Love Under Two Kendalls Part 22

"I hope you don't want a long engagement, honey." Jake also propped himself up and kissed her.

How amazing that she would soon have two such adoring and adorable husbands!

"No." She smiled. "I can think of no reason to wait. The only person I want here to celebrate with us is Maggie. Everyone else who matters is already here."

"We'll be expected for Sunday dinner at Mother's," Adam said. Then he frowned. "Maybe we should marry you first, before you fully understand what you're getting yourself into, marrying into the Kendall clan."

Ginny laughed. "I told you I wouldn't break, didn't I?"

"Still, you've never experienced our brothers' version of baptism by fire at the dinner table."

Ginny was pretty certain it was their version, too, when the guest was a friend, or girl, of their brothers'. Of course, she didn't say that.

What she did say was, "Bring it on. I've found love under two Kendalls, so I know I can face anything."

"d.a.m.n straight you can," Jake said. He laid a hand on her chest, just above her stomach.

"I have complete faith in you." Adam's hand rested on her stomach, and she wondered if she was just being fanciful, imagining their child already beginning to grow there.

"Do you know what? I have faith in me, too." And wasn't that a miracle? "And I have no doubt that we're going to have a long, and wonderful, and very happy life together."

"Sweetheart"-Adam bent over and kissed her again-"I don't see how it could possibly be any other way."

Chapter 21.

Ginny wasn't used to being waited on, and she guessed it showed. She practically itched to pitch in and see that everyone had drinks, or whatever else they needed. Neither Adam nor Jake said anything, but the way they grinned at her when she'd fidget told her that they understood her very well.

Now that's definitely an understatement.

Ginny was able to relax some once Kelsey, Tracy, and Mich.e.l.le set things out on the buffet counter, so that most folks could just help themselves. That meant they could enjoy the party, too. Since the three women were her best friends in l.u.s.ty, she very much wanted them to do just that.

Adam stood on her right, Jake on her left, and she thought they looked yummier than any two men had a right to look.

Of course, they were her two men, which made it more than fine. She knew beyond a doubt that she was the luckiest woman in the world.

Julia Benedict, Devon Wakefield, and Drew James arrived, closely followed by Julia's parents, Carson, Michael, and Abigail, and Julia's triplet brothers, Richard, Trevor, and Kevin.

Ginny had developed a soft spot for Richard Benedict. The poor man was a whiz at business, she'd been told, but had almost no people skills to speak of. The latter she'd seen firsthand. She could identify with Richard's awkwardness, because she reckoned it to be on a par with the shyness that had plagued her almost all of her life-well, until very recent days.

But Richard Benedict had won her friends.h.i.+p when his sister had been kidnapped, and he'd been willing to give everything he owned-completely against family policy-just to get her back.

"Welcome to the family." Richard didn't seem to know if he should shake her hand or kiss her. Ginny grinned, and kissed his cheek instead.

"Thank you. I'm so pleased to see y'all here."

"The rest of our branch of the Kendall clan-Brian and Chase and our middle brother, Greg-are back in New York City for a few days, winding up the final transfer of our headquarters to Houston."

"I've met Greg, but I haven't met the twins yet." And she wouldn't for the world mention that Julia had told her Brian and Chase were her favorite brothers.

"You will, soon, as they're moving back here to l.u.s.ty." Trevor bent forward and kissed her cheek. "Neither of them can cook worth a hill of beans, so you'll probably be seeing a lot of them."

"I'm the only real cook in the family," Kevin said. "And that includes the ladies." He said that last bit quieter, and furtively looked around, but whether he was on the lookout for his mother or his sister, Ginny didn't know. Trevor punched his brother's arm, and Richard just shook his head.

"I'm sure Kelsey will be pleased to have two more regular customers," Ginny said.

She looked up just as old Mr. Parker come in. She didn't think she'd seen him even once at any of the engagement parties Kelsey had held since Ginny had come to town. He'd told her once that he usually went to bed before eight most nights.

But tonight he'd clearly chosen to forego an early bedtime. Not only that, he'd dressed up in a fine suit, and even came without his trademark ball cap. Ginny knew he'd lost his wife, Fiona, some years before and that the two of them had never had any children.

Mich.e.l.le had told her that as a consequence, she'd been doted on as a child by her father's oldest brother and his wife.

"My, you're as pretty as a picture tonight, Ginny Rose." He had a sparkle in his eye as he nodded to Jake and Adam. "If I'd been just a few years younger, I'd have given you young bucks a run for your money for this fine lady's hand."

"Uncle Albert, I, for one, am sincerely grateful you didn't set your sights on our Ginny. I know if you had, Adam and I would have been two very sorry hombres, left to live the lives of spurned and lonely bachelors."

"Oh, you two!" Ginny felt her cheeks heat. Then the older man leaned in and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"And now, young lady, you have to stop calling me Mr. Parker. It's Uncle Albert to you from now on."

Ginny grinned. The man had been trying to get her to use his first name for months, now. To please him, she said, "Thank you, Uncle Albert. I'm honored."

The man waved his hand, dismissing her grat.i.tude. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gray jeweler's box. "This was Fiona's. She used to wear it to church on Sundays, and on special occasions. I was thinking, if you had nothing else that suited, you could wear it on your wedding day, as your 'something old.'"

Ginny took the small box, unsurprised her hands trembled a little, and opened it. She had trouble seeing the pretty gold necklace through the tears that misted her eyes. She blinked them back, and the tiny golden angel seemed to wink at her from the end of the chain.

"This is the most wonderful gift I've ever received. And perfect, simply perfect to wear on my wedding day." She sniffed and looked up at the man who'd been her very first best customer. "Would you mind, terribly, Uncle Albert, if I didn't wait that long to put this lovely necklace on?"

The elderly man seemed very pleased by her request. "I'll help you with the clasp."

His fingers didn't work the small clasp as well as they probably used to, but Ginny dutifully turned and waited patiently.

Finally he sighed. "There, done."

Ginny turned and gave him a kiss, then stepped back and placed her hand gently on the angel. "Thank you. I'll treasure this, always."

"You're a good girl, Ginny Rose." Then he grinned. "And you're family, now. I'm going to have to remember to call you Ginny Kendall!"

Mich.e.l.le came over and slipped her arm through his. "Uncle Albert, Tracy made a special eclair just for you, with double the whipped cream and chocolate."

"That Tracy's a good girl, too," he said to Ginny. Then he smiled down at his niece. "Well then, pretty Mich.e.l.le, lead me to it." He patted Mich.e.l.le's hand and gave Ginny a wink and a smile.

"Here." Adam turned her face toward his and used a tissue to gently blot away her tears.

"Thank you. What a sweet, sweet man." She turned to watch him make his way through the crowd with Mich.e.l.le. She sat him down with her own parents, and Ginny had to smile at the way everyone welcomed him.

"I guess we'd better make sure to always keep you happy," Adam said.

She tilted her head at him, not sure she understood. Then Jake said, "d.a.m.n straight. If we don't, she won't have to look far for our replacement."

"Well now." Ginny kissed Adam's cheek, and then she turned to kiss Jake. "It's a comfort for a woman to know she always has prospects."

Penelope Primrose, along with Josh and Alex Benedict, came into the rapidly filling restaurant, and Ginny noticed how everyone stood aside to let Penelope pa.s.s. Her baby b.u.mp didn't slow her down one bit, which meant her men-and most of the town-had their hands full, watching out after her.

She gave Ginny a huge hug, and the baby gave her a small kick.

"Congratulations! I'm so happy for you, for all of you." And then, to the horror of all of the men standing close by-especially Josh and Alex-Penelope burst into tears.

"I'm sorry, baby." Josh held out a perfectly pressed white handkerchief, as if it was the cure for every disease known to mankind. He looked as if he was going to burst into tears himself, since Penelope's weepiness seemed to upset him that much.

"Please don't cry, sweetheart. We'll make it all better." Alex looked just as worried and helpless as his brother.

Ginny felt sorry for the two geeks. "Y'all have to understand that when a woman's pregnant, her hormones are all in a jumble, which means that she's p.r.o.ne to be emotional. I was, too, with Benny. I cried at the darnedest things." She wondered that no one had explained that simple fact to the men.

Josh nodded firmly. "Last night she cried during a cat food commercial. And we don't even have a cat!"

When Penelope sniffed anew, Alex quickly said, "But it was a very sad commercial. I guess."

"Oh, you two are just so good to me." Penelope sniffed some more, and Ginny wanted to laugh at the way every man close by, even Adam and Jake, seemed to be inching toward panic mode at the same time.

Bernice came over and slipped her arm around her almost daughter-in-law. "Come sit down and have some hot tea, sweetheart. It's not good for the men to be upset like this for so long."

Ginny couldn't help but giggle, and everyone relaxed just a bit when Penelope giggled, too.

"Do all pregnant women really get that emotional?" Jake asked.

"A lot do, yes. It's just part of nature, is all. Nothing to get worked up or concerned about."

"So that's what we can expect in, what, a couple of months?" Adam had whispered that to her. She'd taken a home pregnancy test just a few days before. Actually, she'd taken three, just to be sure.

They were saving the good news for a later date.

"I've heard that for every woman, every pregnancy can be different. So we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

Because he looked so worried, she kissed him, and then turned and kissed Jake, too. "I'll be fine. You'll see."

She caught sight of some more new arrivals and turned to greet her men's fathers.

"It's not easy for men when their woman gets emotional that way." Preston, along with his brothers Taylor and Charles Kendall, had arrived a few minutes before. Preston had stopped off to get a gla.s.s of iced tea for Ginny.

"Thanks, Dad." She kissed him, and then of course, had to kiss her other soon-to-be fathers-in-law, as well.

"You're welcome, sweetheart." He then patted his sons on the back, and stood beside Adam.

"Everyone fusses over the woman when she's pregnant," Taylor said. "Not too many think to fuss over the poor husbands."

Ginny thought those might be words of experience. Of course, her future mother-in-law had given birth to five sons, so she guessed the senior Kendalls had been put through the wringer more than a time or two.

Ginny gave the senior Kendalls a big smile. "I'm sure you're right. It occurs to me that if your daughters-in-law all get pregnant at the same time, that's going to be a lot of men for y'all to see to at one time."

Preston shook his head, then grinned at his brothers. "Our sons found themselves a woman as clever with a comeback as their mother."

Adam grinned while Jake laughed.

"We figured that out the first Sunday we brought Ginny and Benny over to the New House dinner," Jake said. "I'll forever hold close to my heart the sight of Morgan sputtering for words."

"So." Charles looked around the restaurant, clearly searching for someone. "Where is our grandson?"

"That's what I want to know," Ginny said. "Jordan scooped him up about a half hour ago, said he needed his help with a special project."

"Ah, yes, the special project." Charles nodded, and Ginny knew he knew-as, apparently, did everyone else in the Kendall family.

Benny had been thrilled to be dragooned by one of his new uncles. Of course, she knew her son was in good hands. She wasn't worried for his safety. She was just curious.

It had completely melted Ginny's heart, the way the entire Kendall family had so readily and unreservedly claimed not only her, but Benny, as their own. Though it was still a few weeks until the wedding, as far as the Kendalls were concerned, the Roses had become Kendalls already.

Matt and Steven arrived, waved to their wife, and then headed straight over to Ginny and her men. "About time these two got themselves settled down," Matt said after he hugged her and kissed her cheek. "Especially you, Adam. Maybe now you won't be such a pain in the a.s.s to work for."

Adam grinned. "You're getting mouthy, there, little cousin. Want to go a few rounds?"

Ginny didn't even bat an eye. She was used to these particular cousins, who also happened to be the best of friends, having at each other.

"Y'all best take care of that outside, and quick, too. I see Samantha and Grandma Kate headed this way."

"Another time," both would-be combatants said in unison, which only made Ginny laugh.

"I've loved every one of these engagement parties," Samantha Kendall said as she approached Ginny. "But this one, especially. I am so very pleased to have you as my daughter!"

"I'm very happy to have you for my mother." Ginny nestled into Samantha's hug. How many times as a foster child had she dreamed of having a real mom?

Just one more dream come true, thanks to the two men who'd seen her heart and her soul within her so very messed-up self-and had loved her, without reservation, anyway.

"Do you have any idea how much fun we're going to have?" Samantha's smile told Ginny she meant every word. "I see Christmas shopping trips to New York City in our future-and endless afternoon teas."

Ginny smiled. "I'm especially looking forward to the teas." She'd already confessed that she really didn't have much experience shopping.

"Don't you worry, sweetie. You'll become a pro at the stores in no time." Samantha laughed, and Ginny could only laugh with her.

"I knew the first time I saw Adam and then Jake look at you, that you were meant for them." Kate Benedict took Ginny's hands in hers. "I couldn't have picked a better woman for them, if I'd tried. I'm so pleased you're a part of our family now."

"Come on, Grandma Kate, you know you picked Ginny for Adam and Jake the moment you saw her." Matthew Kendall loved to tease, and no one so much as his Grandma Kate.

"Why, if that were so, I'd be batting five hundred about now, wouldn't I, Matthew? And that would mean that any of my grandsons or granddaughters still single should begin to prepare to be mated." She smiled at him, and then looked directly at the triplets, who-fortunately, Ginny thought later-didn't seem to notice they were under scrutiny.