she said, dragging him toward the table with the cake, which they and their guests had already devoured, past Evan and Selena; Derek, Macey and their nine-month-old daughter; past Clay, Andie and their daughter, Payton; and Faith and Joe, who was lavishing his own nine-month-old with love. As they went by her mom and Sawyer, who were sitting with Mariah, Buck and Cale’s parents, her mother caught her eye and winked conspiratorially. When they walked by Scott, Mercedes, Charlie, Penn—who was an arson investigator and tended to socialize with their group, as well—and Penn’s girlfriend, Nadia, the five guests held out their hands and Cale slapped each one in sequence, as if he’d just hit a home run.
Rachel picked up the mic, turned it on and tested it.
“So...I know a lot of times the bride and groom exchange gifts privately, but with my love of the spotlight and all, ha-ha, I wanted to do this in front of all of you. Because, thanks to this guy, all of you have come to mean so much to me. As a former loner, I really don’t know what to do with so many friends except to say thank you. So thanks for being here to share our big day.”
Several of the guys called out comments in fun as Rachel swallowed down the surge of emotion she hadn’t expected.
“Anyway—” she turned to face Cale “—this dear, understanding, patient man has been so, so good to me and has put up with my insane work schedule for months without complaining. Much.”
Laughter filtered throughout the group.
“And I’ll admit, I pushed him by insisting on taking so many extra shifts, and yet he loves me, workaholism and all.”
Cale gazed down at her and nodded helplessly, his love shining in his eyes, making her heart soar yet again.
“Because of my job and the fact that I haven’t been there for quite a year yet, we weren’t able to plan a honeymoon, and yet you never complained once.”
Several of the women in the group said “Aww” in unison.
“The thing is, though...I haven’t been completely honest with you.”
Cale’s smile faded slightly and he tilted his head. Raised his brows in question.
“We’re leaving in—” she checked the dainty silver bracelet watch around her wrist “—approximately ninety minutes for our weeklong trip to New York City, where neither of us will be allowed to think for a second about work...except for the day I take you to the Fire Museum.”
“Really?” Cale said, his face-splitting grin back. “You’re mine for an entire week?”
“I’m yours for an entire lifetime.”
“But I, uh, I’m scheduled to work three shifts.”
“That schedule was a fake!” Joe, the captain and the one in charge of making the schedule, called out.
Cale looked at Joe in disbelief then back at Rachel. “Really? We’re going on a honeymoon?”
“Your sister packed your bags. And all of our guests will now be understanding when we leave our own reception early.”
“Wow.” Cale pulled her to him and squeezed her so tightly she became airborne. “I don’t know what to say.” He glanced at Joe again. “Thanks, Joe, for starters. And you...my beautiful, sneaky wife...” He shook his head and she could swear she saw moisture in the corners of his eyes.
“There’s one last little thing,” Rachel said when she was able to breathe. She no longer used the mic, figuring this was more personal, and probably everyone could hear her anyway, if they wanted to. “My work schedule? The double shifts? The extra days? I figured out a while ago that’s not the way I want to live long-term, thanks, in part, to my mom and her sometimes-annoying wisdom. I did it these past few months with the sole purpose of saving up for our honeymoon, but...when we come back, I’ll be working no more than four shifts a week. Like a normal person. I know you’ll still have twenty-fours, but hopefully we’ll have lots of time for us. More than we’re used to.”
“That,” Cale said, as he reached down and grabbed her in a cradle hold before she knew what he was doing, “is the very best gift you could ever give me, Dr. Rachel Jackson.”
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from Back to the Good Fortune Diner by Vicki Essex!
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