Page 95 of The Agent
“You were in on this, weren’t you?” Natalie asked with a smile.
“I was just the liaison to Pastor John,” Regina said. “I’d talked with him about you and Tully so much that he said he felt like he knew you already. So he felt comfortable with the idea of marrying you in his church.” Her smile faded into a worried look. “This is okay, isn’t it? Tully said you didn’t want a big fancy wedding.”
“I had one of those before and it didn’t end well. I can’t think of a better way to have a wedding than this,” Natalie said with a reassuring smile.
Derek joined the group, bending down to hug Natalie warmly. “Tully’s a lucky guy, but I want to point out that you’ve gotten yourself a very fine man too. Take good care of him.”
Natalie nodded, tears welling up at the depth of Derek’s friendship for his partner. “I understand that I’ll have to answer to you and Leland if I don’t.”
“We may have to appoint Tully our new efficiency expert,” Leland said as Derek stepped aside. “Proposing in a church was a stroke of genius.” He leaned in to kiss Natalie and shake Tully’s hand. “I wish you both great happiness.”
Natalie looked up at her fiancé to find a twinkle in his eyes as he said, “The planning for Alice and Derek’s wedding convinced me to streamline things.”
“Hey!” Alice poked Tully in the arm even as she laughed. “If it wasn’t for our wedding, you wouldn’t be engaged to my maid of honor.”
“She’s got you there,” Derek said, his arm going around his wife in a way that made Natalie’s heart squeeze.
“I like to think we would have found our way to each other eventually,” Natalie said, smiling at Tully. “We do have friends in common.”
Tully grinned at Leland and Dawn. “If you want me to plan your wedding, let me know. I’ll get it done in twenty-four hours.”
Dawn gave him one of her “don’t mess with me” looks and Leland laughed. “I’m a more patient man than you are.” He looked at Dawn in a way that made Natalie sigh and press herself tighter against Tully’s big, hot body.
A babble of new voices drifted in from the church foyer, and Regina looked toward the big entrance door. “Oh, good! They’re here!”
Natalie pivoted to see her entire staff from the Mane Attraction pour in. Her heart nearly burst as Gino waved a bouquet of cream-colored roses over his head like a flag. “The flowers have arrived!” he announced.
Natalie glanced at Tully to find him watching for her reaction. She stood on tiptoe to give him a kiss of delight before they were engulfed by more well-wishers.
They had brought bouquets for Alice and Dawn as the maids of honor, as well as boutonnieres for the groom and his two best men. Gino arranged a headband of silk roses on Natalie’s hair and stepped back. “Yes! You are a beautiful bride.” He gave her a smacking kiss on each cheek.
There was a chorus of appreciative murmurs from the women when Deion walked in, looking like a model out of a high-fashion magazine in a slim-cut blue suit. “I’m so glad you came,” Natalie said, feeling like the day couldn’t get any better.
Deion wrapped her in a bear hug. “If anyone deserves happiness, it’s you. Tully’s a good man. But if he ever makes you cry, he knows he’ll have to answer to me even if he is my boss.”
Natalie laughed and hugged him back.
Alice and Dawn swooped down on her and carried her off to the bride’s room. “Not because you need any help looking gorgeous,” Alice said as she closed the door in the small antechamber, “but because we want you to ourselves for five minutes. Besides, I take credit for this wonderful news since it all started at my wedding. Of course, then I missed all the excitement while I was off on my honeymoon.”
“Trust me, I would have liked to miss all the excitement,” Natalie said. Although it had given her Tully, so she couldn’t regret it ... since they’d both survived.
Alice looked hesitant as she said, “I thought you and Tully were both against marriage. For your own very good reasons,” she hastened to add.
Natalie started to explain about their plan to adopt, but she realized that wasn’t the real reason they were getting married. “I couldn’t imagine myself ever trusting a man in my life again. But you know Tully. He would literally die for me.” She smiled. “Which is wonderful in some ways and terrifying in others.”
“I hear you.” Dawn shuddered.
“But I would do the same for him,” Natalie said. “So that’s why I want to marry him.”
“Well, there’s no need to explain why Tully changed his mind,” Alice said. “He knows how lucky he is that you love him.”
“Don’t make her cry. You’ll ruin her makeup. Not that I disagree,” Dawn said, handing Alice’s bouquet to her. “Let’s see how we look as a bridal party.”
They stood in front of the floor-length mirror the church had hung for last-minute dress adjustments. The flowers looked perfect against the medium-blue raw-silk sheath Natalie wore. She’d added nude high-heeled pumps and a pearl necklace since she was going to be in church. The floral headband gave just the right bridal touch to the look.
Alice wore a lavender dress with a fitted bodice and full skirt, while Dawn was in a burgundy A-line that showed off her toned arms.
“You know what I love about this?” Natalie said, her eyes misty. “We all look like who we are. Dawn, you look strong and fierce. Alice, you look smart and romantic.”
