A Mistletoe Affair (17 page)

Jordan chuckled and stuck his hand out again. “I appreciate you saying so.”

After a vow to get together over dinner soon to talk about the Mass Mentors program, Vicki and Jordan headed for their table toward the front of the ballroom.

Stuart Woolcott was at the microphone, welcoming everyone to the Woolcotts’ annual Kwanzaa gathering. He took a few moments to explain the cultural holiday and the meaning behind the seven principles of Kwanzaa.

“It is befitting that we are all here today with family and friends as we celebrate Umoja, this first day of Kwanzaa.
Umoja
means unity. May we all continue to be united throughout the years to come.” He held up his glass and toasted everyone in the room.

Jordan clinked his glass against hers, a secretive smile on his face. Then, tugging her by the hand, he started toward his father.

“Jordan,” Vicki said in a loud whisper, but he continued walking.

He stepped up to the microphone his father had just vacated.

“Can I have everyone’s attention please?” Jordan spoke into the microphone. “Seeing as we are here celebrating unity tonight, this is probably the most appropriate place for me to do this.”

Setting his champagne glass on the table next to them, Jordan got down on one knee.

A collective gasp rent the air.

He pulled a ring box out of the pocket of his tailored tux and looked up at her.

“I asked you last night, but here I am, formally asking in front of all our family and friends. I want to unite my life with yours. I want you to become my wife. Will you marry me, Vicki?”

She nodded, tears streaming down her face. “Yes,” Vicki answered. “Yes, I will marry you.”

An excited roar sounded around the room.

“I knew it!” Sandra shouted. She ran over to them and gathered Vicki in her arms. “I knew this was going to happen the minute I saw the way Jordan looked at you at my wedding.” She kissed both Vicki and Jordan on the cheek. “I am so happy for the both of you, and for Mason, too. He is getting the perfect stepmother.”

Vicki’s heart swelled. “Thank you,” she said.

She turned and accepted hugs from Janelle and then from her parents. Her brothers all teased Jordan good-naturedly before showering Vicki with congratulatory kisses.

When she turned back to Sandra and Janelle, they both wore conspiratorial smiles.

“What?” Vicki asked, unable to squelch her suspicions.

“Give us one minute,” Sandra said. “We have a surprise for you.”

A few minutes later, she and Janelle returned to the ballroom carrying a flat garment box. They set it on the table before her.

Eyeing them cautiously, Vicki opened the box and gasped.

“What? How?”

It was her mother’s wedding gown.

“You mentioned at the Quarterdeck a few months ago that you would love to get married in your mother’s gown,” Sandra said. “Last week, when I saw the way your eyes lit up just at the mention of Jordan’s name, and the way his did the same whenever someone said
your
name, I knew a proposal couldn’t be far off.”

She took Vicki by the shoulders and brought her in for a hug. Janelle joined them.

“And to think I used to complain about not having sisters,” Vicki said.

“So did I.” Sandra laughed.

“Me, too,” Janelle added.

“I think God knew what He was doing when He brought us all together,” Vicki said. “You two will forever be my sisters.”

Epilogue

“B
y the power vested in me by the State of Massachusetts, I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Jordan Woolcott. Sir, you may kiss your lovely bride.”

Vicki turned to Jordan and couldn’t hold back her wide smile as he leaned in and kissed her. And kissed her. And kissed her.

He kissed her for so long that her father loudly cleared his throat, causing the wedding guests to erupt in laughter.

“Congratulations, Mrs. Woolcott,” Jordan said, his grin as wide as hers.

“Congratulations to you, too,” she returned.

She kissed him again before they started down the small aisle in the tastefully decorated chapel. They led everyone to the chapel’s small gathering hall next door. On the outside it looked like a rustic seaside cottage, but the inside had been made to look like a winter wonderland, with white gossamer draping from the ceilings and sparkling white lights casting an ethereal glow on every surface.

The gathering was small, with only the members of the Woolcott, Ahlfors and Howerton families, along with a few close friends, in attendance. It was exactly what Vicki had envisioned her wedding day to be like, and exactly the man she’d always dreamed she’d marry.

“I have never been happier in my entire life,” she said.

“I take that as a challenge,” Jordan said, pressing a kiss to her lips. “I plan to spend the rest of my life making you happier than you were the past day.”

“I look forward to it,” she said.

Sandra and Janelle, who had both stood as attendants, came over to them. Sandra carried Mason, who was dressed in an adorable baby tuxedo.

“Isn’t he the
most
cutest baby in the world?” Vicki asked.

“He is,” Janelle said. “But I think mine will give him a run for his money.”

Sandra and Vicki both looked at her and started screaming, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. Sandra handed Mason off to Jordan so that she, Vicki and Janelle could join in a group hug.

Jordan laughed at their shenanigans. “I think the Silk Sisters will have to add a baby portion to the business.”

“I think that’s the perfect idea,” Vicki said.

At Janelle’s announcement, the mood became even more festive. As the food and drinks flowed, Vicki soaked it all in. At this moment, her life felt complete.

Yet it was just getting started.

“It’s time to throw the bouquet,” Nancy Woolcott called, handing Vicki the small bouquet of white calla lilies that had been made specifically for tossing.

Vicki turned her back to the crowd, but not before taking a mental note of where her three brothers stood. Angling her aim, she tossed the bouquet over her shoulder, right at Terrance, Spence and Jacob, making sure there would be more weddings to come in Wintersage.

*