Page 55 of All You Need Is Love

“She spoke off the record, of course …”

“I won’t spread any rumors, I promise.”

Piper’s jaw ticked. “Oh, I know. It just makes me mad. A mom can leave her child behind and then get a steady job, come back, and snap! All is forgiven. She can have another shot at being a mom. Gotta love the justice of our system.” The sarcasm in her tone contrasted with the upbeat song that underscored it on the speakers.

Shannon’s head pounded in time to the beat. “I don’t understand how this can be happening.” Poor Noah. If Julie was back only to jerk him around again …

How would he survive it?

Setting down her cup on the tray of a passing server, she covered a sob that escaped through her fingers.

Piper flicked her ponytail over her shoulder as she shook her head. “It’s not fair. To Noah or you.”

Someone shouted Piper’s name from the other side of the crowd. She put out her hand as if to pat Shannon’s arm, but stopped halfway and then dropped it. “Are you sure you’re okay? I’ve got to go take some photos for the paper, but …”

“I’m fine. Really.” It was a lie and they both knew it, but it wasn’t like Piper and Shannon were really friends. “Thank you for the information.”

“If you need help digging up dirt on Julie, I’m happy to help. As far as I’m concerned, she doesn’t deserve a second chance.” With her pen and pad at the ready, Piper set out into the crowd.

Before she could make a scene, Shannon whirled, fleeing toward the inn, where she could shut herself away in the bathroom for a bit and cry. But at the bottom of the stairs, Mom intercepted her. “Dear, I’m gathering our immediate family up so we can get a photo together. Meet just outside the gates, by the trees near the beach in about ten or fifteen minutes, all right? It’ll take me that long to find everyone. I have no idea where your father disappeared to.”

So much for time to cry. Shannon wasn’t one to normally care about things like smudged mascara or red blotchy eyes, but if she knew her mother, this picture would find its way onto the mantel for all to see. “Sure, Mom.”

Before Mom could get a closer look and realize something had upset her, Shannon moved back through the crowd, sticking to the fringes as much as possible to avoid conversations with people she didn’t have the composure to talk to right now. The news about Noah and his mom sat as heavy as bricks on her chest, threatening at any moment to squash the wherewithal from her mind and body. She needed air, and waiting under the large trees that surrounded the courtyard was as good a place as any to get it.

Shannon pushed through the wrought iron gate and stepped into the soft, clean sand. The full moon and its blanket of stars made for a beautiful wedding backdrop, the heavenly decor outshining all of Shannon’s votive candles and flowers and vases—or enhancing them, really.

Finding the largest of the surrounding oaks, whose leaves made a canopy overhead, Shannon leaned against the scratchy trunk. She closed her eyes and willed the tears to stay put, at least until her mom’s required photograph was over. The sound of the water lapping against the shore mingled with the strains of “Unchained Melody” drifting on the summer breeze.

A soft caress touched her upper arm, and she opened her eyes to find Marshall there. The pure adoration and concern in his gaze was all it took for the tears to start. Without a word, he tucked her into him, the silk of his tie smooth and cool against her cheek.

His head bent low, near her ear, and after a few moments, he spoke. “What’s wrong, love?”

Pulling back, she looked up at him, at the way his eyes drank her in, and all thoughts of others and Quinn and long-distance and Noah and everything else fled. Shannon pushed up on her toes, flung her arms around his neck, and kissed him like none of that existed—like tomorrow didn’t even exist.

She couldn’t taste him deeply enough—the nip of salt from his steak, the tang of his beer—and her hands couldn’t feel him close enough. He responded in kind, pressing her back against the tree trunk, feathering his lips across her jaw, whispering promises and the depth of a budding love that scared her.

“Shannon.” His head finally pulled back just a bit, though his arms remained firmly ensconced around her. “What’s wrong, love?”

His repeated question made her want to burrow into him all the more, but she suddenly became conscious of their position—how just on the other side of this wall, her entire family danced and celebrated. And here she stood, in the arms of a man they didn’t know was actually hers.

Her temples pounded again. It was all so … confusing.

She dropped her arms from Marshall’s neck, allowing him to hold her but giving them both a little room to breathe. “I just heard that Noah’s mom is back in town. That she’s seeking custody. And that she might …” Biting her lip, Shannon sucked in a deep breath. “She might have a really good chance of getting him back.”

“Ah, Shan. I’m sorry.” He took her hand and kissed her palm, his eyes roaming her face as he seemed to be considering his next words. “I know that’s not what you wanted. But … wouldn’t it be the best thing for him to be with his mom, if she really has gotten things straight?”

“No!” Her whole body went cold at the thought. “I mean, yes, of course, but …” But he’s being taken away from me. And the loss of Noah was like an aching chasm that divided her heart. “I’m sorry. This is all such a roller coaster. First, I’m adopting him. Then I do terribly with the interview. Then yesterday I find out that I didn’t fail like I thought. And now … this.”

His arms traveled up and down hers, bringing warmth and a chill at the same time. “That’s a lot. What can I do?”

She mustered up a smile for him. “You’re doing it by holding me, reminding me it’s going to be okay.”

“It is going to be okay.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and they stood like that for a while, so still that she wondered if it were possible to fall asleep on her feet. Because suddenly, she felt very, very tired. And at the same time, her heart was full—of grief, yes, but of the whisper of love too.

With Marshall, she could conquer all the bad.

Her fingers wound their way up his back, pressing him close again. “Marshall?”

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