The Next Best Thing
Page 55

Jeremy put his arm around Faith’s shoulders, his dark eyes smiling. “You know, it’s my biggest regret about our breakup. We would’ve made beautiful babies.”
“That’s a lovely sentiment, Jeremy dear,” Goggy said, pouring a liberal amount of brandy into a mug and handing it to Pops.
“She’s not making babies with anyone but me.”
Faith jumped.
Levi stood just outside their little circle, jeans and a couple of layers of flannel, seemingly oblivious to the cold. His hair was rumpled, and he looked tired.
Faith felt that slow, golden heat starting in her heart. Her knees wobbled; her heart did, too. He looked so...good. Kind of grumpy, but good, too.
“You look tired,” Jeremy said. “Getting enough B12?”
“Shut up, Jeremy,” he said irritably. “I am tired. I’ve just spent nineteen hours flying back and forth across the country.” He shot Honor a glare. “Couldn’t have made a phone call, Honor? It would’ve been nice to hear she was on her way home.”
“Oops,” Honor said, unsuccessfully trying to hide her smile with a coffee mug.
“Faith, listen,” Levi said. He stood in front of her, glanced at her family, then back at her. “Look.”
“Look. Listen. He’s so bossy,” Pru said.
“Quiet,” Faith said. “Not you, Levi. You go ahead.”
He ran a hand through his hair. A big, masculine, capable hand that, in the fairly recent past, had elicited all sorts of interesting noises from her. Down, girl, Faith’s brain murmured. Let the man say what he came to say.
Her heart was pretty sure it was going to be good.
“Faith,” he said again. “I know that Jeremy is pretty damn near perfect—”
“Thank you, Levi, I appreciate that,” Jeremy said solemnly. Faith shot him a look, and he smothered a smile.
Levi glanced again at her family.
“You know what? Ignore them,” Faith said, taking him by the hand. She towed him away a few rows, farther from the little cabal. “Do not follow us,” she said over her shoulder. She turned back to Levi, wanting so much to simply wrap herself around him, to kiss him until he smiled. “It’s good to see you again,” she whispered.
“Yeah, you, too.” He scowled, most definitely not looking happy to see her. “I went to San Francisco to see you. But you’d left already.”
“Right. So you said.” She raised her eyebrows, hoping to encourage him. It didn’t seem to work. He just stared. “Was there anything else, Levi?” she asked.
“Right. Yes. There is.” He fished something out of his pocket and pressed it into her hand, then curled her fingers around it, holding her hand in both his own. Despite the temperature, he was warm. “I love you, Faith. I’m sorry for being an idiot. I hired someone to help at work, and I’ll try to tell you more about...stuff. But I don’t want to lose you, I love you, and...and that’s all I’ve got.”
As speeches went, it wasn’t great. As feelings went...different story. Looked like the branch may have been removed.
She looked into those soft, green eyes, at the slight frown on his face. “It’s more than enough,” she whispered, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes.
“Oh. Good. That’s good.” He nodded. Looked over her shoulder. Back at her.
“You should kiss me now, Levi.”
Before the words were fully out of her mouth, he was doing just that, her face cupped in his gentle hands, and his mouth on hers was...well, she hated to even think the word, but it was perfect. Most things in life weren’t, but this was. He kissed her the way a man kisses the woman he loves, as if they were alone, or on an altar, as if they weren’t standing in the freezing dark night with far too many relatives watching their every move.
“You need a ring and a date, young man,” her father called. “This is my princess we’re talking about. None of this living together nonsense.”
“Again with the princess crap,” Jack said.
“Why can’t I be the princess once in a while?” Prudence added.
She felt Levi smile against her mouth. He kissed her forehead, held her close, then looked over at her father, who was doing his best impression of a stern parent. “Way ahead of you, sir,” he said.
He uncurled her fingers—right, she’d almost forgotten—and there, in her palm, was an engagement ring.
“I’ll need to think about it,” she said.
“She said yes,” he told her family, and a cheer rose from the ranks. Jeremy even wiped his eyes. Dad, too.
Then Levi kissed her again, and slid the ring onto her finger, and nothing had ever felt so right.
EPILOGUE
THE REHEARSAL DINNER was at Hugo’s so Colleen and Connor wouldn’t have to work, and where Jessica Dunn was a guest this time. Tomorrow, everyone would be dressed in their finery, but tonight was loud, casual and fun; Faith walked in on Pru and Carl in the coatroom; Goggy and Pops had danced half of one dance before the bickering became too intense; Mrs. Johnson scowled, criticized the food and drank piña coladas.
Ted and Elaine Lyon had come for the wedding, as well as Liza and Wonderful Mike. Freakishly enough, Lorena Creech was also there; Levi had invited Victor Iskin, and apparently Victor and Lorena had made a quickie trip to Vegas on Christmas Day and came back married. “I just want someone to take care of, Faith, you know what I’m saying?” she’d said, and yes, Faith did. The Bible Study Babes were knocking back the pinot grigio, and the fire department was playing cards at a table in the back.
Tomorrow, the cast would be much the same as Faith’s first attempt at getting married, with a few minor changes: Colleen was still maid of honor, Faith’s sisters bridesmaids, as well as Abby and Sarah Cooper.
Jeremy would be best man. Of course.
He’d also brought a date, which was rather wonderful—a good-looking guy named Patrick who was shy and sweet and a terrible dancer.
When the party was over, Levi led Faith across the icy town green to his apartment. They’d be living in the Opera House for a while, though Faith had her eye on a little house on Elm Street. It was in a nice mix of a neighborhood—outside the Village but close enough to walk, a peek of the Crooked Lake from the top floor window, a lovely porch. But for now, they’d live at Levi’s place, which was looking much improved with a red-painted wall. Sarah would still live here when she was back from school, and Faith thought it was nice, finally having a little sister to boss around as Honor and Pru had bossed her all those years.
“You’re not getting any action tonight, Chief Cooper,” she said, her breath clouding the quiet air. “You’re not even supposed to see me after midnight.”
“Well, then,” he said. “I’ve got half an hour to go.” With that, he scooped her up over his shoulder and carried her, caveman style, up the stairs, making her laugh so hard she could hardly breathe.
“I have something for you,” he said, setting her down to open the door. “Blue, you’ll have to wait.”
“You don’t have to wait for me, buddy,” Faith said, kneeling down to rub the dog’s tummy. “You’ll always be my first love. Right? Who’s my best boy, hmm?” She took off her coat as Levi rustled around in his desk. “Whatever it is, it’d better be good,” she added, sitting on the couch. Blue leaped up next to her.
“Here you go,” he said, sitting across from her. He held a little package, but handed her a folded up piece of paper first.
“If this is a poem, I may faint,” she said, smiling. Her smile stopped. He looked...tense.
“Just read it,” he said.
She unfolded the paper—notebook paper, soft with age and filled with rather sloppy, youthful handwriting.
Dear Faith, it said.
I’m sorry your mom died. I wish could think  of something better to say. I think you’re a nice girl, and also pretty.  That probably doesn’t help any. But I mean it.
Sincerely, Levi Cooper.
“Oh, Levi,” she said, feeling the hot burn of tears down her cheeks.
“You’re not the only person who keeps stuff, I guess,” he said, looking at the floor. “I should’ve given it to you back then. It just felt...inadequate at the time.”
“It’s not inadequate,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”
He reached over and wiped her tears away. “I don’t want you crying the night before we get married,” he murmured.
“Then you should’ve thought of that before,” she said, smoothing the paper. “I’m very mushy, in case you didn’t notice.”
“I noticed. Which is why I think you’ll like this, too.” He smiled and handed her the box.
The rose quartz heart had been set in silver with a tiny chain. “Where did you get this?” she exclaimed. “I thought this was in a box at my dad’s.”
“I stole it.”
“Then you’re finally admitting you gave it to me?” she said, a few more tears slipping down her cheeks as he fastened it around her neck.
“Actually, I think it was Asswipe Jones, but I’m gonna take the credit here.”
She gave a watery smile. “Sorry, pal. It couldn’t have been anyone but you.”
He smiled, his green eyes softening. “You happen to be right, Holland.”
Then he kissed her, and kissed her again. And then he pulled back and smiled. “All right, let me get you back to your dad’s. I have a wedding to go to tomorrow.”
* * *
On a beautiful day in January, in front of literally half the town, wearing a wedding dress that made her look like a 1940s film star and holding a bouquet of perfect red roses, Faith Elizabeth Holland married the man she was meant to have. The man, you might say, she was fated to have, if you believed in that stuff.
Which we absolutely do.