Right away he’d realized he faced an uphill battle in winning her heart. First of all, he worked for her son. Second of all, he was only a couple of years older than Joe. The third challenge had turned out to be the most complex, though—convincing her she had a right to be happy and to hell with what anyone else thought of them or the years that separated them. He didn’t care about any of that, and he’d finally gotten her to the point where she didn’t either.

He found Janey’s phone and brought it to her, waiting alongside Caro while she made the call. His lovely bride had worn a gorgeous yellow dress that showed off her late-summer tan. A week or so ago, she’d had her hair cut and colored, and to look at her, you’d never know she was a day over forty.

“That’s weird,” Janey said. “Neither of them is answering.”

“I swear to God,” Caro said, “if I find out they were getting busy when I want to be getting married, they’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Thank you for that visual,” Janey said. “Brain scrub commencing.” Her phone rang. “It’s my mom.”

“Thank goodness,” Caro said.

“Where are you guys?” Janey paused to listen. “Caro is waiting on you to serve dinner. Okay. See you soon.” She ended the call and looked up at them. “They’re ‘running late’ but on the way. She did sound somewhat out of breath.”

“I knew it!”

Seamus cracked up laughing. “You’ve no room to talk about spending too much time in bed, love.”

“I heard that,” Joe said as he joined them. “And I never want to hear it again.”

“My apologies,” Seamus said with a grin. “Not in front of the children.”

“That’s right,” Joe said, “and don’t forget it. Are we doing this or what?”

“We’re waiting on your in-laws,” Janey said, “who apparently got sidetracked on their way out of the house.”

“You don’t say,” Joe said with a smile. “The old guy’s still got it, huh?”

“Eww,” Janey said. “Please make it stop.”

“And who are you calling old?” Caro asked her son.

The comical exchange went a long way toward ridding Seamus of the last of the nerves that had plagued him all day. These people would soon be his new family, and he couldn’t wait.

Frank McCarthy came into the house, looking rested and relaxed after spending much of the summer on Gansett. “What’s the holdup, kids?” the judge asked.

“Waiting on your brother and his wife to get out of bed and come to our party,” Carolina said.

Frank’s eyes widened with surprise.

“I know, Uncle Frank,” Janey said. “It’s extremely gross.”