Marriage Matters

Forty-nine

That night, lying in bed, June could hardly sleep. The idea of having a real engagement photo had left her too excited for words. The moment the proofs were ready, she planned to get copies framed for all three couples and commission a painter to put the entire scene on canvas. Maybe even large enough to hang over the fire. Rolling over, she smiled in anticipation.

“June,” Charley groaned. He reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder. “Are you alright? You’re flipping around like a fish in a frying pan.”

“Oh, good.” June was delighted. “You’re up. Shall we make breakfast?”

Charley’s arm reached for the alarm clock. In the moonlight shining through the window, June could see the silhouette of his arm hair. For some reason, it struck her as a beautiful sight.

“Breakfast,” he murmured, then let out a sigh. “I don’t know that 4:38 in the morning is my ideal breakfast time, June. We might not want to sell my house. It sounds like I’m going to need somewhere to sleep.”

June snuggled up against him, delighted to feel the warmth of his body pressed against hers. He’d been so wonderful today. So strong and handsome, handling Mary Beth the way he did.

“I’m sorry I’m keeping you up,” she told him, “but I’m just so excited. The pictures were wonderful and I’m just so happy this is all coming together. The wedding’s going to be perfect.”

“Yes,” Charley mumbled. “Let’s go to sleep. Let’s dream about it.”

“You know . . .” June reached over and rubbed his back. His muscles were firm beneath her hands. “It’s so strange to think that Kristine has already been married for twenty-five years. I feel like I was just watching her walk down the aisle. Time is a funny thing, isn’t it?”

June thought back to the sight of her daughter as a young girl, stepping so nervously into the church. Kristine’s neck had been bright red and splotchy with nerves, but the moment she laid eyes on Kevin, a glow seemed to light her from within. She’d walked down the aisle, her eyes locked onto his.

“Things seem to be going well for those two.” June turned onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. “I’m glad I talked to him. He made the right choice going to Italy with her.”

“He sure did.” Charley’s voice was half asleep.

June nodded, her feather pillow shifting with the movement. “But I almost strangled Geoff today. He’s been so good for Chloe, but after seeing something like that . . . I’d hate to think I had a hand in orchestrating something that wasn’t quite right.”

Charley opened one eye. “What do you mean, orchestrating something?”

Oops. June had not meant to tell Charley—or anyone—that tiny little fact about Chloe’s engagement.

“Oh, nothing.” June rolled over, pulling the high-thread-count sheets up to her chin. “Is it really four in the morning? We should get some rest.”

There was a pause and the bed shifted. Charley leaned over and clicked the chain of the bedside lamp. The light was as bright as any police interrogation room.

“June . . .” Charley’s eyes were tired but serious. “Did you have a hand in that engagement?”

Fiddlesticks. The man was too smart for his own good.

June let out a huge sigh and sat up in bed. “Not a hand. But I might have . . . planted the seed.”

“What?” Charley roared.

For heaven’s sake. How could a man who claimed to be exhausted achieve that type of volume?

“You don’t need to get so worked up about it,” she said. “I just . . . When I realized who Chloe was dating, I might have mentioned to Rue that Chloe had fallen in love with her grandson. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Is that all?”

June wiggled her toes under the blankets, wondering if she should get up and end this conversation this instant. “Well . . . I might have . . .”

“You might have what?”

Goodness, the man was pushy.

June sighed. “I might have mentioned to Rue that it would be a good idea for him to propose or that Chloe might move on. But I certainly didn’t think he’d do it that quickly. I think that must have been Rue’s doing.”

“June!” Charley sounded shocked.

“What?” She fidgeted. Her fiancé was giving her a look that she didn’t like. “The man would have proposed to her with or without my help. He clearly adores her.”

“You don’t know that.” Charley’s forehead was lined with worry. “Why rush things? Why did you have to butt in?”

“Because I like Rue,” she said.

“June, it doesn’t matter who you like. It matters who Chloe likes.”

“Chloe likes him,” June insisted. “She’s engaged to him!”

“Because of you.” Charley grabbed the glass of water he kept on the bedside table at night and took a drink. Shaking his head, he set it back down. “That poor girl.”

June’s heart rate seemed to increase. “Charley, it will be fine,” she insisted, feeling her palms start to sweat. “Sometimes people need a little something to push them along. This is a good thing. It . . .” June’s voice trailed off. Oh, dear. Charley was looking at her as though she were a stranger.

“Charley.” June panicked. “Do you still love me?” The thought that he might not made her entire body go weak with fear.

“Of course I do!” Charley pulled her close, and she pressed her face against the strong outline of his chest. “June, you are a remarkable woman,” he said. “But you are a meddler. You’ve meddled enough. You need to let your family make their own decisions.”

June shook her finger at him. “You have no right. You cannot tell me what I can and can’t do when it comes to my family.”

Charley caught her finger. Gently, he lowered it. “I most certainly can and I most certainly will. Because, unless I am mistaken, they are my family now, too.”

Well.

“I want you to ask yourself,” Charley said, “if this is the best situation for Chloe.”

“Of course it is,” June cried. “She loves him. Charley, she said yes.”

Charley shook his head. “He proposed to her in front of her family. It was spontaneous and romantic. I think it would be difficult for any young woman to say no to that.”

June felt sick inside. “Should I tell Chloe?” she whispered. “Let her know the truth?”

“Don’t you dare,” he said. “It would break her heart.”

Reaching over to the bedside table, he flipped off the lamp. The room descended into darkness. For some silly reason, tears pricked at the back of her eyes. Reaching out, she fumbled under the blankets until she felt Charley’s hand, strong in hers.

Charley gave her hand a firm squeeze. “June, I want you to make me a promise,” he said. “I need you to put the trust and confidence in your family that they are capable of doing the right thing. That means you have to stop making decisions for them. You need to stop meddling. Do you promise?”

“I promise,” she whispered.

June thought about her granddaughter. The way her gray eyes had gotten big at the Drake as June soared through the plans for the wedding. She hoped that Chloe sincerely loved Geoff and wasn’t just caught up in the excitement, like Charley seemed to think. If that was the case, her granddaughter would be facing a life of unhappiness and it would be all June’s fault. The thought made her heart ache.

Leaning against Charley once again, she whispered, “Please tell me everything’s going to be okay.”

“I most certainly will not,” he said. “I don’t know that and I’m not going to lie to you.”

Just as June felt like her heart might break into a million pieces, he reached over and gently touched her face. “But I can promise you one thing.” His voice was strong and serious. “No matter what happens, I’ll be there. You can always count on that.”