Page 117 of Drowning Erin
The fact that I’m now her boss didn’t stop her from swiping my credit card to order me two suits lastweek.
“Don’t worry. This isn’t anything Harper’s trying to buy for you,” Olivia says with a wicked grin as she pulls me to the back of thestore.
We wind up in the bridaldepartment.
I look at both of them in absolute befuddlement. “For me?” I ask. “You mean…me andBrendan?”
They laugh. “Unless there’s someone else you’re seeing we don’t knowabout.”
“Brendan and I have only been together a few months. We’re nowhere nearthat.”
“Maybeyou’renot,” saysOlivia.
“No one is,” Ireply.
Olivia smirks. “Let me ask you something—how long after you got together did Brendan start pushing you to movein?”
Twelve hours. “Awhile.”
“And how often does he reference wantingkids?”
Daily. I’ve never seen anyone reverse on a position as completely as he has. “Occasionally. But this iscrazy.”
“No, it’s not,” laughs Dorothy. “Once my boys pick, they don’t waste anytime.”
“It’s too early to say Brendan’s pickedanyone.”
Dorothy smiles patiently. “Honey, he picked you years ago. He just didn’t want to admit it. And now that he has, mark my words: he’s going to move so fast you’ll wake up married one day, and you won’t even know how ithappened.”
“You’re both insane,” I reply. “Next you’ll be telling me we should go look at cribstoo.”
Olivia smiles. “I got pregnant on my honeymoon, so I wouldn’t rule itout.”
* * *
Exactly 24 hours later,I’m standing in front of the entire church with Brendan by my side. He’s giving me that look, the one he should not have on his face in church—especially not now, with everyonewatching.
“Pay attention,” I chide, bumping him with my hip. “This isserious.”
“I’m paying attention,” he says, his eyes dipping down toward my mouth. He leans close so only I can hear. “But I’m going to do such bad things to you when we get hometonight.”
I’m okay with that,obviously.
The prayers end. Our goddaughter is handed to the priest to be anointed and begins screaming bloody murder. She might look like Will, but she’s got Olivia’s temper. After Will and Olivia say their part, and Brendan and I say ours, communion begins. I open the missalette for both of us, though I know for a fact Brendan will refuse tosing.
He leans down to my ear again instead. “Will told me this morning that the next baptism had better be ourkid.”
I try not to smile and fail. “Yeah? And what did yousay?”
“I said the wedding probably ought to comefirst.”
I’m smiling so broadly that I’m embarrassed for myself. “That’s usually how itworks.”
“He also said I should start asking now, since you’ll probably turn me down five times like Olivia didhim.”
My eyes flicker to his. “I think you’resafe.”
“Will you drag out the planning until we’re a million years old? There are some rumors that you dothat.”