Mister Fixit (Love in New York #3) (25 page)
Read Mister Fixit (Love in New York #3) Online
Authors: Elle Casey
“You are lucky. Blessed. And Rob’s lucky to have you in his life. We all are.”
I hug her, my eyes tearing up. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much it means to hear you say that.”
She clears her throat as she pulls out of the hug. “I have something for you.” She pulls something out of her purse and hands it to me. “I wasn’t sure if you had something borrowed or blue, so I brought you this.”
I take the lovely hair comb from her hand and smile. “I didn’t. Thank you so much.”
She walks over to the mirror above the dresser. “Come on, I’ll help you put it in.”
My hair is already up, and the comb with sapphires and diamonds matches my necklace perfectly as it slides into place
“Gorgeous,” she says.
“It’s perfect.” I kiss her on the cheek. “Thank you for loaning it to me. I’ll take good care of it.”
She waves her hand. “Keep it. It’s my wedding gift to you. Rob gave it to me several years ago, but I’ve never worn it.”
“Are you sure?” I feel bad taking a gift from the father of her son. Is it wrong to love it so much anyway?
“Absolutely. I’m not much for bejeweled hair combs. I don’t go anywhere but to see Brian and the grocery store.” She gestures out to the yard. “This is as fancy as it gets for me, and I’m not much for standing out with shiny things.”
I turn around and catch Jake standing off in the corner, looking at a sprinkler head. I bite my lip, wondering if I should get involved.
“How would you feel about a date in the park? All of us. To watch a dog play frisbee.”
She shrugs, oblivious to my machinations. “Sure. I guess. Sounds like fun.”
“With Brian of course.”
She brightens. “Yes, that would be nice. I think he’d like that.”
“Awesome.” I put my hand on her shoulder and point to Jake. “See that guy out there?”
“The tall one?”
I grin at her. “Yes, and you can go ahead and say what you’re really thinking. The tall devastatingly hot guy in the blue shirt.”
She grins and looks at the floor, her face going pink. “Okay.”
“Anyway, he has this amazing dog who can catch frisbees, and he’s invited all of us out to watch.”
“Not all of us,” she says, sounding embarrassed.
“Yes, all of us. I told him about you and Brian, and he said you should come along.”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Come on,” I say, taking her by the hand, acting like she’s not giving me the blow off. “I need to get married.” I’m not going to give her time to say no to me. I’ll just let her marinate in the idea of watching this guy in action while I tie the knot with Mister Fixit. She’ll come around eventually. How could she not? Jake’s amazing.
Leah sees me through the back door, coming closer with Val by my side, and shouts loud enough for the entire block to hear her.
“Here she comes, everyone! Get in your seats! Come on, chop, chop!”
Everyone scrambles to follow her orders as she walks over and turns on a portable CD player. The wedding march comes out over the speakers set up in the tiny yard.
Jeremy and James assemble themselves near the end of the narrow aisle, each one holding his child in his arms. Brian is next to his father, who waits for me just in front of the arbor. Sarah and Leah are at the back door, grinning hugely.
Val breaks away and goes through the door. “Good luck,” she whispers as she goes down the stairs and finds a chair at the front, near her son.
I pause at the back door and smile at my man — the guy who was the star of every dream I’ve had for the past almost twenty years. The ring on my finger, the cream-colored lace dress, and the bouquet in my hand say I’m getting married today, but I almost can’t believe it’s true. It’s too good to be true. Is this just a dream? If it is, it’s a hell of a cruel one. To get this close and find out it’s all make-believe? No way. I’d never make it. Too much of my heart and soul are wrapped up in this affair.
Rob breaks away from his best men and comes striding down the aisle toward me.
“What are you doing?” Leah demands. “That’s not how this is supposed to work.”
Rob grabs the door, pulls it open, and fixes me in a powerful stare.
“What are you doing?” I ask, grinning from ear to ear.
“I can’t wait anymore.” He points behind him. “Get your butt down that aisle before I lose my mind.”
I close my eyes, hold my arms out, and fall forward. The cool summer breeze whistles past my ears just before he catches me in his arms and holds me close, squeezing me so hard I lose my breath for a moment.
“I love you, Jana Oliver,” he says in my ear, inhaling deeply and then kissing my neck.
“I love you too, Rob. Thank you so much.” My eyes remain closed as he slowly turns me around and sets me on my feet in the grass.
When I’m on the ground again, I open my eyes.
Rob is staring down at me. “What are you thanking me for?”
I have to swallow my emotions down before I can speak, worried the happy tears will drown my voice out before I can say what I have to say.
“I’m thanking you for fixing things. For fixing things with Jeremy and Sarah and Cassie. With James. With me. With us.”
He leans down and kisses me very gently on the lips before backing away. “It’s me who should be thanking you for being so damn patient with me. It took me way too long to do this.” He glances at the aisle.
“Better late than never.”
He grabs both my hands and kisses the back of them. “Hurry up. I’ll be waiting for you.” And then he jogs back up the aisle and stops when he reaches his brothers from another mother.
I link my arms with Leah’s and Sarah’s and take my first step toward the rest of my life. As I reach the edge of the white runner, I swear I can see the vague outline of a girl who looks just like Laura standing in the place where my maid of honor would be.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elle Casey
is a prolific,
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling American writer who lives in Southern France with her husband, three kids, and several furry friends. She writes in several genres and publishes an average of one full-length novel per month.
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OTHER BOOKS BY ELLE CASEY
ROMANCE
Shine Not Burn
(2-book series)
Don’t Make Me Beautiful
By Degrees
Rebel
(3-book series)
Full Measure
(written as Kat Lee)
Just One Night
(romantic serial)
Just One Week
(romantic serial)
Love in New York
(3-book series)
Mismatched
(with Amanda McKeon)
PARANORMAL
Duality
(2-book series)
Pocket Full of Sunshine
(short story & screenplay)
URBAN FANTASY
War of the Fae
(7-book series)
My Vampire Summer
Aces High
(with Jason Brant)
DYSTOPIAN
Apocalypsis
(4-book series)
ACTION ADVENTURE
Wrecked
(2-book series)