Always The Wedding Planner, Never The Bride Part 40

"Oh, Em, it was such a kick!" Sherilyn exclaimed. "You should have seen Brittany and David. They had the time of their lives. And all of their guests were tearing it up!"

"I wish I'd seen it, but after Andy left, Jackson and I went over to tell my parents our news and show them the ring."

"Speaking of which," she grinned, "let me have a closer look at that baby!"

Emma extended her hand and curtsied. "Isn't it perfect, dahling?"

A single princess-cut diamond, a couple of karats at least, surrounded by tiny twinkling rounds. Sherilyn traced the platinum diamond-encrusted band with her finger.

"It's exquisite. But more importantly . . . how did he ask you?"

The two of them giggled like schoolgirls as they ran to the micro suede sofa and dove in.

"This is like the old days," Emma observed. "All we need is the nail files and polis.h.!.+"

"What did he say?"

"Oh, it was better than I even hoped," she exclaimed, "and I was totally surprised. I mean it, you could have knocked me over with the flick of your finger. We were having dinner at this new Italian place in Buckhead, and when the dessert cart came, they had a sugar-free red velvet cupcake! Well. Come on. That was almost too good to be true!"

"He must have hunted for that place for a month!" Sherilyn said, laughing "So of course I had to try it. He knew good and well I was going to! And when they brought it to the table, it had this gorgeous, glittery decoration on the top. When I looked closer, I realized . . . It was a diamond ring! And when I looked over at him, he'd gotten up from his chair and was down on his knee in front of me!"

"Ohh, that is too delicious!!"

"Ah, Sher, I made a total idiot of myself and cried like a dork! And he finally said, 'Emma Rae, will you give me an answer, please?'"

"And that's when you said yes."

"No. That's when I told him I'd let him know after I ate the cupcake."

"You didn't."

"Come on. A sugar-free red velvet cupcake, Sher."

They leaned into one another and laughed until Sherilyn could hardly catch her breath. When she did, she sputtered, "Speaking of cake . . . did you bring the wedding cake sketches?"

"Yep, they're on the table."

Emma hopped over to the table and brought them back to the sofa, spreading them out on the coffee table in front of them.

"You have five to choose from," she said. "And you know you don't have to pick any one of them. I can do whatever you want with them."

The sketches looked like artwork on an eclectic gallery wall.

From florals to elegant and cla.s.sic to quirky art deco, Emma had outdone herself once again.

"I was thinking about a groom's cake," Sherilyn told her as she examined each sketch again.

"A groom's cake? With only fifty guests, you want a wedding cake and a groom's cake? You'll be eating cake until your tenth anniversary!"

"Your point?"

Emma chuckled. "You don't need a groom's cake, Sher."

"I know," she replied, somewhat deflated. "But I wanted to do something special for Andy. Maybe I should get him a gift; something extraordinary!"

The doorbell rang before they could brainstorm the idea, and Sherilyn raised a finger. "Hold that thought," she said, and she padded toward the front door.

She jumped the very moment that she opened the door as Claudia Boyett-Aaron's mom from down the street-jammed the end of a leash into her hand.

"Take this!" she demanded. "You have to take this dog back. He's horrible, just horrible. I won't have him in my house another night."

"Well . . . what . . . What happened?" she asked as Henry looked up at her, panting/smiling, looking just as innocent as could be.

"What didn't happen!" she cried. "This dog has eaten the television remote, the cordless handset, two rugs, and the edge of my patio door. You have to take him back. You just have to."

"I'm-"

"No!" she interrupted. "I won't take no for an answer. I won't take that dog home. If you don't want him, you'll have to find another sucker to take him in. I won't do it," she said as she backed down the sidewalk. "Don't follow me! I mean it. I don't ever want to see that creature again."

Sherilyn stood there looking at Henry, and he swiped her hand with his juicy tongue.

"Don't try to get into my good graces, mister," she said, and he licked her again, this time more timidly.

Sherilyn closed the door and led Henry by the leash, down the hall and into the living room. When Emma looked up and saw them both standing there, she burst instantly into laughter.

"Well, you said you wanted an extraordinary wedding gift for Andy. I'd say G.o.d dropped one right at your door."

"More like propelled him straight through the door."

Two hours later, after Emma had gone, Andy came home to find Henry sitting next to Sherilyn on the sofa, surrounded in yards of red ribbon.

He laughed and asked, "What's this?"

Henry bounded toward him, happily jumping on him, trailing ribbon all the way back to the couch.

"Your wedding present!" Sherilyn exclaimed. "I had him wrapped up all pretty for you, but he ate his way out of it before you got home."

Made a Believer Outta Me

Lyrics & Music by Russell Walker

I've been searching the world over-for something that could change me.

Looking for some truth-that would come and rearrange me.

And just when I come down to-I'm gonna pack it in, they come across my path, you know-these two just do me in.

Never believed too much in G.o.d before, never sought to make amends.

Never believed in love that steals your heart, or even love that bends.

I hid in shadows, dark and cold, so love just never found me.

But these two souls have gone and made a believer outta me.

Made a believer outta me.

If he thinks that it's funny-that woman of his just laughs.

She thinks it's rather cold tonight-he blocks the windy drafts.

Blazing down the road, these two-with free and wild abandon.

The two of them, these wanderers-true and sweet companions.

I stand outside their fire-just to watch it burn and I can't help but wonder-what they're teaching, can I learn?

Do I even have it in me-to love someone like that?

If I ever won somebody's heart-could I even love her back?

Never believed too much in G.o.d before, never sought to make amends.

Never believed in love that steals your heart, or even love that bends.

I hid in shadows, dark and cold, so love just never found me.

But these two souls have gone and made a believer outta me.

Made a believer outta me.

23.

Who gives this woman's hand in marriage?"

"I do," Gavin said, and he squeezed her hand almost as tightly as her heart constricted at his reply. He kissed her cheek and cupped her chin in his hand. "Love you, Sheri."

"I love you too."

She'd suspected it was going to be that sort of night after half a dozen spontaneous floods of tears throughout the day. Her emotions had just gotten the better of her before her feet even hit the floor that morning and she noticed Vanessa's exquisite wedding dress hanging on the back of her hotel room door.

Tears continued to flow later when she meandered into Emma's kitchen to find her putting the finis.h.i.+ng touches on a simple three-layer creme brulee wedding cake . . . and then while she and Emma acted as overseers to the team of florists decorating The Desiree Room with sterling roses, several pastel shades of hydrangea, and deep purple winter tulips . . . and again an hour before the ceremony when Vanessa and Emma helped her with her hair and zipped up her beautiful Christian Dior gown.

Jackson had taken Andy to the airport that afternoon to pick up Jeff Durgin, Andy's best man, so Emma and Fee had arranged some special "girl time" for the three of them to have manicures, pedicures, and facials. All three of them had cried then.

"Never let it be said that I let my best friend cry alone," Emma had sniffed while Fee grabbed a tissue and pa.s.sed the box around.

But now-as Russell's performance of the song he'd written especially for them came to a close-Sherilyn battled against the slippery slope that stood far too near: The Ugly Cry.

Not now. Not at my wedding!

Once their vows had been completed and they'd pledged to serve G.o.d and one another for the rest of their lives, Miguel glanced at his watch.

"Andrew and Sherilyn, with only one minute until midnight," he told them, "it is now my honor, before G.o.d and your family and friends, to p.r.o.nounce you husband and wife. Andy, would you like to kiss your bride?"

"More than I can tell you," Andy replied with a grin.

"Four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . ."

Cheers and party horns sounded at precisely midnight from the New Year's party in the Victoria ballroom as Sherilyn Caine became Sherilyn Drummond, and she kissed her new husband.

Afterward, when her eyes met Emma's and she spiraled down into tears, those two best friends indulged in an instant, unspoken compet.i.tion right there and then over which of them had accomplished the ugliest cry of all!

Discussion Questions What does Sherilyn's career choice say about her personality?

How did you feel Sherilyn and Andy fit into the landscape of The Tanglewood?

What do you suppose is the basis for Sherilyn and Andy's fast attraction, and how does their faith play into it?

How did Sherilyn's past relations.h.i.+p influence her current one?

What role did Russell play in Sherilyn's life? Was it an important one or was it simply a pa.s.sing acquaintance?

Sherilyn hasn't had family ties for a very long time, but her sisterhood with Emma has provided a familial feeling. How important is it to have that in your life, and why?

How did you feel about the relations.h.i.+p between Sherilyn and Gavin, Emma's father?

Aside from Emma and her family, what do the various other characters in the book add to Sherilyn and Andy's story?

What were your thoughts about Sherilyn's lost wedding dresses? How did this thread add to the overall story?

If you read the first book in the series, how did the role of Miguel evolve into the second book? Did you enjoy Miguel's contribution to the story and to Sherilyn's growth?

Bonus chapters from Sandra Bricker's next novel Always the Designer, Never the Bride