Page 27 of Tempted at Midnight

Martin sold his house in Houston surprisingly fast, and we’d use the proceeds to build an addition onto my house, adding two more bedrooms, another bathroom, and expanding both the kitchen and the family room. We’d all breathed a sigh of relief when it was finished and we could spread out a little.

I’d thought being the only female in a house with three males was bad but being in a house with seven? Let’s just say we were ordering Febreze by the gallon and we now had two separate refrigerators to hold all the food these boys ate. Suffice it to say our grocery bill was astronomical. So was our water bill. And the electricity.

Even with Luke gone away to college last August, there were still a lot of expenses. Of course, he came home at least a couple of times a month anyway to do laundry and eat free food. Not that I minded.

“First of all, just like I told you last year, you look freakin’ sexy as hell in that dress,” Becky said as she curled my hair into some elaborate style. “Second, it’s gonna be meaningful that you chose it to commemorate the night you fell in love.”

Her voice got kind of dreamy when she said that, and I sent up a wish to the gods of relationships that my best friend would find something as good as what I found with Martin.

We were getting married in the same hotel we first met, the Ambassador Hotel in Houston. We’d reserved a small party room for the event and had only invited our closest friends and family.

Needless to say, my parents didn’t make the cut. Two of my brothers had refused to attend to avoid any drama from my parents, but my brother Lewis and sister-in-law Sue were one of the first two people to accept the invitation. I appreciated their support.

Of course my found family was there too. Besides Becky I’d invited George and Cassie, Leo, Jimmy, Josie and David, and a few other friends and neighbors I’d been close to over the years.

Martin’s parents were in attendance today. They were nice enough, but they were retired and traveled around a lot in their RV, so we didn’t see them very often. Maria and John came, as well as a few of Martin’s closer friends.

Becky had been tapped to be my maid-of-honor and Martin had asked his sister to be his ‘best woman’. Both Becky and Maria were thrilled at the honor.

The hotel event planner popped in to tell us it was time to get started. I waited in the hallway, surprisingly calm, while Becky made her way up to the front of the room where the officiant and the rest of the wedding party waited.

I’d made Leo cry when I asked him to be our officiant. He’d taken one of those internet classes to get licensed to perform weddings, and he’d embraced his role with more excitement than I’d ever seen him display about anything other than football.

The wedding march started, and I entered the room. I could feel all eyes on me as I slowly walked up to Martin, but I didn’t see anyone but him. When I reached the front, he pulled me into his arms.

“You wore my favorite dress!”

He sounded delighted.

“And you wore the same suit and tie you wore the night I met you,” I said in amazement. “Great minds think alike.”

“I guess it’s true that we were meant to be, my love.”

I blinked rapidly, trying hard not to cry. After all, I had a reputation as a badass to uphold. Plus, Becky had done my makeup and given me smoky eyes, and there was no way I wanted to look like a raccoon in our wedding pictures.

“Let’s get married,” I said softly. “Before one of our boys starts a belching contest or throws some food.”

We both laughed as we turned to face Leo.

“You kids ready to get hitched?” he asked with a big smile on his face.

“We sure are.”