Special Delivery by April Wilson

Chapter 22 – Lia

Lia McIntyre

“Mom—”

“You need something borrowed and something blue,” my mom says as she stands there wringing her hands. “It’s tradition.”

I’m sure this isn’t how my mom pictured one of her daughters getting married. I survey the small crowd forming around me—Mom, Sophie, Hannah, Annie, Sophie, and Elly. “All right, fine. Does anyone have anything blue?”

“I do,” Annie says, holding up her right hand and pointing at a ring on her finger—a ring with blue stone surrounded by tiny diamonds. “It’s a sapphire ring Jake gave me for my birthday.”

Annie takes off the ring and hands it to me. I slip it on. It’s a little too big for me, but it will do. “How about anything borrowed?”

“How about this?” Sophie asks as she unclasps a gold chain bracelet from her wrist and offers to put it on me. “It belonged to Dominic’s mother. He gave it to me after we were married.”

“Great, thanks,” I say as she attaches it around my wrist. “Now we’re good, right?” I glance around at the group, at all their uncertain expressions. Jesus, this could go on forever. “This is it, right? We’re done?”

“But what about the flowers, honey?” Mom says, wincing apologetically. “We have to have flowers. The bride needs a bouquet, and your bridesmaids. And who will be the flower girl? Haley could do it. She’s the youngest female here. And Aiden could be the ring bearer.”

“Mom.” Hannah lays her hand on Mom’s shoulder. “Lia doesn’t need all that to get married. We’re keeping it simple, remember?”

I sigh heavily. Thank God for Hannah. Of all my siblings, I think she gets me the best.

“Maybe just one bouquet?” my mom asks, sounding hopeful.

“Wait,” Elly says as she snaps her fingers. “I have an idea. Just give me five minutes.” And then she heads for the kitchen.

“What’s going on?” Erin says as she walks down the staircase with Haley.

“My baby’s getting married,” Mom says.

Erin’s eyes widen. “Really?”

I roll my eyes. “Yes, really. Although the longer this takes, the more I’m rethinking the whole idea.”

“Congratulations, Lia,” Haley says. “That’s fantastic.”

“I don’t know. I’m honestly starting to have my doubts.”

The front door flies open and Elly races in holding several long-stemmed giant purple flowers. “How about these?” she asks, breathless. “They’re Summer Hydrangeas from my garden.”

“Oh, Elly, they’re perfect!” Mom says. “Do you have a ribbon or some twine?”

Elly nods. “I have some twine in the kitchen. I’ll be right back.” Then she races off again.

“Flowers, check,” I say. “That’s it. I have everything I need. Will someone please tell Jonah we need to get this show on the road?”

“What about Beth? And Molly?” Sophie says. “They’re not here. And I think Shane and Jamie are missing too.”

“I’ll go get them,” Hannah says as she heads for the stairs.

Needing a moment alone, I cross the foyer to stand in front of a window that overlooks the front drive. This is escalating so quickly, and I don’t know how to slow it down without bailing on Jonah completely. And I don’t want to do that to him. He deserves better from me.

I’m not stupid. Jonah’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m a pain in the ass, and I don’t know why he puts up with me. He could easily be with some cute, perky girl who wants all the things that normal people want. Instead, he’s with me—a snarky, sarcastic, anti-social, smart-mouthed, nonconforming pain in the ass.

I stare fixedly at the fountain in the center of the circular drive and watch the water cascading down into the pool below, hoping to drive everything else out of my head.

A moment later, I feel hands settling comfortably on my shoulders. I don’t even need to look. My entire body responds, and I lean back against a familiar, firm chest.

Jonah rests his chin on my head. “Doing okay?” he asks quietly.

I don’t hear any other voices. I think everyone’s vacated the foyer, probably to give me space. “Did someone fetch you?”

“Yeah. Sophie did.”

I nod. “It’s mushrooming out of control.”

“I know. I promised you no fanfare. I said we’d just stand up in front of Cooper and say I do. I’m sorry it’s escalated.”

I turn to face him and slip my arms around his waist. “Can we just do this now, please?”

“Yes. Right now.” He cups my face and leans down to kiss me. “I love you, Lia.”

“You could have chosen a lot better for yourself.”

Jonah laughs. “No. I think I lucked out. I’ve never been so happy and felt more content than I do with you in my life.”

Elly sidles up next to us and hands me the bouquet of giant purple flowers tied up with a twine bow. “All set,” she says.

Jonah offers me his arm, and I link my elbow with his. We walk across the foyer and into the great room.

A hush falls over the room.

Everyone is here, seated around the room or standing at the bar, staring at us in anticipation. Even Beth managed to come down from her room. She’s seated on one of the sofas next to her mom, who’s holding Ava. Annie and Bridget are seated with them, each holding a twin. Shane and Jake are standing behind the sofa, Shane holding Luke, and Aiden is perched high up on Jake’s shoulders. I scan the room quickly—Philip, Liam, Miguel, Tyler, Ian, Killian, Sam, Mack. Everyone.

Cooper, dressed in black slacks, a white dress shirt, and a black tie, is standing in front of the glass doors that lead out onto the patio. He’s the only one who actually dressed up for the occasion.

Wait.

Cooper dressed up for this?

That means he had to have known ahead of time.

“You planned this,” I say to Jonah.

He grins at me. “You bet I did. I figured something impromptu was my best bet.”

As we walk toward Cooper, I shake my head. “You’re an idiot. Of all the girls you could have—of all the girls who literally throw themselves at your feet on a daily basis—you want to commit to me?”

When we reach our destination, Jonah turns me to face him. He cups my face in his hands and gazes down into my eyes, which are suspiciously threatening waterworks. “There’s only one woman I want, Lia, and that’s you.”

I search his gaze, looking for something. “Why me?”

Jonah’s smile fades. “I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. Why you? Because you’re fierce. Because you’re strong. Because you’re sexy as hell. I can’t imagine a better partner in life. Every time you walk into the room, my pulse races. My breath catches in my chest, and I feel like I’m the luckiest man alive. It’s you, Lia. Only you. I can’t picture a future without you in it.”

My eyes tear up, and I blink the moisture away. My throat is so tight it hurts to speak. “I don’t deserve you.”

“It’s not about deserving, Lia. It’s about finding your other half. You are my other half. Please let me be yours.”

I snort with laughter. “Oh, please, don’t be so melodramatic. It’s no surprise you’re a songwriter.”

Amidst the quiet chuckles in the room, Cooper says to me, “Lia McIntyre, do you take Jonah Locke to be your lawfully-wedded husband?”

I glance to my side at all our friends and family who are silently watching.

Jonah squeezes my hands. “Look at me, not them,” he says.

I turn back to face Jonah. “I do,” I say past the lump in my throat.

Cooper addresses Jonah. “Jonah Locke, do you take Lia McIntyre to be your lawfully-wedded wife?”

“I do,” he says in a strong voice.

“Do you have the rings?” Cooper asks.

Jonah digs into his pants pocket and pulls out the slim gold band he showed me in the barn.

My stomach sinks. “I don’t have a ring,” I hiss at him.

“It’s okay,” Jonah says as he slips the ring on my finger. “I didn’t think about that.”

“Wait!” My dad steps forward and twists his own wedding band off his finger and hands it to me. “Use this.”

My dad’s wedding ring weighs heavily on my palm. “Let’s hope this fits,” I mutter as I slip it onto Jonah’s ring finger. It’s a bit big for him, but it’ll do the job. “We’ll go ring shopping when we get home.”

As Jonah nods, I hear a few muffled sniffles coming from the audience.

“Now you may kiss the bride,” Cooper says. “That is, if she’ll let you.”

The tension in the room is broken by laughter.

With a relieved sigh, Jonah pulls me into his arms and says, “You’re stuck with me now, wife.”

Wife.

Holy shit. What have I done now?

Now it’s my turn to laugh. “Hey, don’t blame me if you wake up one day and wonder why the hell you’re stuck with me.”

“Not a chance, tiger,” he says, and then he dips me in his arms and kisses me in front of everyone.

The next thing I know, Mom and Dad are beside me, pulling me away from Jonah. My mom wraps me in her arms until Dad pulls me away from her and gives me a big bear hug.

Then my sisters are there, and I hug them both. Sophie has tears in her eyes. Then my brothers line up, from oldest to youngest, and I hug each of them in turn.

Jonah stands aside and watches with a contented expression on his face. His smile says, We did it.

His smile is infectious. Yes, we did it. We’re over the hump. The hard part is done. Yes, there’s still the legal piece of this we need to complete. But this was the challenging part, at least for me—standing up in front of a room full of people—even the people I love most in the world. The rest is just paperwork—that’s a piece of cake, and we’ll get to that once we get back home. Right now, for all intents and purposes, we’re husband and wife.

I smile when Shane claps Jonah on the back and pulls him in for a hug. “Well done, Jonah. I thought she’d never do it.”

Jake joins us, one of his baby girls in his arms. I still can’t tell them apart, but I’m not the only one, so I don’t feel too terribly bad about it.

He grins. “So, if today is your wedding day, does that make tonight your honeymoon?”

I roll my eyes at him and hold out my hands to the baby in his arms. “Evvy?” I ask, nodding to the baby.

Jake shakes his head. “Emmy. But nice try.”

“Gee, thanks.” I laugh. “I had a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right.”

Jake’s right, though. Technically, tonight is our honeymoon, and the thought makes me feel suddenly a bit anxious.

I’m going to have sex tonight with my husband.

Holy crap.