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I write sweet, clean Christian romance novels that demonstrate the power of love and grace… and won’t make your grandmother blush ;)
I write sweet, clean Christian romance novels that demonstrate the power of love and grace… and won’t make your grandmother blush ;)
The night before her wedding, Valerie hardly got any sleep. She was too excited.
Over the summer, she’d purchased a beautiful four-bedroom house on a one-and-a-half-acre lot about a mile from the beach. Dylan and Derrick had their own bedroom down the hall from the master, and the floors in the house weren’t nearly as creaky as the floors at the inn, so the twins slept like little kings despite her restlessness.
Brett would be moving in after their honeymoon—he and Valerie were going to spend three days in Newport, Rhode Island, touring the mansions and enjoying the amenities at their fancy-pants hotel while the boys slept over at Chloe and Steve’s.
At six o’clock, she sprang out of bed. The wedding wasn’t until three in the afternoon, but she and the boys were heading over to Chloe and Steve’s for breakfast, after which she, Chloe and Laura were going to go get manicures and pedicures at the nail salon on Main Street—a wedding gift from Brett to all three of them.
She was excited about getting her nails done, but she also couldn’t wait to hear what Brett thought about her wedding gift to him: the first of twelve gourmet “bacon of the month” boxes.
She didn’t have to wait long. Before she’d even taken two bites of her pancakes, her phone rang.
“Did you open your present?” she asked before Brett could say a word.
He laughed. “Baby, you’re too cute. I love it.”
“Only the best for you, Mr. Bacon Man. What flavors did you get?”
“Let’s see…” There was a pause while he grabbed the box. “Applewood smoked maple and white pepper parmesan.”
“Ooh, sounds good!”
“Let’s have everyone over for brunch after the honeymoon, and I’ll fry it up.”
She smiled. Moving to Wychmere Bay had given her social calendar a huge boost. She had so many friends here, and enough time away from work to actually get together with them regularly. “Great idea.”
“What time’s your nail appointment?”
“In an hour.”
“And then Chloe’s going to do your hair and makeup?”
“That’s the plan.” She and Chloe had found the perfect wedding dress when they’d gone shopping together in Boston: an A-line, tea-length silk organza dress with a scoop neck and cap sleeves. It was long enough that it looked formal and romantic, but short enough that she wouldn’t get sand all over the hem when they took photos with the wedding party on the beach.
“I can’t wait for this afternoon.”
“I know,” she said, excitement humming in her chest, “me, too.”
“Go pamper yourself, bright eyes. I’ll see you soon.”
She and Chloe headed out to meet Laura at the salon, leaving Steve in charge of taking all the kids over to the Sea Glass Inn. There, he’d join Brett and Jonathan for the men’s pre-wedding prep while Irene, Mabel and a couple of the other ladies from church babysat for a few hours.
After the ceremony at the church, everyone would come back to the inn, where some of Brett’s catering buddies were setting up a traditional lobster bake buffet under a big white tent on the lawn.
By the time 2:30 rolled around, Valerie was primped and ready.
“You look so beautiful!” Laura exclaimed. She and Chloe looked gorgeous, too. The bridesmaid dresses were a flowy robin’s egg blue, with pink shoes that matched the pink roses in their bouquets.
“I can’t believe it’s finally happening.” Valerie twirled to look at her veil in the mirror one last time before they left for the church. “You should pinch me so I know it’s real.”
“Finally?” Chloe laughed, then gave her a playful pinch on the arm. “It hasn’t even been three months since you got engaged!”
Valerie laughed, too. “But it feels like we’ve been waiting forever.”
Chloe looped her arm through Valerie’s. “I’m glad I won’t have to break it to Brett that you got cold feet.”
“Never.”
Chloe squeezed her tighter. “I always wanted a sister, Val. I’m so glad it’s you.”
They piled into Laura’s car and drove to Wychmere Community Church. Chloe ran ahead to make sure the coast was clear and Brett wouldn’t see Valerie before it was time to walk down the aisle.
When Chloe waved them in, Valerie and Laura stepped out into the September sunshine and headed toward the little white clapboard church. It was almost a year to the day since Brett had charged into her dad’s old house and pulled her and the twins out of the flames.
Although the fire had been an absolutely awful thing at the time, Valerie was grateful for it now. Without it, she and Brett never would have gotten together. She’d almost certainly be in New York right now, probably working on the weekend while Dylan and Derrick cooled their heels with a babysitter or nanny. Instead, she was about to marry the most handsome, generous and big-hearted man on the planet.
God was so good to her. She was so blessed.
Pastor Nate greeted them in the vestibule, kissing Valerie on the cheek and letting her know that Brett was already up the altar, waiting. “You ready to do this thing?” he asked.
She beamed at him. “Let’s do it!”
He nodded. “I’ll go get the twins.”
A minute later, he brought Derrick and Dylan to her, both of them looking dapper in their little black suits.
She took their hands and crouched down so she was on their level. “What do you think, guys? Is it time for me to marry Mr. Brett?”
“Yeah!” Derrick cheered. “Da wedding’s going to be fun!”
“Are you a princess today, Valwee?” Dylan asked, reaching out to touch her veil.
She grinned. “Pretty much. Do you like it?”
He bobbed his head up and down.
“Are you excited for me to marry Mr. Brett?”
“He’s going to live in our house and cook bweakfast for us and play with us all da time!” Derrick cried.
“He sure is,” she said, keeping her eyes on the quieter twin. “He loves you almost as much as I do.”
“We lub him, too,” Dylan said.
She squeezed his hand. “Then let’s go!”
The processional music started, and Laura and Jonathan headed down the aisle, followed by Steve and Chloe, who was holding both her own bouquet along with Valerie’s larger one. Finally, Valerie and the twins stepped into the church proper, which was lit up with the sunshine streaming through the windows and fragrant with the scent of all the wedding flowers.
Her gaze immediately flew to Brett, who was standing tall at the altar in a suit and tie, love in his eyes and an enormous smile on his face. Her heart skipped in her chest as the boys bounced down the aisle beside her.
When they reached the front, the music stopped and Nate asked, “Who presents this woman to be married to this man?”
“We do!” the twins shouted, and the wedding guests chuckled and clapped. Brett knelt down to give them both high fives before Chloe herded them into the front pew with Valerie’s mom and assorted church ladies.
As he straightened, Brett caught Valerie’s hand. “Hi,” he whispered, pulling her in for a hug.
“Hi yourself,” she whispered back.
“You’re so beautiful, it’s hard to believe you’re even real.”
Nate cleared his throat and they stepped back so the ceremony could begin. When it came time to exchange rings, Brett surprised her. “With this ring,” he said, slipping a delicate eternity band made of round diamonds and marquise-cut blue sapphires onto her finger, “I thee wed.”
She gasped, staring at the sparkles.
“Do you like it?” he whispered.
“I love it,” she whispered back, “but I thought we were getting plain bands?”
“This reminded me of your eyes, and I couldn’t resist.”
Her vision went blurry, and Brett reached out and brushed a tear from the corner of her eye with his thumb. “Happy tears?” he asked.
She smiled up at him. “The happiest.”
“I love you, bright eyes,” he said, his voice still low.
“I love you, too.”
He leaned down and brushed a soft kiss across her lips.
Nate laughed. “Hold on, you two. We haven’t finished!”
Chloe handed Brett’s wedding ring to Valerie, and she slid it onto his ring finger. “With this ring,” she said, staring into his eyes, “I thee wed.”
“Brett and Valerie, having witnessed your vows before God and all who are assembled here, by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now,” Nate said, pausing theatrically, “kiss the bride!”
Brett planted another sweet kiss on her lips, and the guests cheered. Then he held their joint hands up in the air in victory. “She said yes!” he crowed. “Again!”
Valerie threw her head back and laughed. “You weren’t worried, were you?”
“No, baby,” he said, enfolding her in a big bear hug. “I’m just so happy. You’ve literally made me the happiest man in the world.”
“Then step lively, big guy.” She tugged on his hand to get him to walk up the aisle. “Our guests are waiting, and we’ve got some celebrating to do!”
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