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Heath raised a brow as I pulled back. “The Matthews family of two?”
“That’s right.” I thought about my parents, how they’d left after Marley graduated from high school and hadn’t returned.
Marley said they’d made rumblings about the inheritance and said she’d paid them off. I had no idea how much money she’d given them, but we hadn’t heard from them since.
I hoped it stayed that way. If my parents knew about the re-opening of the inn or Marley’s wedding, they might use it as an excuse to pop their heads out of whatever hole they’d been hiding in. But I wouldn’t say any of that to Heath. “I’m happy for you.”
Heath chuckled. “I never thought I’d see the day where you’d be happy for me marrying your sister.”
“I couldn’t find a better man for her.” Heath took care of her. It didn’t matter that Heath was my friend, or I’d asked him to protect her when I enlisted. Instead, he’d fallen in love with her. I couldn’t fault him for that. Not when he made her so happy.
Heath looked away, his eyes suspiciously shiny.
“Are you sure there isn’t anything I can do for the wedding?”
Heath cleared his throat. “You can help with the setup in the ballroom. A rental company will be delivering the tables and chairs. We’ll need to set up a couple of bars, but we have them in storage. Aria is handling the rest of it.”
“Is this what you both want? You don’t want to take more time and have a larger affair?”
Heath grinned. “This is exactly what we want. A party with our family and friends.”
“But it’s Christmas. Won’t people already have plans for the holiday?”
Heath shook his head. “That was the idea. Marley didn’t want to have a large wedding. She wants to keep it cozy.”
Marley appeared in the doorway. “Did you tell him our plans?”
Heath’s grin widened as he pulled her into his side, looking down at her. “Sure did.”
“I’m happy for you, sis.”
Heath let her go so she could hug me.
Marley pulled back slightly to see my face. “Are you really?”
“I just told your fiancé I couldn’t find a better man for you. Whatever you want, we’ll make it happen.”
Marley and Heath exchanged a look. Then she said, “I think Aria has everything taken care of.”
Marley returned to Heath’s side. “Are you ready to get out of here? Aria wanted to go over some details.”
Heath nodded to her. Then asked me, “You can clean up here?”
I waved them off. “Get out of here. You’ve got a wedding to plan.”
Marley grinned as she led Heath out of the room. I put away the tools, then dusted the remaining sawdust from the room. I was happy for my sister, and I couldn’t think of a better location for their wedding than the inn. It would be gorgeous even if it was winter. The inn was its best at Christmas.
* * *
Later that night, I let Fiona into my apartment.
She kissed me, and then I asked, “Did you hear that Marley and Heath are getting married here on Christmas Eve?”
“It will be beautiful,” Fiona said with a smile. “Are we still planning on having a family showing of a movie the night before?”
“I think so. We won’t be in the way of the wedding preparations, and the kids are looking forward to it.”
“With everything going on, this might be the last night we have to ourselves,” Fiona murmured as she wrapped her arms around my neck.
