“No,” Jason murmured. “I’m leaving the explanation up to Mom and Dad.”

“Smart boy,” Rich said, sitting on the armrest of the couch. He leaned forward eagerly, as though waiting for the opening act of an award-winning play.

“What’s everyone talking about?” she asked.

“Mom?” Jason gestured eloquently toward his mother.

Elizabeth hesitated and turned to her husband. Eric Manning grinned and gave his wife a reassuring nod, which only compounded Charlotte’s curiosity.

“As I said, I’m delighted that you’ve agreed to marry Jason,” Elizabeth began. “He’s waited all this time to meet the right woman and, frankly, Eric and I were beginning to wonder if that was ever going to happen. Now that we’ve met you, Charlotte, we’re glad he waited so long. We understood the moment we saw you together how special you were to him.”

A low murmuring chorus of assent brought a sheen of tears to Charlotte’s eyes. If anyone should be grateful, it was her. Jason had changed her world, opened her mind to everything she’d believed was closed off to her. Love. Family. Joy. Partnership.

The room went strangely quiet. Charlotte looked around and, although everyone seemed genuinely pleased, there was a tension here, too.

“Just tell her, Mother,” Jason advised. “No need to drag this out.”

By now, Charlotte was more than curious. “Tell me what?”

“Don’t rush me,” Elizabeth said, chiding her son. “Charlotte,” she began, “when Jason told us he’d fallen in love with you, his father and I naturally wondered about his intentions. Then he told us he intended to ask you to marry him, so we decided to do a bit of checking in regard to the arrangements. Weddings need to be planned.”

Jason’s fingers entwined with hers, his hold on her hand tightening.

Elizabeth paused as though she expected a response. “Well, yes,” Charlotte said, since everyone was staring at her. “That’s a practical thing to do.”

“I learned some distressing news,” his mother continued. “The yacht club, which we feel is the best place for the reception, is booked solid for the next twenty-three months.”

Once again, like clockwork, all eyes in the room swiveled to Charlotte, awaiting her response. “I hope you put our name on a waiting list, then,” she murmured.

Elizabeth brightened, and some of the tension lines on her forehead seemed to relax. “I did better than that. You see,” she went on, her voice growing more confident, “there happened to be a cancellation, and so I asked they reserve that day for you and Jason.”

“Wonderful.”

“You’re leaving out the most important part,” Jason said, his lips barely moving.

“The date is July fourteenth,” Elizabeth announced, folding her hands and nodding sagely. “Don’t you think that’s excellent timing?”

“That sounds fine,” Charlotte agreed, when it was apparent once again that everyone was waiting for her to respond. A little more than a year would give her and Jason ample time to discover if a marriage between them was viable. By then, they’d certainly know if a sexual relationship was possible. A year gave them both an opportunity to adjust.

“It’s not July fourteenth of next year,” Jason filled in, his gaze locking with hers. “Mother meant July fourteenth of this year.”

Charlotte was too stunned to respond, other than with a gasp. Her mouth fell open in shock.

“What’s the problem, Mom?” Carrie asked, looking surprised.

“But…but no one can plan a wedding of any size in that length of time,” Charlotte managed after a moment. “It’s…impossible.”

“Not for Elizabeth,” Leah said, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Mom’s been working on this since Jason mentioned the word marriage.”

“But…”

“I’ve seen to everything,” Elizabeth said confidently. “And it is possible, very possible—if you’ll agree to such a quick wedding. I realize we’re being unfair to you, and I do hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me for taking over like this. The thing is, I know my son, and once he makes up his mind, that’s the end of it. Jason wouldn’t have been willing to wait almost two years.”

“But…there are other places. Besides the yacht club, I mean.”

“Yes, but none of them are as special.”

“Charlotte,” Jason said, raising her hand to his lips and kissing it. “I know it sounds crazy, but Mom’s right. I wouldn’t have wanted to wait just so my mother could put on a fancy wedding. At first I thought she’d gone berserk. The idea’s preposterous, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it.”

“Leah and I will do anything we can to help,” Jamie inserted. “If you want the truth, we’re both thrilled.”

“Taylor and Christy and their families are flying out. They’ve already made their reservations,” Elizabeth added.

“But they can change them,” Jason told her, frowning at his mother as if to say Charlotte was under enough pressure as it was.

And he was right. She felt as if a giant hammer was poised above her head, ready to smash down on her at any second. The entire family was waiting. Happy. Excited. Thrilled. Carrie’s eyes begged her to say yes.

“Of course, Taylor and Christy can change their reservations, if necessary,” someone said. That was Paul, and Charlotte wanted to thank him.

“Personally, I think it’s wildly romantic,” Leah added. She was sitting in the recliner, her hand resting on her swollen abdomen. Paul was sitting on the armrest, his arm wrapped around his wife’s shoulders, his eyes filled with love as he gazed down on her.

“Naturally I haven’t made any final decisions—that would be up to you,” Elizabeth said.

“I…don’t know what to say.”

“You must think I’m a domineering old woman, and I suppose I am, but nothing’s been finalized. I don’t generally meddle in my children’s lives, but—”

“Actually, if you want to be angry with anyone, it should be with the rest of us,” Jamie told her. “Jason is the family’s last chance for Mom to put on a big wedding. She’d been looking forward to it for years and we all disappointed her. She’s always done a fabulous job with the receptions, though.”

“We’ve had our hearts set on a formal wedding for so long,” Eric said.

“But in three weeks?” Charlotte murmured.

“We’ll all need to work together, of course, but we can do it.” Jason’s mother sounded utterly convinced of that. Her eyes sought out Charlotte’s and, in their beautiful blue depths, Charlotte saw how much Elizabeth wanted this. How much the entire family did. They all looked forward to contributing.

“Charlotte,” Jason said softly, “would you like more time to decide?”

She glanced around; everyone was waiting. The room had gone completely silent; even the children were quiet. Charlotte didn’t know how she could refuse. She closed her eyes and tried to think. If she postponed the wedding, the elder Mannings might hold it against her. It could taint their future relationship. The others were just as eager for this to happen. Each one felt guilty for cheating Eric and Elizabeth out of the family wedding they wanted.

Her whole future with the Manning family could be at stake, Charlotte thought.

“Do I…need to decide now?” she asked after an awkward moment.

“There’s so little time,” Elizabeth warned.

Charlotte glanced from one to the other and knew she couldn’t refuse. She loved Jason and wanted to marry him more than she’d wanted anything in her life. She could be happy with him, happy in ways she’d hardly imagined before. And for the first time she and Carrie had the chance to be part of a real family.

If she were to marry Jason there was the possibility of her having another child. If she conquered her fear of sex. The hollow ache inside her intensified as she studied the soft swell of Leah’s abdomen.

She turned to Jason, needing some kind of confirmation, some indication of what he was thinking. His eyes, so like his mother’s, blue and intense, reflected his love for her. His faith in her. The desire to be part of her life. He believed their love was enough to overcome any obstacle. Their love was all that was necessary.

For now, because she wanted to believe it, too, that was enough for her, too.

“We have a lot to do, then, don’t we?” she said, reluctantly dragging her gaze away from Jason and back to his mother.

“Does that mean you agree?”

She nodded and the entire family broke into cheers.

The excitement and the enthusiasm carried Charlotte for a full two weeks. Two of the busiest weeks of her life. When she wasn’t putting in her final days at work, she was with Jason’s mother.

During their first afternoon together, it became apparent that Elizabeth was a gifted organizer. She’d have to be in order to pull off a full-scale wedding in less than a month.

Ignorance had been bliss. Had Charlotte realized the sheer magnitude of what they needed to accomplish in such a short time, she would have refused.

Not a day passed that she didn’t have some kind of appointment, some place to be, someone to meet, some decision to make. There were dressmakers, florists, photographers, caterers and printers. And countless decisions, all of which had to be dealt with right that minute. There wasn’t time to ponder or reflect. As soon as one task was completed, Elizabeth steered her toward the next.

Carrie was delighted to be her mother’s maid of honor. Charlotte’s four soon-to-be sisters-in-law were to be her bridesmaids, and that meant frequent conference calls between Montana and Seattle.

When Charlotte somehow found time to see Jason, it was for a few moments, and then only in passing. He, too, was exceptionally busy.

Just when it looked like everything was falling neatly into place, and Charlotte would finally be able to return to a life of her own, a series of showers and parties began. Every night was busy with one event or another. Even the women in the office held a bridal shower for her on her last day with the agency.

The Mannings were a well-established, well-liked family. Three of Elizabeth’s closest friends decided to honor Charlotte with a shower the Monday before the wedding.

“I can’t believe how generous everyone is,” Charlotte said to Carrie, who had just attended the shower with her. They were carrying the wide array of gifts from the car into the apartment.

“Those old ladies don’t even know you,” Carrie remarked, her voice filled with astonishment. “All these gifts! You don’t suppose they’d throw a birthday party for me sometime, do you?”

“Carrie!”

“Just joking, Mom.” She hurried past Charlotte and brought in a gaily decorated box that was still unopened. Charlotte had been told the gift was for Jason, therefore he should be the one to open it. The giver was his godmother, a spry older woman named Donna Bondi.