The Hot New Bartender in Town (Welcome to Kiss County #3)

Chapter 13

13

TISH

“ T ish,” Mom scolds me.

“Hi,” I say, wiping my mouth as she and Richard approach us quickly, leaving the others hovering awkwardly in the chapel doorway. “We were just?—”

“What the hell are you doing?” Richard snaps, the question pointed at Riley.

“Nothing,” I say, the word sounding more pathetic than intended.

“We were kissing,” Riley answers, far more confident than I am.

“Why were you kissing your sister in a church?!” Richard asks.

“She’s not my sister.”

“She’s gonna be!”

“Well, she’s not yet, and she wasn’t when we met, either.” Riley looks at me, his words and gaze so sure. “Even when she is, I won’t stop loving her.”

My heart skips a beat.

He won’t stop… what?

“Tish.” Mom touches my arm. “What’s going on?”

“I...” My throat clenches, the words lost amid a murmur of voices at the back of the chapel. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t know how to...”

“How to what, honey?” she asks, more curious than upset.

“You were so happy.” I swallow hard. “You finally found someone to share your life with and after everything you’ve done for me, I didn’t want to ruin it by...” I look at Riley. “Remember the other morning? When you busted me for not coming home the night before, even though you didn’t, either?”

“Yes,” she says with a shrug.

My eyes stray toward Riley.

Hers follow. Then she stands an inch taller as she gets it. “Oh.”

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I didn’t know you and his dad were...”

“No, no,” she says, patting my arm. “It’s okay. I mean, how could you know?”

“But it’s over,” I say, the words threatening to break me into pieces.

Mom snorts. “It doesn’t look over, honey.”

“It is.” I look at Riley again, his visage blurry through the tears building on my lashes. “It has to be. This is your chance to have the normal family you’ve always wanted.”

“Oh, honey.” Mom moves to stand in front of me and grips my hands in hers. “I don’t care about that!”

“You don’t?”

“No! I gave up hope for that a long time ago. And if me having a normal family means you being unhappy, then I really don’t want it.”

I shake my head. “But?—”

“Meeting somebody, falling in love...” Mom sighs. “That’s a gift, Tish. One that I would never take away from you.”

“I don’t want to take it from you, either.”

“Then, don’t.” She squeezes my hands as she smiles. “Do you like him?”

“Yes.”

“Do you love him?”

My breath held tightly, I glance at Riley again. He looks back, his handsome eyes full of nothing but steady devotion.

“I don’t know,” I whisper, though the feelings in me are more than sure. “I think so.”

“That settles it, then,” my mother says, smiling. “We’re both madly in love, and nothing is going to stand in the way of that.” She cups my cheeks. “Okay?”

“Okay.” I smile back. “You’re not mad?”

“Nah,” she says. “So, we’ll have some awkward family dinners for a while. Nothing we can’t get over!”

My heart pounds with happiness.

Richard, however…

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” he says, still looming over Riley’s shoulder. “They can’t be together, Tanya!”

My mother glares at him. “Why not?”

“Because we are getting married,” he argues. “They will be siblings. It’s not right!”

Her shoulders roll back as she inhales, ready to defend.

“Dad,” Riley says, stopping her with a word. “You. Me.” He gestures at the space between them. “Middle.”

Richard arches a brow. “That’s quite the middle, Junior.”

“I know. But I care about her. You don’t have to like it. All I ask is that you accept?—”

“Okay.” Richard holds up a hand and sighs, hearing his words thrown back at him. “Point taken, son.” Clearly outnumbered, he glances between the three of us and sighs. “It’ll take some getting used to...”

“Oh, it’ll be just fine.” Mom detaches from me to move closer to Richard. She hooks her arm over his and nuzzles close, her smile wide and infectious. “This whole thing will be a hilarious anecdote before you know it.”

He eyes her with doubt.

“Trust me!” She bats her eyelashes. “But if you need more convincing, I’m sure a few days alone with me in the honeymoon suite will be enough to persuade you.”

I gasp. “Mom.”

She giggles, happily ignoring me as Richard cracks a smile.

“All right, Tanya,” he says, his eyes only for her. “Say no more.”

“Please,” I add.

“Excuse me,” Reverend Pierce says, approaching us slowly from the entrance. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I’ve got an entryway full of wedding guests who keep asking me if this is still happening today.”

“Our apologies, Reverend,” Mom says. “We just had to have ourselves a little... impromptu family meeting, that’s all.”

He exhales, relieved. “Good. Then... we’ll be starting on time?”

My mother looks pointedly at Richard, letting him have the final say. Another quick glance at each of us and Richard stands tall again, his hand wrapping delicately around my mother’s.

“Yes,” he answers. “Yes, Reverend, we will be.”

“Good.” The Reverend stands back, his eyes averting rather than look at me and Riley. “Good.”

Well, if it won’t be a hilarious family anecdote anytime soon, it’ll certainly keep the Small Town gossip mill churning for a while.

Mom plants a kiss on Richard’s cheek. “I still have to get changed,” she says, turning to me. “Will you help?”

“Buttons,” I say with a nod. “I’ll be right there.”

She releases a happy squeal and rushes off, swiftly brushing past the guests lingering in the back.

“Come on in!” Richard says, waving them in. “Don’t be shy. It’s a wedding, after all!”

He heads down the aisle to greet his guests, leaving Riley and me standing at the altar alone. We look at each other, only a foot of space between us, the air heavy with unspoken words.

Riley clears his throat, speaking up first. “I know it’s a dumb Kiss County cliché to drop the L-word like that, but…”

“No, it...” I blush, my heart full. “I mean, it was a gamble.”

He nods. “Right.”

“You had no idea if it would work to convince them or... if I felt the same way.”

He nods again. “But you do.”

I press my lips together, but if I could scream if from the rooftops, I would. “I do,” I say.

Riley takes a step toward me. I place my hands in his, the warmth of his touch tickling up and along my elbows. As the room fills with people, their whispering voices a constant reminder of where we are, I can’t help but wonder if someday we’ll be right back here, standing together in this very spot.

I hope so.

Not caring one bit about the room of witnesses, Riley gives me a kiss and smiles. “See you soon,” he says.

“See you soon,” I repeat as I walk away, heading down the aisle to go help my mother on her wedding day.

“Tish!”

Lottie’s sharp tone finds me as I pass the third row. She’s sitting by the aisle with Mika and Brenda by her side, all three of them wide-eyed with shock.

“Um... hello?” Brenda asks, her little eyes bouncing from me to the hot new bartender and back again.

Without breaking my stride, I look back at them and say, “That’s how it’s done, girlies.”