Can't Buy Me Love (28 page)

Lena
laughed. “Twenty bucks, huh? So what are you going to do with your winnings?”

“Put
it toward a new nine-iron I’ve had my eye on,” Pops grinned.

“Oh
Lord. That means more time in the bushes for all of us,” Chase moaned.

Pointing
his butter knife at his future grandson-in-law, Pops said sternly, “Watch it,
young man. I still haven’t given you permission to marry my favorite
granddaughter.”

This
time, it was Lena who rolled her eyes. “I’m your only granddaughter,” she
pointed out. “And I’m marrying him. So get used to it.”

“And
hallelujah for that,” Ned said loudly. “Enough bickering. I want to plan a
wedding,” he insisted. “But only after we have a couple of bottles of wine in
us. That will make it a lot more fun.”

Lena
turned to Chase. “You do realize that if we let them plan it when they are
soused, it’s going to be… um… interesting.”

He
nodded. “I’m resigned to plans for an underwater wedding,” he sighed. “Or something
related to parasailing. Or spelunking.”

“I
vote for a wedding on the golf course,” Pops stated.

“Great,”
Chase said dryly. “Sounds perfect.”

“So
your guests can play a few rounds of golf before the wedding.”

“By
guests, I assume you mean you and Pops?”

“Of
course.”

“Great,”
Chase again said.

“Open
bar,” Ned contributed.

“Of
course. Nothing like trying to hit little balls with golf clubs while
intoxicated. Great idea.”

“Can
we elope?” Lena asked Chase seriously.

“Yes,”
he answered. “Immediately, before this gets even more out of hand. How about
getting them smashed, and sneaking out the back in about half an hour?”

“Lovely.”

The
rest of the dinner progressed along the same lines, and by the end of the
evening, Lena’s side hurt from laughing, and Chase was wondering what the hell
kind of craziness they were each marrying into. And he realized then that he
was happy. More than happy, more than content, he was elated. This was what
he’d been looking for over the years, he thought. A sense of family. A sense of
belonging. And as he looked around the table, he knew that they all liked him. Loved
him. And it had absolutely nothing to do with the size of his bank account, the
size of his home, or the size of his wallet. It was all about the size of his
heart.

Looking
down at the woman sitting next to him, her face flushed from the wine and the
company, her plate nearly empty of the linguini she had ordered and devoured,
he knew that she was perfect for him. She fit him, and he fit her. And it was
an amazing feeling. So this is what love felt like. This was what family meant.
He grinned with happiness.

Lena
looked up at him then and smiled, her heart in her eyes. She loved this man. She
had been given a second chance with him, she thought, and was deeply thankful. Reaching
over, she placed her hand lightly on his knee and leaned in to kiss him on the
cheek.

“Coffee?”
he asked quietly, even as the rest of the table continued to loudly discuss
wedding plans.

“Oh
dear God no. Not if it means having to put up with this for another thirty
minutes.”

He
laughed. “You about ready to call it a night then?”

“Yes,
please.”

Chase
quietly got up from the table and settled the tab, making arrangements for any
additional desserts and coffee to be added to the bill, and a healthy tip added
to the waiter for putting up with the rest of the family. Then he returned to
the table, where he and Lena said their good nights.

“Can’t
wait to hear the rest of the plans tomorrow!” Lena exclaimed with an obviously
fake smile.

“Feel
free to have dessert or coffee or whatever you want,” Chase added as he took
hold of Lena’s hand. “But we’ve both worked all day, and we’re tired, so we’re
calling it a night.”

“You
cooking breakfast for us in the morning?” Pops asked Lena with a grin.

“Sure.
But no earlier than 9:00. If you show up at my door before that, I’m leaving
you out in the hallway with the drug dealers.”

Charles
actually looked skeptical. “Chase…”

“She’s
yanking your chain, Granddad. But don’t worry. I’ll have her and Winston out of
there by the end of the month.”

Lena
grinned. “See you all in the morning. After 9:00. Or I won’t make you bacon.”

“After
9:00 it is,” they all agreed, waving goodnight.

Chase
slid his arm around Lena’s waist and walked her to the door. She had taken a
taxi to the restaurant, so Chase steered her toward the parking garage across
the street where he’d left his car. As they got into his vehicle, Lena turned
to Chase and said quietly, “I love you, Chase.”

He
looked down on her with affection. “Good. You’re stuck with me,” he said
lightly.

“Oh
no, I’m not,” Lena replied. “All I need to do is start talking birds or
gardening to you, and you’ll head for the hills.”

Chase
chuckled and abandoned his attempt to slide his key into the ignition. Instead,
he draped his arm across the back of the seat. “Try it,” he challenged.

“So
I was out birdwatching yesterday, and saw this bird that I’ve never seen before.
It had a white stripe on its head, and several red splotches on the right wing.
Its beak was curved, and…”

Lena’s
completely fabricated monologue was soundly interrupted when Chase bent over
and kissed her. His mouth moved skillfully over hers, his tongue caressing her
lips until she opened her mouth and allowed him entry. His kiss deepened. By
the time he raised his head from hers, she was breathing heavily, and she had
no recollection of what she’d been saying.

“You’re
stuck,” he pointed out with a grin.

“I
was thinking of having the soil tested at your house, to see whether any
hydrangeas I planted would turn pink or blue. Do you like hydrangeas? I may
also plant…”

With
a wicked grin, Chase threaded his fingers in her hair, planted his palm behind
her head, and pulled her toward him again. When they came up for air, they were
both laughing.

“Stuck.”

She
sighed. “OK. I can live with that. Take me home?”

“My
pleasure. Marry me next weekend?”

“How
about in a couple of months… But not on any golf course.”

“Why
do you need a couple of months?”

“To
make sure that my grandfather has a properly fitted suit. Unless you want him
to show up in his golfing attire?”

“Depends,”
Chase said. “Neon green or orange?”

“Could
be either. Could be pink.”

“OK.
I take your point. Take as long as you need. In the meantime, I was thinking
that I hadn’t seen Winston in a while…”

Lena
laughed. “Well, who am I to stand between a man and his soon-to-be-dog. I’m
sure he’d be up for a walk. And I need to run into the market to buy more
bacon.”

Chase
grinned and started the car, backing carefully out of the parking spot. “OK. Let’s
walk a dog, buy some bacon, and then I have something else in mind for the rest
of the evening.”

“Scrabble?”

“Close,”
Chase said, exiting the parking garage and heading in the direction of Lena’s
home. “So it’s a good thing you told everyone that we’d have a late start
tomorrow.”

“Every
once in a while,” she said with a sigh, “I actually think ahead.”

Epilogue

Three months later:

Lena
looked around the room at the people who had gathered to celebrate her marriage
to Chase. The ceremony, two weeks ago, had been intimate and small, held in a tiny
chapel a few blocks from the shelter. Neither Lena nor Chase had wanted
anything big or formal – just their family and a few very close friends. And by
family, they meant their grandfathers, Ned and David, and Winston.

Still,
out of respect for their parents, they had invited both William and Jeanette,
and Chase’s mother and father. His parents had declined to attend, but sent
their best wishes. Jeanette and William both attended, and truthfully, they
both looked happier than they had been in years. William was still volunteering
weekly at the shelter, and Jeanette had even started showing up from time to
time. They fit in well, Lena thought with some measure of surprise. Despite all
of their differences, they seemed to be able to shed the pretentious façade
they had carried for years, and they laughed and bantered with staff and
clients alike. And William was developing a new sense of pride for who his
daughter had become, and what she had committed her life to doing.

Lena
had met Jared and Gina for the first time that day, and immediately felt like
she had known them for years. Gina had hugged her tightly and told her that she
knew that Chase was an idiot, but that they all loved him anyway. And that she
couldn’t wait to get to know Lena better, since she welcomed more sanity in the
room whenever Jared and Chase were together. Jared brought along his best
bottle of scotch, remembering his promise from months ago about giving it to
Chase as a wedding present if Chase ever found a woman who met all of his hopes
– including getting along with his grandfather.

And
Kat was there. Lovely, steadfast, amazing Kat. She had been with Lena through
all of the good and bad over the past several weeks, and just grinned at the
wedding in happiness for her friend.

Winston
looked on in a mixture of curiosity and joy. Surrounded by all of his favorite
people, he was so busy getting scritched that he didn’t have time to be afraid
of anything.

So
now, at this party two weeks later, Lena and Chase had drastically expanded the
guest list, and Kat was catering.

“You
sure you don’t want to just relax and enjoy the day? If you cater, I know you
-
you’ll be in the kitchen the whole time, making sure that everything is going
well.”

“Are
you kidding? I hate social events. I love you dearly, Lena, but I’d so much
rather be behind the scenes. I promise to make an appearance whenever you need
me to, though. And this is not only good practice for me, but a chance for you
to have exactly what you want. Including bowlfuls of smoked almonds,” Kat
grinned.

And
it had been exactly the right move. The food was perfect, Kat was happy, and
people were commenting on how amazing everything looked and tasted. Even
William and Jeanette, two of the most critical people Lena knew when it came to
food, were incredibly complimentary of the fare that Kat offered. For her part,
Jeanette looked relaxed, healthy, and was reaching for the non-alcoholic drinks
that Lena had placed at all the tables. Even William looked at ease.

“I
knew you’d marry the suit.”

Spinning
around from where she had been talking to Greg Cartwright, Lena laughed to see the
bartender she’d met in Arizona earlier in the year. She’d promised him an
invitation if a wedding between her and Chase ever came to pass, and she was as
good as her word. She just didn’t expect the man to actually show up at a
reception in Colorado.

“Toby!
You made it!” she said, reaching out and hugging him.

“I
wouldn’t miss this for the world. Especially since you put ‘casual attire’ on
the invitation. I needed to see if the suit would actually wear a suit.”

Lena
rolled her eyes. “He was going to. Honest to God. But I talked him down to
dress pants and a nice shirt. No tie.”

“Wow.
Good going. What did you have to compromise to get all of that?”

“I
told him that I’d keep my Pops out of neon colors for the day. No pink, no lime
green, no bright yellow or sky blue. He’s actually in a respectable pair of
black trousers. I couldn’t stop him from wearing the orange shirt, but I think
it actually looks good on him.”

“Well,
I’m happy for you. Next time you’re down in my direction, drinks are on me.”

“If
drinks are on you, I'll be there by next Tuesday. Pencil me in.”

Toby
kissed her cheek and smiled his congratulations, then turned and headed for the
bar. As he walked away, Lena turned back toward the room full of friends and
acquaintances and sighed with contentment. It was an amazing group of people,
and she felt truly blessed to be here with all of them.

“Happy,
Mrs. Hamilton?”

“Extremely
happy,” she grinned up at her husband as he slipped his arm around her waist
and hugged her to him. “I’m sorry your parents didn’t come. Either today, or to
the wedding.”

He
shrugged. “It honestly doesn’t matter, Lena. Granddad is here. You’re here. The
people who matter to us are all here. And Winston. Speaking of Winston, where
is that crazy neurotic dog?”

Lena
laughed and pointed over to where Kat was loading another pile of appetizers
onto an already full plate. Winston was sitting by her side, his attention
fully focused on the food, hoping against hope that a plateful might slide his
way. Lena and Chase laughed as Kat looked around furtively, caught their eyes
and winked, and quickly handed Winston a bacon-wrapped treat.

“That
dog is so spoiled,” Chase said, shaking his head as he grinned down at Lena.

“You’re
not kidding. But I think that’s your fault.”

“Excuse
me?”

“I’m
not the one sneaking him snausages at night. Or in the morning. Or pretty much
all day long on the weekends.”

“Hey.
At least now he comes running up to me, rather than roving the perimeter of the
room, eyeing me suspiciously.”

Lena
smiled over at her dog with affection. “Yeah, it’s worth a little bribery to
see him doing so well.”

Chase
looked around the room. “We’ve got a pile of good friends, you and me.”

“We
do,” Lena agreed.

“And
between my Granddad and your Pops, we’ve got a lot of family support here. Especially
with Ned and David moving back permanently.”

Lena
nodded. “I honestly can’t believe Pops moved back here. I mean, I’m thrilled
and all, but I thought he had decided that Arizona was heaven.”

“I
guess he wanted to be closer to all of us. And I’m glad. I liked visiting him
there, but I like having him here much better. He keeps my grandfather in line,
and that’s saying something.”

“I
heard that,” Charles spoke up as he sneaked up behind them. “And you have it
wrong. I’m keeping Philip in line. He’s the troublemaker in this duo.”

“Not
even close,” Pops snorted. “I’m not the one who was out partying until after
midnight last night at some Moose lodge bingo game.”

“That’s
because you were home on the computer, trying to line up a date for the weekend
on Matchmeup.com.”

Lena
looked over at her grandfather suspiciously. “Pops? Is that true? You’re
looking for love? ‘Cause if so, I’ve got the right woman for you.” She thought
immediately of Sandra, Janie’s right-hand-woman in the kitchen. She’d be
perfect
for her grandfather. Looking around, she spotted the older woman over at the
bar.

“Over
there, Pops,” she pointed out. “She’s just right for you. She’s a great cook,
she’s sweet as can be, and she loves a good beer. Go introduce yourself to her
and tell her I sent you.”

“Whoa.
She’s a good looking woman. OK. Spot me. I’m going in.”

“And
find out if she has any good friends for Granddad,” Chase called as Pops winked
at all of them and set out to introduce himself to Sandra.

Lena
giggled as she leaned back into Chase.

“Come
on,” he said, taking her hand. “Let’s go find Winston and then hit the buffet
table. Kat clearly outdid herself, and you and I have not had a chance to enjoy
it.”

“I’m
in,” she said with a big smile. “I’m almost always in when it comes to food. But
I’m always in when it comes to you. I love you, Chase Hamilton. Thank you for
being so patient with my crazy family.”

“I
love you too, sweetheart,” he said as he leaned down and kissed her lightly. “You,
me, and that crazy dog. And maybe, someday soon, a couple of crazy kids.”

“And
again, I’m in,” Lena said. “Maybe after everyone goes home, we can practice
making a baby,” she teased him.

“We
might need a lot of practice,” he pointed out. “It’s a very complicated
process.”

Lena
laughed. “I think we can handle it.”