“Everybody out,” Sarah said as she walked into the sitting room where Owen had gathered with his groomsmen. In addition to Evan and Shane, Adam McCarthy and Sarah’s other sons, Josh and Jeff, made up the wedding party. Having all but one of her kids in the same place at the same time was a rare occurrence, and Sarah was loving every minute of it. “The mother of the groom wants a moment with her son.”

Now that their father’s trial was behind them, her kids had a lightness about them she’d never seen before. They laughed easier and smiled more often. It was like they finally had permission to be themselves now that Mark Lawry was out of their lives forever. She should’ve left him years ago, but hindsight was always twenty-twenty, and she was choosing to look forward rather than backward these days.

“You heard her,” Owen said to his wedding party. “Hit the beach. I’ll be right behind you.”

Each of them kissed Sarah’s cheek on the way out of the room. “What a handsome bunch of guys,” she said to Owen when they were alone.

“I feel shaggy and overgrown next to them.”

“You’re neither of those things. You’re gorgeous, and Laura is a lucky woman.”

“I’m the lucky one, Mom.”

“You both are, honey, and don’t ever forget it.”

“I won’t. You look great. I love your dress.”

“It’s not too much?” she asked of the frilly, revealing lavender dress Tiffany had talked her into.

“It’s perfect.”

“Your father never liked it when I showed any skin.” With a saucy grin and a wink, she added, “Charlie loves it.”

Owen put his hands over his ears. “I can’t hear you.”

She laughed at the face he made.

“All kidding aside, I’m so glad you’re happy with him. You deserve it more than anyone I know.”

“I deserve it as much as you do, my love. What do you say we give ourselves permission to be happy from here on out?”

“I’m on board with that.”

She picked up the one remaining coral rose boutonniere from the florist box on the table and held it up. “May I?”

“Please do. I had no idea what to do with that.”

“That’s what mothers are for.”

When the rose was in place on his white linen shirt, she flattened her hands on his chest. “I love you more than you’ll ever know. You and your little family and this magical hotel saved my life last year, and I’ll always be grateful.”

“We’re equally grateful to you, Mom. You showed up just when we needed you most.”

She smiled up at him. “Laura will be down any minute. How about you escort your mom to the beach.”

He kissed her cheek. “It would be my pleasure.”

---

The late-afternoon sun shone brightly as Owen accompanied his mother down the steep flight of stairs to the sand. Per Laura’s wishes, everyone was barefoot. Her mantra from the beginning had been to “keep it simple,” which had been just fine with him.

His beloved sisters, Julia, Katie and Cindy, came down with Julia carrying Holden. Though they were twins, Julia had dark hair and Katie was blonde, but they had blue eyes in common. Cindy’s hair was light brown, as were her eyes. She, Jeff and Julia favored their father’s side of the family, while the rest of them were blond like their mother. His sisters smiled brightly at him as Julia handed over the baby to him. Owen kissed and hugged them. He was so damned glad to see them.

Holden wore the same white shirt and khakis as the other men in the wedding party and took in the proceedings with a curious expression on his adorable face.

Evan was doing double duty as Owen’s best man while providing the music. The florist had placed two huge arrangements of tiger lilies, day lilies, daisies, roses and something Laura had told him was called “bird of paradise.” Owen had wondered about Laura’s decision to go with corals and oranges, but he had to admit the flowers were quite spectacular. He should’ve known Laura would get it just right. She always did. Their guests stood in a half circle around the flowers. Since the ceremony would be short and sweet, they’d skipped the bother of bringing chairs down to the beach.

The wedding party came down the stairs in pairs: Adam and Abby, Shane and Janey, Jeff and Stephanie, Josh and Maddie. As the maid of honor, Grace came down alone, and Owen watched Evan’s face light up at the sight of her. Evan never took his eyes off his fiancée as she made her way to them in a coral dress that clung to all her curves.

And then Laura appeared at the top of the stairs, her arm tucked into her father’s bent elbow, and everything else faded away. There was only her. There would only ever be her. Evan played an acoustic rendition of “Here Comes the Bride” as Laura came toward him, her gaze locked on his.

Owen couldn’t seem to breathe until she smiled, and the knot of nerves in his chest became a feeling of pure joy, the likes of which he’d never experienced quite so profoundly before. His Princess… His love. His life.

The time they’d spent together ran through his mind like the best movie he’d ever seen, from the day he’d first laid eyes on her at her cousin Janey’s wedding to finding her outside the Surf the next morning in the pouring rain to scooping her up off the bathroom floor when she’d been felled by morning sickness during her pregnancy with Holden. He’d been by her side when she gave birth to Holden and on the day they discovered their “surprise” pregnancy was twins. She’d stood by his side through the nightmare of his mother being beaten by his father and provided unwavering support through his father’s trial.

Every minute he’d spent with her had been the best time he’d ever spent with anyone, and he couldn’t wait to have forever with her. They’d already had good times and bad, sickness and health. Today they would make official what had been in their hearts for nearly a year now.

Frank extended his hand to Owen.

Owen shook hands with his new father-in-law. In the time they’d known each other, Frank McCarthy had been more of a father to Owen than Mark Lawry had ever been.

Then Frank joined Laura’s and Owen’s hands, kissed his daughter and stepped up to the front of the assembled group. “It is my very great pleasure to welcome you all today to witness the marriage of my gorgeous, wonderful, sensational daughter Laura to the love of her life, Owen Lawry.

“Owen, I could not have handpicked a man better suited to my daughter. You’ve cared for her and Holden with unwavering love and tenderness, and I thank you for that. I sleep much better at night knowing my daughter is well and truly loved by a man I admire and respect.”

Frank’s heartfelt words had Owen blinking back tears.

Laura squeezed his hand and smiled at him, settling his emotions as only she could.

“Owen and Laura have chosen to recite their own vows. Owen?” Frank reached for his grandson, and Owen transferred Holden into Frank’s outstretched arms.

Laura handed her bouquet of orange flowers to Grace and then joined hands with Owen.

“I wasn’t expecting your father to make me cry,” Owen said, releasing her hand to brush at a tear on his cheek.

“He took me down earlier,” Laura said.

“Glad it’s not just me.” Owen drew in a deep breath and gazed down at her gorgeous face. She looked up at him expectantly, waiting to hear what he had to say. He’d thought long and hard about this because he wanted to say it just right. “From the first day I met you, you’ve been my Princess, so beautiful and regal to look at, with a heart of pure gold under that elegant exterior. In the year we’ve spent together, I’ve known more happiness, contentment and peace than I experienced in my entire life before you. I thought I was happy until I found you and discovered I was merely existing. You taught me how to live, Princess, and that I get to live with you and love you every day for the rest of my life is the greatest gift I’ve ever been given. There’s nowhere else in this world I’d rather be than right here with you. I vow to love, honor and protect you and Holden and the babies we’ll have together for the rest of my life.”

Holden let out a happy little squeal that made his parents laugh even as they both dealt with a flood of tears.

“Laura?” Frank said.

“I’m supposed to follow that?” She exhaled a deep breath as she looked up at Owen. “Like you, I was merely existing until I met you and found my home, my life’s work and the love of my life all in one magical place. The year we’ve spent together has been the best of my life, too, despite the challenges we were forced to confront from the outset. You didn’t care that I was expecting my ex-husband’s baby. You didn’t care that I was sick as a dog every day for the first six months we were together. You picked me up off the floor every morning and gave me absolutely no choice but to fall in love with you. And then you decided to stay with us, rather than go upon your merry way, living your life as the footloose and fancy-free troubadour you’d always been. You chose us, and you changed your entire life for me. For that I shall always be profoundly grateful, because, you see… I had no idea how I was going to live without you when you left. Now I don’t have to. Now I get to spend every day with you for the rest of our lives, and there is truly and honestly nothing I want more than that. I vow to love, honor and protect you for as long as I live.”

With his free hand, Frank mopped up tears. “I’d say you two got your revenge,” he said to laughter from the equally tearful gathering. “Evan? Rings?”

“Oh crap,” Evan said, sending a gasp through the group. Then he smiled widely. “Psych.” He dropped the rings into Frank’s outstretched hand and then took a turn with Holden.

“Not funny,” Frank said to his nephew.

“Yes, it was,” Evan replied with a cheeky grin.

Owen laughed at the exchange. He expected nothing less from his best friend than a joke in the midst of his wedding ceremony. Owen took Laura’s ring from Frank and slid the simple platinum band she’d requested onto her finger. “With this ring, I marry you, Laura McCarthy.”

She followed suit, sliding the same simple platinum band onto his finger. “With this ring, I marry you, Owen Lawry.”

“By the power vested in me by the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, I’m honored to pronounce you husband and wife. Owen, you may kiss my daughter, but keep it clean.”

“Don’t you dare,” Laura said as she leaped into his arms and kissed him passionately right in front of her father, their families and friends.

What else could Owen do but kiss her back?

“That was not clean,” Frank muttered when they finally broke apart, breathless and laughing from the sheer joy of the moment.

“It is one of the greatest honors of my life,” Frank said, “to introduce for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Owen Lawry.”

Their friends and family broke into a rousing round of applause as Owen took Holden from Evan and reached for Laura’s hand to walk toward the steps where they would greet their guests as they went up for the reception at the hotel.

One by one, their friends expressed their congratulations before heading up the stairs: David and Daisy, Jenny, Alex and Paul, Victoria and Shannon, Jared and Lizzie, Tiffany and Blaine, Luke and Sydney, Big Mac and Linda, Mac, Grant, Laura’s Uncle Kevin and his sons, Riley and Finn, who looked a lot like Mac and Adam with their dark hair and mischievous blue eyes.

Owen had met them for the first time the night before, and though they were both still in their twenties, they fit right in with their older cousins and their group of friends. He’d heard Riley asking Janey if she still had a dog named after him, and Janey retorting that the dog had come with the name. To which Riley had barked in response. Finn planned to stick around for the rest of the summer to help Shane with the affordable-housing project he was trying to finish before the cold weather set in.

Riley and Finn hugged Laura and shook hands with Owen. “Thank you for taking her off our hands,” Finn said.

Laura slugged him.

“Ow,” Finn said, rubbing his arm dramatically. “That’s not very bridal of you.”

“She fights dirty,” Owen said to high fives from his wife’s younger cousins.

“I like him,” Riley said.

“Normally, I do, too,” Laura replied.

“We’ve got them fighting, bro,” Riley said to Finn. “Our work here is finished.”

Pleased with themselves, the brothers went up the stairs.

---

“They’re too funny,” Owen said to Laura’s Uncle Kevin, who rolled his eyes.

“Positively hilarious.” Ten years younger than Big Mac, Kevin had light brown hair and the McCarthy blue eyes. Like his older brothers, though, Kevin was funny and dedicated to his family. Owen had liked him instantly. “I can’t take them anywhere. What’d they say this time?”

“Something about Owen taking me off your hands,” Laura said.

“We are thankful for that,” Kevin said gravely.

“Apple, meet Tree,” Laura said, tipping her cheek to receive her uncle’s kiss.

“Congrats, hon. So happy for you.”

“Thanks, Kev. I’m thrilled you guys could be here. Where’s Aunt Deb? Did she make it over this morning?”

Kevin’s smile dimmed as he shook his head. “She couldn’t come after all.”

“Oh. Is everything okay?”

“That, my dear, is a story for another day. This is a happy day, and I’m so glad to be here with you and the rest of the family. It’s been far too long.”

“Yes,” Laura agreed. “It has.”

After Kevin had walked up the stairs, Laura said, “That doesn’t sound good.”

“No, it doesn’t, but try not to worry about it today. Today’s our day.”

She leaned into his one-armed embrace. “Other than the day Holden was born, best day of my life.”

“Mine, too, Princess.” He kissed her forehead and then her lips. “Mine, too.”

---

Kevin McCarthy trudged up the stairs, his heart heavy after his niece asked about his wife. He couldn’t exactly tell her—on her wedding day—that Deb had left him for a younger guy. Yeah, he was that cliché. He couldn’t tell Laura that her Aunt Deb wanted more than what she had with him, that she felt her life was passing her by and leaving her behind.

He’d begged her not to go, to consider counseling, to fight for their twenty-seven-year marriage. But his pleas had fallen on deaf ears, and now he was left to explain to his family why his wife had chosen to sit out their niece’s wedding.

At the top of the stairs, he noticed his brother Mac waving him over to the bar, where he sat on a stool next to their oldest brother, Frank. He might’ve been able to dodge Laura’s questions, but his brothers wouldn’t be satisfied with evasions. Even knowing that, Kevin walked over to them, thrilled to see them, as always.

“Congratulations, Dad,” Kevin said as he shook Frank’s hand. “I think our girl got it right this time.”

“I know she did. He’s the best.”

“I can see that,” Kevin said. “Nice job on the ceremony, too.”

“Best part of the job, especially when you get to marry your own kid.”

“I bet.”

“I have something I need to tell you, Kev,” Mac said as he handed a bottle of beer to Kevin.

“That sounds sort of ominous.”

“Actually, I’m choosing to look at it as good news. It seems I have another daughter.”

“What?” Kevin’s gaze shifted from Mac to Frank, who nodded.

Mac proceeded to tell him about Mallory and her mother, Diana, and how he’d found out about Mallory’s existence.

“Oh my God,” Kevin said. “How incredibly shocking. How are you feeling about it?”

“Don’t shrink me, Kev,” Mac said with a wink and a smile. His older brothers hated when he acted like a psychiatrist around them. Little did they know he could use a shrink of his own at the moment.

“I didn’t mean to.”

“I’m joking,” Mac said. “It was shocking, at first, but I’m settling into the idea of another daughter.”

“How are the kids taking it?” Kevin asked.

“Pretty well, all things considered. They know me well enough to understand that I’m not going to let her walk away and pretend like I don’t know she exists. That’s just not who I am.”

“No, it isn’t. Good for you. It’s the right thing to do.”

“I’m glad you agree.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting my new niece.”

“She’ll be back in the next few weeks for a weekend. Maybe you can join us.”

“I was actually planning to stick around for a while. I’m taking a little time off from work.”

“Is everything okay, Kev?” Frank asked.

“It could be better.”

“Are you going to tell us where Deb is?” Mac asked.

“I don’t know where Deb is. She’s left me for a younger guy, of all things.”

“She left you,” Mac said. “When did this happen?”

“Couple of weeks ago.”

“And you’re just telling us this now?” Frank asked.

“It’s not something I really want to talk about, so I’m sorry I didn’t call you to tell you my wife left me.”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” Frank said, “and you know it. We’d want to be there for you, the way you’re always there for us.”

“I know,” Kevin said with a sigh. He felt bad for snapping at Frank, because he knew his brothers would be concerned. “I’m all right. At least I will be. Eventually. If I’m being entirely truthful, this has been coming for a while now. I’ve known she was unhappy. I just didn’t expect her to actually leave.”

“I’m really sorry, Kev,” Mac said. “How are the boys taking it?”

“We haven’t told them yet. They think she’s sick and sitting this one out.”

“You have to tell them before they hear it from someone else,” Frank said.

“I know. I will. Soon.” The thought of telling his sons their mother had left him for another man made Kevin feel physically ill.

A gorgeous dark-haired woman approached them, and Frank’s face lit up with a huge smile as he held out a hand to her.

“Lovely ceremony, Your Honor,” she said with a warm smile for Frank.

Kevin watched in stunned amazement as Frank put his arm around the woman and she rested her arm on his shoulder. In all the years since Joann died, he’d never seen Frank with another woman.

“Thank you. Betsy, this is my baby brother, Kevin. Kevin, Betsy Jacobson.”

“Nice to meet you,” Kevin said, raising a brow in his brother’s direction. “Speaking of holding out…”

Frank laughed and looked up at Betsy with affection. “It’s a fairly recent development.”

“Not so recent,” Mac said with a teasing grin for the happy couple. “It’s been going on for a while now.”

Kevin experienced a pang of envy for the happiness his older brother had found after decades on his own. “You’ve got one of the good ones, Betsy.”

“I know.”

“Kevin just told us he’s going to be sticking around for a while,” Frank told Betsy.

“That’s great,” she said. “I look forward to getting to know you better.”

“Me, too.” Kevin looked forward to that and anything else that kept him away from the nightmare unfolding at home.