Page 35 of Sweet Beginnings

From where Sarah stood, she saw her dad’s stiff shoulders ease and then slowly step back and turn to face Sarah. “Really?”

All Sarah could do was nod. This was the moment she’d been dreading.

Her father tipped his head to one side, studying his daughter.

Preston pulled Sarah in closer to his side and letting go of her hand, slung his arm around her shoulder.

The gesture must have been what her father was looking for because his curious gaze shifted to a twinkling eyed smile and he leapt forward, pulling his daughter into the tightest squeeze. “I would have preferred to walk you down the aisle, but that’s okay, we’ll have a nice big reception. I love you, baby.” Pulling away, he smiled at them. “I couldn’t be happier.”

Andthatwas exactly what Sarah had been so afraid of.

“Nothing went the way I expected it to today.” Preston untucked his shirt and sank onto the foot of the bed.

“Ditto.” Hands clasped in her lap, Sarah Sue sat about a foot away from him. “I knew the town gossips had briefly expected us to get together—that is after all how this whole idea came to be. But my father? Your mother? How did we miss they’ve been expecting us to get together too?”

“I don’t know.” Just about everything today had been surreal. For starters, Preston was now a married man. Then, the shock, surprise, and even disbelief he’d expected from at least one of the parents, if not both of them, never happened. “You’d think they’d have had at least a few questions.”

“Yep.” Sarah Sue sighed.

“When your dad shook my hand and then pulled me into a hug to welcome me to the family, I almost broke down then and there to tell him the truth.”

“I know what you mean. Every time dad smiled at me with so much pride and happiness in his eyes, I wanted to shout out to forget that we’d said anything.” A soft smile teased her lips. “Though it was fun dancing. I haven’t danced with my dad since I was in high school.”

Preston nodded. After supper his mom turned the music back on and they’d all danced. His aunts had joined them for dinner and once all the squealing and cheering had died down and dinner had been consumed, the whole family danced for hours. He was almost tired enough to fall dead asleep. Almost.

“Mind if I use the bathroom first?” Sarah pushed to her feet.

“Sure.” While his wife—boy was that going to take some getting used to—got ready for bed, he might as well get to work too. Tossing two pillows on the floor, he stepped out into the hall and grabbed a couple of blankets from the linen closet. Laying one down on the floor, he debated if he should have grabbed a comforter for more padding.

The bedroll set on the floor, the bathroom door inched open and wearing a bathrobe over her sweatpants and t-shirt, Sarah came to a stop. “What’s this?”

“My bed.”

Dropping her fists onto her hips, she frowned at him. “You’re kidding?”

Without a word, he shook his head.

“You can’t seriously tell me that you expect to sleep on the floor for the next three hundred and sixty-four nights?”

“I do.” His gaze drifted from the floor to the bed. “It’s only a queen.”

Her gaze narrowed further. “Are you telling me that I’m fat?”

“No!” His hands flew up in a defensive move. “Not at all.” He gave a small smile. “You’re perfect.”

Her cheeks pinkened and her eyes softened. “Thank you, but you are not sleeping on the floor. That’s as crazy as sleeping in the bathtub.”

“Mom doesn’t have a bathtub.”

“You know what I mean.” She crossed the room and pulled down the sheets on the side of the bed that still had pillows.

“You can sleep on the other side if you prefer.” Preston stood still.

Shaking her head, Sarah walked around him and bent over to grab the pillows. “I promise to stick to my side.” Still shaking her head, she shoved the two pillows into his gut. “No arguments.”

He couldn’t help himself, even though he’d never been in the military, he saluted her. “Yes, ma’am.”

“And none of that ma’am stuff.” Not looking his way, she slid under the covers, rolled over, her back to his side, and turned off the light. “Good night.”

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