to get ready to leave soon. Perhaps you could mind Ellie for me and we can collect her before we head to the airport?”
“Of course. It would be my pleasure. Ellie is such a delight. When you’re back from honeymoon, I’d love it if she could stay with me in Ojai for a weekend.”
His grandmother gave Peyton and him both a kiss on the cheek and went off in search of the nine-year-old.
“Ellie is coming with us?” Peyton asked with a surprised expression on her face.
“I hope that’s okay. She’s on spring break right now, so it made sense to me to include her and, as we weren’t permitted contact between one another before the wedding, I couldn’t exactly ask you.”
“No, it’s not a problem at all,” Peyton answered, looking more than a little relieved.
Was it because she wouldn’t be left alone with him, that they’d have Ellie as a buffer between them? Galen gave an internal shrug. Whatever; it didn’t matter as long as this worked out. Ellie already liked his new bride. She was a bright kid and knowing she liked Peyton was half the battle won. If they could cement that into something strong and lasting—a family unit that would make her feel loved and secure for the rest of her childhood—then he would have succeeded in fulfilling the promise he’d made to his two dead friends as they were laid to rest. Failure was not an option.
“Are you curious about where we’re going?”
“I’m assuming it’s somewhere warm. I was told to pack light clothing and swimwear.”
“It’s perpetually warm. We’re off to a Horvath resort a little over two and a half thousand miles east-southeast of here,” he teased.
“That would be your resort on Maui, right?”
“You’ve been doing your research on us,” he answered, surprised at her very specific response.
Her cheeks colored. “Research? What makes you think that?”
She sounded defensive. Definitely not what he’d been hoping for just before they left to change for travel.
“Let’s just say I’m not used to people being as well-informed about my business as you apparently are,” he said, attempting to soothe her.
“Information is my business,” she said smoothly, her demeanor relaxing slightly.
“And your business is?”
“I’m a reporter, freelance.”
“A travel reporter? We’ve been featured in quite a few magazines and blogs. Maybe you’ve been our guest before?”
She shook her head. “No, not travel. Didn’t you say we needed to go and change?”
Her subject switch was about as subtle as dropping an old typewriter from the top of a tall building onto the pavement below. But he wasn’t slow to take a hint and he had plenty of time to get to know her better.
“We do. A chopper is taking us to SeaTac in about an hour.”
“It doesn’t take me an hour to get ready,” Peyton answered with a gurgle of laughter. “Do I look that high-maintenance?”
Her laugh was intoxicating, the first sign of unfettered emotion he’d seen in her so far. He knew he wanted more of it, more of her being natural, being herself.
“Well, we might be able to go earlier, provided we can say goodbye to our guests without too many holdups. It won’t change our departure time from SeaTac, though—the flight plan has already been filed. We’re taking one of our company jets.”
“How the other half lives, huh?” she said, softening her words with a smile.
“You’re a part of that now. Flight time is about six hours once we’re wheels up.”
“How late will it be when we arrive?”
“Hawaii’s three hours behind us, so, all going smoothly, about seven p.m.”
“It’s going to be a long day for Ellie.”
“She’ll be okay. She was used to traveling with her parents and can sleep on the flight if she wants to. You can, too.”
She shook her head. “Sadly, I’m one of those who can never sleep on a plane.”
“Always vigilant?”
“Something like that. Well, I guess we’d better get on our way, then?”
“Let me see you up to your room,” he said, taking her arm. “Did you want to throw your bouquet first?”
She shrugged. “Sure.”
“Give me a minute to get it organized.”
“I’ll go get the bouquet.”
He watched as she glided across the room toward the main table where she’d left her flowers. The gentle sway of her hips totally mesmerized him.
“Nice wife,” his brother, Valentin, said as he approached.
“It’s a good thing you have your own, or I’d be making you keep your eyes off mine.”
“And I wouldn’t trade her for the world.”
Galen heard the intense emotion in Valentin’s words. He and Imogene had been married once before, and until Nagy had reunited them in a Match Made in Marriage wedding, they’d both been unhappy. Now they were together again, for good this time, and Galen felt a glimmer of envy—wishing he, too, could experience the kind of relationship they had. But his bed had been made for him when he’d agreed to be Ellie’s guardian and then signed up to find a wife so Ellie could feel safe again. He wasn’t expecting romance and roses. What he needed for his best girl was stability, and hopefully, he could achieve that with Peyton.
“Peyton’s going to toss her bouquet soon. I need to let the emcee know so he can make the announcement.”
“Watch out for the stampede of cousins.” Valentin laughed, but then his expression grew serious. “Galen, I just wanted to say a few private words.”
“And they are?”
“We only get one shot at life, so we need to make the most of every minute. You’re going to hit some roadblocks in this marriage, that’s a given, but you need to be prepared to work through every one of them.”
“I’m not afraid of hard work. You know that.”
“Yeah, I know. I wish you a lifetime of happiness.”
Valentin wrapped his arms around him in a fierce hug and Galen gave him back as good as he got. “Thanks, Val,” he said, his voice suddenly thick with emotion. “I’m going to do my best.”
“You’re going to need to. Marrying someone you already know and love isn’t always easy, but marrying a stranger...”
Galen
