like I'm falling right this second."

She had to kiss him again before they both said "I do," and then Grayson was sliding a beautiful ring onto her finger and Lori was picking up one of the wildflowers on the ground to twine it around his ring finger.

The man who claimed he wasn't good with words-and who had thought he wasn't capable of loving again-had just proved himself irrevocably wrong. On both counts. She couldn't wait to tell him every single little thing she loved about him, of every possible way he'd pleased her with this surprise wedding today. But all that talking would have to wait.

Because she wasn't nicknamed Naughty for nothing.

And right now was the perfect time for the new bride to drag her new husband off to a secret corner of their property to show him exactly how much she loved him, body and soul.

Epilogue.

Mary Sullivan had always been proud of her children. Not only because of how successful they'd always been, but because of the exceptional men and women they were. And just as she so often had before, she thought about their father Jack and how he would have loved to see another of his precious little girls getting married...

But she'd already cried enough tears today during the beautiful ceremony. She wanted the rest of her day and evening to be filled with smiles, with laughter, with hugs and joy. It was so easy to find that joy, because it was all around her.

Her oldest son Marcus was dancing with his fiancee, Nicola. They would be getting married at his winery and vineyard in Napa Valley later that year and Mary was greatly enjoying helping them plan it, since they were often traveling in support of Nicola's music career. Not everyone understood Nicola and Marcus's relationship-the young pop star and the mature businessman-but Mary couldn't imagine her son with anyone who could have brought him more happiness.

Mary turned her gaze to her next oldest son just as Smith and Valentina gave each other one of their secret smiles. Mary had never admitted as much to anyone, but Smith had been the one she worried about the most over the years. People always told her, "What a charmed life your son must live as a movie star!" but she had known better. Year after year, as his star had grown brighter and brighter, he'd paid a higher and higher personal price for that fame. In Valentina he'd found someone absolutely ideal for him: She understood the demands of his world, but wasn't at all interested in the glitter. It warmed Mary's heart to see the peace, the contentment, on her son's face.

The sound of a little girl giggling drew Mary's attention to Chase, Chloe, and Emma, their daughter. The three of them were over by the barn looking at the pigs, and Emma was clearly delighted by the farm animals. Mary smiled as she watched the way her son Chase took such good care of his family...and her smile grew as she observed Chloe's extra special glow. She couldn't wait for them to have another little boy or girl. Something told her she wouldn't be waiting long.

Over on the gra.s.s, Ryan was tossing b.a.l.l.s to the kids, and his fiancee Vicki was helping the girls and boys chase them when they tumbled out of their little hands. As soon as her son had brought his best friend home for dinner in high school fifteen years ago, Mary had known they were "the one" for each other. A decade and a half later, they'd both finally realized what they meant to each other in a perfect friends-to-lovers love story that made Mary feel good every time she thought about the two of them.

Not far from the impromptu baseball game, several of the men were gathered around Zach's Ferrari. His fiancee Heather's enormous dog, Atlas, was sitting right beside him and Heather was holding their other, much smaller dog, Cuddles. But while the men were all focused on the car, Zach was reaching out for Heather and running his hand through her long hair, saying something for her ears only that had her laughing. There weren't a lot of women who could have gone toe to toe with Zach, let alone run him in circles. Only the very extraordinary woman he'd fallen in love with. Every time Mary saw the two of them together, she deeply appreciated the ability both her son and Heather had to laugh and love in equal measure.

Mary's firefighter son Gabe was dancing with eight-year-old Summer while Megan sat out the dance in the shade of a large oak tree with their poodle. Mary knew Megan was having a little trouble with morning sickness, but from the huge smile on her face as she watched her husband and daughter dance together, no one would have guessed it. Again, tears threatened as Mary thought about the way Megan and Summer had come into their lives when Gabe had saved them from what could have been a deadly apartment fire. They were all so blessed to have found each other and Mary couldn't wait to hold another baby in her arms come Christmas.

Just then, her daughter Sophie and her husband headed off toward the farmhouse with their twins and diaper bags in their arms, Jake's nose wrinkled as he held little Jackie. Mary laughed, remembering all those years of changing her kids' diapers. Mary would never forget the look on both Sophie's and Jake's faces when they'd seen each other for the first time more than twenty years ago, or the way they only had eyes for each other. Her daughter had been five and Jake had been eleven, but one thing she knew for sure was that true love didn't come with a time line.

And now Lori had found her one true love in Grayson.

Mary gave a happy sigh as she looked out over the large group of Sullivans who had gathered from Seattle, from New York, even from London and Australia. Hopefully, she mused, each of them would soon find their happy endings, too.

"Hey there, beautiful. Care for some company? And a little bubbly?"

Mary smiled at Rafe Sullivan as she took the gla.s.s he offered her. He was a private investigator in Seattle and one of her favorites of her husband's brothers' children.

"Best family reunion we've had so far," he said with a grin. "It's not too often you get to see Naughty surprised."

Mary laughed before saying, "Speaking of surprises, is there anybody special in your life we should know about?"

This time Rafe was the one laughing. "I'm thinking we should finish getting your side of the family completely married off before we start looking at mine. Besides, now that all eight of your kids are off on their happily-ever-afters-" He had the same mischievous look he'd had even as a little boy. "-isn't it your turn?"

She shook her head, as though his asking about her love life was a totally ridiculous question at this point in her life. But there was a reason her nephew was such a great investigator: he saw all the clues, big and small.

"Mary?" He looked at her more carefully. "Are you blushing?" When she covered her cheek with her free hand, his voice grew gentle as he said, "You know, if there is somebody special in your life, I think my cousins would understand."

Thankfully, just then the band started playing Always On My Mind. "This has always been one of my favorite songs." Hers and Jack's.

Rafe took her champagne gla.s.s and put it down before holding out his hand. "I'm pretty sure everything Lori knows about dancing, she learned from you. Come dance with me, Aunt Mary."

Her nephew led her out on the dance floor, and surrounded by her children and grandchildren and the extended Sullivan family members she loved so dearly, Mary let herself get lost in the pleasure of twirling across the floor.

No question about it, whoever finally stole her nephew Rafe's heart one day was going to be a very lucky woman.

* THE END *.

Watch for Rafe Sullivan's story-THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT-coming Summer 2013... and Mary and Jack Sullivan's very special romance Fall 2013! Sign up on Bella's newsletter to find out the moment her new books are available: http://eepurl.com/eXj22 * * *

And don't miss the first seven books in the Sullivan series THE LOOK OF LOVE.

(Chase & Chloe, The Sullivans #1) FROM THIS MOMENT ON.

(Marcus & Nicola, The Sullivans #2) CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE.

(Gabe & Megan, The Sullivans #3) I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU.

(Sophie & Jake, The Sullivans #4) IF YOU WERE MINE.

(Zach & Heather, The Sullivans #5) LET ME BE THE ONE.

(Ryan & Vicki, The Sullivans #6) COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER.

(Smith & Valentina, The Sullivans #7) * * *

THE LOOK OF LOVE.

Chase & Chloe a The Sullivans #1 When Chase Sullivan finds Chloe and her totaled car in Napa Valley, she's so lovely, inside and out, he wants to love - and protect - her. Only, she has vowed never to trust a man again, despite his loving looks and sinfully sweet caresses. But is he the only exception?

Please enjoy the following excerpt...

Chase almost missed the flickering light off on the right side of the two-lane country road. In the past thirty minutes, he hadn't pa.s.sed a single car, because on a night like this, most sane Californians-who didn't know the first thing about driving safely in inclement weather-stayed home.

Knowing better than to slam on the brakes-he wouldn't be able to help whomever was stranded on the side of the road if he ended up stuck in the muddy ditch right next to them-Chase slowed down enough to see that there was definitely a vehicle stuck in the ditch.

He turned his brights on to see better in the pouring rain and realized there was a person walking along the edge of the road about a hundred yards up ahead. Obviously hearing his car approach, she turned to face him and he could see her long wet hair whipping around her shoulders in his headlights.

Wondering why she wasn't just sitting in her car, dry and warm, calling Triple A and waiting for them to come save her, he pulled over to the edge of his lane and got out to try and help her. She was shivering as she watched him approach.

"Are you hurt?"

She covered her cheek with one hand, but shook her head. "No."

He had to move closer to hear her over the sound of the water hitting the pavement in what were rapidly becoming hailstones. Even though he'd turned his headlights off, as his eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, he was able to get a better look at her face.

Something inside of Chase's chest clenched tight.

Despite the long, dark hair plastered to her head and chest, regardless of the fact that looking like a drowned rat wasn't too far off the descriptive mark, her beauty stunned him.

In an instant, his photographer's eye cataloged her features. Her mouth was a little too big, her eyes a little too wide-set on her face. She wasn't even close to model thin, but given the way her T-shirt and jeans stuck to her skin, he could see that she wore her lush curves well. In the dark he couldn't judge the exact color of her hair, but it looked like silk, perfectly smooth and straight where it lay over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

It wasn't until Chase heard her say, "My car is definitely hurt, though," that he realized he had completely lost the thread of what he'd come out here to do.

Knowing he'd been drinking her in like he was dying of thirst, he worked to recover his balance. He could already see he'd been right about her car. It didn't take a mechanic like his brother, Zach, who owned an auto shop-more like forty, but Chase had stopped counting years ago-to see that her s.h.i.tty hatchback was borderline totaled. Even if the front b.u.mper wasn't half smashed to pieces by the white farm fence she'd slid into, her bald tires weren't going to get any traction on the mud. Not tonight, anyway.

If her car had been in a less precarious situation, he probably would have sent her to hang out in her car while he took care of getting it unstuck. But one of her back tires was hanging precariously over the edge of the ditch.

He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Get in my car. We can wait there for a tow truck." He was vaguely aware of his words coming out like an order, but the hail was starting to sting, d.a.m.n it. Both of them needed to get out of the rain before they froze.

But the woman didn't move. Instead, she gave him a look that said he was a complete and utter nut-job.

"I'm not getting into your car."

Realizing just how frightening it must be for a lone woman to end up stuck and alone in the middle of a dark road, Chase took a step back from her. He had to speak loudly enough for her to hear him over the hail.

"I'm not going to attack you. I swear I won't do anything to hurt you."

She all but flinched at the word attack and Chase's radar started buzzing. He'd never been a magnet for troubled women, wasn't the kind of guy who thrived on fixing wounded birds. But living with two sisters for so many years meant he could always tell when something was up.

And something was definitely up with this woman, beyond the fact that her car was half-stuck in a muddy ditch.

Wanting to make her feel safe, he held his hands up. "I swear on my father's grave, I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay to get into my car." When she didn't immediately say no again, he pressed his advantage with, "I just want to help you." And he did. More than it made sense to want to help a stranger. "Please," he said. "Let me help you."

She stared at him for a long moment, hail hammering between them, around them, onto them. Chase found himself holding his breath, waiting for her decision. It shouldn't matter to him what she decided.

But, for some strange reason, it did.

Chloe Peterson had never felt so wet, so miserable...or so desperate. She'd been beating the speed limit for the past couple of hours, before the storm had kicked into overdrive. She'd slowed down considerably on the super-slick pavement, but her tires were old and bald, and before she knew it, her car was skidding off the road.