Every Beat Of My Heart: The Sullivans (Wedding Novella) Read Online Free PDF Page A

looking straight at Zach.
    “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Lori looked between her brothers. “You’ve both decided to get married on the same day? A day that’s only two weeks away?” She shook her head. “I’m really glad I didn’t go get that ice cream sandwich after all.”
    Just like similar times when Lori had razzed them when they were kids, Zach and Ryan both looked on the verge of snarling—or worse—at their sister.
    “We can change our date,” Heather offered.
    But Zach wasn’t having any of it. “Two weeks, Heather, or it’s a guy dressed like Elvis at Vegas’s finest by-the-hour chapel.”
    Mary could barely smother her grin. Especially when Summer ran up to the table and said, “What’s going on?” She picked up baby Logan from Gabe’s lap and bounced her little brother in her arms, making him laugh with delight. “Why are Uncle Zach and Uncle Ryan standing there looking so mad at each other?”
    Gabe didn’t bother to contain his own laughter as he told his stepdaughter, “Because they’re not seeing the obvious answer, even though it’s right in front of them.” Though Gabe fought fires for a living, Mary had always thought his solid, steady personality would have made him a great mediator. It certainly made him a great husband to Megan and father to their two kids.
    Chase looked at his brother, grinning as he nodded. “Makes perfect sense to me.”
    “Couldn’t agree more,” Marcus said. “Smith and Valentina are definitely going to be bummed they missed this lunch.”
    “What the hell are you all talking about?” Both Zach and Ryan erupted at the same time.
    Sophie’s eyes were sparkling as she told her brothers in a gentle, but clearly amused voice, “We all think you should have a double wedding.”
    Zach and Ryan looked at their wives-to-be first, then each other. Barely a year apart in age, they’d always been extra close, whether they were running around together or arguing about something that made sense only to the two of them.
    Mary didn’t want to sway them, but she couldn’t deny her gut feeling that a double wedding would be absolutely perfect for them. “Why don’t the four of you go talk through this idea?” she suggested.
    As Zach, Heather, Ryan, and Vicki headed toward the garage—the place where plenty of things had been hashed out between the siblings over the years—Mary shot Lori an affectionate warning glance to make it clear that she should not follow her brothers or their fiancées out of the backyard to lend her opinion on how they should proceed with their wedding plans.
    “What if they need a referee?” Lori asked around the new ice cream sandwich she’d somehow managed to get hold of without ever leaving the table. Mary grinned as she saw little Emma crawl out from beneath the table, her mouth sticky with the bite of dessert she’d taken before handing it off to her Aunt Lori.
    Chase, Marcus, and Gabe all looked at each other to see who was going to volunteer to step between the two brothers if things went south during their discussion in the garage. But it was Sophie who stood up.
    “I’ll go.” She leaned down to kiss her husband, Jake. “Wish me luck.”
    Everyone had thought Sophie and Jake were such a strange match at first, the quiet librarian and the tattooed pub owner. But Mary had always known they were meant for each other. What could she say? It was a mother’s intuition. Watching them together now—and seeing what great parents they were to their twins—made her so happy. And reminded her of her own true love.
    Looking up at the clouds in the blue sky above, she swore they formed a smile. “Grandma, look!” Summer put an arm around her and pointed up at the sky. “The clouds are smiling at us.”
    “They are, aren’t they?” Mary brought her granddaughter closer and held her tight.
    * * *
    “Pick a different date,” Zach ordered his brother.
    “Nope.” Ryan held firm. “We’re all set on the fifteenth,