What Doesn't Kill Her (Cape Charade #2)(107)

Verona stepped back and scrutinized Kellen from head to toe. “Actually, it’s oddly striking. It makes you look wild and untamed.”

Birdie handed Kellen the bouquet. “You look beautiful.” Her voice wavered with sentiment.

“Have you got the ring?” Verona asked Birdie.

Birdie patted her pocket.

Arthur arrived, not a hair out of place. “Are we ready?”

At Kellen’s nod, he signaled Temo and Adrian, who escorted Verona to the front row. The music started, and Birdie walked down the aisle to the front where Max and his groomsman waited.

Arthur handed Rae and Kellen their bouquets of purple roses and asters with baby’s breath and tendrils of ribbon.

Kellen took her daughter’s hand.

Together they stepped through the entrance to face the guests, who stood on cue, then gaped as Kellen and Rae walked down the aisle together.

Rae smiled and greeted people as she walked.

Kellen saw no one except Max, still smiling, still watching her.

When asked who gave this woman, Birdie, Temo and Adrian answered, “We do.”

Rae got the most laughs and the most tears when she announced, “And I give my daddy to my mommy!”

It was the perfect wedding, especially for the surprised winery guests who dropped in and discovered a celebration in progress.

No one stopped them or requested their invitations; Parliman Security had left in a huff.



58


For three hours, the music played, the food and wine arrived in waves and the guests grew louder and louder and more and more convivial. When Pearly Perry wheeled out the wedding cake, guests gasped and cooed.

The main edifice had been shaped and frosted to look like a three-foot-tall oak barrel. Frozen sugared grapes hung in bunches around the rim. A long slice from top to bottom displayed an ombre of colors from pale yellow to lavender to an intense, Syrah dark purple. All around the cake, purple or pale yellow cake filled crystal wineglasses; the frosting was contrasting buttercream.

Behind the scenes, Dr. Frownfelter and Dr. Brundage had worked on Kellen’s ankle, approved Arthur’s work, given her pain relief and an antibiotic and told her sternly not to indulge in any of the fine wines served at her wedding feast.

Kellen sighed and complied, circulating on Max’s arm to visit the guest tables and thank them for their attendance. When they reached the table Annie and Leo were hosting, she collapsed into a chair and smiled at two of her favorite people in the world. Almost everyone here belonged to Max, but Annie and Leo—they belonged to her, too.

Verona joined them, looking flushed and out of breath. She had had a dance with Arthur.

“We’re so excited, dear girl, to welcome you into the Di Luca family.” Annie handed Kellen a small rectangular box. “This is for the two of you, if you wish to have it.”

The box felt oddly heavy for its size and had been tied with a lush purple silk ribbon.

Kellen looked up at Max.

“Go ahead,” he said. “Open it!”

She did, and inside was a giant old-fashioned iron key. “What does it open?” she asked.

“It’s the original key to Yearning Sands Resort,” Leo said.

Kellen shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s for you and Max. We know how much you love Yearning Sands, and with my current lousy health, we have to retire.” Annie was clearly disgusted with herself. “But I know my darling home will be in loving hands if you and Max take it over.”

Kellen handed the box to Max. “But the winery—”

“Someone else in the family can take it over,” Max assured her.

“Someone who can blend a good wine,” Leo suggested.

Max glared at his uncle.

Leo cackled.

“Did you know about this?” Kellen asked Max.

“No, I didn’t see this coming. But it does make sense, except for—” Max stopped short.

Kellen understood his train of thought, and he was right. She knew he was. Taking Annie’s fragile hand, Kellen held it. “I would love to come to Yearning Sands and take it over as managers, but we can’t. Rae is our first priority, and the school system in Cape Charade isn’t good.” She realized what she’d said and winced. When she decided to own motherhood, she went all the way.

Max got it, too, damn him, for he murmured, “The keys to a minivan are within your reach.”

“Shut up,” she said.

Verona leaned into the conversation. “But the resort is an ideal place to raise a child. Isn’t it?”

“In the summer when there’s no school, yes,” Kellen agreed. “To be out there on the coast, running free... Yes. It would be good for Rae.”

“I have a thought.” Kellen’s new mother-in-law looked bright-eyed and enthusiastic. “I was a grade school schoolteacher before I retired. I can move with you to Yearning Sands and homeschool Rae.”

Kellen felt faint, and not with joy. They were just married, and already Verona wanted to live with them? Permanently?

Verona pulled her chair close to Kellen, excluding Max, excluding Annie and Leo, and in a low voice, she said, “Look. I know we haven’t gotten along. I didn’t trust you. I didn’t believe you. I didn’t like that you...that you saw Rae and didn’t instantly love her. But the way you did it was better. You got to know her, then you loved her.”