21. A Shocking Proposal #2
"I know, but having backup is good. That's what Fitz says." Sadie steps back from me, wiping at her face again. "He says it's okay to need help sometimes."
"It is," I agree.
"It is." Kieran's arm slides over my shoulder. "Are you okay with this, Sadie?"
Sadie nods. "I am. I want a dad too."
Then her lips wobble and Kieran proves he is the white knight in tarnished armor he's so intent on being, because he pulls her into a hug and they share a whispered conversation that has her smiling again.
Mom catches my eye. Hers are bright. She presses her lips together and nods, a single decisive dip of her chin that means more coming from Maureen Dougal than a standing ovation from anyone else.
Ellie materializes at my elbow and pulls me into a sideways hug. "Congratulations, sister."
"You knew," I accuse.
"Obviously." She is extremely smug about it. "Why do you think I came along on this trip?"
I thought it was to sell the we're-already-a-couple story for me and Kieran with my mom and kids. "You could have warned me."
"And miss that face?" She shakes her head. "No chance, but watch out, because Kieran has more up his sleeve than a surprise proposal."
I stare at my sister-from-another-mister. She cannot mean what I think she means. I quickly glance around the grotto, looking for more surprises. A priest maybe.
He wouldn't do that, would he? Spring a wedding on me.
A willowy woman about mom's age and at least four inches taller than her, is looking at us all with peaceful benevolence. Silver-gray hair tinted lavender hangs over her left shoulder in a long braid and at least three inches of her right forearm is covered in thin bangles.
She's holding a briefcase in that hand and it hits a discordant note with her long tunic top, the chain of crystals and thin gold links she's wearing at her hips, with ends that dangle down until they're lost in her many layered kerchief style skirt.
Nothing about this woman screams, "I'm here for a wedding." But something about the expectant way she looks at me tells me she's here for something related to us.
"Ah, good, you're here!" Ellie crows from beside me, before rushing forward to greet the older woman. "Is all the paperwork ready?"
Paperwork?
I whip my head sideways to catch my new fiancé's eye. "Kieran?" My voice cracks on the second syllable of his name.
"That's Celeste."
"Who is Celeste?" I ask with foreboding.
Mom pushes between me and Kieran. "What is Celeste doing here?"
"She's the officiant," he replies calmly.
"Officiant?" I ask faintly.
"As in she's here to marry you and my daughter?" mom asks, sounding a lot less upset than I would have expected with that question.
"Yes." Kieran touches my cheek. "I thought it would be romantic."
Romantic? I doubt it. Expedient? Definitely.
"But why not tell me?" I ask him, the question laden with words I can't say in front of my family.
If this was the new plan, why keep it a secret from me?
"I didn't want to spoil the surprise," Kieran says using his impressive ability to speak truth while meaning something entirely different than what the listener is hearing.
It's a good plan. Springing the wedding on me. It makes the whole engagement to instant wedding idea more believable, right?
Looking at Kieran like he's a naughty, mischievous boy, but not a bad one, mom is clearly buying it.
"You said yes," Kieran reminds me, like springing a wedding on me right after asking me to marry him is perfectly normal.
The thing that worries me the most is that even if this wasn't a marry-me-to-protect-you-from-my-mob deal, I'm not sure he would do things any differently. Kieran Lleshi is a man who knows his own mind and doesn't see any reason to wait to act on the course he's set for himself.
I mean, it was only two days ago… Oh, my gosh, can it really have only been two days?
No, it's been three.
That's so much better. But three days ago, Kieran told me within thirty minutes of meeting me that he was going to take care of it and I wasn't going back to work for Kenneth Shaughnessy ever again.
Kieran was right. And this right here? This is him doing what he promised with the same impatience. No, impatience isn't the right word.
Certainty.
This man lacks any doubt in his path forward and sees no reason to delay because of that certainty. And by hook, or by crook, he's going to make sure me and my girls are on that path with him.
I don't realize I'm standing there just staring at him in stunned silence until Ellie nudges me gently. "You did say yes, friend."
Mom grips my wrist with a hold I don't think even Kieran could break and tugs me away from everyone else. By some miracle the girls and Ellie stay where they are.
But then I look at mom and see it's not a miracle.
It's the look of an Irish-American mom on a mission and she's not going to be deterred. It's also the look that says stay where you are if you know what's good for you.
Even Kieran stays.
"When your man decides to move, he moves fast," mom says, when we're as far away from the others as we can get and stay in the grotto.
My man?
Amidst the inner chaos, something settles in my chest. Yes, my man. Whatever our reasons for getting married, Kieran and I are going to speak vows. There will be vows, right? And we will belong to each other.
Maybe in an even more real way than Troy and I did. Kieran won't have a whole chunk of his life hidden from me. That feeling of rightness gets bigger.
"I know." Man, do I know.
Mom studies my face. "You're not an impetuous woman."
If only she knew. "Not really, no."
"Do you want a proper wedding?" she asks. "Every bride deserves to feel special on their wedding day."
"I do feel special." Which is all kinds of silly, because marriage of convenience, right? But I do.
Mom nods. "Good. But this getting married without any guests, no wedding cake…" She lets her voice trail off. "Is it what you want?"
Mom likes Kieran. She thinks he's good for me. I know her well enough to know that. But she won't let me be railroaded into something I don't want.
I do want it. For lots of reasons, some I'm not remotely willing to admit to myself. "I did the big wedding before. I hated that dad wasn't there to give me away. That Brady was gone too."
I cried on my wedding day and it wasn't because I was nervous, or so happy I couldn't keep the tears in. I was grieving and Troy assumed they were happy tears. I bet Kieran wouldn't. If I cried today.
But I don't feel like crying. "I want this. And we do have guests. The girls and Ellie are here. You're here. No one else matters."
Mom squeezes my hand. "I won't say you and Kieran are the only ones that matter because you're right, family matters too and the ones who love you best are here."
"I'm a little scared," I admit, knowing mom can't know how deep that fear runs.
Maybe Kieran isn't the only one good at saying one thing while the subtext stays buried.
"Your dad proposed on our second date."
"You never told me that!"
"I didn't want your brother getting ideas about rushing into something. I made your dad wait six months for my yes, anyway." Mom shakes her head. "Sometimes, I wish I had told you children. Maybe Brady would have had a whirlwind romance and gotten married before…" Her voice trails off.
"He was dad's son too. If he'd met someone he cared about, he probably would have proposed to her on their first date."
"You're probably right. Brady jumped in where angels fear to tread, that's for sure." Mom pats my hand. "Let's get you married then, daughter. At Disneyland." She shakes her head. "Now that's a story the girls will be telling their little brothers and sisters."
Little brothers and sisters? My brain fritzes again.