Conlan laughed and slapped Rory on the back. “I see me fellow bridegroom is as nervous as I, but mayhaps for a different reason.”
“How is that?” Rory asked.
“This place is, or was until recently, your home. With all the shenanigans that could happen when Irish families and paranormal friends get together, things could get ruined…not to mention if any one of us shows our paranormal abilities around a human, there will be hell to pay.”
“Don’t pay me,” Ryan said.
“You realize he’s talking about me.” A disembodied female voice resonated around the room.
“Gaia!” Ryan exclaimed. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
Mother Nature appeared. “I’m not…but I’m watching. I don’t want anything to ruin my muse’s special day. It’s bad enough she had to include two humans, but I understand they are her mother and sister. What I don’t understand, Rory, is why your brother-in-law Finn, Father Joseph, and the owners of the pub have to attend. They’re humans too.”
“Beggin’ yer pardon, Goddess.” Rory bowed reverently. “The good father is officiatin’, and I was the one who invited Finn. He’s married to me sister, Shannon, and didn’t faint when he learned about dragons and leprechauns. He should be fine. The O’Malleys are here to cater the dinner. As long as everything goes well during the reception…”
The Goddess closed her eyes and shook her head. “How little you know about weddings. That’s when everything bad happens.”
* * *
Meanwhile, in the master bedroom, Amy slipped into her aqua silk dress. She couldn’t afford the genuine Vera Wang, so she had a costumer she knew from her stage career make one like it.
“Conlon offered to pay for any dress I wanted, but I wouldn’t hear of it.”
“Why not?” Kristine asked as she zipped up the back.
“Soon enough my finances will be tied to his.”
Kristine laughed. “Mother, you realize that’s like saying, ‘Soon enough I’ll hitch my little red wagon to his Maserati.’”
Amy admired herself in the full-length mirror. “I guess you’re right. I’ve never been able to depend on another person’s income, and it feels strange. I know you helped me pay our rent all those years, but even then I knew that someday you’d move out to live on your own or with someone else—speaking of which, have you worked out where you and Jayce will live?”
“Not yet. We haven’t had much time to just talk.”
Amy burst out laughing. “Yeah, I’ll bet. When the two of you come up for air, you probably have to make up for lost sleep.”
Kristine felt her cheeks heat. She didn’t discuss her sex life—especially with her mother! It was time to change the subject—or sidestep it a little.
“Jayce was cleared to go back to work. He offered to quit and move to Hell’s Kitchen—despite how much his family wants him to stay in Boston. And now that my family will be in Boston, it would just be pigheaded of me to insist on staying in New York.”
“So, you’re giving up everything you’ve worked for? The lieutenant position?”
“It was either that or let him do all the sacrificing.”
“He was really ready to give up his rank and his home and disappoint his family? All just to make you happy?”
“Yes. Amazing, isn’t he?”
The women smiled at each other.
“What about your degree?” Amy asked.
“I managed to almost finish it over the summer. I can do the rest online.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful! Every woman should have a fallback.” Kristine’s mother sat at the dressing table and began combing her hair.
“Let me do that for you, Mom.” Kristine picked up the brush and stroked her mother’s long, shiny red hair.
“That’s very practical of you…to have a fallback, I mean.”
