“Mr. Cartwright,” Lily said and looked relieved when his father merely took her hand in both of his.
“Son,” he said, acknowledging him with a nod. “You’d both better come inside before your sisters and Alice attack this poor girl on the doorstep.”
“Yes, yes, come in,” his mother told her. “I do hope you’re hungry, Lily. Alice has whipped up a fabulous brunch for us and I made my famous liver mousse.”
Jack leaned close and whispered to Lily, “Remember what I told you. Stay away from the liver mousse.”
But Lily didn’t stay away from the liver mousse. Jack bit back a wince as he watched her eat another spoonful, then reach for her water glass again. “Be sure to save room for dessert,” Jack told her. “Alice makes the best strawberry shortcake in Connecticut.”
“It’s true,” his sister Courtney chimed in. “She uses real whipped cream.”
“It sounds delicious,” Lily said.
“Jack tells us you’re a counselor for Eastwick Cares,” his mother said. “He says that you work with the troubled teens in the program.”
“Yes, ma’am.” She looked up, relief in her eyes as Alice whisked away the liver mousse. “Thank you.”
“Lily’s really amazing with those kids,” Jack said. “The number of teens who stay in school and stick with the program has nearly doubled since she’s been there.”
“It’s the kids who do the work,” she informed him. “All I do is listen.”
“Your family must be very proud of you,” his mother responded.
“Lily doesn’t have any family,” Jack informed his mother and wanted to kick himself for not telling his mother to steer clear of the subject.
“What Jack means is that I’m an orphan. I never knew who my parents were.”
“I’m so sorry, dear. I didn’t know. Jack.” She said his name sharply. “You should have said something to us. Now I’ve gone and embarrassed this dear girl.”
“I’m not embarrassed, Mrs. Cartwright, and please don’t feel you need to apologize or feel sorry for me. The truth is, I’ve always believed I was pretty lucky because I’ve never had to worry about living up to anyone’s expectations but my own.”
“She’s right,” Courtney said. “Is it too late for me to be an orphan?”
Everyone laughed and Jack was relieved to have some of the tension ebb.
“Well, once you and Jack are married, you’ll be a Cartwright and we’ll be your family,” his mother said.
“Are you going to take the name Cartwright or keep your maiden name?” his sister Elizabeth asked.
“Actually, I haven’t really thought about it,” Lily replied.
“I think when I get married I’ll keep my own name,” Courtney declared.
“In my day, a woman took her husband’s name,” his mother said.
“Whatever Lily decides will be fine with me,” Jack told them, wanting to end the discussion.
“So, Lily, have you and Jack decided on a date and place for the wedding yet?” Courtney asked.
“Not yet,” Lily said. “Everything has happened kind of fast.”
“I was thinking that next weekend would be good and unless Lily wants to have a church service, I thought we would just go to the justice of the peace.” He looked across the table at her. “Does that sound all right to you?”
“The justice of the peace sounds fine.”
“A justice of the peace? You can’t be serious, Jack,” his mother proclaimed. “A woman’s wedding day is one of the most important days of her life. I’m sure Lily doesn’t want to take her vows in some dark and dingy office. Do you, dear?”
“I really don’t mind,” Lily offered.
“It’s hardly a dark and dingy office, mother. The building underwent a million-dollar renovation just last year,” Jack pointed out.
“That’s beside the point. You and Lily deserve someplace more suitable.”
“It’s all right, Mrs. Cartwright—“
“It’s Sandra, dear. You must call me Sandra.”
“Sandra,” Lily repeated. “The justice of the peace’s office is fine with me. I really don’t want a lot of fuss.”
“Well, you deserve to be fussed over,” his mother declared. “And I simply won’t hear of you being married in any justice of the peace’s office. Your wedding day should be a memorable affair for both of you and we intend to make it one. We just have to figure out where to have it.”
“May and June are big months for weddings,” Courtney pointed out. “I’m sure all the good places are already booked. My friend Sue had to reserve the Eastwick Hotel for her reception a year ago.”
“Which is why we’ll go to the justice of the peace’s office,” Jack insisted.
“Nonsense,” his mother said and waved him off.
“Mother, why don’t we just have it here?” Courtney suggested. “We could hold it in the gardens.”
“That’s a wonderful idea, Courtney. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it,” his mother said. “Everything’s in bloom right now and the temperatures are mild. The garden would be the perfect setting for a wedding.”
“We can set up an arbor of roses and we should drape the guests’ chairs with white covers and bows,” Courtney suggested.
“Yes. Yes. And we’ll have a white runner for Lily to walk down the aisle—” his mother added.
“Before you start picking out wedding china for them, maybe you should ask Lily and Jack if this is what they want,” Elizabeth pointed out.
Jack mouthed the words thank you. He could have kissed his sister in that moment. At twenty-six, Elizabeth was seven years his junior. No one had been more surprised than him when the kid sister who’d gone off to college with her cheerleader’s pom-poms had returned home a serious young woman and enrolled in law school. It had also been a surprise when she’d chosen to work in the D.A.'s office instead of joining the family firm.
“Elizabeth’s right,” his father said.
“But, John—“
“Sandra, it’s up to them,” his father informed her. “Jack? Lily? How do you feel about having the wedding here?”
“It’s Lily’s call,” Jack answered and looked across the table at her.
“Please, Lily,” Courtney began from her seat beside Lily. She grabbed Lily’s hand and Jack recognized the look Courtney offered up to Lily. His baby sister had used that same sad-eyed look on him to get her way from the time she could walk. “Say you’ll do the wedding here, Lily. Please.”
“I hate to see everyone go to so much trouble,” Lily told her.
“It won’t be any trouble at all,” Courtney said. “Will it, Mother?”
“None whatsoever.”
“We can use Felicity Farnsworth. She’s a wedding planner,” Courtney explained. “She’s handling Emma Dearborn and Reed Kelly’s wedding for them and I heard Emma say at the club last week that she turned over all the details for the wedding to Felicity and that she’s doing a fabulous job.”
“That’s an excellent idea. I’ll call Emma’s mother and see if she can get Felicity today.