Page 114 of An Unexpected Love

She glanced around; everyone was waiting. The room had gone completely silent; even the children were quiet. Charlotte didn’t know how she could refuse. She closed her eyes and tried to think. If she postponed the wedding, the elder Mannings might hold it against her. It could taint their future relationship. The others were just as eager for this to happen. Each one felt guilty for cheating Eric and Elizabeth out of the family wedding they wanted.

Her whole future with the Manning family could be at stake, Charlotte thought.

“Do I…need to decide now?” she asked after an awkward moment.

“There’s so little time,” Elizabeth warned.

Charlotte glanced from one to the other and knew she couldn’t refuse. She loved Jason and wanted to marry him more than she’d wanted anything in her life. She could be happy with him, happy in ways she’d hardly imagined before. And for the first time she and Carrie had the chance to be part of a real family.

If she were to marry Jason there was the possibility of her having another child.Ifshe conquered her fear of sex. The hollow ache inside her intensified as she studied the soft swell of Leah’s abdomen.

She turned to Jason, needing some kind of confirmation, some indication of what he was thinking. His eyes, so like his mother’s, blue and intense, reflected his love for her. His faith in her. The desire to be part ofherlife. He believed their love was enough to overcome any obstacle. Their love was all that was necessary.

For now, because she wanted to believe it, too, that was enough for her, too.

“We have a lot to do, then, don’t we?” she said, reluctantly dragging her gaze away from Jason and back to his mother.

“Does that mean you agree?”

She nodded and the entire family broke into cheers.

* * *

The excitement and the enthusiasm carried Charlotte for a full two weeks. Two of the busiest weeks of her life. When she wasn’t putting in her final days at work, she was with Jason’s mother.

During their first afternoon together, it became apparent that Elizabeth was a gifted organizer. She’d haveto be in order to pull off a full-scale wedding in less than a month.

Ignorance had been bliss. Had Charlotte realized the sheer magnitude of what they needed to accomplish in such a short time, she would have refused.

Not a day passed that she didn’t have some kind of appointment, some place to be, someone to meet, some decision to make. There were dressmakers, florists, photographers, caterers and printers. And countless decisions, all of which had to be dealt with right that minute. There wasn’t time to ponder or reflect. As soon as one task was completed, Elizabeth steered her toward the next.

Carrie was delighted to be her mother’s maid of honor. Charlotte’s four soon-to-be sisters-in-law were to be her bridesmaids, and that meant frequent conference calls between Montana and Seattle.

When Charlotte somehow found time to see Jason, it was for a few moments, and then only in passing. He, too, was exceptionally busy.

Just when it looked like everything was falling neatly into place, and Charlotte would finally be able to return to a life of her own, a series of showers and parties began. Every night was busy with one event or another. Even the women in the office held a bridal shower for her on her last day with the agency.

The Mannings were a well-established, well-liked family. Three of Elizabeth’s closest friends decided to honor Charlotte with a shower the Monday before the wedding.

“I can’t believe how generous everyone is,” Charlotte said to Carrie, who had just attended the shower withher. They were carrying the wide array of gifts from the car into the apartment.

“Those old ladies don’t even know you,” Carrie remarked, her voice filled with astonishment. “All these gifts! You don’t suppose they’d throw a birthday party for me sometime, do you?”

“Carrie!”

“Just joking, Mom.” She hurried past Charlotte and brought in a gaily decorated box that was still unopened. Charlotte had been told the gift was for Jason, therefore he should be the one to open it. The giver was his godmother, a spry older woman named Donna Bondi.

“You want me to see if Jason’s home?” Carrie asked eagerly.

Charlotte, too, was curious to see what was inside. “Go ahead.” It was almost ten, and under normal circumstances Charlotte would’ve been more concerned about getting to bed so she’d be ready for work in the morning, but her two-weeks’ notice was up and she was officially among the unemployed.

She had the entire week free, or as free as any bride’s time could be five days before her wedding.

Carrie returned a few minutes later with Jason in tow. He smiled when he saw her and kissed her lightly on the lips, then bent to stroke an ecstatic Higgins. “What’s this I hear about Mrs. Bondi sending me a gift?”

“She insisted you open it yourself.”

Jason’s look was skeptical. “Is it a gag gift?”

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