Chapter 15

Melinda woke the next morning with a smile on her face. What had she been dreaming about? It must have been pretty good, because she felt like nothing in the world could bring her down. And then she remembered, it hadn't been a dream. It had been Daniel, lying with her in the sand under a full moon. She snuggled deeper under the covers, wishing it never had to end. But Bree was supposed to get married today. And then tomorrow, Melinda would be back in Amor. If there were only a way to convince her mother to stop listening to Grams and allow Melinda to move on with her life.

Except, nothing was how it was supposed to be. The elation Melinda had felt instantly vanished. Bree couldn't marry Mark, which meant there'd be no celebrating. And with everyone in such bad temper, there was no way they would agree to sell the diner. A sense of dread washed over Melinda. Maybe she'd order room service and hide until it was all over.

A knock at the door told her there wasn't much chance of that happening.

Melinda slid out of bed and tied her robe around her waist. When she opened the door, she found Bree standing there, dark circles ringing her eyes.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course," Melinda said, opening the door further.

Bree walked to the couch with the look of a pallbearer rather than a bride. She sat down, then stayed silent while wringing her hands.

"Have you spoken to Mark since the incident at the elevator last night?" Melinda asked.

Bree shook her head. "He's tried calling my phone dozens of times, all night long. I finally turned it off and when I turned it back on this morning, there were fourteen voicemail messages from him."

Melinda offered her sister a wry smile. "Is that all?"

"That's not including the twenty-two text messages."

Melinda gaped. "What could he possibly have to say that would warrant so many?"

"That we owe it to our family legacies to make it work," Bree said. A bitter laugh escaped. "By the end, he threatened to spread lies about terminated pregnancies from men I supposedly cheated on him with and a bunch of garbage like that."

Melinda fumed. No one talked like that about her sister and got away with it. "What do you want me to do? Just say the word and I'll make sure Dad, and everyone else, knows what a scumbag he is. Dad wouldn't let the wedding go on if he knew what Mark is really like."

Bree gave Melinda a small smile but shook her head. "No, it's all right. I'm afraid that it would turn into a war, and Dad would take my side. That could mean the end to his new business venture."

Love blossomed within Melinda, and she realized that her sister really was the better of them. Melinda was impulsive and did crazy things, like fake an engagement. But Bree wouldn't even hurt someone who deserved it, because she knew it could hurt others in the process. "Then…why are you here? You aren't actually going to marry that jerk, are you?"

"Oh, heck no," Bree said with such passion that Melinda couldn't help but laugh. "Mark, the dimwitted idiot that he is, still expects me to go through with the wedding. But I wondered…do you love Daniel?"

Melinda stared at her sister. Why would she be asking her something like that? "I'm not sure. I haven't given it much thought." That wasn't true. She had given it a lot of thought. And she knew she did love him. She would never find someone who even came close to the man Daniel was. But to say that out loud…that wasn't something she was quite ready for. That would make it too real—too scary.

"Because if you did," Bree said, "we have a place reserved and all of our family is here. All we would need is a dress."

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?" Melinda asked, now unsure if she knew her sister at all, or if she ever had.

"That you marry Daniel in three hours? Yes, I am."

Melinda didn't know whether to laugh, swear, or…actually do it. Her mind knew it was ridiculous. Who had ever heard of someone going to her sister's wedding, only to get married herself? But her heart—it betrayed her. It started beating so fast, Melinda thought she might be having a heart attack. But it wasn't out of control with anxiety—it was freaking out with excitement. She wanted to hold Daniel's hands in hers in front of anyone who was willing to watch, profess her love for him, then kiss him so passionately, it would make the officiator blush.

Bree must have seen the longing in Melinda's features, because she clapped her hands and squealed. "This is going to be the best wedding ever."

"What will Mom say?" Melinda asked. Her eyes widened. "What about Grams?"

"Don't you think the first question should be, 'What about Daniel?'"

“What if he says no?” Melinda asked, filling with dread. “He’s going to tell me I’m crazy and that people don’t do this kind of thing. At least, not normal, sane people.”

“But you do want to marry him, don’t you?” Bree asked, her eyes eager.

Melinda nodded slowly. “With all my heart. It’s taken me two years to see it, but I can’t imagine myself being with anyone else.” She jumped to her feet. "Oh my gosh, I have to go propose to him." She looked around the room, as if everything she needed would miraculously appear. "I don't have a ring. How can I propose without a ring?" She grinned, the barrage of emotions almost too much for her to handle. She felt giddy, and nervous, and impatient, and recklessly in love.

Bree laughed. "Here, you can borrow my ring for now." She slipped her own engagement ring off her hand. It was so big, it felt like Melinda's finger was lifting weights.

"It's a bit…"

"Gaudy?" Bree asked. "It totally is. But it will do for today, and then you two can go find something that represents you." She took Melinda's hands in hers and looked her in the eyes. "I am so happy for you. Promise me that we'll stay in touch after tomorrow."

"Of course," Melinda said, wrapping her sister in a hug. She pulled back. "What are you going to tell Mark?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll come up with something," Bree said. "Now, you need to get going. Text me after you talk to Daniel and we'll go find you a dress."

Melinda ran to the door. "Why do I keep forgetting about Daniel? He hasn't said yes yet." She spun back toward her sister, doubt still sneaking in. "What if he says no?"

"The way that man looks at you, there is no way he would turn you down," Bree said, laughing. She turned serious. "It might be best if we kept this to ourselves. Let's not tell anyone about the change of plans."

"You don't want anyone trying to make sure you and Mark get married, and stopping me and Daniel."

"Exactly."

Melinda gave another squeal, then ran out the door and to Daniel's room. She knocked, but as she waited in the hallway for him to answer, the reality of the idea settled in, and it was all of a sudden a lot scarier than when she and Bree had been talking just a few minutes before. What was she thinking? She was really going to ask Daniel to marry her? They had been friends for years, but Melinda realized that there was still so much she didn't know about him.

She had just started panicking again when Daniel opened the door. She must have woken him up because his hair was standing on end and he wore only a T-shirt and boxers. The sleep wasn't quite gone from his eyes.

"Melinda," he said, rubbing his eyes and stifling a yawn. "I didn't think we were meeting for breakfast this morning."

One look at Daniel, and Melinda knew that Bree's idea wasn't crazy at all. In fact, it was perfect. She loved the man standing in front of her, and she wanted to spend the rest of her life waking up to him. Melinda pushed past Daniel, while grabbing one of his hands and dragging him so they stood next to one of the couches.

She dropped to one knee, took his hand in hers and said, "Daniel Armstrong, will you marry me?"

Daniel was instantly awake and staring, wide-eyed, down at Melinda. "Seriously?"

That hadn't been the romantic reaction she’d had in mind. "Yes, seriously. We have a beautiful venue full of family and other random people that we don't know. I don't have a dress yet, and I'm borrowing Bree's ring, but I love you and I want to marry you." Except—Melinda slapped a palm to her forehead. "Your family isn't here. I'm sorry, I should have thought of that sooner." She stood back up, now feeling silly on one knee. "We can wait. It doesn't have to be today. But you need to know that I'm in love with you."

The shock of the proposal seemed to be fading and Daniel broke into a grin. "Yes."

Melinda wasn't sure if she’d heard right. "What was that?"

Daniel lifted her off the ground and spun her in a circle before embracing her tightly. "Yes," he whispered in her ear, his breath warm and inviting. "I will marry you." He pulled back. "And I will marry you today. By tonight, you will be my wife and I will be your husband."

Hearing it out loud like that—if Melinda could have, she would have grabbed the next passerby in the hallway and ordered them to perform the ceremony right then and there. "What about your family?" Melinda asked tentatively.

"I haven't seen my parents in years," Daniel said, a shadow passing across his face, but it disappeared just as quickly. "Maybe that will change after this. I'm sure they'd love to meet you."

Melinda grinned. "So…we're getting married. Today." She knew they had already established the fact, but she just wanted to make sure she wasn't misunderstanding anything. It was all too good to be true.

"Yes," Daniel said, pulling her in close again. But then he let out a groan. "The only suit I have is that wrinkly one."

"And the only dress I have is the one I wore last night," Melinda said. "But I wouldn't care if you were wearing that T-shirt and boxers. You'd still be the best-looking guy out there, and the only one I'd want to marry."

Daniel laughed, but shook his head. "We only get married once. I want to do it right. How long do I have to find something?"

Melinda took out her phone and glanced at the time. "A little over two hours."

"Is that enough time?"

"It is if you know the right people," a low voice said from the doorway.

Melinda and Daniel's heads whipped toward the voice, and found her father standing there, a smile playing on his lips.

"Dad," Melinda gasped. "I can explain."

Her father walked in and closed the door behind him. "Let me guess: Bree can't stand her fiancé, and you are madly in love with yours. Am I close?" he asked, his eyes laughing at them.

"Please don't try to stop us," Melinda pleaded.

"I wouldn't dream of it. But next time you're hatching a secret plan, you may want to close the door before doing so. This could have turned out very differently if your mother or grandmother had overheard."

"You mean, you aren't going to tell them?" Melinda asked.

"Not at all. I don't want Bree marrying that idiot any more than she does," her father said.

"But what about your joint business venture?"

Her father frowned. "What about it? That's between me and Mark's father, and nothing to do with the wedding. In fact, it has nothing to do with Mark. His father has already assured me that Mark won't have a place at the new company. His talents are needed elsewhere."

Melinda released a sigh of relief. "Okay, so what are these connections you speak of?"

Her father nodded to Daniel. "Put on some pants and come with me." He turned to Melinda. "As for you, I think you'd do better with your sister. We’ll meet you at the county clerk’s office in an hour to get your marriage license." He pulled her in tight and gave her the first hug they'd shared since she was a teenager. "I'm so proud of you, sweetie."

Moisture welled up in Melinda's eyes, and she smiled through the tears. "Thank you, Dad."

He pulled back and motioned to Daniel, who now had pants and shoes on. "You're going to be family, so let's dress you like it."

"Be easy on him," Melinda called down the hallway as her father led a nervous-looking Daniel toward the elevator.

She went back into the suite and shut the door, leaning back against it. A torrent of emotions whipped through her and she couldn't wipe the grin off her face. And then she realized that this wasn't even her room.

Melinda pulled her phone out and texted Bree.

Let's get me a dress, because we have a wedding to get to!

Her wedding, to be exact. Melinda Garrett was getting married.