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The last time he’d wanted something this much, he’d been ten years old lying in a hospital bed, alone and scared and in pain and desperate to have someone there to care about him. He hadn’t got what he wanted then.
‘I’m not talking about the wedding,’ he mumbled. ‘That’s the easy bit. I’m talking about the marriage. What if I muck that up? What if I make a mistake? What if she decides she doesn’t love me after all?’
It was his greatest fear and the minute he’d said it he felt as if he’d exposed a part of himself he’d never intended to expose. But Connor didn’t laugh or crack a joke or make fun of him, he simply gave his head a rueful shake.
‘You’re not going to muck it up, Mac. You’re a good man, and you’re going to be a great husband and a great father. Just watching you with Ronan is proof of that.’ Connor rested his hand on Mac’s shoulder. The reassuring weight eased the tension in Mac’s stomach for the first time in months. ‘Juno is happier than I’ve ever seen her. She believes in you—and with good reason.’ Giving Mac’s shoulder one last squeeze, Connor lifted his hand. ‘All you’ve to do now is start believing in yourself.’
Mac swallowed, the sweat drying on his palms at the complete conviction in Connor’s voice.
Juno believed in him. She trusted him. Amazing as it seemed, it was true. He let his mind wander back over the last seven months and thought about how she’d shown him she loved him, so many times, in so many different ways.
When she’d grabbed his hand and pressed it to her belly so he could feel the baby kick as they’d been sitting on the beach in Laguna one lazy Sunday this spring. When she’d told him not to be a pompous idiot and then seduced him in the shower a month back after he’d voiced his concerns about their continued lovemaking in her condition. When she’d flung her arms around his neck and demanded he carry her over the threshold the morning they’d moved into the house round the corner from Connor and Daisy’s. And when she’d laughed delightedly as he’d pretended to stagger with her in his arms while he walked into their new home.
The look of steady, abiding love in her eyes every one of those times and a million more was the only thing that mattered now. So long as he focused on that, he’d be able to figure out the rest.
‘Okay. No more panic attacks, I swear,’ he said, letting out a deep breath and feeling as if a ten-ton weight had been lifted off his shoulders. ‘Thanks for the advice.’ He smiled at his brother.
‘Not a problem. It’s all part of the best-man service,’ his brother said, smiling back.
The loud chimes of the chapel bell ringing the noon hour interrupted them.
‘Damn it.’ Connor glanced at his watch. ‘Is that the time already? We better get you out there.’ He patted his pockets and pulled out the twenty-four-carat-gold bands Mac had bought seven months back as soon as Juno had accepted his proposal. ‘Great, right, we’re all set,’ he said, slipping the wedding rings back into his breast pocket and wiping his brow with the back of his hand.
Mac chuckled as Connor hustled him out of the antechamber.
‘Calm down, Con,’ he said, his confidence returning as they walked into the tiny French chapel where he had once ogled Juno in her maid of honour gown. ‘No best man worth a damn gets stage fright, fella.’
He laughed as Connor cursed and shoved him into position at the front of the church now packed to the rafters with Hollywood A-listers and market-stall holders alike, all dressed in their best to wish the happy couple well.
Mac crossed himself, clasped his hands together and looked over his shoulder, eager for Juno to make her entrance. He just wanted to get this over with now so she’d be his for ever.
A satisfied smile curved his lips and he sent up a silent prayer of thanks.
Damned if he wasn’t going to have a wonderful life after all.
‘I still can’t believe you insisted on doing this when you were eight months pregnant. It’s completely mad,’ Daisy remonstrated for about the twentieth time in the last ten minutes. She stood up, propping her hands on her hips. ‘Right, you can take a look now,’ she said, whipping the sheet off the cheval mirror in the church rectory. ‘But I’m taking no responsibility whatsoever if you expose a nipple while you’re walking down the aisle.’
Juno took in her reflection and laughed. Daisy’s cream silk creation flattered her ripening figure with sleek, simple lines but dipped so low at her cleavage she blinked. ‘Oh, God.’ She clasped a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. ‘I see what you mean.’
‘I did warn you your boobs would get enormous,’ Daisy said, and huffed out a breath. ‘I still don’t understand why you and Mac couldn’t wait until after the baby was born. It would have been so much simpler.’
Juno turned to
her friend and gripped her hand, the grin she’d been sporting for a good seven months getting wider by the second. ‘Not for us,’ she said simply. ‘You know how nervous Mac’s been getting in the last few weeks.’ She felt emotion tickle the back of her throat at how desperately he’d been trying to hide it. ‘He’d have gone into a complete tailspin if I’d made him wait a minute longer. He practically had a fit as it was when I told him the church wasn’t available till April, way back in October. He would have kidnapped me then and there if I’d even hinted we wait until after the birth.’
The memory of how desperate he’d been to get them safely wed still had the power to make her heart quicken.
Daisy stifled a giggle herself. ‘Having seen the look on his face this morning when I told him he couldn’t see you, I guess you have a point.’
The bells of the noon hour rang out across the small vestry.
‘Oh, dear,’ Daisy said, the teasing tone turning to consternation. ‘I had to promise Connor we would not be fashionably late, so he wouldn’t have to physically restrain Mac from storming down the aisle to get you.’ She gave an apologetic smile as her eyes dipped to Juno’s cleavage. ‘But that means I won’t have time to find some lace to preserve your modesty.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ Juno said, still smiling. ‘The dress is gorgeous. And if the worst comes to the worst and I end up flashing the minister we’ll just have to hope he doesn’t have a heart attack or Mac really will kidnap me.’
They both laughed.
Daisy sobered first. ‘God, Ju.’ She clasped Juno’s hands tight, tears sparkling in her eyes. ‘I’m so proud of you.’
