I grinned to myself thinking the words.
Our wedding.
In less than seventy-two hours, Sunny would be my wife. My body hummed in anticipation. Sunny Webber. Lincoln and Sunny Webber.
I chuckled out loud. My mind was channeling a teenage girl it seemed, writing our names with a flourish on a small notepad.
Shouts of my name drew my attention, and I glanced to the left just as two bodies collided with mine. I hugged the two women close, smiling at their enthusiasm. When Sunny had told them I was back, they had been skeptical and cautious. We had spoken several times since that first call, and I enjoyed their funny texts, feeling as if they were including me in their lives now. When I called to tell them I wanted to marry their sister, they had been enthusiastic. When Sunny informed them we were moving ahead with our plans, the squeals had been loud coming through the speaker of my phone.
I stepped back, looking at Sunny’s sisters. The last time I had seen them in person, they were still kids, and now they were all grown up. FaceTime wasn’t the same as seeing them in front of me. Emily was twenty-two, and Hayley was twenty. They were both small like Sunny, had the same dark eyes, but Hayley’s hair was more auburn and curlier, while Emily’s long, straight hair was brown. They were pretty, excited, and as happy to see me as I was to see them.
We got their luggage, both of them chatting away as we headed to the car.
“We’ve never flown first-class before,” Hayley gushed. “What fun!”
Emily was more subdued, but her eyes danced as she nudged me with her elbow. “It was. Thanks, Linc.”
“Stick with me, kid.”
We got to the car, and I loaded in the luggage and we headed to Mission Cove.
“Is Sunny okay?” Emily asked.
“She’s good. We’re keeping things pretty simple. Vows, dinner, some nice music. Only very close friends and family.”
“Why a Tuesday evening? Why not the weekend?”
I chuckled. “The bakery is busy on the weekends. Tuesday and Wednesday are the quiet days. We get married Tuesday, I get to take her away overnight, and she plans on being back in the bakery Thursday in time to prepare for the weekend rush.”
Hayley glanced up, shocked, from her phone. I met her eyes in the rearview mirror. “No honeymoon?”
“In the fall.”
“Why?”
“Because I know how crazy the bakery is right now, and I don’t want her stressed out. All I care about is marrying her. I don’t care if I’m standing beside her on Saturday morning making coffee for customers or if we’re staring at some ruins in England. As long as she’s my wife and with me, I’m good.”
“You make the coffee?”
“I make damn good coffee. I’ve even got those leaf things down pat.”
Hayley shook her head, going back to her phone. Emily stared at me. “You’re a good guy, Linc.”
I squeezed her hand. “Thanks.”I paced the floor, anxious and uptight. Abby walked into the room, and I paused. “Wow.”
She laughed, patting her hair. “I know. I’m rocking it.”
Abby and Gerry were my attendants. Abby insisted on wearing a tuxedo, and she was, indeed, rocking it. Her hair was swept up, the pink streak bright against the blond. Her blouse was a pale pink, and her cummerbund and bow tie matched her hair. She was quite adorable.
Gerry and I were in more traditional colors, the cummerbund and ties in a soft green that Sunny had picked out. Our tuxes were all in a dove gray, keeping to the light colors Sunny preferred.
Gerry looked at his phone and smiled. “The girls are good. Your bride is quite anxious for this to start.”
Sunny and her sisters were at her apartment, Cindy with them, making sure all was on schedule, and the limo would pick them up and bring them here. Sunny would wait in the small tent I had installed for her, and we would meet at the pretty trellis set up between our trees. Gerry offered Abby and me the use of his house so Sunny didn’t have to worry I would see her beforehand.
Our gathering was small—fewer than twenty people, but it was what we wanted. Most of the town knew we were getting married and offered up congratulations and even dropped off small gifts at the bakery but allowed us our privacy.
Once we said our vows, we would have pictures taken, return to the enclosed tent for dinner, and after, there would be dancing. I didn’t plan on staying around long once the dancing started. Abby would make sure the party continued without us. I was going to whisk Sunny away. I had a penthouse suite waiting in Toronto, and I didn’t plan on leaving it until we returned to Mission Cove.
But I needed to make her my wife first.