92 Pacific Boulevard - Debbie Macomber [101]
“Your brother’s got news,” Mack said, standing back, his fingers in the pockets of his jeans.
Mary Jo returned her attention to Linc, who placed his arm around his wife. “Mary Jo,” he said formally, “I’d like you to meet your new sister-in-law, Lori Bellamy.”
“Lori Wyse,” she corrected.
Mary Jo’s mouth sagged open, much the way Mack’s had. “You’re married? The two of you?”
Linc grinned sheepishly and nodded.
“You didn’t say a word about this to me!”
“To anyone.” Linc wanted her to understand that she hadn’t been excluded. “The boys don’t know yet.”
Shaking her head, Mary Jo turned to face Lori. “You really married my brother?”
Lori nodded. “I love him.”
“You do?” Linc echoed. When Lori had asked him if he loved her, it’d never occurred to him that she might be that sure about her own feelings, especially this soon.
“She must love you,” Mary Jo said. “Well, come on in. Your name is Lori?”
“Yes.” Lori broke away from his side and followed Mary Jo into the house.
Linc remained outside with Mack. He inclined his head toward the door. “Mary Jo’s not upset, is she?”
Mack lifted his hand in a gesture that suggested Linc’s guess was as good as his. “I’d say we’re both more surprised than anything. You could’ve said something, you know.”
“I could have,” Linc agreed, “but I didn’t.”
Mack laughed. “If you’d been willing to wait, we might have had a double wedding.”
“We didn’t want to wait.” Linc kicked at the grass with the tip of his shoe, then figured he might as well disclose the other changes he planned to make. “I’m moving to Cedar Cove.”
Mack’s nod didn’t reveal anything one way or the other.
“Lori,” he suddenly said. “Lori Bellamy. She’s the ex-fiancée of that guy who used to work for Allen Harris—”
“Yes,” Linc interrupted sharply. “But that’s in the past.”
Mack nodded again. “What are your plans now?”
“I’ll be moving in with Lori right away and making the commute to Seattle until Mel and Ned feel okay about running things on their own.” Privately, Linc had set a time limit of two months.
“What then?”
“I’m starting an offshoot of the business here.”
“What about Lori?”
“She’ll continue working until she gets pregnant.” Linc intended to do his part to make sure that happened as quickly as possible. “After the baby’s born, she wants to stay home.”
“Mary Jo wants to keep her job,” Mack said.
That didn’t surprise Linc. He just hoped Mack understood what he was letting himself in for when he married her. He’d never known a woman more obstinate than his little sister.
The two men went into the house and Lori smiled at Linc. “I invited Mary Jo and Mack to join us for our wedding dinner.”
Linc forced a smile in response. “What about the baby?”
“My mother would welcome the opportunity to babysit Noelle,” Mack said.
“Do you want me to phone her?” Mary Jo asked.
“Sure, go ahead.”
Not five minutes later, the whole dinner party was arranged. Reservations were made at a place called D.D.’s on the Cove, after which they all drove over to the McAfees’ house to drop off Noelle. At Mack’s suggestion, Linc and Lori waited in the truck; then they headed to the restaurant for their six-thirty reservation.
Linc would’ve preferred dinner with just Lori. However, he’d acceded to her wishes. Mack ordered champagne, which went straight to Linc’s head. Come to think of it, he hadn’t eaten since early that morning. When the food arrived, he was the first to finish his meal.
The others didn’t seem to be in any hurry. He yawned several times as a broad hint that they should wind things up, but no one noticed his impatience. When they were finally ready to go, Lori announced, “I need you to drive me back to Mary Jo’s place.”
Linc sat with his key in the ignition and turned to look at her. “You do?” He couldn’t hide his disappointment. “Why?” He wondered if Lori was making excuses to delay their wedding night.
“She has something for me,” Lori explained, gently patting his knee. “It won’t take long, I promise.