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They did as Mary asked and as soon as they were each seated, Mary began.
“Okay, so Gray and Sam, you need to tell us what you want for a wedding, and we’ll figure out who has the connections or expertise to get each task accomplished.”
He nodded. “We already have our wedding party. Jamie is my best man, and Pam is Sam’s matron of honor. Caleb is my groomsman, and Jessie is Sam’s bridesmaid. After that, we don’t have a long list of what we want.”
Holding Sam’s hand and rubbing circles on the back of it with his thumb, his heart damn near burst. He was planning a wedding—for real this time—and because he was over the moon in love. They sat together in his favorite leather chair. Sam was turned with her back to the arm of the chair with her legs crossing over his. He caught her gaze with his. “Do you have anything else specific you want, Sam?”
She looked into his eyes and said, “I just want to look beautiful for you. And, I want to carry my roses and your roses.”
He smiled at her and lifted her hand to his lips.
“You always look beautiful to me, Sam.”
A few people in the room voiced a loud “Aww.” Sam blushed and looked down. Gray lifted her head by placing his fingers under her chin.
“Don’t be bashful about how I feel about you.”
He kissed her softly on the lips and looked back at the room. She cleared her throat, her face bright red. “We’ll need a place to hold the reception. Also, we’ll need food, music, and drinks, of course. We’ll also want a photographer and wedding programs, someone to sing at the wedding and decorations at the church and hall. Any ideas?”
Jessie spoke first. “My brother has a band, and they’re pretty good. Sam, you’ve heard them. I’ll ask them to practice up some Kid Rock in your honor!” Her face split wide with a smile.
“Are they available in two weeks?”
Jessie nodded. “I called him today when we knew we were coming here to plan, just in case you needed music. He said they were going to take that weekend off, but for you they would make an exception.”
Mary spoke up. “I called Pastor Jay today, and he’ll make the church available and marry you on the thirteenth. He already has a wedding scheduled at noon, so you’ll need to get married at ten a.m. or two p.m., or later if neither of those times appeals to you.”
“Ten o’clock!” Gray stated. “I don’t even want to wait the two weeks, so I won’t wait until later in the day!”
Sam looked at him and whispered, “Gray, it’ll be a long day for people to wait until dinner is served following the ceremony. We could get our marks earlier in the day and have the wedding at two. Would you just consider it?”
He studied her face for a moment, then took a deep breath and reluctantly nodded in agreement. It was settled—they would get married on the thirteenth at two in the afternoon. Sarah knew the manager for the atrium at the lake and said she would give him a call and see if it was available. If it wasn’t, she would call in a couple of favors for the Remington, a large hall in the area, which was another great place to have a wedding—with the hotel attached, people wouldn’t have to drive.
Eva and Tammy said they would take care of the cake. Ali and Tracie would hire a photographer. Decorations would be taken care of by Mary and Dani. The men would help their girls with their tasks and take care of the beer and alcohol. Lastly, since it was too late for invitations, everyone would need to start calling and emailing relatives and friends. They started making a list of those who should be invited.
Gage offered to design an invitation on the computer to be emailed to invitees. He would have it ready tomorrow or the next day. The girls wanted to plan a shopping date, and he reminded everyone they would still need to take security with them.
“No one goes shopping with Sam without Tank or Shane. Sam, you don’t go anywhere without protection. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, Gray, I promise you I’ll be safe and always take protection with me.”
He kissed her softly. “Good.”
Talking resumed to various other topics, and they decided to meet up again in a couple days to see how the planning had progressed. Once they knew where they would have the reception, decorating could be decided, and family and friends could be notified. By nine-thirty family members began leaving the Kinkaides. It had been productive and fun, but he was tired. They’d been put through so many trials in the past few days, and he was beginning to feel his age.
The girls carried dishes into the kitchen and cleaned up the food that was still out. Jessie walked over to Sam and gave her a big hug.
“I can’t wait to sit and have a conversation with you. I’ve wanted to talk to you about Jamie for so long, but we wanted to keep it quiet so no one would feel weird if it didn’t work out—especially you. I’m sorry I kept the news from you, Sam.”
Sam smiled at her. “Jess, that’s your business, and I’m not upset with you at all. You were smart to keep it quiet for a while and test the waters. Jamie is great—this whole family is great. I’m so happy for you. So, you really like him?”
Jess laughed. “Oh, my God, I can’t believe how much. You’re right, heisgreat. I never would have dreamed it. I get why you fell so hard for Gray.”
Sam nodded and hugged her back.
Eva squealed, “We have to have a bachelorette party, too! How about this Saturday?”
The girls squealed and started talking all at once. The guys drifted in to see what the commotion was all about. Jamie asked, “What’s up?”
