Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever Afters Collection (198 page)

A sharp rap on the window startled them both, and he turned to see his sister, Isabella, standing there. Her caramel-colored hair was pulled into a haphazard bun, and she wore a Hurricane’s Jersey with a stain on the shoulder.

She looked less than put together—way less, but he wasn’t about to comment on that, not with the red-rimmed eyes she sported.

Hoping his sister’s ex-fiancé lost his millions while on an extended stay in Vegas might not be very Christ-like, but he was human and he loved his sister, which only made his point about love not being easy. That guy had hurt Isabella, therefore making him the enemy, and Gabriel did
not
love him for it.

“Mom and Dad are waiting, love birds.” Wrapping her arms around her middle, she walked back to the house.

“She’s all grown up now,” Summer remarked, and he gave her a look.

“Bella’s only three years younger than you.”

“Your sister is a lifetime younger than me.”

Rather than agree or argue, because his family was in fact waiting for them, he got out, and strode around the truck to open her door.

Sometimes she waited for him to do it, while other times, she rolled her eyes and opened it herself. Tonight, she waited for him. For some reason he felt like taking her in his arms, but he didn’t want to wrinkle her outfit or mess up her hairdo, since she and Jemma Leigh had spent so much time on them.

She wore a pale yellow dress with small beads on the hem. Her hair was braided in a crown around her head, with a sprig of flowers nestled in the back. Jemma Leigh should have become a stylist instead of real estate agent. The woman had major talent in his opinion.

“Will you keep letting Jemma Leigh dress you after we get married?” he asked as they walked hand and hand to the front porch.

“You want Jemma Leigh to come on our honeymoon?” she asked, and he had to fight to keep from doing a little victory dance when he heard the teasing tone of her voice.

“I’m thinking neither of us will need much clothes for that,” he said, not surprised his voice got all husky. Hell, he was arousing himself with thoughts of her nude and in bed with him.

She paused on the last step and stood on her tiptoes, putting her mouth against his ear. The sensations of her breasts rubbing his arm made him hard. “I always thought you’d like to see me wearing nothing but a tiny pair of thongs and some silk stockings.”

His hands shot out, and he dug his fingers into the posts that flanked either side of the steps. “Are you trying to kill me before the honeymoon?”

She tugged his ear between her teeth and then said, “Just giving you something to look forward to.”

“If I looked anymore forward to it, we’d already be on it.”

He didn’t miss the little smile of satisfaction on her face, and he couldn’t stop his mouth from kicking up at the corners in response. Breathing in and out a few time to get control of his body, he finally moved to the front door.

Taking a deep breath, he glanced at Summer. “Ready?”

“Don’t leave me… my side, I mean.” But he caught her slip.

“I’m never leaving you again, and you can’t make me go away,” he promised and then he opened the door and stepped inside.

THE FIRST THING Summer noticed about the Edwards house was the noise.

It was loud, full of laughter, of music, and conversations. Lots and lots of conversations. Overwhelmed, she shrank back a little and gripped Gabriel’s hand.

The second thing she noticed was all the kids.

They were everywhere, and so were their toys as they played. As a child, Summer had never been allowed to have store-bought toys. She and her sisters had played with century-old dolls, which had been made over every few years, and smelled of dried flowers. Painted-on faces were smudged from kisses and sticky fingers. They had tea sets and old dress-up clothes. They had each other.

She smiled a little at the bittersweet memory.

“Sorry, I didn’t know the twins would have friends over this evening,” Gabriel said. “I would have waited until Sunday if I had.”

“It’s okay. I knew you had a lot of brothers and sisters, but this… wow. I don’t know how your mother does it,” she said, genuinely offering up a compliment.

A little girl toddled over to Summer, Isabella holding her hand the entire time. The child had light brown skin and big hazel eyes, her hair in little puffs on each side of her head. When she smiled, Summer couldn’t help but think of Ivy, and her heart stuttered.

“This is Irene,” Isabella said. “She’s staying here for a little while, until her momma can get back on her feet.”

“Hi Irene,” Gabriel said, kneeling beside her.

Summer remained standing, unable to do more than stare at the not-so-subtle reminder of what she’d given up.

“Remember me?” he asked.

The little girl nodded, biting her lip.

“Remember the pretty lady I told you about?” he asked, and again Irene nodded. “This is Summer, and she wanted to come meet you and everyone else tonight.”

Irene let go of Isabella long enough to wrap her little arms around Summer’s waist. Summer awkwardly patted her back, tears pricking at her eyes so hard that she was sure blood would flow.

“I have to… please excuse me.” Blindly, she stepped out of the little girl’s reach and headed in the opposite direction of Gabriel, Isabella, and Irene.
Especially
Irene.

The first door she came to, she barreled inside and closed behind her, bursting into tears. Eventually, those tears turned to sobs, great heaving sobs that racked her body.

A soft click made her look up, but it was too late. She had been found. Tipping up her chin, she dared the intruder to say anything to her, but all Isabella did was take her in her arms and hug her.

At first, Summer didn’t know what to do, so she simply let her arm dangle limply by her sides, but then she felt Isabella’s body tremble, and her arms automatically went around the younger woman.

Summer had been hugged more in the past few weeks than she had in her entire life. Pretty sad, if she thought about it. So she pushed it out of her mind. She had enough sadness for a dozen people, without adding to it.

“I know I should be comforting you, but I’ve been a mess lately, and seeing your reaction to Irene…it just broke my heart,” Isabella said with a sniff.

Summer swallowed. “So you only hugged me to get a hug back?” That made absolutely no sense to Summer. Gabriel was one of the most affectionate men she knew.

“No. I wanted to talk to you,” she said. “I had no idea you were crying, until I heard you.”

Summer felt her body go rigid. Who else had heard her? And if Gabriel had heard her, then why hadn’t he come to comfort her? Not that she needed his comfort.

Stop lying to yourself.

“Don’t worry. No one else heard. Dad came in with a couple of lizards, and all the kids rushed him, making one lizard go up his sleeve and another down his pants. It’s a regular madhouse as Gabriel and Momma try to contain the excitement.”

“There goes the other one,” a child squealed.

“It’s in Gabe’s pants now!”

“Arrrg. Get it out!”

A giggle burst from Summer’s mouth. She couldn’t help it.

“See what I mean?” Isabella sighed.

Finally, she let go of her, and Summer stepped back. She glanced around the room, taking note of the frilly bedcovers on the twin beds, the pink walls, and multiple posters of One Direction that plastered the closet doors. “Was this your room?”

“Gosh, no.” Isabella made a face. “I wouldn’t have been caught dead with a pink room.”

“Tell me how you really feel,” Summer muttered, and Isabella laughed.

“Sorry, I was really, really obsessed with all things turquoise when I was this age.” Isabella’s expression turned serious. “Can I ask you a question?”

Dread clawed at her. “Yes.” Isabella knew. Somehow, she knew of Summer’s plan to marry Gabriel, sue for custody of Ivy, and then divorce him for his own good, so he could be with a woman who deserved him.

“How hard was it to give up Ivy?”

Her insides were twisted once more, harder this time. “I don’t think that’s very nice,” Summer managed to choke out.

A fresh round of tears welled in Isabella’s eyes. “I’m not asking you to be nice. I’m asking you, because, in about six months, I’ll be doing the same thing.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

ISABELLA���S CONFESSION WAS so unexpected that Summer had to sit down on one of the beds in the room.

“I didn’t mean to shock you.”

“I’m not shocked,” Summer said slowly. “I’m stunned, because… because…” How could she say that she thought Isabella was exactly like Gabriel and had planned to wait for marriage, without making things worse?

“Because I’m the perfect preacher’s daughter who’s always done everything everyone’s always told her?” Isabella finished for her.

Summer smiled faintly. “I was going to say a really nice girl, from a really nice family, who had her future planned a little differently.”

Isabella snorted. “Are you sure you’re Summer Holland, because the one I heard about and last saw at the Collins’ Halloween Party wouldn’t be this nice.”

Well, Isabella had her there, didn’t she?

Summer had made to sure to cause a scene, to imply that she’d slept with some woman’s husband, and threatened to do the same with anyone else who was interested as well. In a word, she cemented every ugly thought that every long-time resident of Holland Springs had ever had about her family.

“Probably not, but I was going through some things at the time.” That was putting it lightly. She was depressed, barely holding on to a job, and living in a women’s shelter.

Only the promise of enough money to live on for years to come had given her extra incentive to burn down Strawberry Grove and take back the baby she’d left in her sister’s temporary care.

In the end, she’d brought Ivy back, ill-equipped to take care of herself, much less a baby who no longer knew her. Not that any of those events mattered now.

She was healthy, and soon to be engaged and married to the most perfect man on the planet.

Isabella moved to the bed and sat down beside her. “Was it hard?”

“Harder than anything I’ve ever done,” Summer answered truthfully. Including coming back to Holland Springs and once again asking Gabriel to help her. “But at the time, it wasn’t about me. It was about what was best for her.” Just like this time, it was about what was best for her daughter, and Ivy belonged with her mother.

Isabella placed a hand over her abdomen. “Every day I work with women who are put between a rock and a hard place by thoughtless men, or their own thoughtless choices. Never in a million years did I think I’d be one of them by… by hooking up with a guy I barely knew, after drinking too much at a wedding.”

“I’m sure that sounds pretty tame to you,” Isabella added, not unkindly though.

“You’d be surprised,” Summer said. She’d never had a one-night stand, drunken or sober, but besides Isabelle most likely not believing her, and most likely feeling worse about herself if she did, Summer kept that to herself. “Why don’t you go to the father and talk to him?”

“Because he’s half a world away.”

Immediately, sympathy flooded Summer. “Ivy’s Dad was in Afghanistan when I found out. He’d come home on mid-tour and things… broke. Not long after, I broke, too, when I found out he’d been killed in a roadside bomb.”

“I’m so sorry.” Isabella grabbed her hand, squeezing it. “The father isn’t a soldier. I doubt he’d ever go to war, much less join the military, because of his political beliefs.” She groaned. “The one guy I decide to be wild with turns out to be the exact opposite of me in every way it counts”

“Opposites attract.”

“He doesn’t believe in God, and I’m a missionary for goodness’ sake.”

Summer frowned. “That
is
a problem.”

“The only thing we have in common is an attraction to one another, but that wouldn’t last, would it?” Isabella stood, pacing the room. “Being with someone just because they make you feel good and attractive, like there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you, is incredibly stupid, don’t you think? I mean, what will you have later—a summertime fling?”

Would that be what her marriage to Gabriel would become—a summertime fling? Because they certainly had nothing in common but chemistry. Heck, there were times when she questioned God, but he usually smacked her upside the head with something that made her want to say
just kidding
. So she just thought it, in case He was listening.

According to Gabriel, He was always listening.

“A summer fling could be the start of something permanent, if you went and talked to him,” Summer said, unable to believe what was coming out of her mouth. The women in her family certainly wouldn’t have suggested such a thing. “Does he want the baby?”

Isabella stopped pacing long enough to flush. “He doesn’t know, and since he’s a big proponent of choice, I’m making the choice not to tell him.”

“But is that who you really are, Isabella? If you disagree with him, then talk to him. Don’t hide behind your beliefs and preconceived notions.” Like she had with Gabriel, and like he had with her. Oh God, talking with his sister was making everything worse. It was like holding up a mirror.

There was a knock on the door, and then it opened. Summer quickly ran her fingers under eyes and patted her hair. Isabelle did the same.

Gabriel poked his head inside the room and grinned, his smile faltering when he saw Summer’s face. What looked like tracks of tears streaked her cheeks. He glared at his sister, who also had the same pattern on her face.

“Are you okay, Summer?” He didn’t care who had started it, or if anything had been started at all, but for once, he was going to automatically assume that Summer was the innocent party.

The tremulous smile she rewarded him with let him know he had made the right decision. “We’re okay. Your sister was being very kind to me. I had a little panic attack, and she helped me calm down. It’s nothing to worry about.”