She rushed toward the RV. Tyler was sitting in the vehicle’s open doorway, waiting for her, and he stood up as she neared him.
“Wow,” she murmured, a lump in her throat. It was her pink, her name, her dream… her mobile salon. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, not wanting him to see that she was shaking. “But this isn’t my RV. Mine is still parked behind my house.”
“It is a different one,” he agreed.
She frowned, confused.
He crossed the patch of grass separating them. “Gram’s needed too much work. Everything needed to be overhauled, and even then, I had serious concerns about safety. I wasn’t about to have you on the road in rough weather, in a vehicle that was pretty, but unreliable. Ultimately it just made more sense to find something newer, with fewer miles, so it’d be in better condition.”
“But that meant you had to buy something, whereas Bette’s was already paid for.”
“The repairs to Gram’s would have been substantial.”
“And yet I loved the idea of driving Bette’s RV.”
“But Gram never drove it. My grandfather did.” His mouth tightened, jaw firming. “And I’m all for good memories, but I’ve always struggled with my grandfather’s hard stance on people and priorities. He alienated my father. He was critical of his grandsons. The whole reason Coby joined the military was to make him proud, and yet when Coby died, my grandfather couldn’t find any words to comfort my mother or father.” He grimaced. “I love Gram, but you don’t need her old RV, and thankfully, Gram agreed with me.”
Amanda turned back to the pink RV, overwhelmed. She blinked back tears, and fought the tightness in his throat that was preventing her from speaking. All she could think about was the pearl ring in her pocket, and the discovery that Patrick had loved her mom, and had never abandoned her, and now here was Tyler trying to give her her dream.
“You don’t like it,” he said.
“No. That’s not… that’s not what I’m feeling. It’s that I’m not sure what to say.” Her jaw worked, the lump in her throat seemed to grow bigger, making it painful to speak. “I didn’t want you to do this for me. I wanted to do it myself, when I could afford to—”
“Gram said it would hurt your pride. Seems she was right.”
“This isn’t about my pride.”
“Of course it’s about your pride. It’s your Achilles’ heel.”
“What does that mean?”
“In story terms, every hero has an Achilles’ heel, and that Achilles’ heel is what makes the hero great, but it’s what will ultimately bring him or her down.”
“You’re saying my pride is my downfall.”
He looked at her, brow lifted. He was so incredibly annoying.
“You’re wrong,” she said tightly.
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” he said cheerfully. “We all have flaws and faults. And for your information, I never expected you to be perfect—”
“Because you didn’t expect anything from me at all, or at least, nothing good.”
“No, what I discovered is that you’re surprisingly perfect. Even with your pride.” His expression was tender, and amused. “Mandy, baby, I love you. You’re not just everything to me, you’re home. You’re my world. Wherever you are, it’s where I want to be.”
A shiver shot through her, making her legs feel weak. He didn’t mean that, did he? Was he even aware of what he was saying? She slid her hand into her pocket and desperately clasped the silk pouch, holding it so tightly that the pearl dug into her skin. “For now, you mean.”
“No. Forever.” He reached for her, and drew her to him, ignoring her resistance. “Maybe you didn’t catch what I said, so I’ll say it more slowly. I. Love. You.” He was smiling down at her, and yet his voice was deep and a little hoarse. “You are home. Wherever you are, it’s where I want to be.”
“Even if it’s on the road, in this pink RV?”
His finger stroked her cheek. “Even if it’s living together in this pink RV.” And then his head dipped, and he kissed her lightly, before murmuring, “But maybe we don’t actually live in the RV? We removed the bed to make room for your shampoo bowls and salon chairs and there would be nowhere to sleep.”
She laughed, and kissed him. He was awfully irresistible. “Tell me the chairs are pink.”
“Of course they are. What other color could they possibly be?”
She laughed again, and as she looked up into his face, his rugged, beautiful face with the gorgeous green eyes and movie star smile, she thought he might be as handsome as a romance cover hero, but he was better, because he was real, and he was hers.
“I love you, Tyler James Justice,” she whispered. “Probably far more than I should.”
“There is no such thing as too much love.”
And then he kissing her again, the slow, deep bone-melting kisses he was so very good at, the kind that made her forget she didn’t want or need a man, because honestly, why couldn’t she be a successful, independent woman, who’d found a successful, independent man? Wasn’t that really the best of both worlds?
“Does this mean she said yes?” a thin voice quavered from the front porch.
Amanda and Tyler broke apart, both moving to the porch at the same time.
“Gram!”
“Bette.”
“Well?” She was leaning on a cane, still dressed in her bed robe and pajamas. “Nobody was telling me anything and I couldn’t wait any longer. Does she like the RV?”
“Yes,” Amanda answered, climbing the steps and putting a hand on Bette’s elbow to make sure she was steady. Tyler moved to the other side, neither wanting to risk her taking another fall.
Bette glanced from one to the other. “And did she say she’d marry you, Ty?”
Color darkened his cheekbones. “Gram,” he muttered, with a shake of his head. “Not now.”
“What do you mean, not now? Did she say no?”
“Gram, I haven’t asked her yet.”
“Well, ask her. We don’t want to lose her. She’s a keeper, Tyler.”
“I know, Gram. I’ve told her.” Still shaking his head he looked at Amanda over the top of his grandmother’s head. “This isn’t the romantic proposal I’d imagined, but it couldn’t be more heartfelt—”
“Wait. Not like that,” Bette interrupted. “You have to kneel. You can’t propose standing up—”
“Yes, he can,” Amanda interrupted, putting her hand out to stop him from getting down on one knee. “And, yes, the answer is yes, yes, yes!”
Chapter Twelve
They ended up holding the wedding the first Saturday of June at the Emerson Barn, the place they had their first dance and their first kiss. Perhaps they hadn’t fallen in love with each other that night, but it had been a magical evening, and when they were trying to pick a place to hold the ceremony and reception the only place that came to mind was the big handsome barn in Paradise Valley.
Amanda’s only real concern about the venue was its size. It was huge. Cavernous without all the tables and chairs, and they both came from small families. How would they ever fill it?
Bette brushed aside Mandy’s concerns because there were lots of ways to make the space look more intimate through trellises and flowers, chandeliers and screens.
Bette ended up playing a bigger role in the planning of the wedding than expected, but Amanda didn’t mind, not when Bette was so excited. It had been her dream forever, to have her beloved grandson fall in love with her Mandy. With the wedding just two months out, they divided up the tasks so that not all the planning fell onto Mandy’s shoulders. Amanda would be in charge of the ceremony and finding the right gown, bridesmaid dresses, flowers, and choosing the invitation. Tyler was responsible for the reception, organizing dinner, music for dancing, and making the space less overwhelming. Bette said she’d oversee the mailing of the invitations as she knew of an excellent local calligrapher who’d address the invitations, and she’d have the responses come back t
o her and keep track of the replies so Mandy would have one less thing to do since it wasn’t good for brides to be stressed out.
Amanda asked Charity to be her maid of honor, and Charity embraced her responsibilities with zeal, as organizing people and things was her particular specialty, she told Mandy she wanted to make her wedding dress but it would be a surprise. She wasn’t going to tell her what it looked like, only that it would be beautiful and perfect and it’d fit her like a glove. Amanda was delighted. Because what could be better than having her talented sister, who was also her best friend, design a custom gown for her?
Late April, Jenny flew in from Colorado and the three sisters, their mom, and Sadie and Tricia went shopping together for the mother of the bride dress and the four bridesmaid dresses at Married in Marietta. Lisa Renee, the store owner, helped them personally, and it was clear that Charity had already tipped Lisa off on the types of bridesmaid dresses she thought would be perfect for the wedding, and had a variety of pink gowns that were decidedly romantic. Some were a flirty cocktail length, while others were long, but they all were fitted through the waist with full pretty skirts.