Page 17 of Deadly Holiday
Chapter Five
With a wide grin that was achingly similar to his father’s, Owen Harris stepped back, holding the door wide for them to enter.
“Owen!” Celina exclaimed, gathering the boy in a tight hug. He was nicely dressed in slacks and a button-down shirt, his blond hair slicked back from his face. “I thought you were with your mom. What on earth are you doing here alone?”
“I’m not.” Taking her hand, Owen led her through the foyer into the living room, where a large crowd was gathered.
Among them, in the center of the room, was a familiar face. Her dark hair, streaked with silver, hung heavily over her shoulders and back. Her dark eyes lit with happiness as they connected with Celina’s, and tears sprang to Celina’s eyes. She lifted a trembling hand to her mouth, unable to believe it. “A-Aunt Charo?”
“Surprise,mi corazón.” She opened her arms, and Celina fell into them, breathing deeply of the familiar scent of cinnamon and sugar. Celina hugged her fiercely, only stopping when she turned to greet her cousins. From the kitchen emerged her parents, and three of her four brothers. “Matt’s in surgery,” Mark told her, pulling on a lock of her hair like he always did. Their older brother was a cardiac specialist in Seattle. “He’s flying down first thing in the morning.”
Her mother, beautiful and elegant in a red dress with a fresh orchid clipped in her hair, clapped her hands together. “We all wanted to be here for Novia’s first Christmas.”
Celina was laughing and crying at the same time. It was too good to be real. When she’d finished the circuit of family, she went back to her aunt and wrapped an arm around her, needing to make sure this wasn’t a dream. “But…I don’t understand. How did you get here?”
“That would be my doing.” Cooper cleared his throat, raising a hand in the air. He handed Via to her brother, Luke. It was then that Celina noticed the rest of the taskforce had arrived and were filling the entryway, stupid grins on their faces. Had they all been in on this?
“See, I knew you wouldn’t marry me unless you had all your family here,” he walked towards her, so much love shining in his eyes that it made her heart ache. “So I pulled a few strings with the help of Roman Walsh and Homeland and brought those in Cuba for a visit.”
He had done all of this for her? The overbearing, lovable hunk of a man had better be careful or everyone was going to know The Beast had a soft side. “So, you think I’ll marry you now, do you?”
“I don’t think it.” A sexy grin curved his lips, the one that did funny things to her insides and made her girlie parts go into meltdown. “I know it.” He grabbed her hand and held it to his chest. “Celina Davenport, will you do me the honor of marrying me, tonight, in front of all our friends and family?”
“Yes.” She said it without hesitation or a trace of fear. She had loved him from the moment they first met a lifetime ago, had browbeat him into admitting his feelings for her, and had fought tooth and nail to stay by his side. She wanted to spend every waking moment looking into his handsome face, and fall asleep wrapped in the safety of his arms every night. There was nothing she wanted more. “Yes, yes I’ll marry you right now.”
A cheer went up as Cooper pulled her into a kiss that said there was a lot more where that came from.
“But wait.” Breathless, Celina drew back to find his face. “Who’s going to perform a ceremony this late at night?”
“What are best friends for?” Ronni strode forward, no longer in her elf costume but a beautiful flowing emerald dress. “You’re looking at a newly ordained wedding officiant, fully capable of performing your ceremony. I say we get this shindig started.”
The taskforce filed in, taking off their coats and shaking hands with her family, and Celina received another round of hugs.
Celina looked at Cooper’s clothes, then at her own. He was still wearing what was left of his Santa outfit while she wore her bedraggled elf costume. Not exactly what she pictured when she thought of her wedding day, but she realized it really didn’t matter. Her clothes didn’t matter. She was going to marry the man she loved.
“If you want to change,” Cooper murmured in her ear, “Ronni and Sophie brought a white dress for you and a tux for me. They’re laid out in our bedroom.”
“Really?” Celina thought about The Beast in a tux—damn, wouldn’t that be a fantasy come true? “I would love to be traditional, but seriously, when have we have ever done anything the normal way?”
He kissed her forehead. “We can always play dress-up later.”
“You’re on.”
A wail sounded from Via, who was being passed around between her family members and receiving lots of kisses and hugs. Celina laughed, going to retrieve her daughter.
“Princess Via can be your maid of honor,” her mother suggested.
Celina’s eyes widened, falling on her aunt. “And Aunt Charo can be my matron of honor.”
Tears sparkled in her aunt’s eyes. She pressed a kiss to Celina’s cheek. “I would be honored.”
With Owen and Thomas as Cooper’s best men, and Aunt Charo holding Novia, they all stepped onto the back patio where twinkle lights had been strung. The romantic transformation was breathtaking, white lights sparkling overhead and around the pool area. An arbor had been placed in the center of the yard, more lights outlining it. It was absolutely gorgeous.
“I can’t believe you did this.” Celina was touched, she truly was. She only wished Cooper’s parents were still alive to be there too. In her heart, she knew they were in spirit.
“We had a little help,” Aunt Charo said, gesturing towards a couple off to the side; Bobby and his Eliza. Of course Cooper’s old partner would have a hand in all of this. Bobby kicked his electric wheelchair into gear and Eliza looked like the cat that ate the canary, laughing as Celina hugged them both. She was so choked up with gratitude she could barely speak.
“All right, everyone take a seat and we’ll get started.” One of Celina’s eldest cousins, Alberto, began leading the crowd of people towards the arbor. Ronni stood beneath it, a grin splitting her face. Cooper, Owen, and Thomas took their places, and Aunt Charo, holding Novia, did the same.
