Angel Mine (26 page)

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret, would it?”

“But Angel knows?”

“Yes, and if you try to pry it out of her, you are the lowest form of humanity,” he said.

“How long will I have to wait to find out what it is?”

“Twenty minutes, tops.”

She grinned. “Just within my limit.”

Todd went off to find the judge, confirmed that everything had been taken care of, then went to wait just inside the back door of the church. The organist had been warned not to shift from background music to the wedding march until she was cued by a signal from the minister.

Todd heard Angel’s excited squeals first, then the rustle of gowns as Henrietta, Flo and Heather took their places in the foyer. The organist hit the first preliminary notes to signal Angel’s walk down the aisle with her basket of rose petals. She toddled into view at Heather’s coaching, followed by Flo.

Then Heather stepped into the doorway. Henrietta had claimed to want an all-white wedding, so both her bridesmaids were wearing floor-length slim white dresses that could just as easily have passed for bridal gowns. Her bouquet was a smaller version of Henrietta’s, just a spray of white tropical flowers, a single white rose and satin ribbons.

Todd gazed at her in awe. She took his breath away. She was so incredibly beautiful, so blasted unpredictable, so outrageously impudent.

And he loved her, never more so than he did at this moment. His heart was filled to overflowing with it. Though he’d given her no encouragement over the past few days for fear of giving away his plan, she winked at him. He took that as a sign from God that this was going to turn out exactly as he’d prayed.

He stepped into the aisle, then stunned her and everyone else by kissing her. He was dimly aware that the music had settled into a solemn holding pattern, that a gasp had rippled through the guests, that Angel was enthusiastically pelting them with rose petals.

When he finally released her, she gazed at him with a dazed expression. “Todd?”

“Will you marry me?” he asked quietly.

“Todd, this isn’t—”

“It is the perfect time and place,” he said.

“But Henrietta—”

“Knows all about it. We have her blessing. The only thing missing is your saying yes.”

She glanced over her shoulder to see Henrietta nodding enthusiastically, then toward the front of the church, where the judge gave her a similar nod of encouragement.

“You’re serious? Here and now? Just like that?”

“A double wedding,” he confirmed. “I did my best to make it your dream wedding, right down to the canapés for the reception.”

“Todd, you don’t do things like this.”

“I will if I have you by my side. Will you stay right here, keep producing plays for all of our friends, have more of my babies?”

She regarded him with hope shining in her eyes. “And you promise that you won’t turn all stodgy on me, that you’ll keep taking chances like this?”

“I do.”

She laughed. “The words every woman dreams of hearing.”

“Is that a yes?”

“If you’re sure this is legal, then yes.”

“Believe me, I am very sure that this will be legal enough to last a lifetime. I have the judge’s word on it.”

“Indeed, he does,” the judge blustered from the front of the church. “Now, can we get this show on the road? I’m not getting any younger.”

Four people said their
I do
’s that morning. Five, counting Angel, who insisted on being picked up by her daddy so she could chime in.

And as Todd and Heather turned to make the return trip down the aisle as husband and wife, his gaze locked on the tall, distinguished-looking man sitting in the second pew, along with Heather’s parents and his own mother. His father, tears in his eyes as he studied Angel, gave Todd a thumbs-up. It was the final blessing Todd needed to begin the best part of his life.

ISBN: 978-1-4268-3710-4

ANGEL MINE

Copyright © 2000 by Sherryl Woods.

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, MIRA Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

MIRA and the Star Colophon are trademarks used under license and registered in Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.

Visit us at
www.mirabooks.com