One month later…
“I’M TOO OLD TO GET MARRIED.” Irene frowned at her image in the mirror. “A woman my age should have more sense.”
Pepper tugged on the hem of the antique lace jacket her aunt was wearing. “You’re not too old.” She knew enough about panic attacks to recognize one when she saw one, and she had to nip this one before it grew.
With a snort, Irene whirled away from the mirror and began to pace. “I should know better.”
Through the glass wall, Pepper could see that the guests had all been seated in rows of chairs around the gazebo. Many of Irene’s friends and co-workers had flown in from San Francisco, excited to be invited to a destination wedding. Irene was going to continue her TV show. She and Butch would visit San Francisco two months each year so that she could film the episodes. Many of the hotel staff members had also come to the wedding: Gari and Reynaldo, Marlene and Henry, and Tommy the concierge. Pepper had even spotted Tony, the poor man that Butch had sent to steal the Monet.
And they’d all been waiting patiently for almost ten minutes.
Flowers were everywhere, all over the gazebo and along the path the bride should have walked down a full five minutes ago. The small band was starting on their fourth love song, “I Love You Truly.”
The bride-to-be continued to pace. To the right of the gazebo, Pepper could see Butch pacing, with Cole and her father nearby. Now and then, Butch would shoot a glance at the house. Behind him, she could just make out her two brothers and H.
Pepper turned her attention back to Irene and sent up a short prayer that she could figure out the right thing to say. “What you have to remember is that you love Butch.”
Irene whirled on her. “What does that have to do with anything? I love him and he loves me. Why does that mean we have to get married? Why can’t we just go on as we are? Why mess with a good thing? That’s what I say.”
Pepper tried another tack. “Maybe after the wedding, things will be even better.”
“Hah! Fat chance of that with the Rossi curse hanging over your head.”
“I don’t think you need to worry about that. You and Butch spent all those years apart and now you’re together. I think you’ve broken the curse.”
Irene pointed a finger at her. “That’s exactly what Butch said when he talked me into agreeing to all this.”
“He was right.” Pepper could see Butch was now in a heated discussion with her father. Here and there, guests glanced curiously toward the house.
“Yeah, well, if Butch and I have broken the Rossi curse, then why aren’t you and Cole setting a date?” Irene asked. “If I’ve got to do this, then so do you.”
“Well, I—we’re—still getting to know each other.”
“And that’s going well?”
“Yes.” The truth was she and Cole hadn’t talked about anything like marriage. They’d just been busy with work and being together and enjoying each other. Cole was even teaching her to cook.
“Good. Then why screw it all up by getting married? That’s what I say.”
Footsteps pounded on the veranda steps, and a moment later Butch burst into the room followed by Cole.
“Oh, shit,” Irene muttered.
“What the hell is going on?” Butch asked.
Irene advanced on him pointing a finger. “You shouldn’t be here. The groom shouldn’t see the bride before the wedding. It’s against the rules.”
“I couldn’t stop him,” Cole murmured softly as he took Pepper’s hand.
“I’m not having any luck with her either,” she whispered.
Butch fisted his hands on his hips. “Do I look like a man who cares about the rules? I want to know why you’re still in here.”
“I’m in here because I don’t want to do anything to ruin things between us, Butch Castellano.” Taking his arm, Irene dragged him across the room and out onto the patio. “Look at all those people out there. You see the ones who are crying?”
“So? A few people are crying. People cry at weddings.”
“Exactly.” Irene spoke in a triumphant tone. “There has to be a reason for that.”
Butch turned to study her for a minute. “You’re scared, aren’t you?”
Irene’s chin lifted. “I’m not scared. I’m just trying to be smart.”
Pepper tugged on Cole’s hand. “We’ve got to do something.”
“Maybe we won’t have to. Don’t look now but the troops are coming.”
Sure enough, Pepper could see her father, Peter Rossi, a fit gray-haired man in a summer-weight suit, striding toward the veranda. To his right was Matt, a younger-looking version of her father, looking as if he’d just stepped out of the pages of GQ. And Luke, wearing chinos and a linen jacket, looked like he’d just pulled himself together after a day of surfing. A funny but warm feeling stirred in her stomach as she watched them climb the steps.
She turned to look at Cole and found that he was smiling at her. “Family,” he murmured. “Riding to the rescue.”
They were a family, Pepper thought. Her father, her brothers, and Cole. And for the first time she felt like she belonged.
“Irene, you want out of this?” her father was asking.
“No,” Butch said, taking Irene’s hand in his. “She doesn’t.”
“You want us to beat him up for you?” Matt asked.
“No,” Irene said.
Butch turned to Irene then. “I knew from the first time I saw you that you were the one woman I wanted to marry. And I let you go. But I still had part of you in those letters. Then I got scared and stupid and I pushed you away. I was afraid if I let you come to the island and we got together, it would mess up what we had together. But it didn’t, did it?”
“No,” Irene said.
“Right.” Butch nodded at her. “I’m not going to lose you again, Renie. I want more than a living arrangement. I want my ring on your finger, and I want to say the vows.”
Pepper felt tears sting her cheeks as her aunt sighed, stepped into Butch’s arms and laid her head on his shoulder.
After a moment, Butch spoke to Peter. “You can go out there and tell them we’re coming.”
Once Peter, Matt and Luke had left, Butch took Irene’s hand in his. “You ready for this?”
She met his eyes steadily. “Yes. Let’s do it.”
Pepper felt the tears on her cheeks.
As they followed the bride and groom out, Cole turned to her. “You ready for this?”
Pepper stumbled as her heart stuttered and her throat dried. “You mean…?”
He glanced out at the garden as Butch and Irene walked through the flowers, hand in hand. “Yeah.”
She looked into Cole’s eyes, and suddenly, every part of her steadied. “Well. I think with a little time, I could be persuaded.”
He went absolutely still, his eyes narrowing as he studied her. “How much time do you have in mind?”
She smiled slowly. “I thought that after the wedding we might sneak away to this place I know. How does twenty-four hours of persuading sound?”
He threw back his head and laughed. Several heads turned their way. Then he lifted her off her feet and kissed her hard. “You’ve got a deal.”