Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
A laugh from behind her reminded Erin that she had a girl gang of her own. Her sisters-in-law were sitting together at one of the big tables in the white tent set up for the reception. It was being held about thirty miles outside of Fort Worth, just far enough away that it seemed like they were surrounded by nature.
She’d never had sisters before she’d married Theo. Well, it hadn’t truly been marrying Theo that had made her one of them. It had been loving him. Losing him. Before she’d found him again, she’d discovered she wasn’t alone the way she’d thought she’d been.
Sometimes those words her father used to hurt her seemed like they’d been heard with different ears. In another life.
Somewhere along the way she’d set aside her anger at the man who hadn’t been able to love her. She’d forgiven her brothers for being mini versions of her dad, though she would shoot any of them who came close to her kids, but that wouldn’t be about what they’d done to her.
Her rage had been utterly overtaken by the love she’d found.
“You good?” Boomer Ward offered her another glass of champagne. He looked stunning in his tuxedo. Almost as good as her man, though no one on earth looked like Theo Taggart.
But Boomer’s smile had lit up the night as he’d walked his daughter down the aisle after the strangest, most adorable wedding party she’d ever seen. Every bridesmaid had been escorted down the aisle by a groomsman and one of the many animals the Ward family had rescued. Her own daughter had grinned as she’d walked beside her cousin Lucas and a potbellied pig named Jarvis. Devi had claimed Jarvis was far better behaved than her cousin.
“Well, no one tried to blow up the place, so I think we’re good.” The last wedding they’d all attended had been…eventful, to say the least, so she was counting this one going off without a hitch as a win.
Especially since Daisy O’Donnell had been involved in the planning, and that girl was a chaos magnet. Though she’d calmed down since she’d found her balance in the form of a hunky boyfriend she was madly in love with.
But those were other stories for other days. She was concentrating on the here and now, and the here and now felt really amazing.
“The cake Daphne made was spectacular.” Lou’s mom had outdone herself with the seven-tiered elegant cake she’d made.
“She’s made a lot of wedding cakes over the years. This one was the most special,” Boomer said, a smile on his lips. “They make a beautiful couple. I always knew they would end up together.”
Erin chuckled. “Really? I thought you might kill my boy a couple of times in there. It was a long road.”
“Yeah, but sometimes those are the best roads to travel,” Boomer said. “I know they struggled, but they were always going to end up right here. Which is why I’m going to have faith when it comes to the rest of them.”
“You mean our completely fucked up nieces and nephews?” The twins were excelling at the spy game, but their romantic lives were a big old mess. Still, she’d seen miracles happen…
“Yep.” Boomer snagged a beer from the waiter walking by. “That is what I mean. They’ll figure it out and save the world at the same time.”
A slow song played, and TJ swayed with his new bride, staring down at her with a look she’d seen in his father’s eyes. It was how Theo looked at her.
“You ever think we’d be here?” Boomer asked.
“I had my doubts. You’re the one who seemed to see the future, buddy.”
Boomer laughed. “I didn’t mean Lou and TJ. I meant you and me. I think a lot about who I was when I first came to McKay-Taggart. We were a lot alike.”
Ah, she knew what he meant. They had been a lot alike. “Shitty parents. No family. Work was the only thing that mattered.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I think a lot about that guy who just wanted to fit in somewhere.”
Damn, she was soft.
And it felt good to be soft. She reached out and gave her old friend a half hug, leaning into his massive body. “You fit in here just fine, Boom. I personally couldn’t imagine this family without you.”
He leaned into her. “You either. Sometimes I want to go back and tell that guy to just hold on, that he won’t believe how good it can get. I thought I was happy when I had my friends, but tonight, watching Lou start this part of her life and knowing my son will be here one day…”
Erin straightened up and punched him in the arm. “Asshole. You’re trying to make me cry. I spent an hour in a chair with a teenager painting makeup on me, and I am not going to ruin it.”