Raising the Stakes

“Beautiful,” he murmured to his best man, Keir, who stood beside him.

“Yes,” Keir said solemnly, “she certainly is.”

“Hush,” the maid of honor said, scolding them both.

Keir looked at her. Actually he’d been looking at her for the past half hour, ever since the wedding party assembled on the deck. He’d never seen Cassie look so, well, so beautiful. So softly feminine. So—so…

Something seemed to lift the hair on the nape of his neck. A breeze, he thought, though his sister, Meghan, would have said it was the breath of the little people teasing his senses. A good thing she wasn’t here, then, Keir thought wryly, and turned his attention to the groom, who was whispering to the little boy standing on his other side.

“Tommy?” Gray said, out of the side of his mouth. “Have you got the rings?”

A small hand snaked into his. “I got ‘em,” Tommy whispered back.

Gray squeezed the boy’s fingers. Four months had gone by since Dawn had introduced them and he already felt as if the child was his own flesh and blood.

“You know what, Gray?”

“What?”

“My mom was crying last night. Happy tears, she said, an’ it was true ‘cause she kept laughin’ and huggin’ me while she cried. She says it’s because she loves you so much. Isn’t that weird?”

“Weird.” Gray cleared his throat. “But that’s the way it goes, pal.”

“That’s what she said, too. Gray?”

“Uh-huh?”

“I’m glad we’re marrying you.”

Gray looked at the earnest little face. It wasn’t part of the ceremony and he figured he was probably going to upset the wedding planner but he’d already done that by insisting on having two best men.

“Me, too.” He bent and gave the kid a quick hug. Then he straightened up, watched his bride come toward him on Dan’s arm. “Hello, sweetheart,” he said.

Dawn smiled. “Hello, my love.” Her voice trembled with emotion. Who could have imagined so much happiness? She rose on her toes and pressed a kiss to Dan’s cheek. “I adore him,” she whispered.

Dan grinned. “I’d never have guessed,” he whispered back. He shook Gray’s hand, then eased into one of the little white chairs in the front row, directly next to Mary Elizabeth O’Connell, who was quietly weeping. Dan rolled his eyes and dug into his pocket for a snowy-white handkerchief.

“I don’t know why women cry at weddings,” he mumbled, handing it to her.

“Because we’re happy, you idiot,” Mary mumbled in return.

Dan took a deep breath. “And would you cry at your own wedding, Mrs. O’Connell?”

Mary looked at him. “Is that a proposal, Mr. Coyle?”

“It is. Will you marry me, Mary?”

She smiled. “Yes, Dan,” she said simply, “I will.”

Dan took her hand, lifted it to his lips and kissed it. Then, fingers clasped, they turned their attention to the altar, where Cassie was weeping joyfully into her bouquet of roses. She’d been weeping all morning, except for the moment Dawn had hugged her, smiled, and tucked a crisp new dollar bill into her hand.

“I lost that bet,” she’d said, “remember? The one we made when I said I’d never see Gray again.”

“Oh,” Cassie had replied, “of course you did.” She’d laughed, then gone right back to crying, but they were happy tears. Her best friend had found happiness and deserved every bit of it. Not everyone was that lucky. She shot a quick look at Keir, who flashed her his usual polite smile. No, she thought, not everyone.

And then the guests rose to their feet, applauding, even laughing, because Mr. and Mrs. Graham Baron were in each other’s arms, sharing a kiss that surely marked the start of a long and wonderful life, while a little boy locked his arms around their legs and beamed.

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