Sea Glass Island (Ocean Breeze) - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,100
am so happy for you and Wade. I hope today is everything you want it to be.”
“As long as he and Daniella are there, it will be,” Gabi said with conviction.
“I’m buying a bunch of disposable cameras, too,” Samantha told her. “You need pictures, and nobody prints out the ones they take with their cell phones.”
“Thanks. I don’t intend to forget a second of this, but pictures would be nice.”
As soon as she’d hung up from speaking to Gabi, Samantha called Ethan.
“Hold on to your hat,” she told him. “We have an impromptu wedding today at four.”
He laughed. “It’s not ours, is it?”
“Nope, not even I am that spontaneous. It’s Gabi and Wade. I guess they caught wedding fever or something. Can you meet us at the courthouse?”
“I’ll make it happen,” he promised.
“And don’t worry,” she told him. “I’m not getting any ideas.”
“Then you may be the only one who isn’t,” he murmured, then hung up.
She didn’t have time to ponder what on earth he meant by that, because Cora Jane came bustling across Castle’s just then, a huge smile on her face. “You heard?”
“I heard,” Samantha confirmed. “You’re not upset that they’re doing this in such a rush?”
“They’re getting married. How they do it hardly matters.”
Samantha gave her grandmother a fierce hug. “That’s the spirit.”
Cora Jane winked at her. “Two down, one to go.”
“Do not get started on me,” she warned her. “Or on Ethan.”
“Oh, come on. The man’s sitting on the edge. One quick shove and he’ll tumble straight into your arms.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Samantha said, though she desperately wanted to believe her grandmother was right. “Just make sure you’re not the one doing the shoving.”
* * *
Louise’s children were running around the judge’s chambers creating even more chaos in an already unruly situation. Ethan was tempted to snag them, but since no one else seemed to be fazed, including the judge, he let them be.
Sophia slipped up beside him. “I’m starting to fall in love with this family,” she told him. “When I flew here from Los Angeles for Emily’s wedding, I had no idea I’d be getting two for the price of one.”
“Much less a new man in your life?” Ethan asked.
A blush tinted her cheeks a shade of pink that couldn’t be manufactured. “Definitely a bonus,” she said, glancing toward Sam with an unmistakable sparkle in her eyes. “So, where do you stand on the whole romance thing? Will you and Samantha be next? Obviously Cora Jane is counting on that.”
“A worrisome situation,” Ethan said.
She laughed. “I imagine so. Cora Jane seems like the kind of woman who gets what she wants.”
“So do you,” he commented.
“Absolutely true, which is why I understand what you’re up against.”
In an attempt to deflect the conversation away from himself, Ethan asked, “Mind if I ask something personal?”
“Have I not just been butting into your life?” she asked, clearly amused by his hesitation. “And you don’t even need to ask. Yes, I find Sam fascinating. It’s been a long time since I met a man with substance and values and a great sense of humor.”
“Do you plan on sticking around?”
“For a while.”
“Until the novelty wears off?” he inquired, worried that Sam might be in way over his head. That might not be his problem, but it would be a concern for Samantha and her sisters.
“I’m not looking at it that way,” she chided. “When you get to be my age, you learn to seize the good things that come your way and treasure them for as long as they last.”
Ethan found himself in the uncomfortable position of defending happily-ever-after. “That sounds a little fatalistic. I thought good relationships were something you were supposed to nurture, that if you worked at it, they could last forever.”
She lifted a brow. “Voice of experience?”
He shook his head. “To the contrary, I’ve never believed in love-everlasting, at least until recently. Much to my own surprise, I find myself coming around.”
“It must be something about the Castles,” Sophia said. “After several divorces, I’m starting to think Sam could make a believer out of me, too.”
Again, her gaze sought out Sam Castle, who was leaning down to whisper something in Gabi’s ear. He glanced up, caught her eye and winked. To Ethan’s amusement, this polished, sophisticated woman suddenly looked as flustered as a schoolgirl.
“Go on over there,” he encouraged her.
“I don’t want to intrude,” she protested.
“Judging by that gleam in his eye, he won’t consider it an intrusion.”