Leader of the Pack (The Dogfather Book 3)

  “Yikes, Pru says my inability to coordinate my mouth and brain always gets me in trouble. But…this is going to be annulled, right?”

  Angling her head, Andi managed a playfully stern look. “Another thing you don’t say to someone taking their vows.”

  “It was a legit question,” Molly said, gently lifting the white dress spread over the bed and sliding her fingers over the pale blue ribbon Pru had artfully managed to work into a more contemporary look. “Are you going to get an annulment?”

  Andi opened her mouth, but nothing came out, because she really didn’t know the answer. The last two days—and nights—with Liam had been just this side of magical. Every kiss, every laugh, every touch, every conversation felt like slipping under a warm and comfy blanket that she never wanted to leave. They’d slept in separate rooms…barely.

  It had been a week, but she’d known Liam for years, and he hadn’t changed from the solid, steady man she’d met outside this very house three years ago.

  Yes, they had a long way to go to get to something that she could be certain would last—if there even was such a thing. But Liam seemed to think there was, and when she woke up this morning knowing it was her “wedding day,” she’d felt as close to committed as a woman who’d been planning this moment for months.

  “I don’t know anymore,” she finally admitted. “Liam is the definition of certain, a concept I’ve never really embraced.”

  “Nothing is certain,” Molly said softly. “But Liam isn’t going to change. He was born a great guy and he’ll die a great guy. I’d just like to be sure he doesn’t die alone.”

  “I’m sure he won’t,” Andi said, eyeing Molly closely. “Have you ever known a guy that great?”

  Molly gave a sad smile. “I thought I did. But he disappeared. Without a…trace.” She emphasized the last word as if it mattered, somehow. As if she’d tried to follow a trail that led nowhere. But then her smile lifted. “Left me the best gift in the world, though.”

  “I understand that.”

  Her eyes welling, Molly blinked and quickly turned Andi around. “Let me get your zipper and get you in that wedding dress. Pru, can you come in here?” she called into the next room. “We need the shoes. And where’s Gramma? She wants to document this all with pictures.” She leaned into Andi’s ear. “You’ll be the subject of tomorrow’s blog, but that’s okay, right?”

  Andi looked over her shoulder. “Of course. And if you ever want to talk, Molly, you’ll never find a more sympathetic ear. It might be hard to share your feelings with Pru, but God knows I understand why a woman makes a decision to walk the path and do this job alone.”

  “Thank you.” Molly surprised her by kissing Andi’s cheek. “You’re going to make a great sister.”

  The conversation ended as Pru and Gramma came in, followed by Darcy, Chloe, and Jessie, kicking up the noise and excitement level. Andi felt a little like Cinderella surrounded by chirping birds as they helped her into a simple but elegant tea-length white dress that Pru had transformed from seventies to spectacular.

  Jessie helped put her hair in a soft updo, and Darcy touched up her blush and mascara and added some tiny roses from the bushes outside the back porch for her hair. It was like having a little piece of Waterford on her.

  “What song did you pick?” Andi asked as Darcy worked in the last rose.

  Darcy gave a meaningful look to Gramma. “I ended up asking my dad for an idea.”

  “Dr. K picked the song?” Andi asked.

  “Well, I helped things along, so you can blame me,” Gramma said.

  Everyone laughed, but Andi studied Gramma Finnie and definitely saw a serious expression on her old face.

  “Daniel and I sat out on the patio last night, lass,” she said, as if that explained anything.

  “Never good,” Molly joked.

  “Especially when someone opens the Jameson’s,” Darcy added. “And I’m going to fully admit I did three shots, so that’s why I agreed to this.”

  “Agreed to what?” Andi asked.

  “The song we picked…” Gramma Finnie averted her eyes, looking down to pluck at a silver thread in tonight’s sparkly party cardigan. “Is, um, from an old movie.”

  One more look between Darcy and Gramma Finnie and all of the rest of the women grew very quiet. Like they knew something Andi didn’t.

  “What old movie?” Andi asked.

  “Oh, you know.” Gramma Finnie was suddenly very interested in her cell phone. “I can never get this flash to work right.”

  Pru gently took the phone to help. “I’ve got it, Gram.”

  “Is no one going to tell me until I actually walk down the stairs?”

  Molly cleared her throat. “Just a wild guess, but is the song by any chance from Saturday Night Fever, Gram?”

  “Yes, that’s the movie. The slow song. You know…”

  “How Deep Is Your Love?” Molly, Jessie, and Chloe asked in perfect unison, their voices rising a bit.

  Andi frowned, definitely not getting something. “The Bee Gees?” she asked. “I know that song. It’s really…” She looked from one to the other, getting various degrees of oh boy to oh no she didn’t to wow, that’s a shocker.

  “It was Daniel and Annie’s song,” Gramma Finnie finally said. “I thought it would make a nice title for tomorrow’s wedding blog.”

  All gazes shifted to Andi as if they were ready for her to put up a fight. That this was too much—the house, the dress, the song. Too much like they were trying to replicate the greatest love story the family had known.

  And maybe, a few days ago, a week, she would have balked at the idea. But now?

  “I think that’s a beautiful song,” Andi said. “Won’t be a dry eye in the place.”

  She turned to Gramma Finnie, whose blue eyes were definitely not dry. “God love ya, lass.”

  “Gramma?” Andi asked in a teasing voice. “Did you use their vows, too?”

  “Oh please.” She waved her hand. “They sounded like a couple of hippies promising sunsets and moonrises. I went straight-up traditional, because, well, I think that suits Liam.”

  “I think so, too,” Andi agreed, relieved not to be repeating Annie and Daniel’s vows.

  “Left out the ‘promise to obey’ part on account of it being the twenty-first century, and Pru wouldn’t let me put it in there.”

  They all laughed. “Good call, Pru,” Molly said.

  “But they’re real vows, lass,” Gramma Finnie insisted. “I want to give you two a fightin’ chance.”

  She inched back and put her hands on Gramma Finnie’s crinkly cheeks. “I think we have one.”

  Gramma blinked a tear from behind her bifocals. “Oh, Annie would have loved you, sweet lass.”

  “I hope so, since I borrowed her dress, usurped her wedding locale, and snagged her firstborn son.”

  “Then let’s get this wedding under way with an Irish toast!” Gramma snagged a flute of champagne from the dresser and held it high. “Say it with me, Kilcannon lassies.”

  The others stepped forward and formed a little circle around Andi.

  “May God bless you and keep you,” Gramma started. “May you see your children’s children.” She circled an arm around Pru on the last word. “May you be…”

  “Poor in misfortune and rich in blessings,” Pru and Molly added together, smiling at each other.

  “And may you know nothing but happiness from this day forward!” They all said it in unison, followed by a high-pitched cheer while Gramma Finnie gulped the champagne.

  Nothing but happiness from this day forward? Was there such a thing? Andi doubted it, but she clung to the words as she headed to the top of the stairs to marry Liam Kilcannon.

  * * *

  “Ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention?” Dad dinged on his glass a few times, his voice booming over the crowd of about a hundred milling about the downstairs and patio of the house.

  All the guests, which included the extended f
amily of the Mahoney cousins, Waterford staff, town locals, and good friends, slowly made their way to the center hall where Dad stood with Liam next to him. And next to Liam was Christian, who’d been informed over dinner last night about what was happening at the party. He hadn’t seemed fazed, even a few minutes ago when Liam gave him the two simple gold bands and asked him to be in charge of them for the wedding.

  Christian had had only one single question about this ceremony: Could Jag be there?

  Andi and Liam had agreed to that without a second’s hesitation.

  “The announcements, toasts, and celebrations are not quite done,” Dad announced, getting a rumbling response from the crowd as they started to pile into the dining room, family room, and main living area all the way back to the kitchen.

  Questions hummed, and a few people joked. Shane and Garrett broke off their conversations with Declan and Connor Mahoney to work their way over. Liam welcomed his brothers to the inner circle.

  “Sure wish Aidan was here,” Garrett said, referring to the one Kilcannon currently somewhere in the Middle East kicking ass and taking names.

  “Me, too,” Liam admitted, a little surprised at how much his heart was hammering, considering this was not even supposed to be a real wedding.

  Molly and Pru were at the top of the curved stairs on the upper landing, locking arms with Gramma. They escorted the little old lady down the wide stairs, with a sweet touch of extra formality. Behind them, Jessie and Darcy came down, joining them in the center hallway.

  Jessie nestled close to Garrett, and Liam heard her whisper, “I can’t wait for our turn.”

  And Garrett looked as lost and in love as Liam felt. Except Garrett’s love was real. And this was…real enough.

  Maybe it was the final drop down the Andi Rivers Slippery Slope, but something told Liam that contentment, not misery, was at the end of this ride.

  “We have a very special treat for our guests tonight,” Dad said, quieting the crowd once everyone was downstairs except Chloe and Andi. “It’s not merely an engagement party for my two middle sons. Tonight is the wedding of my oldest.”

  A gasp, cheer, and a lot of loud hoots rose from the crowd as Mayor Wilkins made her way through to the front, holding what Liam instantly recognized as the family Bible.

  Would Liam’s and Andi’s names be added into that? For a second, he almost couldn’t breathe at the sheer permanence of the possibility.

  But then a note of music played from one of the speakers, then another, high pitched and familiar. A song he’d seen his parents dance to a hundred times. Well, thirty-six times. After every anniversary dinner, which they insisted on sharing with the kids, his parents would dance to this old Bee Gees song.

  The words were embedded in Liam’s memory, the distinctive voice starting the ballad.

  I know your eyes in the morning sun…

  He felt his father’s hand on his shoulder, and when he turned, Liam fully expected to see tears in the older man’s eyes. But he was smiling and nodding toward the top of the stairs, where Chloe, wearing a pale blue dress that accented her dark hair and dark eyes, started her way down.

  She clutched a tiny bouquet of flowers and held Shane’s eyes all the way down the stairs.

  Mayor Wilkins, Chloe’s aunt and the woman who brought her to Bitter Bark, gave a little whimper of pride and joy.

  “What the hell did I do to deserve her?” Shane muttered. Liam threw his brother a look and notched his brow in silent agreement.

  The song hit the chorus, and a few of the guests started to hum along softly, but they all stopped when Andi came to the top of the stairs.

  Her hair was up with flowers in it, and she wore a white dress that…oh man. Was that Mom’s? Liam blinked at it, noting it wasn’t exactly as he remembered it in pictures, but yes, it had the same lace with little holes and a blue ribbon.

  Liam wanted to look at his dad, but he couldn’t take his gaze from the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. And she couldn’t take hers from his.

  “Look at Mommy,” Christian whispered in awe. “She’s so pretty.”

  No kidding. Liam pressed his hand on the little boy’s shoulder, using the small child for a little bit of stability since right then he seemed to have lost his.

  This had started as a favor. Moved into a fantasy. And now, this very moment, this wedding and this woman and this possibility at a lifetime of happiness became the focus of his whole world.

  Everything faded into the background like it had that night a few months ago when he’d seen her in the bar. The music, the people, the colors, the sounds.

  She reached the bottom of the steps, and Liam stepped forward without thinking if it was right or not, but knowing if he didn’t take her hands and hold her, he wouldn’t be able to take another breath.

  They looked at each other without saying a word, then he guided her toward the group under the chandelier and stood in front of Mayor Wilkins.

  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here tonight to celebrate the union of Liam Daniel Kilcannon and Andrea Leigh Rivers in the state of matrimony.”

  Good God, he felt tears burn behind his eyes. Fighting them, Liam looked straight ahead, trying to focus on the mayor and not get knocked over by the words.

  She opened the Bible to a page marked by a single index card. “I’m informed this Scripture has been read at every wedding in the Kilcannon family for many generations. And so it will be tonight, too.” She cleared her throat and looked down at the Bible. “‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’”

  Liam swallowed hard. When he’d agreed to this, he honestly hadn’t known it would be like this. This powerful and meaningful. He’d known it would be a wedding, but these words.

  Finally, he stole a look at Andi, who gazed up at him. Her eyes were full of warmth and affection and certainty.

  The thing she never thought she could have. He would give it to her. He would be her for-sure, dependable, certain man as long as she would have him.

  “Is there a ring bearer?” Mayor Wilkins asked.

  “Right here!” Christian stepped forward in his little suit and tie, Jag right beside him. He held out his hand and smiled up at Andi, his eyes so like hers. “I’ve got them, Mommy.”

  “Give them to Mayor Wilkins, honey,” she instructed softly.

  After that exchange took place, Christian stayed right next to her, with Jag. A few people chuckled at the unorthodox grouping, but not Liam. How many times had his mother whispered to him, once he was old enough to understand why, that he’d been at their wedding?

  This seemed right.

  Mayor Wilkins handed Liam the smaller of the two rings and reached for Andi’s hand, joining them.

  “Repeat after me. With this ring, I, Liam Kilcannon, take you, Andrea Rivers.”

  “With this ring…” The words came out husky and low. “I, Liam Kilcannon.” He paused, lost in the sweet cornflower blue eyes and the hope he could see there. “Take you, Andrea Rivers.”

  “To have and to hold…”

  He repeated every word Blanche Wilkins said, the weight of each promise growing heavier and more honest until he whispered the last ones…till death do us part.

  Not annulment, not divorce, not the end of a charade.

  He slid the ring on her finger, nestling it next to the engagement diamond that now looked so familiar and right on her hand, he’d forgotten what it looked like on his mother’s. Exhaling now that his part was done, he listened to her say the same words, with the same shaky voice and the same trembling hand when she put the ring on him.

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

  Liam didn’t wait to be told what to do next. He pulled Andi into him, lowered his head, and kissed her with every ounce of love he had. He heard the cheer, felt her shiver in his arms, and tasted the sweet return of everything he felt.

  When they broke the kiss, it didn’t surprise h
im a bit that they both had tears in their eyes.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “I’ve been here before,” Andi whispered as Liam turned the key to the top-floor suite of the Bitter Bark Bed & Breakfast.

  “You’ve been to the honeymoon suite? Not exactly what your man wants to hear right now, Andi.”

  “My man.” She chuckled and leaned into him, a whiff of the roses in her hair teasing him as they had since the first time they’d danced a few hours ago.

  He was her man. For now, for tonight. Nothing could change that or steal Liam’s strong belief that he was the happiest man alive.

  “I was in this room a few weeks ago when I did the first design pass on the addition Jane commissioned.” Andi stepped inside when he held open the door, gasping softly. “But it didn’t look like this, Liam.”

  She paused in the small entry that led to a large room dominated by a fireplace and a four-poster bed. As he’d requested, candles flickered from every surface, and champagne chilled in a bucket at the sitting area, along with chocolate-covered strawberries that Molly and Darcy assured him a woman would want on her wedding night.

  “You did this?” she asked.

  “Jane Gruen did the dirty work, but I, you know…I asked for it.”

  She looked up at him, a sly smile pulling at her lips. “Damn, Liam Kilcannon. You are a die-hard romantic.”

  He studied her face, brushing a stray hair from her cheek, which felt so delicate under his big hands. “I wanted it to be special.”

  “It is,” she whispered. “For one thing, no child and no dogs.”

  “You’re not worried about Christian, are you? Because he couldn’t be safer at Waterford.”

  “Not a bit,” she assured him. “And he was so tired he’ll sleep the night for sure.”

  They’d left him conked out in the guest bed in Liam’s old room with Jag next to him. The party had dwindled, but the house was still full, since Shane, Chloe, Jessie, Garrett, Molly, and Pru were all crashing there, along with a few family friends.

  But Liam couldn’t wait to leave and bring Andi here.

  After a moment, she slipped away from him, dropping onto a fancy sofa that faced the fireplace. “You know, the day I did that walk-through with Jane, if someone had told me I’d be here in this suite three weeks later as a guest with…my husband?” Her voice rose in disbelief. “I would have bet everything I ever had or will have that they were wrong. I would have been so sure.” She shook her head. “Life constantly surprises me.”