Authors: Natalie Ann
Sean was walking down the hallway to talk to Mary, the office manager, when he noticed Alec Harper sitting at his desk. “What are you doing here the day before your wedding?”
Alec looked up and smiled. “I just have a few things left to finish up and then I’m out of here.”
“You better be. I can’t believe Brynn let you come in today.”
“She doesn’t know.”
Sean looked at the smirk on Alec’s face. “You better hope she doesn’t find out, or you’ll be in the dog house before you actually get married.”
Alec pushed back from his desk and tipped in his chair, relaxing his hands on his stomach. “She won’t find out. She’s at Carly’s right now, and then they’re meeting the rest of the bridal party at the spa.”
Sean’s ears perked up at the mention of Carly, but he held back asking anything else. “Phil would rat you out if he were here.” Phil was Alec’s twin brother, and together they owned Harper Construction.
“Phil is too busy getting everything finalized as the best man. I did my part when he got married last December. Then Phil and I did everything again when Ben got married a few months ago. I’m sitting back and just enjoying this wedding.”
In the last two years, all the Harpers seemed to have tied the knot. First their younger sister, Kaitlin, married Alec’s longtime friend Ryan Mathews. Phil was the second one to take a walk down the aisle, marrying Kaitlin’s best friend, Sophia Mansfield. Then their younger brother, Ben, married Presley James a few months ago. Alec was the last one to take the plunge.
Sean knew he shouldn’t be thinking of getting married as taking the plunge, but it was hard not to.
He was the youngest of four kids himself, and the only boy on top of it. The youngest of his sisters was still seven years older than him and each and every one of them had been on his case as to when he was going to settle down. The constant questioning was turning him sour on relationships. Not that he wanted to be spiteful, but he just wanted to live his own life without interference—or orders—from the women in his family.
All he wanted to do was stand on his own two feet and prove he didn’t need someone to do everything for him. His father had pulled him aside one day and said, “Better get used to it while you’re in this house, Sean. At least you get to move out at some point. I’m stuck here.” But his father had laughed, like he always did. His parents were pretty awesome people, and he knew his father adored all the pampering his mother did.
Sean shook his head of thoughts about his family and focused on Alec again. “Just don’t be late for your rehearsal dinner tonight. You’re never on time for anything, and if you’re late for that I’m sure Brynn would kick your ass.”
“I won’t be late. This is the start of the best part of my life. No way will I be late for it.”
Nodding, Sean said, “Your mother is making sure your brothers pick you up, isn’t she?”
Smirking, Alec replied, “Of course.”
Isabel had become almost like a second mother to Sean over the years he’d been working for Harper’s. Every holiday he received an invitation to their home. Not that he ever needed one, because his own mother would skin him alive if he didn’t return to Boston for the holidays, but Isabel offered just the same, and he always appreciated it.
“If you’re not out of here in an hour I’m calling your mom,” Sean said, ribbing Alec. It wasn’t like Alec and Phil didn’t get their licks in with him.
“Don’t worry about it. My mom has everyone on speed dial, including Carly now. She’s got this wedding organized down to the letter.”
“I’m sure she does,” Sean said, grinning and making his way back to his office—thinking about Carly after Alec said her name again.
He remembered the first time he met her, almost a year ago. She’d come in to see Brynn after school one day. Her happy, peppy, cheerful voice sounded before she made her way to the doorway, but then she stopped, almost embarrassed, then looked flustered and apologized. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were with someone.”
Brynn had waved it off and introduced the two of them. Shyly—a complete contradiction to the person who walked into the office before knowing he was there—Carly shook Sean’s hand when he walked over and thanked her for bringing Brynn to them.
For some reason, that comment seemed to embarrass her more, yet Sean didn’t know why. She stopped and stuttered, looked over at Brynn questioningly, then back to Sean. So he left the room and gave them privacy, pushing the introduction out of his mind.
Only Carly never stayed out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried.
She was a tiny little thing, maybe five foot one on a good day. Her light brown hair was shoulder length, with wispy bangs hanging on one side. In her nervousness she always brushed them away from her eyes, but they’d fall back until she finally tucked them behind her ear, allowing him to see the apple shape of her face, the rosy complexion from a blush she usually had that complimented perfectly with her light brown eyes. Almost golden, they stood out so much.
He’d seen Carly plenty of times in the last several months. Here at the office and once at the thirtieth birthday party Alec threw for Brynn a few months ago.
Carly was always nice and cordial to him but nothing else, even though he always made a point to go over and talk with her. He’d get a laugh out of her, and almost immediately after that she would catch herself and make some excuse to leave. He had no clue why she always ran away from him.
Several times he wanted to question Brynn about it but stopped. That seemed too juvenile, reminding him of running to his sisters when he wanted something when he was younger. He was a man now; he could figure it out on his own, and he didn’t need someone to help him get a date.
With a deep sigh, he got back to the work at hand, but kept an eye on the clock to make sure Alec left on time. Sean was looking forward to seeing Carly at the wedding. Maybe she’d be more relaxed there. Something about her just pulled him in, and he wasn’t ready to throw in the towel before he had a chance to explore it.
He’d wear her down; he was positive. He had too much of his mother in him to give up.
***
Carly looked over at Brynn on her couch. The two of them were just relaxing before they had to meet the rest of the bridal party at the spa. “Are you getting excited?” Carly asked.
“I am. I can’t believe I’m getting married tomorrow,” Brynn said, almost bouncing with nervous energy. Brynn was never one for sitting still. Then again, neither was Carly.
“I know, right? I thought for sure I’d be married before you,” Carly said, laughing out loud, but fighting off the bitterness inside over still waiting for her turn. She was thrilled for Brynn but couldn’t help wondering if her own dreams would come true.
The problem was Carly couldn’t seem to find someone she felt comfortable enough with to have a serious relationship. She had dated plenty, but the minute they started to fight over something and the guy raised his voice, she was done. It was stupid, she knew it, but it frightened her, so she did the single thing she could think of: she walked away. That was one of the reasons she never raised her voice to her students. Fear, nerves and memories kept her in a cycle of pushing the person away, waiting a bit longer to try again, then venturing out.
“You should have been married by now,” Brynn said. “Waiting on some husband of yours and carrying a couple of kids in your arms. We both know you are such a little Suzy Homemaker.” Brynn stopped and laughed when Carly wrinkled her nose at her, then continued on. “What, do you have whips and chains in your closet that I don’t know about, scaring everyone away?”
It was so far from the truth. No one really knew the
whole
truth—not in detail—not even Brynn, who knew so much about Carly’s life. It wasn’t something Carly ever talked about.
And
it was definitely something she wanted to forget about. Shove it away into the past, into the closet that she’d hidden in so many times as a child.
“Hardly.” Carly snorted. “I’m just waiting for the perfect guy. You went and stole one of the remaining few in this area. It doesn’t seem fair to me since I’ve lived here most of my life and you didn’t.”
Brynn snickered. “Alec isn’t your type and you know it.” It was true, Alec Harper was one of the good guys, but he was too big for Carly. Too manly for her—not that she would ever tell Brynn that. After getting to know the Harpers over the last year, Phil was more Carly’s type, but even then, he was still too big for Carly’s peace of mind.
“Are you ready for Droopy?” Brynn asked her.
Carly was still trying to figure out how she got roped into babysitting Alec and Brynn’s six-month-old English Bulldog puppy while they were on their honeymoon. “Tell me again why I’m watching him.”
“Because Phil and Sophia aren’t home enough, and Sophia doesn’t need to be tripping over him at seven months pregnant. They’ve got their hands full right now. Kaitlin and Ryan have more than their hands full with the twins and Kaitlin returning to work part time. Isabel has the twins when Kaitlin is working, and besides, she cringes whenever we bring Droopy to the house. She’s terrified he’s going to ruin her floors.”
“Really? Alec would fix the floors if that happened.”
“True, except Isabel has always been fussy about her floors for some reason, but she still lets us bring Droopy over anyway. And finally, Ben and Presley work way too much. Droopy would be left alone too long.”
“So that left me?” Carly said once again.
“Yep. Sean wished he could, but he isn’t allowed to have pets in his townhouse. Besides, it’s just after work and nights, Droopy is used to being at the office all day. I told you, you just need to drop him off there. Phil and Sean will take care of him during the day, then you just pick him up before they close the office down. He’s easy, trust me, all he does is eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom.”
Easy, right. What puppy is easy? But Carly bit her tongue. Still, it was true that Droopy was going to the office during the day. Carly found it funny that the puppy went to work with Alec and Brynn every day, either to the office or to the job site with Alec. The dog was never left alone. “Sure, if you say so.”
“I do. Plus, it gives you practice.”
“Practice for what?”
“A baby. Puppies are like babies really.”
Carly snorted. “I highly doubt that. And I need a man before I have a baby. You never did tell me how you ended up with Droopy. I really never expected you to have a pet.”
“I’ve always loved dogs. We never had one growing up, and neither did Alec, but I had plenty of friends with dogs. Anyway, I was working with a client on a new build and the couple mentioned they bred English Bulldogs. Alec was there and asked if they were the short fat dogs with the wrinkly face.”
“He really asked the breeders that?” Carly could totally see Alec just blurting that out.
“Yeah, he did, and the client laughed, then pulled out pictures of their new litter, proudly showing them off as if they were their children. Next thing I know, they’re saying they would give us a good deal if we wanted one.”
“And you said yes, right then and there?”
“Hell no, but I was oohing and ahhing over them. Come on, admit it, Droopy is pretty adorable.”
He was, and Carly understood how he got the name. You couldn’t tell if the dog was awake half the time, not with the way his face and eyes drooped. “Okay, he is kind of cute.”
“Anyway, Alec and I talked about it and it just seemed like we had too much going on in our lives for a puppy.”
“Yet you ended up with one…how?”
“They called Alec and said they had one left. Droopy was already four months old, past the time when most people wanted to buy a puppy, but he was well trained. Next thing I knew, Alec is walking into the office with the puppy in his hands.”
“Of course there was no way you could say no then, right?”
“Exactly. Anyway, he’ll be fine for you. Trust me.”
“Famous last words. Who has him until Sunday?”
“My father and Drew are staying at my house until Sunday, so they will watch him Saturday night. If you could pick him up before noon on Sunday, that works.”
“I’ll be there. No worries.”
Carly looked around at the bridal party, all sitting in their bridesmaid’s gowns waiting to have their hair and makeup done. Brynn was currently having hers styled by Beth Malone, a friend of hers and Alec’s. One of Beth’s co-workers was on her way to help get the rest of the wedding party ready.
Brynn looked stunning in her dress. It was the perfect shape and style for her. Alec’s heart was going to stop when he saw her. The white grown was simple, and so very much Brynn, yet elegant at the same time. Strapless and fitted to her hips then softly flowing down to the floor. The top part had beautiful pearl beading along the bodice and waist and an intricate pattern of pearls throughout the rest of the gown.
Glancing around the room some more, Carly was thrilled that Brynn let all the girls pick out their own style of gowns as long as they wore the same shade of royal blue. If Brynn had picked out one style, no one would look good. Maybe with the exception of Presley, Brynn’s future sister-in-law, who had the body and height of a model.
Carly was easily the shortest woman here, not to mention she had the body of an adolescent girl on top of it. Completely straight with little to no curves. Kaitlin, Alec’s sister, was just an inch or so taller than Carly, but she had enough curves for both of them and she carried them so well.
Even Sophia, another future sister-in-law of Brynn’s, had more curves than most, but she looked beautiful in her gown, regardless of being seven months pregnant. Classy, Sophia always looked classy when Carly saw her. And of course, Presley could wear a paper sack and it would look good on her figure.
Carly thought back to when she first met all of Brynn’s sisters-in-law at Brynn’s thirtieth birthday party, months ago. She was so nervous over it but shouldn’t have been. Alec’s sister Kaitlin was about their age, but she had gone to a private school or else Carly would have known her in high school. Not that they would have been friends, because the Harpers were way out of her league back then.
Sophia was the epitome of class and sophistication, until she got alone with the rest of the girls. Then she was just as funny and outgoing as Brynn.
Then there was Presley. Carly, had a hard time warming up to Presley. Not because of her as a person, but because of her husband, Ben Harper. It wasn’t that Ben wasn’t as nice as Alec and Phil. It was just Ben was so big and intimidating. Scary almost. Enough that Carly was always timid around him, so she avoided him like the plague.
The night of the rehearsal dinner, she’d watched Ben out of the corner of her eye. Always keep your eyes open and keen—she’d been telling herself that since her childhood. But she realized that Ben was no different than his kind and friendly brothers.
That didn’t mean she wanted to go up and talk to him, but she did relax. So much so, that when she found out Presley was a nurse in the Pediatric Unit of Albany Medical Center, the two of them bonded over their love for working with children. Next month Carly was even going to volunteer to help the younger kids with their schoolwork on the weekends.
“Your turn,” Brynn said, causing Carly to turn with a start. Brynn’s hair was all done, pulled back from her face and falling in loose curls down her back, with the delicate pearl tiara fastened on tight and the veil hanging down her back.
“Climb in the chair,” Beth said.
Carly sat and let Beth go to work. “Aren’t you going to be late getting ready yourself?” Carly asked Beth.
“No, I’ve got time. Mac is getting our daughter and son ready. I did Zoe’s hair before I left. All I need to do is change my clothes, which I’ll do here. I’ve learned to get ready fast.”
“But you should sit and relax too. You shouldn’t be on your feet so long,” Carly said, concerned. She knew Beth was pregnant, but she had no clue how far along she was. She was just as tall as Presley and it seemed to be hidden very well.
“I’m fine. I’m on my feet during the day when I’m working. Besides, it’s my third pregnancy. I know my limits and I’ve got three more months to go. Plenty of time.”
“Do you know what you are having?” she asked Beth.
“I’m having another girl. Mac is thrilled to have another daughter.”
“Do you have a name picked out yet?” Being a schoolteacher, Carly was obsessed with names. Over the years she had a list of names she liked and ones she would never use, mainly if the student with that name had been bratty in her class.
“We do. We originally thought we would let our oldest, Zoe, pick out the name, but that wasn’t working out so well,” Beth replied, her lips twitching.
“Why?” Sophia called out. “I thought Cinderella was a lovely name.”
The room broke out in laughter, then Beth explained, “There was no talking Zoe out of that until Mac sat her down and asked how she would feel knowing that her baby sister was named after a princess.”
Carly giggled and asked, “What was her response?”
“Zoe looked confused, then shocked and said ‘Oh no, that isn’t fair. I love princesses, so if anything I should have been named after one. I don’t think that name will work.’ Leave it to Mac to always know how to change Zoe’s mind without her even knowing.”
“So what was decided?”
“I’m pretty sure we’ve decided on Emma.”
Carly sighed and turned to Brynn while Beth went to work on her hair. She needed to switch the subject off babies. It was just too depressing for her. She was surrounded by newlyweds, pregnant women, or women with babies. Everything she wasn’t, but so desperately wanted. “How are you holding up over there, Brynn?”
“I’m good. Why do you ask?”
“You know what I’m asking, and why I’m asking it,” Carly said pointedly.
“Don’t make me cry, Carly, or Beth will have to do my makeup again.”
“You can cry if you need to, Brynn,” Beth said. “We’ve all been in your shoes; wedding days are emotional. It’s easy enough to fix your makeup.”
Everyone’s been there but me, Carly thought, and pushed it from her mind. Carly’s eyes landed on the pearl bracelet on Brynn’s left wrist that she caught Brynn looking at. The bracelet, that Brynn’s father had given to her last night and asked her to wear on her wedding day. The type of thing a father would do when he loved his children. It was the same bracelet Brynn’s own mother wore on her wedding day. “I’m doing well. I know she’s with me today,” Brynn said.
Brynn’s mother had died in a car accident eight years ago during Brynn’s senior year of college. Carly had been there for her for every moment during that time, and every heartbreaking moment after. She knew Brynn was going to struggle not having her mother with her on her wedding day, but her father and brother would be here, and that helped. “You know she is with you always.”
“She is. I’m glad your mom is coming today, too. She looked good the last time I saw her. And your grandmother always looks good.”
“They’re excited to see you get married. And yes, my mother is doing well.” As long as she continued to take her meds, and her mother—Carly’s grandmother—kept an eye on everything else going on in Trisha’s life. Carly didn’t want to burden herself with those thoughts today though.
“Knock, knock, knock,” Isabel Harper said, opening the door and poking her head in. “I won’t take up much of your time. I just have Brynn’s necklace.”
Carly looked on, the same as the other girls. Kaitlin was smiling, so Carly was sure she knew what Isabel had. After Isabel had seen Brynn’s gown, she’d asked her not to buy a necklace, explaining that she had the perfect piece, that she would be honored if Brynn wore it as her “something borrowed” for the day. Brynn had been so touched, she couldn’t possibly say no.
Isabel walked over and handed the jewelry box to Brynn to open, and Carly watched as Brynn gasped. “Turn around dear and let me put it on you.”
Isabel moved Brynn’s hair out of the way and fastened the pearl necklace around Brynn’s neck, then came around to admire the sparkling—rather large—sapphire pendant surrounded by multiple diamonds. “This necklace is actually twofold. It could be the something blue with the something borrowed, but we know Carly got you those little blue undies that you are wearing right now.”
Everyone laughed as Brynn’s face turned red, but Isabel continued on unfazed. “So instead, it’s going to be something borrowed and something that has a special meaning to me. William gave me this necklace after the birth of Alec and Phil—their birthstone. It seems only fitting that you chose blue as the color of your wedding, along with getting married in September. But aside from that, you are marrying my oldest child.”
“By two minutes,” Sophia added, laughing. Carly had heard this was a running joke between the twins.
“Two minutes is still two minutes,” Brynn replied to her sister-in-law, just like Alec always said back to Phil.
Isabel looked up at the ceiling and blinked her eyes a few times, then leaned down and kissed Brynn’s cheek. “Welcome to the family, sweetie. I always wanted a big family, and now I’ve got four sons and four daughters. Come here girls, all of you, and give me a hug. You too, Carly. Anyone who’s family to Brynn is family to me too.”
Family, Carly thought. Hers might not have been anything like what was in this room when she was growing up, but it was what she craved so much. So she would take it and hold on while she could. Even if it was only for a day.
***
Sean watched Carly on the dance floor again. She’d been out there for most of the wedding, dancing with different people. First, with Phil during the first dance and then a few dances with Brynn’s brother, Drew, when the wedding party paired up with their significant others. At that point Phil went with Sophia, so that left Carly and Drew, the only unmarried bridal party left. Sean tried not to get jealous over those dances.
The rest of the night Carly was on the floor dancing with the girls, and just now she was dancing with two toddlers. Judge Mathews’—who performed the ceremony—grandson, Michael, and Mac and Beth Malone’s son, Evan. To Sean’s keen eye, both boys had to be close to three. He’d been around kids enough—and had enough nieces and nephews—to gauge their ages.
Currently, Carly was holding one boy’s hand with her right and the other’s with her left and they were twirling in a circle, then jumping up and down. It seemed like all the kids surrounded her the entire night.
When the music started to slow down, Sean stood up and made his way to Carly as he watched the two boys run back to their parents, giggling the whole time. “Would you like to dance?”
She eyed him warily and he bit back the urge to ask what caused the change in her again. “Sure. I’d like that,” she said, surprising him.
He reached forward and placed one hand on her waist and another in her hand. She was so tiny next to him, yet she felt just right.
He was a few inches shorter than Alec and Phil, standing at exactly six foot, and not nearly as big as them. He was more along the lines of lean. Lean and mean, he often joked with the brothers in the office when they poked fun at him. He had plenty of muscle on him, just nothing like the brothers. His muscles came from a gym, the Harper brothers’ came from everyday life.
He looked down at her in his arms, her hair pulled away from her face and arranged into some complicated design on the back of her head, pearls weaving in and out. She looked more like a woman to him today than any other time.
Her dark blue gown showed off her body, and even though she wasn’t curvy, the dress accented the few curves she had. Fitted on top, cinched even tighter at her tiny waist and then falling straight to her knees. “You look very beautiful today.”
She slowly raised her eyes and met his. He saw the brown deepen just a fraction and hoped it was attraction and not fear. Tentatively, her smile widened a touch more. “You look pretty handsome yourself today.”
He let out a little laugh and relaxed some more. She was warming up to him, finally, he saw. Of course he did notice she’d had a few glasses of champagne and sincerely hoped she wasn’t drunk. She didn’t look it, though. She looked like someone who was truly enjoying herself and relaxed enough to have a good time. He hoped she’d stay relaxed with him, only he had to tread carefully.
“That’s the first time you’ve complimented me,” he said slyly.
Her eyes lit up even more, almost mischievously. “I could say the same.”
His heart started to knock against his ribs. He’d never seen this side of her before. Correction…this side of her directed at
him
, and he was going to take advantage of it, see if he could gain any ground. “I always think it, but you run away before I can say it.”
“Oh, I’m not so sure I’m running away. Not like you think.”
It wasn’t hard to miss the way her body arched into his, or the way her fingers were running up and down and over his shoulder in a caress. And he absolutely didn’t miss the way her head rested against his heart. It was just too intimate of a dance for her to feel nothing at all. She wasn’t running now, that was for sure. Nope, she was flirting with him. “Then what is it?”
“Well, I guess you
could
say I’m running, but I’m not afraid of you, if that’s what crossed your mind.”
“No, it didn’t.” It did, but he wasn’t going to admit it and was thrilled that wasn’t the case. “So what is it then?”