“You’ve never asked?” her mother said with a surprised expression.
“They don’t like talking about their childhood. Sometimes they’ll start, but it always leads back to that day they came home from school and no one was there.” Maggie sighed. “Enough sad talk or I’ll start crying and have to do my makeup all over again. Have you seen Ryan yet? Is he as handsome as I imagined in his tux?”
“Not as handsome as your father,” Nell said with a smile. “But he’ll definitely do.” She touched Maggie’s cheek. “Your father and I want nothing more than your happiness, but I must say I’m thrilled that you’ve found it here rather than in Maine. It’s going to be good having you nearby. We missed you.”
“Now I’ll be underfoot all the time,” Maggie said. “You’ll get tired of seeing me.”
“Never,” her mother said. “And I’m looking forward to all the grandchildren you’ll bring over, as well.”
Maggie laughed. “Let’s not rush things. Ryan’s still getting used to the marriage concept.”
Her mother glanced at her watch. “Then we’d better not keep him waiting. I’ll send your sisters in and then go into the church. Your father’s waiting for you in the foyer, probably wearing a hole in the carpet, as he did with your sisters. I love you, Mary Margaret O’Brien.”
“And I, you. No woman ever had a better mother.”
“And no woman will make a better wife and mother than you,” Nell said, tears welling up. “Here, I go again. Let me get out of here.”
Maggie’s sisters came in as her mother departed and offered her the traditional something old, something new—a lace-edged handkerchief carried by every O’Brien bride for three generations, a brand-new blue garter from Frannie and a pair of Colleen’s pearl earrings, loaned for the occasion.
“I think that’s it,” Colleen said, standing back to study her. “Mags, you’re even more beautiful than I was, dammit.”
“But not as gorgeous as I’ll be,” Katie insisted.
“What an ego, baby sister,” Frannie chided.
Maggie laughed. “Come on, guys, let’s go march down the aisle and show everyone just how beautiful all the O’Brien women are. We’ll make Mom and Dad proud.”
“They’re not proud of us because we’re pretty,” Colleen began.
“But because we’re smart,” the rest of them said in a chorus.
Maggie didn’t say it, but she thought she might be the smartest one of all, because she’d seen through Ryan’s brooding moods and tough demeanor to the wonderful man beneath. And today she was making him hers for the rest of their lives.
“Stop fidgeting,” Sean commanded Ryan, “or I will never get this tie on straight! The person who invented these things ought to be taken out and shot. Had to be a woman, since they’re the ones always anxious to get a noose around our necks.”
Ryan frowned at his brother. “A fine thing to be saying to me on my wedding day.”
“Well, it’s true. Your Maggie is a wonderful woman, the finest I’ve ever met, in fact, but making a commitment to her for the rest of your lives requires a kind of courage I can’t begin to imagine.”
“You’re a firefighter, for heaven’s sake!”
“I’d risk a burning building a thousand times before saying I do,” Sean said with feeling.
“We’ll see about that,” Ryan retorted. “If I could fall, so can you.”
“Never!” Sean insisted.
Ryan laughed. “As an Irishman, don’t you know better than to tempt fate that way? The gods are probably up there right this second laughing as they plan your downfall.”
Sean shot him a sour look. “Don’t go getting any ideas about helping them along.”
“Doubt I’ll have to,” Ryan replied. “Destiny does a pretty good job all on its own.”
“Tell that to all the people who meddled in your life to get you to this point.”
The door cracked open as if on cue, and Father Francis came in with Rory right behind him.
“Are you thinking of getting married today or next month?” Rory asked irritably, running a finger inside the tight collar of his tux. “I don’t know how much longer I can stand this thing.”
“Then by all means let’s not make you wait,” Ryan said, before turning to the priest. “Is Maggie ready?”
“Waiting in the foyer for the wedding march to begin,” he confirmed. “And looking like an angel.”
Ryan sighed. “Then by all means, let’s get this show on the road.”
They started from the room, but Ryan caught Sean’s arm. “I’m glad you’re here to be my best man,” he told him. “It makes today feel right.”
“From here on out, nothing’s ever going to keep us apart again,” Sean said, pulling him into a hug. “If the world tangles with one Devaney, it has to deal with both of us. We’re a team.”
Ryan fought back unexpected tears and forced a smile. “Moving words, but I’m still not sharing Maggie with you. She’s mine.”
Sean grinned. “No question about that. I’ve seen the look in her eyes when you’re in the room. You’ll never have any cause to question her love.”
Ryan sighed as a rare feeling of pure contentment stole through him. A ceremony wouldn’t change the truth of his brother’s words. Maggie O’Brien well and truly loved him.
And that made him the luckiest man on earth.
The ceremony was everything Maggie could have hoped for, though it passed in a bit of a blur. She had a feeling the wedding pictures were going to be disastrous, because one person or another was either bursting into tears or laughing. And the reception at Ryan’s Place was filled with music and laughter and dancing.
Through it all Maggie could think of nothing besides the wedding night ahead, which they were spending upstairs before going off on a honeymoon trip to Ireland first thing in
