"I would hardly argue with the chef," Sam murmured, and she gave him a grinning glance of approval.
"Good man. Do you want dinner or just finger food?"
"Which is easier?" Lola asked a little nervously.
"Finger food. Fussier, maybe, but easier than plating for however many people show up, and it's going to be half the town, so…"
"What?" Sam and Lola exchanged glances before he looked back at Charlee, shaking his head. "We aren't even inviting anybody except you and—well, Chase, probably."
Charlee gazed at him with a sort of ironic sympathy. "Do you really think that's going to stop everybody from coming to see? This is top tier romance novel stuff, guys. This is the stuff small towns survive on. Youaregetting married in the gazebo, right?"
"In March?" Lola asked, dismayed. "It could be snowing tomorrow! And the ground is soggy where it isn't frozen!"
"So that's a yes," Charlee said, making more notes. "I'll see if Jake can lay some plywood so people don't sink into the muck. His son's got something planned anyway, you wouldn't believe that kid. He could organize a fire in a windstorm."
She went on, taking notes and talking to herself as Sam leaned toward Lola, whispering, "Have we lost control of this already?"
She whispered, "I think we should have eloped," back, then, wide-eyed, asked, "Do you mind?"
"Eloping? No, we can go talk to the judge right now if you want to."
Lola shook her head. "A fuss."
Sam went soft all of a sudden and leaned closer to steal a kiss. "We've waited fifty years, Lola. We deserve a fuss."
CHAPTER13
At ten the next morning,now seated nervously across the breakfast table from one politely skeptical not-so-young personal secretary, also known as Chase, also known as Sam'sson, Lola thought maybe eloping would have been a good idea after all.
"It's not that I'm not happy for you," Chase said. He was a nice-looking man, Lola thought: dark hair going grey, light eyes that wavered toward green when the light was right, and a clean jawline that was currently clenching and unclenching. "It's just…rather sudden from my perspective. I didn't even know Dad had a lost love."
TheDadwas important there, and Lola knew it. Last night, Chase had called SamMr Todd, keeping their relationship professional. This morning it wasDad, because his concern was for the man who'd raised him, not the one who'd later hired him to keep the family trust and money in line. She nodded, about to speak, when Chase went on.
"I mean, I knew there was some kind of reason you hadn't gotten married." This was to Sam, who sat at her side and looked both embarrassed and apologetic as Chase said, "I even remember the foster agency being worried about that, because they weren't sure a single man was going to offer the kind of nurturing household they thought kids needed. I was about seven when Sam fostered me," he added to Lola, almost defensively. "I remember it pretty well."
"I'm sure you would." She meant it, and must have sounded like she did, because Chase relaxed a little, turning his attention back to Sam.
"But I didn't know you'd…"
"Lost the love of my life?" Sam asked with a sigh. "I didn't like to talk about it. And even if I had… Well, 'lost' does imply 'died,' so this probably would have come as a shock to you anyway."
"Do any of the others know? Tony? Stephanie? Ellen? Are they coming to thewedding, for God's sake?"
"I called them all last night. Tony is picking Stephanie up on the way and Ellen is going to try to catch a morning flight from DC. She said she'd text." Sam made a motion to check his phone, but didn't, and Chase sighed explosively.
"Well, that's something. They're my foster siblings," he told Lola. "The ones who didn't have families to go back to. Dad adopted us all when I turned sixteen."
"Heh." Sam cleared his throat. "What Chase means is, they all discussed it amongst themselves and presented me with the paperwork on his birthday, asking to be adopted. I cried for the rest of the day. It was one of the best days of my life, that and the one when the adoptions were finalized."
Lola swallowed hard herself, through a throat clogged with happy tears. "I'm so glad you all had each other. I'm so glad you made a family. My own daughter is driving out," she added a little hopefully. "So you can meet my family, just like I'll be able to meet yours. Chase…I know this must seem completely insane to you. If it helps I'll be happy to sign a prenup of some kind that denies me any access to Sam's money."
Sam squawked with protest, but Lola elbowed him. "If I wanted money I would have taken what your parents offered and left. So it's not a problem for me. I just don't want you or your siblings to feel like I've swept in to take advantage of your father," she said to Chase.
He studied her a long moment, then made a face. "On one hand, Dad's not easy to take advantage of. On the other, I don't know. Ellen's actually a lawyer and she might insist."
"Well, we haveseveral hoursbefore we're supposed to get married. If she decides that's what's necessary, I'll sign the papers on the way to the altar."
"Lola!" Sam protested again, but she smiled at him.
