Page 106 of An Unexpected Love

“Coming? Towhat, Mother?” Jason demanded.

“Why, Jason, I’ve spent the day making the arrangements for your wedding to Charlotte. What else would I be talking about, for heaven’s sake?”

Ten

“Mother, have you gone stark, raving mad?” Jason had difficulty keeping a rein on his anger. “How can you set a wedding date and hire caterers when I haven’t evenmentionedit to Charlotte? This is insane.” He rubbed his face, wondering if he’d imagined this entire fiasco.

“Your father warned me you’d be angry, but, Jason, I know you. Once you and Charlotte decide to marry, you won’t want to wait two years.”

“Mom, I don’t suppose it dawned on you that there are other places we could have a wedding reception—ifwe were actually having one. The yacht club isn’t the only venue in this town.”

“Frankly, no, it didn’t occur to me,” his mother returned calmly. “Since we’re just going to have one formal wedding in this family, we’re doing it up big, and the yacht club’s the best alternative.”

Jason could see he was losing ground. “Let me talk to Dad.”

“But, Jason—”

“Mother!”

“All right, just a minute.”

That minute seemed to take an hour. By the time he had his father on the line, Jason was as angry as he’d ever been. The instant he heard Eric pick up the receiver, he shouted, “Has Mother gone crazy? Have you? How could you let things go this far?”

His father chuckled, apparently amused, something Jason most definitely wasn’t. “I agree with you,” his father said breezily, “your mother has gone a little crazy.”

“Dad, listen, I know you and Mom mean well, but I refuse to let you run my life. Scheduling the reception, talking to florists, I can’t believe you’d allow Mom to do all this without talking to me first.”

“Don’t forget, she’s involved Taylor and Christy, as well. That’s when I thought she’d stepped over the line. You haven’t even asked Charlotte to marry you, and Elizabeth’s got your sisters choosing bridesmaids’ dresses. By the way, I don’t suppose she told you about the honeymoon? Two weeks in Hawaii—it’s our wedding gift to you.”

Jason clenched his fist at his side and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. It didn’t work. The situation was absurd. And he was beginning to see that his father was in on this nonsense. “Two weeks in Hawaii… Taylor and Christy choosing bridesmaids’ dresses. You’ve both gone off the deep end.”

“To your mother’s credit, she didn’t intend for this to happen. It just did. I know you’re upset now, and to be honest, I don’t blame you, but once you get used to the idea, it doesn’t sound so ludicrous.”

Get used to the idea, Jason mused. He felt like he was in the middle of a nightmare. “You honestly think I should agree to this…this outrageousness?” He could barely speak.

“Answer me this. Are you in love with Charlotte?”

“Yes.” That much was a given—he’d already told his parents so.

“Do you intend to ask her to marry you?”

His dad knew the answer to that, too. “Yes…eventually, in my own time and my own way.”

“If you’re planning to marry the girl anyway, then what’s the problem?”

“I wasn’t going to do it in three weeks!”

“Three weeks, three months, what’s the difference?”

Jason couldn’t believe it. His father was talking pure craziness.

“I realize your mother and I went about this wrong, but after what happened with your brothers and sisters, all I ask is that you cut us a little slack.”

“A little slack,” he snorted. “Marriage is a serious step. A man doesn’t make that kind of decision one minute and march up the aisle the next.”

“I used to feel that way myself, but it’s pretty much what happened with Taylor and Russ, as well as Christy and Cody. They made up their minds, then went right ahead and did it.”

“All right, all right,” Jason muttered, willing to concede the point. Their weddings were spontaneous, to say the least. Same for Rich and Paul.

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