“Nope. You’re sleeping with me. I told her you were staying with me tonight, before you came out of the bathroom, and she said she thought that was sweet. She told me she’d knock before coming in and it should only be once, several hours from now. I’m glad she wasn’t snotty about it.”
Ransome chuckled and asked, “What would you have done if she had been?”
Charity grinned lasciviously. “I’d be sleeping nude when she came in, with my arms wrapped around my big hunk of luscious man. I think you disconcerted her with that broad chest and those big muscles.”
He lifted her in his arms and climbed on the bed, positioning her so she was lying against him. When she was comfortably arranged, he pulled the sheet and light blanket over them both. “You going to be warm enough?”
She nuzzled his chest and said, “With you to keep me warm? It’ll be the next best thing to sleeping snuggled up to you at home,” she said as she covered a yawn with one hand. “I’ll know who’s groping me, even with my eyes closed.”
Chapter Eighteen
“You don’t need the headache, the hassle, or the responsibility of planning a party, Grace. You’re due around that time,” Charity said as she sipped from her glass of red wine. A large group of their friends were currently congregated around several tables in the corner next to the bar at the Dancing Pony, enjoying a night out.
Several of the girls were clustered around their table trying to hear the conversation as they discussed Charity’s binding ceremony. Originally, she’d hoped to do it on the same day as hers and Justin’s wedding anniversary in July. But when they’d realized that date was within a couple of weeks of Grace’s due date, Charity had decided that a sooner date might be a wise choice. Her concerns were legitimate ones. She didn’t want the binding ceremony to take away from Grace’s growing list of things she needed to do to get ready for the baby. She also didn’t want to add to Grace’s stress level.
“The answer is simple, Charity,” Lucy Owen said as she elbowed Rachel and Lydia and gave them both obvious winks.
“Of course,” Rachel replied without hesitation. “Grace will be the planner and we will all be her hands and feet. We’ll have everything ready to set up, with plenty of volunteers to do the work.”
Lydia nodded vigorously. “I’ll handle the cooking and the cake.”
Lucy said, “I’ll handle the rental equipment setup and takedown.”
Charity gawked at Grace. “Rental equipment?”
“You hush,” Rachel said to Charity with a giggle. “I’ll handle decorations.”
Maya Warner piped up and said, “Oh, I’ll help with decorations, too. It’s the least I can do after the wonderful job Grace and Lydia did with my wedding down at the creek.”
Charity laughed and said, “Yeah, but let’s not have any wedding day repeats, Grace, okay?”
Grace chuckled and said, “I agree completely. I’ll do my best not to turn your binding day into a labor day.”
The girls all laughed and then chimed in, volunteering themselves and their men to help. The suggestions got a little over the top and before long the affair had snowballed into a redneck holy terror complete with Jell-O shots and dancing men.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Charity finally said as their suggestions started sounding more and more like the liquor was talking rather than common sense. “Don’t get me wrong girls, I love all the ideas, I really do. But we want to keep this simple, just like the wedding, twenty-three years ago.”
Grace’s eyebrows arched. “You’re sure about that, sis? It was so small. I wanted to really do this one up for you, you know? Make it memorable for you and the guys.”
Charity hugged her sister, and her pregnant belly, but shook her head. “I’m sure it will be. I didn’t say we couldn’t have a celebration. As long as my family and my friends are there, I don’t care about the rest of that stuff. We don’t need a band. We don’t need fireworks. And although I can see where it would make for a memorable occasion, Lucy, I don’t think we need the Jell-O shots and dancing men either.”
Lucy snickered and said, “Oh, all right. I guess that was a bit much, huh?”
“I just want the people I love to be there with me, to help us celebrate. I want the binding ceremony to have all the meaning without the pomp and circumstance of a traditional wedding.”
“But we still get to help you shop for your dress, right?” Grace asked.
Charity chuckled. They still hadn’t had any luck finding the right one. “Of course. Anyone who wants to come and help is welcome.”