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If anything, her brother seemed to be more taciturn, focused, and driven than she had ever seen him. Glory had hoped that Hal’s patching over into the Saints would provide him that same sense of belonging the Marine Corps had given him.
And perhaps it had. Maybe she was reading her brother all wrong. Glory was painfully aware that she could never really be sure about anything concerning Hal. Not that she wasn’t thankful at how far they had both come. Glory appreciated the fact that her brother was standing in front of her alive and whole and well was nothing short of a miracle.
She smiled her welcome at Hal as he stepped hesitantly into the room.
“You look beautiful, Glory.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself.” Glory reached up to straighten his already perfectly knotted tie.
The brother and sister smiled tentatively at each other as a million shared memories filled the silence between them.
Hal was first to break the quiet, and with a nod towards her feet, he asked, “You gonna walk down the aisle barefoot?”
“What?” Glory followed his gaze. “Oh, that!” Then she shrugged, “Honestly, I’ve been waiting until the last minute to put my heels on. Serves me right for giving in to vanity. The shoes are so perfect for the dress that I bought them even though they’re a half size too big. My foot slides forward and makes my toes hurt when I wear them. I’m gonna ditch them at the reception.”
Hal went over to the side of the bed and picked up the white silk designer shoes. With his back to Glory he fiddled with them for a moment, then he handed them to her. “Maybe this will help.”
Glory looked confused for a moment and then let out a cry of unmitigated joy. She wrapped her arms around her brother in a tight hug.
“You remembered!” She exclaimed as she pulled away and reached into the toes of the shoes.
She held up the Swedish coins and recited the old saying, “One silver coin in the bride’s left shoe from her father and one gold coin in her right shoe from her mother, to ensure that she will never go without.”
“Yeah, I can still hear mom going on and on about all those old traditions.” Hal nodded. “I found a coin store and…” His voice trailed off as if he were suddenly embarrassed at the sentiment.
“They’re perfect,” Glory said softly. “Just exactly what the day needed. Thank you, Hal.”
She slipped into the shoes and felt the coins press against her feet. Long tentacles of comfort radiated upward from her legs, wrapped around her heart, and warmed her.
“Hey, uh … Glory?” Hal began then paused for a moment, because this was not going to be a comfortable conversation. He strained against the collar that was suddenly choking him and ignored the dryness in his mouth. In the interest of his sister’s happiness, shit had to be said.
Hal’s hesitation immediately caught Glory’s attention because it was not like her brother to censor himself.
“What’s wrong, Hal?” She frowned.
“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. What I mean is that nothing’s wrong with me if nothing’s wrong with you.” Hal scrubbed a hand over his face in frustration. “What I’m trying to say is—if you are having any doubts— if there is something that is keeping you up here instead of heading down that aisle? Then you just say the word, and I’ll go down there and tell everyone the deal’s off and to get their asses home. I got no problem with that. No problem at all. If, for whatever reason, you’ve decided this isn’t what you want? You tell me and I’ll handle it. Won’t be easy, because that big fucker Jules? He loves the shit out of you, but he ain’t no match for me on his best day.” Hal flexed and made a hard fist. “So, Glory, what I’m saying in my own screwed up way is if you need out— you have out.”
Glory’s eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open in shock and surprise.
It took her a moment to recover.
“Thank you, Hal. But no. I don’t want anyone to get theirasseshome.”
“You sure?” Hal pressed her.
“I’m sure.” She nodded vehemently.
Then she smiled at him, because it really was a sweet and protective gesture. “I do appreciate you for checking in though. But you can be sure that I want to marry Jules as much as he wants to marry me.”
Hal gallantly crooked his elbow to her. “You ready then?”
“I’m ready.” Glory smiled as she wrapped her arm through his.
Thank Christ for thatHal thought as he felt a sense of relief fill him. Because, despite his words of reassurance to Glory, if his sister had really changed her mind about marrying Jules then God help them all. Even though he meant every word he said to Glory, there was no way Hal would have been able to get Jules to leave that altar except in a body bag.
And that would have been a real goddamn shame because Hal and Jules…well, I guess you could say they had begun to grow on each other.
Valentina Abruzzi shifted in her seat and toyed with the food on her plate while she smiled and made polite conversation with the other guests at the table. The tinkling sound of ice in crystal water glasses, the low murmur of voices, the aroma of tasty food, and the sparkle of expensive wine filled the elegant reception hall.
