All Through the Night: A Troubleshooter Christmas (35 page)

Jules looked at his mother and smiled. “God, I'm lucky.”

“Back at you, kiddo,” Linda Cassidy said. “Shall we do this thing?”

“I'm ready.” He offered her his arm and they went down the aisle.

Again, flashbulbs went off. Jules seated his mother next to Cosmo's mom, then joined Robin at the altar with a smile—holding out his hand.

Robin took it and they stood there for a moment, just gazing into each other's eyes.

The guests in the church sat down, and Dolphina sat, too, right there in the second to last row—just in case there were any last minute problems to deal with.

More last minute, that is, than Robin getting locked in the bathroom.

Jules had been right to have faith.

Although Dolphina knew that had Robin been found in the bar at the Ritz, Jules would still be standing beside him.

For richer, for poorer, for better, for worse.

They'd purposely chosen to use fairly traditional vows, adjusting the words only slightly.

“Do you, Jules, take Robin, to be your partner for life? Do you promise to love and comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, for better or for worse, to be faithful and true to him, as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

They both spoke loudly—their voices ringing clearly in the beautiful church.

“With this ring, I thee wed.”

“I now pronounce you partners for life. What God has joined together let no man put asunder. May the love in your hearts give you joy. May the greatness of life bring you peace. And may your days be good and your lives be long upon the earth. You may greet each other now with a kiss.”

Back at the bachelor party, Jules had told Robin that he was intending to kiss the shit out of him at their wedding, but apparently he'd lied.

As Dolphina and the other guests watched, Jules and Robin shared the sweetest, most tender kiss she'd ever witnessed—a true greeting and celebration of this wonderful new phase of their life together. And then they stood there again, just smiling into each other's eyes, a picture of pure happiness, joy and love.

Married.

The organ began to play, and everyone stood up and applauded, and Dolphina wiped her eyes and put on her coat—to make sure the limos were ready and waiting outside. And of course Robin and Jules had to officially greet the President and Mrs. Bryant and…

Whoa.

Will and Maggie were directly behind her.

Maggie was standing, applauding, but Will was just sitting there, looking at Dolphina. He managed a smile. “Hey.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked, sliding into the pew so that she was next to him.

“I didn't want to miss it,” he told her. He was so pale he was practically gray and it was obvious he was in pain. Clearly he should not have gotten out of bed. “It was…lovely.”

Dolphina looked at Maggie. “I thought he wasn't supposed to leave the hospital.”

The girl shrugged. “He wasn't. In fact, the first thing he did when he got out of bed was fall on his face.”

“It wasn't that bad,” Will protested.

It was that bad,
Maggie mouthed to Dolphina.

“I had to talk to you,” Will admitted. “Look, I know you're busy.”

“Very,” Dolphina said. There were photos to be taken, then she had to get over to the restaurant where the reception was being held, to make sure everything was ready. They were holding the receiving line there—a slight change in plans—because it was so cold outside today.

“I just wanted to say,” he started.

She cut him off. “I was going to come to the hospital tonight, after the reception.”

Hope flared in his eyes. “Really?”

“Yeah, but I'm not anymore, because it's one thing to have a boyfriend who makes a mistake and apologizes, but it's another thing entirely to date a Darwin Award recipient, who's too intellectually underdeveloped to know when to stay in the hospital.”

Will nodded, trying to hide his smile. “And if I apologize for this mistake, too…?”

“It'll probably work,” she admitted.

He touched her face, pushing her hair back behind her ear. “Problem is, I'd be lying if I said I was sorry. And I told you I'd never lie to you again.”

“Please go back to the hospital,” she said.

“I love you,” Will told her. “That's what I came here to say. And that I
am
sorry. And if leaving the hospital early means I get a Darwin Award, so be it. I didn't think you were going to come back. And truth is, I don't want to propagate the species with anyone but you.”

She laughed at that. “Dear God, I'm an idiot, but I think I might love you, too.”

“Think,” he repeated.

“I…love you,” she said, “but I'm still too afraid to, um, admit it, so I'm saying
think
right now. Is that a problem for you?”

Her voice came out sounding a tad too sharp, but Will just smiled. “No, it's not.” The hope in his eyes had turned into something else. Something warm and soft and tender. He was looking at her now with such love, she almost started to cry again.

Instead, she leaned over and kissed him. She'd surprised him by doing that, right here in the church, but it didn't take him long to wrap his arms around her.

“Oh, God,” he said. “Dolphina.”

He kissed her again, and it was
way
not the kind of kiss for a church—even the back of a church during a wedding. But this was a fact that Dolphina didn't consider until she heard Maggie say, admiration in her voice, “Go, Uncle Will.”

She pulled back, and it was entirely possible that he had tears in his eyes, too, as she touched his face. “Go back to the hospital,” she told him again. “I'll see you later. I've got to go make sure Robin and Jules have a perfect day.”

Will smiled at her, taking her hand and kissing her palm. “It can't be more perfect than mine.”

“Said the man with the bullet wound in his leg,” Maggie pointed out, in case the thought hadn't occurred to Dolphina.

Dolphina smiled at them both, because the thought definitely had.

The President wasn't staying for the reception—but not because he didn't want to. He made that more than clear as he shook both Jules and Robin's hands. It was obvious, too, that he wasn't here simply as a good PR move. He was genuinely fond of Jules.

Sam stood off to the side, watching as the photographer snapped a few pictures, and then President and Mrs. Bryant were led out to their waiting motorcade.

And everyone inside the church sighed with relief. Including Davis Jones, who no longer had to restrict his movements.

He came up to Sam now, and they shook hands.

“That was nice,” Jones said. “The ceremony.”

“Yeah,” Sam agreed as the photographer took a series of shots of Jules and Robin, hand in hand at the front of the church.

“I used to…get freaked out by…” Jones shook his head.

“Live and learn,” Sam said and Jones nodded.

As they watched, the two grooms now got their picture taken with their collective families. For Robin that meant just Jane, Cosmo, Billy and Cos's mom. But all of Jules's cousins were there—he had seventeen of them, most much older, with families of their own. Jules had told Sam once that he wasn't particularly close to most of his cousins, due to the age differences, but that they'd rallied around and supported him completely when he'd first come out. They'd also all gone to great efforts to attend this wedding, and their love for their little cousin was evident in the multitude of wide smiles.

“Jules wants to do a group shot, so don't go anywhere.” Sam turned at the sound of Alyssa's voice.

She was smiling a greeting at Jones. “Thank you for not assassinating anyone during the ceremony.”

The man laughed aloud. “It was hard,” he teased back, “but I managed to control myself.”

“I'm rounding up everyone from Troubleshooters Inc., and Team Sixteen, too,” Alyssa continued. “But Jules wanted to make sure you knew that he wouldn't take it personally if you don't want to be in the picture. He said to tell you that Jim Nash doesn't do photos either, so…The words he used were
Tell Jones it's no biggie.
”

Jones nodded. “Typical of Cassidy,” he said. “Always watching out for his friends.” He straightened up from where he'd been leaning against one of the old-fashioned boxed pews. “I'll go give the rest of the Florida contingent the heads-up.”

“Thanks,” Alyssa said, and then her smile was all for Sam.

He put his arm around her, unable to resist touching the swell of her belly where their baby was growing. And there they both stood for a moment, watching as the photographer set up the next shot, as Jules burst out laughing from something Robin had whispered into his ear.

Max and Gina were nearby—Max holding little Emma in his arms. They laughed, too, as did Cosmo and Jane, who were holding Billy's hands.

The rest of the Troubleshooters team were gathering, as well as all the SEALs, and the joy in the church was a palpable thing.

“May the greatness of life bring you peace,” Alyssa quietly repeated the words that the pastor had spoken. “And may your days be good and your lives be long upon this earth.” She turned to look up at Sam with a smile that was pure love. “In case you were wondering? My days are very, very good.”

Sam greeted his wife with a kiss. “Mine are freakin' great,” he told her, past a sudden huskiness in his throat.

Laughing, Alyssa pulled him toward the front of the church, where their friends were waiting.

“Do you miss having champagne at times like these?” Robin asked as the limo pulled away from the church.

“Nope.” Jules didn't hesitate as he brought Robin's poor, battered hand to his lips and kissed him.

“I'm glad,” Robin said. “Jeez, it looks like you married a boxer.”

There had been a moment, during the ceremony, where Jules had worried that Robin wasn't going to be able to get the wedding ring past his swollen knuckle. He'd pushed it on, and it must've hurt like hell, but he didn't flinch—he just smiled.

“Maybe you should take the ring off now,” Jules suggested, but Robin looked at him as if he were crazy. He laughed. “Or not.”

Robin tugged him close and kissed him. Mmm. But then he reached out and brushed something from Jules's hair.

“Bird seed?” Jules asked, smiling up into Robin's incredible eyes.

“Yeah, mixed in with the
plaster,
” Robin said. “Jesus.”

Jules laughed.

“I am so sorry about that,” Robin said.
“So, what'd you guys do on your honeymoon? Well, we patched and painted the master bath
and
bedroom.”

“So what exactly was it,” Jules asked, “that you went back to the house to get?”

Robin rolled his eyes. “It seems kind of stupid right now. Especially since…I feel like I need to take lessons in being romantic from your mother.”