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“You could be right,” said Emily. “She hardly wears any jewelry, so it’s hard to guess her taste.”
“I love the necklace she’s wearing,” said Olivia.
“I know. Can you believe it? Josh picked it out for her all by himself.”
“Rea
lly? Maybe there’s hope for him after all.”
STEVEN SPOKE PRIVATELY to Josh. “Okay, Josh. I gave you my blessing, but you know I still have reservations. I’ve got to know you’re putting the health of your marriage ahead of the adoption. I’m still concerned you’re rushing into this marriage before you have your relationship straightened out.”
“No. Everything’s under control.” Josh felt guilty for the lie, but he intended to make his statement true before the wedding.
“I’m sorry about Collin. His father’s been a constant thorn in my side since we were children.”
“Yeah. I saw him flirting with Anne, earlier.”
“Nothing slows him down. Not even marriage and twins.”
“I’m surprised you tolerate him as well as you do.”
“Only because of Gram,” Gherring muttered. “Otherwise, I might have killed him on several occasions. But he’s careful never to be far away from her protection.”
“His sons seem to be exactly like him.”
“I agree. Those rotten apples haven’t fallen far from his tree.” Steven cast a disparaging look toward David and Collin who were busy regaling Grace’s sisters with stories about their escapades in Europe. “And I have more bad news. I’m afraid my cousins will be attending our New Year’s Eve celebration, as well.”
“Are you kidding me? I thought they said something about having a party or tickets or something.”
“As it turns out, they only knew they had an invitation to a private party. They didn’t realize the party Gram mentioned was the Gherring Inc. New Year’s Eve Bash.”
“I can tell you one thing for sure. Charlie’s going to have a ring on her finger before we go to that party.”
“Probably a wise move.”
“ARE YOU FEELING OKAY,” Anne asked Charlie. “I don’t want you to overdo it and tear something.”
“No, Mom. I’m fine. With two doctors and two nurses watching my every move, I could hardly get away with overdoing it.”
“Okay. Just checking. You look kind of flushed.”
“Did Ellis and Micah like the sleigh ride?”
“Yes, except they cried when it was over, even though we took them twice and their faces were bright red from the cold. And Micah got mad because we wouldn’t let him ride on the horse.”
“There you are, Charlie,” said Gram as she joined them. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about the wedding.”
“You know we’re planning a really small, informal ceremony. Probably not many more people than are here right now.”
“Yes, I know what you said, but Gus and I would like to have it here, and throw a slightly bigger bash. It’ll be a wedding present.”
Charlie’s skepticism must have shown on her face because Gram said, “You won’t have to do anything to prepare, you won’t have to lift a finger. I’ll take care of everything.”
“I don’t know, Gram. I wasn’t even planning to buy a wedding dress or anything.”
Gram’s eyebrows lifted. “And why not?”
Charlie hesitated. Should she tell the truth? That she felt uncomfortable having a real wedding when they weren’t going to have a real marriage? That she couldn’t imagine walking down the aisle in a long white gown when her groom wasn’t in love with her?
