Marry Me (32 page)

Seth never knew he could miss someone after only a few hours apart. Couldn't remember ever being so edgy. He and Julia had so much they needed to talk about. They'd taken a first step, but Seth had no illusions their path would be easy. Baby steps, Julia had said. He had to hold on to that promise, otherwise she'd spook like a wild mare.

Oh, hang talking. They had plenty of time for talking. He wanted to hold her again. Now that he'd taken the chains off his heart, he'd become almost obsessed with seeing Julia. Touching her.

Man was he in trouble. Some might say he was whipped, but he couldn't think of a better woman to get twisted in knots over.

Watching television proved impossible, so Seth went out to the balcony for some air. At least that's what he told himself. Julia would be home soon, and he didn't want to miss her. She had a crazy schedule lately with the Manning wedding. With his luck she'd end up sleeping over at Marry Me.

A car door slammed in the distance, and he straightened. A few seconds later, Julia rounded the corner at a brisk clip. She spotted him and came to a halt. Then she smiled, an expression filled with amusement and relief. He realized she'd been just as anxious to see him. The thought made his heart skip a beat.

Oh, yeah, he was in trouble.

“I was beginning to think our esteemed mayor's wife would keep you occupied all night,” he said.

A clipped spat of laughter floated across the lawn. “I'm sure Mrs. Manning could come up with dozens of tasks to keep me occupied for the next year, but Betsy and I were too exhausted to do anything else, so we packed it in.” She stopped right below him. “I should be furious with you, actually. Amy didn't come back to work after you dumped her. I think I've lost my second assistant.”

“Should I have put it off for another few days?”

“Not on your life,” Julia said, taking the stairs two at a time.

A burst of laughter bubbled up from her throat.

“What's so funny?” he asked.

“Me. I'm marveling that it's possible to miss a person after only a couple hours apart.”

Great minds think alike. He opened his arms as Julia ran into them. He breathed in her scent and thought he could happily spend the rest of his life holding this woman. “Did you miss me?”

“Yes, and you can stop with that grin. I know you're pleased with yourself.”

He touched the tip of her nose. “I'm smiling because I was thinking the same thing.”

“Do you know what else I was thinking?”

“What?”

“That you have some making up to do. We kept getting interrupted after all.”

Seth didn't need any more prompting, but quickly captured her lips. The fervor with which she returned the kiss proved she'd been just as eager to see him.

“
Umm… hmm
.”

They both jumped as someone cleared their throat below them.

Seth looked down and saw Grace standing below the garage apartment, hands on hips. Julia's cheeks went white, and he cursed his stepmother's timing.

Great.

“Hello,” Grace said, her expression giving nothing away. “Why don't you two come inside, and I'll fix some tea?”

Without waiting to see if they followed her gently worded edict, Grace turned and walked inside the house.

Seth groaned in dismay.

“I'm guessing you haven't mentioned this to her yet,” Julia said.

“No, I was hoping we would tell her together.”

Fear rose in her eyes as Julia stared at the screen door. “Did she look angry to you?”

“I couldn't tell.”

The sigh of a condemned criminal echoed in the night. “Let's get it over with then,” Julia said.

Seth grabbed her hand, not about to let her run now. “Julia, it'll be all right.”

“You don't know that,” she said, pulling away.

Grace stood at the stove, waiting on the water to boil. “Have a seat,” she said, without turning around.

Another soft and gentle order, and they knew better than to disobey. The teakettle began to whistle, and Grace poured water into three cups. She still hadn't said anything.

Julia glanced at him, and Seth winked. A little of the color returned to her cheeks, and she covered her mouth to hide a grin. When he turned back Grace was staring right at him.

Grace brought a tray with the teacups and took a seat across from them. “So, who'd like to volunteer to bring me up to date?”

“
It was my fault
—” Seth and Julia said almost in unison.

“Did I say there was blame to be assigned?” Grace asked, eyes widening. “I only want to know what's going on. I didn't imagine the two of you kissing.”

“Grace, I love her,” Seth said.

Both women gasped. Grace, probably from surprise, but Julia had to be flat out shocked. After all, they'd skirted around the love word all day. Seth was surprised at how easily the admission fell from his lips. Now that he'd said the words though, the truth of them flooded his being with a kind of peace he hadn't experienced since meeting Beth.

Gazing at Julia, Seth silently willed her not to freak out, and after a moment she took a deep breath and nodded. He could not have been more proud.

“I'm not sure how it happened,” he said. “I was angry that Julia hadn't bothered to come back and visit you and Sarah in years. I wasn't very welcoming at first.”

Julia jabbed a finger in his direction. “He was mean.”

“You yelled at me.”

“Because you jumped all over me.”

A brow quirked. Were they going to get into a fight over who had been more obnoxious at their first meeting now?

“Okay, I guess I wasn't very nice either,” Julia said.

Another quick glance at Grace revealed his stepmother was trying not to laugh. Of course, who wouldn't when he and Julia were squabbling like children?

“Anyway, we managed to put the past behind us, and we became friends,” Seth continued. “Then something more.”

Julia jumped in to add her own version of events. “Only I got scared and made him date Amy because I thought she'd make a better minister's wife.”

“That was your doing?” Grace asked, not bothering to hide her amusement now. “I was very much afraid we were going to be stuck with that young woman as part of the family.”

Seth choked at the thought. “Not on your life.”

Julia chuckled at his quick-fire, gut response, and Seth glowered at her. After all, he'd gotten tangled up with Amy in the first place because of her. A rueful smile crept across her face, and then she mouthed a contrite,
“sorry”
.

Such cheekiness. “However I came to date Amy, she's no longer in the picture.”

“I see,” Grace said.

Did she? Probably more than most. Grace had lost a spouse, and had her heart broken by Julia's father. Now, she'd finally found love and contentment.

“I'm not proud of what happened with Amy,” Seth said. “I hurt her a great deal, but I needed to see if what I felt for Julia was more than a first response to a woman after—” His throat closed. Surely Grace understood.

Her knowing look said she did.

Grace turned to Julia as if awaiting her side of things.

Taking a deep, bracing breath, Julia started talking. “Grace, this is the weirdest thing I could have ever imagined. I've been fighting it because I was afraid of hurting everyone, but the thing is I don't want to fight it anymore. Seth is the most amazing thing that could have happened to me. He looks at me and sees someone special, and for the first time I believe I might be.”

Grace studied Julia for a moment and then looked back at Seth. “I think maybe it's time you moved back into your house.”

Surprised laughter bubbled up. “Definitely,” he said.

Tears filled Grace's eyes. “I was wondering when the two of you would stop being so stubborn and admit how you feel.”

Julia's mouth fell open. “What? You knew?”

“I thought we were pretty discreet,” Seth said.

“I'm not blind.” Grace laughed and wiped a hand across her cheek. “Do you think I couldn't see the fireworks that threatened to erupt anytime you two were in a room together? Anyone who knew you well could see them.”

“So you don't mind if I'm involved with Seth?” Julia asked, worry clouding her features as she sat forward.

Seth could see he'd have to go extra slow. Julia still didn't fully understand how much Grace loved her.

Ever patient, Grace took Julia's hand. “Honey, I know how much you need someone to love you unconditionally. I have no doubt Seth can do that.”

“I can, and I do,” he seconded.

“And, my dear, I hope you never have to watch someone you love lose a spouse,” Grace continued. “Seth may not be my son by blood, but I would have done anything to prevent his pain. You've made him smile again. Made him whole. How can I not give my blessing to that?”

Julia blinked and her eyes filled, too. “Thank you.”

The two women jumped up and held each other for a long moment. Then Grace pulled back and framed Julia's face, seeming to search for something. Suddenly, Grace smiled.

“What?” Julia asked.

“I needed to see it,” Grace said, her smile widening.

“
What?
”

“Happiness. It suits you.”

“Yes, I think it does.”

Seth came around the table to hug his stepmother. “Thank you for giving us your blessing, Grace.”

Grace touched his cheek. “I want all my children to be happy, no matter how they came to be part of this family.” The gentle touch turned into a light tap. “I meant it about the living arrangements, though.”

“I'll be out of your hair by the end of the week,” Seth said.

“Well, then, I think I've had all the excitement I can stand for one night,” Grace said. “Besides, I can't wait to tell John. We had a friendly wager going.”

“Grace,” he and Julia said in unison.

A rueful shrug lifted her shoulders. “You really didn't do a very good job of hiding your attraction.”

“Goodnight, Grace,” Seth said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Don't stay down here too long, all right?” Grace said, before gliding from the room

Seth longed to take Julia back in his arms, but he refrained for the moment. “I should probably let you go to bed. You've got the wedding tomorrow.”

“I don't think I could sleep a wink.”

“Me neither.”

“Do you feel like going out?”

“What? Now?” he said in surprise.

A conspiratorial grin lit Julia's face. “There's someone else we should tell, and since her baby led us to this predicament, I think Sarah deserves to know before the whole town finds out. I almost dread telling her. I'm not looking forward to the big I-told-you-so.”

“Why? What does she know?”

“I had to keep her occupied while she was cooped up. So we talked.”

Julia had been discussing him? “About what?”

“I may have mentioned the kiss,” Julia said, cheeks matching her hair. “Both of them, actually. Plus, the Amy business, of course.”

Better and better. Seth grinned, even as he recognized the impulse to beat his chest could only be labeled immature. “You talked about me?”

“Male ego. Doesn't matter what occupation.” She took his arm and turned him in the direction of the door. “Come on, Romeo, let's go tell Sarah.”

“Wait. I want to know,” Seth said, following her outside. “Was this a comparative thing or—”

Today, Julia thought. After today the mayor's entire family would be out of her hair forever. She'd be rejoicing if not for the terrifying notion that something might go wrong. Plus, she still had to work on making the transition from dedicated single woman to one-half of a functioning couple.

Rejoicing could happen later. Same with figuring out the relationship thing. Right now she had two hours to get ten impossibly spoiled wannabe debutantes dressed, coiffed, and transferred to Hadden Acres in time for the grand nuptials.

Sadly, the impossibly spoiled wannabe debs weren't half as annoying their mothers. All of them seemed to be hovering like a bunch of ticked-off bears, and in the middle of it all was the Grand Poobah of angry bear-ness. Julia had spent more time catering to Mrs. Manning's needs than the bride and all her attendants combined. Between fetching bottles of water to buying grapes for her mid-morning repast, Julia hadn't stopped running all day. She envied Betsy and Amy because they got to spend the day at the plantation overseeing the setup on that end.

Julia shook her head, still amazed that her second assistant had shown up for duty. Right on time, too. She couldn't help but be impressed. It took gumption to put on a brave face and pretend one hadn't been dumped. Perhaps Julia had pegged Amy wrong after all.

“Julia, my Laurel needs crackers.”

Julia shifted her eyes toward Mrs. Manning as she worked to pin an errant curl back into submission on bridesmaid number six's head.

“Excuse me?” Julia asked, eyeing the tray of crackers she'd brought over from her last trip to the store… fifteen minutes ago.

Catherine Manning didn't even glance at the offering. “The gourmet crackers from Rice's Emporium.”

So, clearly regular old crackers wouldn't do for Princess Manning. Julia reached for her ever-present cell phone. “I can call over there and have someone bring—”

La Manning's nostrils flared. Julia feared the woman's head might explode at any moment. Over crackers. No,
gourmet
crackers.

So, not getting around yet another trip to the store. “I'll be right back.”

Grabbing her purse, Julia hurried out, but not before catching the flicker of triumph that flashed in the other woman's eyes.