Sea Glass Island (Ocean Breeze) - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,82
the church. Drawn to that smile as he would have been to sunlight, he slipped into the pew beside her.
“You got home okay, I see.”
Her smile widened at that. “And I didn’t send Emily and Gabi back to rip your heart out. All in all, a good night for both of us.”
Ethan chuckled. “I suppose so.” He nodded toward Emily, who was flitting around the sanctuary like a hummingbird. “Is she okay?”
“She’s on an adrenaline high,” Samantha said. “Even though she’s been over Cora Jane’s lists a thousand times herself, she’s convinced something critical has escaped their notice. How’s Boone doing?”
“Calmer than I would be,” Ethan told her. “He’s eager to put the ceremony behind them and get on with married bliss.”
“You sound skeptical.”
Ethan merely lifted a brow. “I think I’d best table my cynicism for the next couple of days.”
“Probably a good idea.”
He stood up. “I’d better check in with Boone. He’s over there trying to pacify his parents, and he’s starting to look a little desperate.”
Samantha followed his gaze. “Go. I don’t envy you.”
“Just part of my duties, or so I’m told,” he said, and crossed to the groom’s side of the sanctuary. “Everything okay?”
Boone’s scowl was response enough.
“What’s the problem?” Ethan asked.
“My mother seems to object to my father being allowed to sit in the same row for the service,” Boone explained, directing a frown at his mother. “Of course, what she really hates is that he’ll be accompanied by his wife.”
“I’m just saying, she’s not family,” the former Mrs. Dorsett said.
“Neither is your husband,” Boone’s father retorted. “Are we banishing him, too?”
Ethan held up a hand, deciding to test his peacemaking skills. “It’s a big pew. Couldn’t you all share it for Boone’s sake? The ceremony will take, what? An hour? Surely you can remain civilized for that long.”
“I will not sit in the same row with that bimbo,” Felicity retorted at once.
“Do not refer to my wife as a bimbo,” her ex-husband snapped. “Or I’ll call that man you married exactly what he is.”
She got up in his face. “Which is? Say it, Martin. What is it you think he is?”
“He’s a gigolo,” Martin said heatedly. “And everyone here knows it.”
“Well, Sheila is a money-grasping fortune-hunter,” she replied. “Why else would a twenty-three-year-old marry you?”
Boone lifted his eyes heavenward. Ethan got between the two warring exes. “Enough!” he said emphatically. “This is not about either of you or about your opinion of each other’s marriage. Tomorrow is all about Boone and Emily, and if you can’t behave like reasonably civilized adults, then maybe you both should stay away.”
Boone’s mother stared at him in shock. “You want me to miss my only son’s wedding?”
“I don’t want you to miss anything,” Ethan replied, hanging on to his patience by a thread. “I just don’t want you to ruin it with this childish game you’re playing.”
She burst into tears and ran up the aisle. Boone’s father turned on Boone. “And you agree? That’s what you want? For us to stay away?”
“I want you here,” Boone contradicted. “But Ethan’s right. Not if you’re going to cause a scene.”
Martin Dorsett looked taken aback by his son’s response, then slowly nodded. “That woman could always get on my last nerve, but you’re right. I’ll deal with this.” He glanced at Ethan. “Thanks for trying to be a voice of reason. I know it’s a thankless task when it comes to Felicity and me.”
Ethan nodded. “It was worth a shot, just the same.”
As he left, Boone held up his hand for a bump. “Thanks for having my back. I was about at my wit’s end with the two of them. You’d think after all these years apart, the old anger and resentment would be dead and buried.”
“You treat children with authority,” Ethan said, then grinned. “Even if they are in their fifties.”
Boone nodded. “I’ll have to remember that if I’m ever insane enough to get them into the same room again.” He sighed. “I’d better see if Emily’s ready to start. For all I know, this little scene has scared her off.”
“I think it’ll take more than a spat between your parents to scare her off,” Ethan said.
Boone started away, then came back, his expression worried. “You and Samantha okay? I know something went down between the two of you last night. When I spoke to Emily last night, they were in the kitchen at Cora Jane’s getting soused.”
“Samantha and I are fine,” Ethan assured him. At least he hoped they were.