how her dreams had grown so large that a tiny box could never contain them now.
KELLAN STOOD in the front of the church dressed in his best suit and tie. Danny stood beside him in Kellan’s second-best suit and tie. Guests had begun to arrive a half hour before the wedding ceremony and he scanned the crowd, searching for Gelsey. She sneaked into church just before the bride started down the aisle, and Kellan realized she’d probably been helping Nan and Jordan get ready.
“You can take a breath now,” Danny whispered. “She’s here.”
“Yeah,” Kellan said. “All right. So things are definitely looking up.”
As the organ began to play the processional, the three brothers walked to the railing and waited there for Jordan and the bride. Riley and Nan had planned a simple ceremony, but they’d spent time decorating the church with vivid red poinsettias, fragrant pine garlands and hundreds of candles.
Nan looked beautiful, but Kellan’s full attention was focused at the rear of the church, on Gelsey. She wore a fashionable hat and pretty green coat, almost the color of the dress she’d been wearing the morning he found her on the beach.
When Nan took Riley’s hand, Kellan was forced to turn around, but not before talking one last look. She smiled at him and gave him a little wave and Kellan sent a silent thanks to the heavens. She’d shown up and she was smiling at him. Things were going quite well.
Throughout the ceremony, Kellan was tempted to glance back at her, anxious for another look. Although the focus of the guests should have been on Riley and Nan, Kellan got the impression that there were just as many people wondering about the state of the relationship between him and Gelsey. The town of Ballykirk missed their very own celebrity, almost as much as Kellan missed Gelsey’s presence in his bed and in his life.
To his relief, the ceremony was short and sweet. Vows were repeated, rings exchanged and before Kellan knew it, Nan and Riley were husband and wife. They walked down the aisle hand in hand, as happy as any two people ever deserved to be. Kellan and Danny followed the couple down the aisle with Jordan walking between them.
“Gelsey is here,” Jordan murmured as they walked out of the church.
“I know,” Kellan said. “I saw her.”
“Everything is ready at the shop. Are you going to take her there now or later?”
“Aren’t we supposed to hang about for photos?” he asked.
“We’re going to take those back at the pub. Nan and Riley will stay here for a formal portrait.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Danny asked.
Kellan frowned at his brother. “Didn’t you tell him?”
Jordan shook her head. “He can’t keep a secret. He was supposed to wait until Christmas morning to ask me to marry him. He had the whole thing planned and then he asked me the day before, right before we walked over to the pub. Needless to say, I was surprised when he got down on one knee as I was curling my hair.”
“It was like the ring was burning a hole in my pocket,” Danny commented. “I couldn’t wait anymore. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”
The moment they got outside, Kellan wandered through the crush of guests, looking for Gelsey. He found her standing near the bottom of the steps, her green wool coat draped over her shoulders. To his surprise, she wore the green mermaid dress beneath it.
“Gels!” he called.
She waved and waited for him to make his way over to her. When he stood beside her, Kellan gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Hi. You’re here.”
“I am. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Nan looks so beautiful. And Riley. He looks so happy.”
“How have you been?”
“Good. My trip to New York was nice. My parents were…well, they were civil to each other. My mother has a boyfriend and she’s thinking of getting remarried, which would mean my father would be free of alimony payments, which seemed to put him in a cheerful mood. They didn’t get into a screaming match, so I’d say the trip was a success.”
“You’re staying for the party, aren’t you?”
“For a little bit,” she said.
He took her hand, then drew it to his lips and kissed the tips of her fingers. “You look beautiful.”
“So do you,” she said with a smile. “Can I give you a lift back to the pub? I’m parked just down there.”
“It’s not raining. Why don’t we walk. I have something I’d like to show you. Something I need your opinion on.”
“What is it?”
“It’s right down there,” he said.
“Come on, then, let’s go.”
They strolled silently in the chilly night air, each breath they took clouding in front of their faces. Gelsey looked up at the sky. “I wish it would snow.”
“We don’t get snow very often.”
“I know. But it would be nice just this once. There was snow in New York.”
Kellan slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “I’ve never been to New York. Maybe we ought to take a trip there, after your case in Italy has been dismissed.”
“How did you know it’s going to be dismissed?” she asked.
Kellan stopped short. “It is?”
“We’re working out a deal. The photographer is considering dropping the charges in exchange for some exclusive photographs.”
“What does that mean, exclusive? Does that mean naked?”
“No! It means…exclusive. He’s the only one who gets a chance to shoot.”
“Shoot what?”
“Our wedding.” This time, Gelsey stopped short, grabbing his arm and turning him to face her. “I know that we haven’t really talked about marriage, and I guess that’s why I thought it might be an empty promise. And I don’t want you to be angry, but I had to offer him something worthwhile. A picture like that could fetch a lot of money.” She watched him warily, as if she was waiting for him to explode in anger.
“I think…I think I’m fine with that plan. More than fine. Hell, I don’t care if you invite every photographer in the world. I’m just happy that you might marry me someday.”
“Someday. Maybe,” she said, starting off down the street again. “But don’t get your hopes up too high. I might not be the marrying type.”
“What does that mean? I might not be the marrying type, either.”
When they reached the post office, Gelsey continued to walk, then noticed that Kellan had stopped just one door down. “Right here,” he said. “This is it.”
Gelsey frowned. “What?”
He reached out and grabbed her hand, then led her to the front door. The shop was dark inside and Kellan was glad for the element of surprise. When he turned the lights on, he’d know immediately how she felt. “Did you bring the key?”
She nodded. “What is this place?”
“Unlock the door and see for yourself.”
Gelsey slipped the key into the lock and turned it, then pushed open the front door. Kellan reached for a light switch and the old fixtures hanging from the ceiling flickered to life.
He heard Gelsey draw in a quick breath and he gave her hand a squeeze. “It’s going to take more work than Maeve’s shop, but this way, you can do it exactly like you want to.” He led her over to Jordan’s boards, leaning up against the wall. “You can see a few ideas of what you can do. Jordan drew those.”
“You didn’t buy this, did you?”
“No, you’ll have to take care of that yourself. It’s your business and you should own it, although I have negotiated a rather reasonable price for you. I’ll take care of the renovations. Jordan can help you decorate. And Dealy says they have some tourism money for advertising. The point is, you have friends here in Ballykirk-good friends. And we all want to help you get your business started.”
“I-I don’t know what to say,” Gelsey murmured. “It’s all too much.”
“No, it’s not. It’s exactly what you need. I want you to stay in Ballykirk, I want us to work together on this
