Chapter Twenty-six
Grayson didn't know if he'd ever get used to being with a woman so beautiful that she turned heads everywhere they went, and so friendly that half the people on the plane home from New York now had an invitation to come visit the farm. But even though there was no question that life with Lori would be a hell of a lot to handle, he did know one thing for sure: Just as her mother had told him, she was worth all the struggles and frustrations that came with loving her.
Smart woman, that Mary Sullivan. No wonder she'd raised eight great kids. Grayson looked forward to spending time with her over the coming years.
He'd figured Lori would want to go by her apartment to pick up some of her favorite things, but when she said she was too antsy to get back to the farm - and that moving their sister's stuff was what big brothers were for - they headed straight to Pescadero from the airport. Although they did make one quick stop at the airport's rental-car office, where she smacked a kiss straight on the lips of the very surprised woman behind the counter.
"You were right. Pescadero was amazing!" Lori had gestured to Grayson, and he would have kissed her to shut her up again, but she'd been having such a good time that he let her say, "Look what I found there."
The woman looked from Lori to him in confusion for a moment, before her lips curved up into a big smile. "And to think, all I ever came home with from Pescadero was a sack of organic carrots and some pretty pictures of the coast."
In his truck, Lori had turned on the local country station way too loud and was singing along in an equally loud, off-key voice, when she suddenly cried, "Stop the truck!"
The dire tone of her voice had him slamming his foot on the brake. Before he knew it, she was scrambling out of her seat and running across the road after what looked to be a white plastic bag.
He leapt out of the car and hollered, "Get out of the road!" Of course, she didn't listen, not until she'd finally caught the tumbling bag in her hands.
When she turned back to him, her expression broke his heart. "It's a kitten." She tore open the bag all the way and scooped out a little ball of fur, telling it, "You're safe now."
Grayson kept an eye out for oncoming traffic on the two-lane farm road as he went to her. Lori was already sneezing, but he knew that wasn't why her eyes were wet.
"Sweetpea sent her to us." She kissed the fluff between its ears. "She looks like a Millie, don't you think?"
"Actually, I was thinking he looks like a Bob."
She grinned at him and nodded, and for a moment he thought maybe she was going to agree with him. That is, until she said, "Come on, Milliebob, let's go home."
For the rest of the drive, she chattered to the kitten - whom he swore he'd never, ever call Milliebob, even as he knew he'd be breaking the vow by week's end - telling the little cat all about the farm and the other animals and how much she was going to love it there. As soon as he pulled up, Lori jumped out of the truck to take the kitten to meet the pigs she'd named after her brothers and sisters.
Later that evening as they walked outside, hand in hand, to be together in the cool, dark silence that you could only get on a thousand acres, Lori told him, "I really missed it here."
Her voice was full of awe at the beauty all around them. An hour ago, she'd been covered in mud and had been as happy as a pig in it. Now she was fresh from the shower he'd given her out by the barn, one that had started with soap and ended with pleasure.
Lori stopped short as they passed the large grove of oak trees and she saw the new foundation he'd been putting in. "What's this?"
He'd missed her like crazy every second she'd been in Chicago and New York City, so much that he'd thrown himself into this huge new project, praying with every board he'd cut for the forms, every nail he'd hammered, that she'd actually come back to him.
"A studio. For you. And your dancers."
She threw her arms and legs around him and was about to kiss him when the night sky suddenly lit up so much that they both turned to look up at it.
"A shooting star!" Her eyes shone with excitement and happiness as she gazed down at him. "What did you wish for?"
Standing in the middle of wildflowers and blades of dark green grass beneath the stars, Grayson pulled a ring out of his pocket. "I wished for you to be mine. Always."
And as Lori told him she'd always been his, and promised that she always would be, the two of them danced together on a thousand-acre stage beneath the spotlight of the moon.
* * *
Three months later...
"Now that every Sullivan from around the world has arrived for our family reunion," Lori said to Grayson, "do I need to get you a bag to hyperventilate into?"
Despite the dozens of Sullivans and spouses and kids and animals running loose all around them, Grayson wrapped a lock of Lori's long hair around his fingers and tugged her closer, as if they were the only two people in the world. "I've got a much better idea for what to do with my mouth."
Even though they'd kissed approximately a trillion times during the past three months, it felt like the first time all over again as Lori's heart raced, she lost her breath, and her toes tingled in her cowboy boots while her fiance showed her, yet again, just how much he loved her.
"Seriously, though," she said when he finally let her come up for air and her synapses had begun to fire again, "you're amazing for agreeing to have so many people here on your farm."
"Not my farm. Our farm." He stroked her hair one last time, then moved his hand down past her shoulder and over her arm to leave a path of tingles all across her skin, before he slid his fingers through hers. "And you know I like your family." He lowered his cowboy hat against the bright sunlight as he looked out at the huge group of Sullivans. "Even if there are a whole hell of a lot of them."
Just then, she saw one more rental car pull into the makeshift parking area they'd set up by the side of the barn. Grayson's mother and father got out. His hand tightened slightly in hers and she lifted it to her mouth to press a kiss to it before saying, "I'm so glad your parents happened to plan their trip for this weekend, too." It had been a surprising coincidence of timing when he'd told her about their travel plans, but of course she'd been thrilled by the news.
Not wanting the Tylers to feel at all out of place around her big family, she made sure to hurry over to give each of them a warm hug. "I'm so glad you could come for a visit." When she and Grayson had visited them on their estate in New York a month earlier, she'd been able to see just how much they loved their son, even if they weren't great at saying the words aloud. Just as she'd known better than to wait for Grayson to invite her into his heart, she knew she couldn't let him and his parents wait any longer for each other, either.
He shook his father's hand and put his arms around his mother, and Lori happily noticed that they all held on just a little bit longer than they had a month ago. People said miracles couldn't happen overnight, but wasn't that how quickly love had blossomed between her and Grayson? And hadn't life always been one miracle tumbling and leaping after another, from her family to dancing to her little nieces and nephews to the man standing beside her?
A few moments later, her mother was there to welcome Gina and Brent Tyler. Lori loved watching the effect her mother had on people - the way she immediately made them feel relaxed and appreciated.
"You raised a wonderful son," Mary Sullivan told the Tylers. "Every single day I'm so happy that he and Lori found each other."
As Grayson drew Lori even closer and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, his mother's eyes grew damp. "Yes," she agreed, "they are a perfect match, aren't they?"
Funny, right then it looked as though his parents and her mother and then Grayson, too, were all sharing a secret look. Suddenly, her mother turned to Lori and said, "Did you hear about the great surprise your sister put together for the girls? She brought in several hairdressers and makeup artists to fix all of us up before the big family pictures are taken. They're all set up and waiting for us in your new dance studio."
"That sounds fun," Lori said, even though she couldn't figure out why her twin would have any interest at all in something like that, considering Sophie wore almost no makeup and rarely needed to do anything to her long, glossy hair to make it look great. "Can you let her know I'll head over later? First I'd like to give Grayson's parents a tour of the - "
Grayson cut off her sentence in his favorite way: with a kiss. Sometimes she would run off at the mouth even when she had nothing whatsoever to say, just to score more kisses.
"Go with your mother," he told her. "I'll show my parents around."
She had thought he'd want her there with his parents as a buffer, just in case things got awkward again, but now she realized he probably wanted some alone time with them. "Okay." Only, when she went to walk away, he didn't let go of her hand.
She looked down at their entwined hands and was about to make a funny comment about his needing to let go of her when she looked up into his face.
The sheer depth of the love in his eyes had her forgetting everything except her own love for him. Her mother's arm around her waist was the only reason she could have walked away from him just then.
"You really did find a wonderful man, honey," Mary said as they headed off toward the studio Grayson had built for her. "It's hard to believe he hasn't always been a part of the family, isn't it?"
Over the past three months, Lori had watched a truly special bond develop between her fiance and her mother. She figured part of it was that they had both lost a spouse and understood each other's pain in a way that other people never would. But just as her mother had said, their relationship went deeper than that. Grayson was already family - a total guy with her brothers, the sweetest uncle-to-be ever to the babies and Summer, and always there to help out a Sullivan in need.
"I can hardly wait to marry him," she told her mother. "If I could, I'd do it today."
A few moments later, the two of them stepped in through the door of the studio. Several of the best hair and makeup artists that her brother Chase had worked with over the years were already working their magic on Sophie, Nicola, Chloe, Megan and her eight-year-old daughter Summer, Heather, Vicki, and Valentina. Growing up, Lori had always longed for more than one sister, and every day she gave thanks for the amazing women her brothers had found.
Summer clapped her hands and said, "Lori's here!" Megan's eyes got big for a moment before she leaned over to whisper something to Summer that had her daughter smiling and zipping her fingers across her lips.
"Your farm is amazing," Nicola said as she handed Lori a glass of champagne and led her over to an empty chair. "What a great place for a family reunion."
Lori knew how much Marcus's pop-star fiancee loved his vineyard in Napa, and that her brother loved touring the world with Nicola just as much. "Just wait until you get out there with the pigs," Lori teased her soon-to-be sister-in-law. "You're going to love the one I named Marcus. He keeps all the other pigs in the pen safe and sound."
She'd taken pictures of each of the pigs and given them as gifts to their namesakes in special frames, knowing her siblings would love it. Her brothers and sister hadn't let her down - each of the pictures were now displayed on their mantels along with their other family pictures.
There were few things Lori loved more than being surrounded by her friends and family. This family reunion had already made the short list of the best days of her life. Meeting Grayson was, of course, at the very top.
As the makeup artist and hairdresser both got to work on her, Lori sipped her champagne and listened in on the half-dozen conversations going on around her - about dogs and kids and car races and new sculptures and movie sets. Clearly, she thought as she took in the extra-big smiles and happy voices, everyone was having just as much fun at the reunion as she was. And the farm had been the perfect place to host it.
"Wow," Summer said as she came over a short while later when her hair and makeup were done, "you look so beautiful, Aunt Lori."
Lori smiled at one of her favorite kids in the whole wide world. "You do, too. I love your crown of wildflowers. It's so pretty."
Summer was holding something behind her back and gave Megan a quick glance. When her mother nodded, she held it out to Lori. "I made you one, too."
Lori was beyond touched. "You're the best! Can you put it on me?" She bent her head down so that Summer could reach the top of it.
When Lori turned to face the mirror again, she barely noticed how glossy her hair was, or the way her features had been perfectly played up with mascara and blush. All she knew was that with the wildflowers in her hair, she'd never felt prettier.
The room grew quiet and she noticed all of the women looking at each other in a particularly serious way. And her mother was gone. When had she left the studio?
"Hey, is something wr - " But she never got a chance to finish her sentence, because just then her mother walked back into the room holding a dress.
A wedding dress.
It was the most beautiful wedding dress Lori had ever seen...because it was the one that her mother had worn at her own wedding. And Lori knew it would fit perfectly.
"Oh, my God." She tried to stand, but when her legs were too wobbly to hold her up, she had to grip the arm rests and sit down again instead. "What - " Her brain wasn't working. "How - " Her mouth wasn't working either. "You - "
Her mother smiled at her and said one word. The only word that mattered. "Grayson."
Lori Sullivan wasn't a woman who cried. But she'd broken that rule on this farm in Pescadero again and again. Out of despair on her first night in Grayson's house. Out of pure sadness after Sweetpea died.
And now, out of pure joy.
"From the first moment I met Grayson," her mother told her, "I knew he was the man for you, sweetie. But if I'd ever had any doubts, his asking me to help plan a surprise wedding for you would have put them immediately to rest. Only a man who truly knew and loved you would think to do something this perfect for you."
Sophie put a Kleenex in one of Lori's hands and then pulled her out of her chair with the other. "Your groom is waiting. Rather impatiently, I believe."
Lori laughed even as her tears continued to spill. Everyone she loved was here with her today and they were all so amazing to help Grayson surprise her with this wedding.
"I love all of you so much." The girls all gathered around her in a group hug, all of them crying and laughing now.
Lori was notoriously steady, both on stage and off, but now her fingers were shaking so much that her mother and sister had to help her get her clothes off. After she'd put on the gorgeous silk lingerie Sophie handed her, her sister showed Lori the amazing heels they'd bought to go with the dress. Lori shook her head. "I'm going to wear my boots." They were her new white ones with colorful wildflowers stitched up the side, after all. Then she lifted her arms and they slid the silk and lace wedding gown on, her mother lacing up the back while Sophie readjusted the flowers on her hair and dabbed at the tears under her eyelashes without smearing her new makeup.
A knock sounded on the door and her mother went to open it. Lori's oldest brother Marcus was standing there in a tux. He was smiling at her, but she could see his eyes grow a little glassy as he said, "You're absolutely beautiful, Lori." He held out an arm. "Ready to take a walk down the aisle?"
More tears threatened to spill as she put her hand in Marcus's. "Did you know about this?"
"All of us did." He brushed a lock of hair from her eyes and added, "You were right not to give up on Grayson. Talking with him these past few months has proved to me that he truly does love you the way you deserve to be loved. With absolutely everything inside him."
She hugged her brother, his support meaning more to her than he could ever know. Everyone else moved past them to go take their places at the surprise wedding set up in the middle of the open field. She knew she should have been amazed that they had been able to pull all this off without her guessing something was up, but she'd always known how wonderful her family was.
Her hand tightly grasped in her brother's, the two of them made their way to where the country band from her very-first-ever barn dance was playing a waltz, and Sullivans from all over the world, along with Grayson's parents, were there to celebrate with her and Grayson.
And then she saw him, standing at the end of the wildflower-strewn aisle, gorgeous in a tux, black cowboy hat, and boots. She didn't think before letting go of her brother's hand, lifting up her skirts, and running to him.
She no longer saw anyone else, no longer heard the band playing. All she could see were Grayson's dark eyes filled with such hunger, such passion, such love. And all she knew was that he was everything she had ever wanted, everything she had ever waited for, as she flew into his arms and wrapped hers around his neck.
Laughing with her, he swung her around, her hair flying behind her as they did yet another perfect dance together. Their mouths found each other a moment later and the crowd of Sullivans cheered them on.
"I love you," she whispered when she was finally able to pull her mouth from his.
"I love you, too," he whispered back against her ear. "And I can't wait another second for you to be mine."
With that, he put her back on her feet and took her hands in his as the officiant began the ceremony.
"I'm very pleased to welcome everyone to what has to be the most unique wedding I've ever been a part of." Everyone laughed and then the man said, "Lori, Grayson, do either of you have anything you'd like to say to each other before I continue?"
Lori nodded. She moved closer to Grayson and looked up into his beautiful dark eyes. "I love you. Always. Forever." All her life, she'd talked and talked and talked. But today, standing with Grayson in her mother's wedding dress in front of their families, there was nothing else she needed him to know.
Grayson grinned down at her, somehow not at all surprised by the fact that she'd chosen this very moment to stop being a motormouth.
"Grayson?" the officiant asked. "Is there something you would like to say to Lori?"
"Yes, there is." His deep voice rumbling over her skin felt as good as the sweet caress of his hands always did. "When your mother and your siblings and I planned this wedding to surprise you, I wanted to be able to stand here and tell you the exact moment I fell in love with you. But I can't do that."
"You can't?" A pin could have dropped in the grass and it would have been heard in that moment as everyone grew perfectly silent to listen for his reply.
"No, I can't. Because every single moment I've spent with you is that moment, Lori." With a collective "Ahh" and "Isn't that sweet?" sounding from their audience, he told her, "I fell in love with you when you crashed into my fence post and chased after my chickens and fell down in the mud with the pigs. I fell in love with you when you taught everyone in town to line dance. I fell in love with you when you put Mo's feelings before your own and stayed with her for as long as she needed you." One fat tear slid down her cheek as he said, "And, most of all, I fell in love with you when you showed me that it was safe to love again. I keep falling in love with you again and again. Just like I'm falling right this second."
She had to kiss him again before they both said "I do," and then Grayson was sliding a beautiful ring onto her finger and Lori was picking up one of the wildflowers on the ground to twine it around his ring finger.
The man who claimed he wasn't good with words - and who had thought he wasn't capable of loving again - had just proved himself irrevocably wrong. On both counts. She couldn't wait to tell him every single little thing she loved about him, of every possible way he'd pleased her with this surprise wedding today. But all that talking would have to wait.
Because she wasn't nicknamed Naughty for nothing.
And right now was the perfect time for the new bride to drag her new husband off to a secret corner of their property to show him exactly how much she loved him, body and soul.