Love Captures the Heart (Sully Point, Book 3) (20 page)

Marla smiled at him. "You're a pleasure to work with,
Jason. It's been exciting these past weeks, as things started to take off. And
we've got our full staff back, thanks to you Holly."

Holly laughed. "Okay, let's face it. We're all
wonderful and deserve congratulations."

They raised their glasses to that, and had a relaxing
evening of good food and good talk. At the end of the night, Holly said to
Jason, "They seem good together."

He gave one last wave to the cab that had taken the other
two off in the night, and nodded. "They seem very easy with each other.
I'm glad. They are both such great people, they should have love in their
lives."

"A big proponent of love these days, are you?"

"You betcha. I have another announcement to make, by
the way."

Holly turned to look at him as the cab pulled up. He opened
the door for her and as she got in, he said, "We're breaking ground on the
Sully Point house this Friday. Can you take the day off so we can go down there
for it?"

He settled next to her in the back of the cab, only to have
her hug him fiercely. "Whoa, what's that for?"

"It's just that you dreamed about it, and then I did,
and now you're going to make our dream house a reality. Life almost feels too
perfect. Almost scary."

"I know what you mean, but I think it's going to be
okay. Maybe it's time for us to have all this good stuff in our lives."

"Maybe so," she said, and kissed him again.

They stopped when the cab driver said loudly, "Your
stop."

Giggling, they got out of the car and raced inside the
building.

* * * *

Friday afternoon found them at the site of their Sully Point
home. They'd finally decided on a place that wasn't so high along the cliff, one
that offered a good place for a walkway down to the beach. Jason planned to put
in plenty of windows for a great ocean view. He and Sam had gone over Sam's
beach house, looking at what worked well and things Sam might change in the
future.

Anna, Sam, Julia, Cody and Frank were all there with Jason
and Holly when the first shovel of dirt was dug. They toasted the new house
with bottles of beer that Frank had brought.

"Where's Betsy?" Holly asked her father.

"Had to work. Friday is a busy day at the bank."

"When are you guys going to get married? I keep waiting
for an invitation."

"Well, since all you guys are in town this weekend, how
about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow! Is this what Betsy planned?"

"It is. We've had everything arranged and just waited
for a weekend when you'd be here. We're getting married at the house with just
family."

Everyone crowded around Frank, patting him on the back and
wanting to know what they could do to help. He assured them all that everything
was well in hand.

After a while, everyone drove off, leaving Jason and Holly
to walk around the property. They were standing at the place where the living
room window would be, looking at the waves, when Jason said, "Let's do
it."

"Do what?" Holly said, distracted by thoughts of
perhaps a more old-fashioned look in the decor of this house on the cliff.

"Get married," Jason replied.

"Get--wait--what did you say?" Holly demanded.

"I was just thinking about your Dad getting married.
You and I love each other. I think we should get married."

"And that's your idea of how to ask me? 'Let's do it?'
Good grief!"

"Now don't get upset, Holly. It's just that I never
think of it, didn't think of it until he brought up getting married tomorrow. I
don't think of it because I feel like we already are married. We have this
total commitment to each other, a love that will last forever--it's like a
marriage already."

"You feel like that? I guess I do too, when you put it
like that. But then, why get married?"

"It would be a symbol of our love."

"I don't know..."

Jason put his arms around her and said, "It's your
parents' marriage you're thinking of, isn't it?"

She sighed and laid her head against his chest. "Yes. I
guess I feel afraid. Afraid that if we get married, we have more chance of
losing each other. I know, I know, it sounds crazy."

"Not crazy, but maybe fearful would be a good word. We
don't have to rush into it, but I want us to have this symbol of our commitment
to each other. I want you and me to wear rings, to exchange vows."

"You sound so certain."

"That's because I am certain. We've faced a lot of our
fears to get to where we both are today. Maybe this is the last one?"

She sighed, and then took a deep breath and let it out
slowly. "You're right. It's a fear that's not based in rational thought.
Time to face it. Besides, like you said, the whole deal does come with new
jewelry."

He laughed. "Let's go ring shopping once we get back to
the city--unless you want to go to Lucretia?"

"That's an idea. Cody had Lucretia design Julia's ring.
It's lovely."

"So, just to be clear, you are saying 'yes,'
right?"

She hugged him, and then looked up at him with a smile.
"Yes, I do want to marry you."

He kissed her. As they walked to the car, he said, "You
know who is going to be thrilled by this--Gloria."

"That's good," Holly replied.

"No, you don't understand. Unless I totally miss my
guess, Gloria is going to be thrilled that there will be a wedding to
plan."

"Oh. That's right. Marriage means doing the
wedding."

"It doesn't have to be fancy. We can do something small
like Frank and Betsy."

Holly was at her door and stared at him across the top of
the car. "No way, pal. If we're going to do this, then I'm going to
indulge in every girlhood fantasy I ever had about weddings. Gloria and I are
going to have quite a time."

Jason laughed. "I can't wait to see this."

* * * *

Frank and Betsy's wedding the next day was simply done, in
the front parlor of the house. Holly found herself with tears streaming down
her face by the end. Her father's face was glowing with happiness, and she knew
he'd truly found love again.

The party afterwards had a wedding cake and hors d'oeuvres.
After everyone had eaten some cake and things were winding down, Holly raised a
glass full of champagne. She knew they were all expecting a toast. She glanced
at Jason and he nodded.

"Everyone--Jason and I are getting married."

A moment of silence became a noisy time of everyone offering
congratulations and hugs.

"Jason, however did you convince her?" Holly heard
Anna ask.

"I'm still not quite sure," he said with a little
laugh. "All I know is that I'm the luckiest guy alive."

Holly brushed away new tears upon hearing that, and then
took her father aside. "Dad, I want you to know how much difference it has
made, everything you said to me before. And knowing you were brave enough to
get married again--that made me realize I could be that brave too. So, thank
you."

He gave her a hug and asked, "Do you want to have the
wedding here?"

"No. I think I'm going to have a fancy wedding in the
city. We'll put everyone up at a hotel and have a great time. Are you and Betsy
going on a honeymoon?"

"We're going to wait until her planned vacation time
from the bank. Then we're going to Niagara Falls. Seems like the place to
go," he said with a chuckle. "Neither of us has ever been there, and
we don't need to go to some beach resort when we live in one. We'll see the falls,
and then maybe see Toronto."

"Nice! Will the store be closed?"

"No, Between Julia, Cody, Anna, and Sam, I think the
store is covered."

"When I think back a few years, and then look at us
now, I'd say our family overflows with happiness. None of us knew, back then,
what was waiting for us in the future. I certainly never expected to be in love
and engaged to be married!"

Frank laughed. "Are you two staying here, or going to
the loft?"

"We'll go to the loft. I think you and Betsy deserve an
empty house on your wedding night."

She giggled and turned away to find Jason, while Frank's
face turned a bright red.

That night in the loft, Jason made love to Holly slowly and
passionately. She had a moment when tears filled her eyes, and he asked her
what was wrong.

"Nothing, that's just it. I've never been so happy. I
keep waiting for the sky to fall."

"I think you'd better get used to being deliriously
happy," he said, as he kissed the tears away. "I know I plan to stay
that way."

She hugged him to her tightly, and felt her fears float away
in the bliss of the moment.

* * * *

Even with Holly pushing hard to get it done, the wedding
took a full three months to plan. And it wouldn't have happened nearly so
quickly if it hadn't been for Gloria's determination and her contacts
throughout the city. Every time Holly was ready to give up and elope, Gloria
came through with another miracle and the wedding was back on. They finally
decided to marry in the spectacular atrium of the Golden Dome building. It had
windows looking out over the city, with hanging flowering plants and plenty of
space for a large party. The space was welcome once Holly looked at the long
guest list. Between her Sully Point friends, Jason's business contacts, and
Gloria's extensive network of people, the atrium was barely big enough to
contain them all.

Gloria talked her favorite designer into modifying a wedding
dress that Holly liked, one with slim lines that fitted closely to her body so
that it showed off her curves. The lace-covered material made a sweetheart
neckline, with cap sleeves on the dress. Lucretia had come through with a
simple yet beautiful ring of diamonds, with small emeralds interspersed to
represent Jason's eyes, along with a band of gold for him edged in a strip of
fine beading on either edge.

The flowers had been a stopping point until Gloria stepped
in and provided a florist willing to work like mad to get everything done on
time. Holly had wanted small golden yellow roses with buttery Asiatic lilies in
her wedding bouquet. For the rest of the decorations, she'd chosen larger
yellow roses alternating with the lilies and accented by strands of ivy. The
white and golden satin ribbons added to the final look of a room that glowed
under the Golden Dome.

Much to Holly's surprise, the morning of the wedding day
arrived and she was calm. After all the nerves and anxieties that had gone into
the planning, knowing it was all coming together finally had completely relaxed
her. Jason, on the other hand, was a wreck.

"Holly? I've lost my vest. I thought you said
everything was in the closet," he called to her, from inside the closet
next door to the bedroom.

She shook her head and walked into the closet to discover
him searching frantically through racks of her clothing. "Hold on, stop.
You're going to mess everything up in here. Remember how your stuff is on the
other side of the room? I put everything in your section."

Jason ran a hand through his hair and looked at her with
chagrin. "Sorry. But I couldn't find it over there and I thought maybe
you--"

She moved to his section and held up the vest, hanging next
to the shirt he was supposed to wear.

"Oh. I thought it would be on the hanger with the
jacket and when it wasn't..."

She laughed softly at the look on his face. He was very cute
right now, but she knew telling him that would not be appreciated. He was going
to look great in the Hugo Boss black suit and vest. "See how I put
everything right here together? Even your shoes are right there." She
pointed and he nodded.

"How many people are coming again?" he asked.

"Too many. You don't really want to hear the number, do
you?"

"Not really. Why are you so calm? I thought brides were
supposed to be nervous."

She shrugged. "Honestly, I'm just so glad it's finally
the day. Come on. I'll fix us some breakfast. We aren't going to have get ready
for hours and hours yet. Gloria and I planned this so that we'll be taking our
vows at sunset to get the full effect of the light through the windows.
Basically, we have all day to goof off."

"Uh, damn, I forgot to tell you."

Holly looked at him as he sat down at the breakfast bar
while she pulled out a pan to make eggs. "What did you forget?"

"We do have something to do today. Rob said he was
coming by around ten this morning to pick us up to go look at something. I
think it's an investment that he wants to show off. Anyway, I said yes days
ago, because he said we'd have plenty of time before the wedding. Then I forgot
to tell you."

Holly shook her head at him. "Honestly, you're lucky
I'm not the standard nervous bride, or I'd be throwing something at you right
about now."

"Yeah, I guess I should have run that by you. Hey, will
you make pancakes instead of eggs? I would love your blueberry pancakes."

"I'm a sucker for that pleading look. Okay. Let's hope
I still fit in my dress after I eat one of these."

"One? I plan on eating four at least."

"Men!"

After breakfast they finished packing. They'd decided to
leave for their honeymoon tomorrow morning so they wouldn't feel rushed after
the wedding to make a flight time. Jason had wanted to see the old architecture
of Greece, and Holly had always wanted to go there. They also planned to fit in
a visit to Venice, and a few other spots in Europe.

By ten, Holly was dressed in a flowing green skirt that came
to her ankles. She always liked wearing it because it was so comfortable. A
cream-colored cotton top finished off her look. They met Rob downstairs and
discovered he'd rented a big limo.

"What's this? Did you get this for the whole day just
to go to the wedding tonight?" Holly asked as they walked to the car.