“You!” Vanny said. “You’re in a lot of trouble.”
Evan pulled his lover to his side, kissing her temple. “Not anymore.”
“Oh yes she is,” Michael said, deadpan. “With us.”
“That’s right!” Vanny added. “Not only have you been tormenting one of my favorite almost-new-brothers-in-law with running away all the time, you’ve been tormenting me and Michael by leaving us in the lurch on this whole wedding thing.”
Andrea laughed. “Isn’t Miss Grady helping?”
“To paraphrase,” Michael said, “I knew Miss Prentiss. I worked with Miss Prentiss. And Miss Grady is no Miss Prentiss.”
“Yeah, well, plan your own wedding, guys,” Evan warned. “Andrea’s going to be planning ours.”
His intended’s mouth dropped open. Okay, he supposed he should have made it clear she was his intended before dropping that bombshell, but what the hell.
“A wedding!” his mother shrieked, and he glanced sideways at her, seeing as how he’d never heard that particular pitch out of his usually decorous mother. But it seemed as if it was on the happy end of the spectrum of sounds. Amanda Evans was grinning as widely as the rest of them.
“Do you mean it, Evan? You’re getting married? I might actually have grandchildren someday?”
“Well, don’t rush us or anything, Mom. I just popped the question.”
“Or by the looks of it, actually didn’t,” Vanny pointed out.
Epilogue
Two Weeks Later
It turned out that Andrea, as they had all agreed to continue to call her, was remarkably efficient at planning weddings, as remarkably efficient as she was at most things. Moreover, two weddings were no more trouble for her to plan than one.
Of course it helped that the grooms were pretty much threatening elopement if the weddings did not transpire in record time and that the brides, herself and Vanny, had quite a lot of resources at their disposal to accomplish this feat.
Oh, and it helped that only family members were invited. That cut down on the planning quite a bit, although the whole Reynolds family itself required quite a few private jets and helicopters and yachts to get to Evan’s island for the weddings. The Donald family and the Stavros family each had just their lone representative. The only non-family guests were Tommy O’Neal and Cassie Bailey, who Andrea had insisted on inviting for some reason that she claimed was related to their caring for Bingo.
It ended up being a lively crowd as Evan and Andrea, and Vanny and Michael respectively took their vows in a double ceremony on the beach of the island, the lighthouse in view. The reception was a picnic, more or less, that Damien Reynolds groused about, especially when he noticed his ex-wife, the mother of the groom, or one of them anyway, resplendent in a peach outfit, flirting with her date, the local grocer.
Chris Reynolds sipped a glass of champagne and slapped Evan on the back, admiring his brother’s new wife in her antique-lace cream wedding gown, fitted at the waist, tasteful but low cut. “I cannot believe you got Andrea Prentiss, old man. I didn’t know you had it in you.”
Chris, like the rest of the Reynolds family, now knew Andrea’s background and true roots, but in an odd twist continued to seem to regard her in what to them had been her most important role—Michael’s unflappable assistant.
“I’m a lucky guy,” Evan agreed, watching his wife talking to Cassie, probably apologizing to her yet again for getting her on the wrong end of a gun.
“Yep, you and Michael have got some good ones, but for those of us left on the field, you provided some nice eye candy here.” Chris nodded at Cassie, looking hot and resplendent in a short pink minidress. “Though I have to admit she’s a little young.”
Evan eyed Tommy O’Neal, who for his part just looked out of place and uncomfortable in an ill-fitting suit as Evan’s father for some reason grilled him. Probably trying to set him up on some cockamamie internship.
“A word of warning, Chris, don’t set your sights on Cassie unless you want a knife through your ribs while you’re not looking.”
His brother glanced at the grocer. “Really? Her dad doesn’t look that bad. He seems pretty friendly when he’s talking to your mom. I’m sure he allows his daughter to, ah, date.”
“I know your version of dating, bro, and it’s not her dad I’m talking about. That kid over there is wild about her.”
Chris glanced over at the competition. “I could take him.”
“In a fair fight maybe but when it comes to that girl, that kid won’t fight fair. Trust me.”