Sean turned back to the mirror and tried once again to tie the black bow tie. This time he managed to get both sides to come out even, though a bit tilted. Rafe poked his head in the door. "Are you almost ready?"
Sean nodded, then raked his fingers through his hair. "Yep, I'm ready to go. Have you seen Laurel?"
"She's downstairs waiting for you."
"Is everyone else ready to go?"
Rafe nodded. Sean gave his tie one last tug, then followed his brother-in-law down the stairs and into the rear of the house. He found Laurel waiting in the kitchen with Brian and Lily. The moment she saw him, she smiled.
"You look so handsome," she said.
Sean leaned close and brushed a kiss across her lips. "I had trouble with the tie."
"It looks perfect."
He smoothed his hands around her waist, so tiny above the wide skirt of her gown. The wedding had been billed as a formal event, though invitations had been sent only a few days before. He'd had to rush to rent a tux and get it fitted. Everyone in the family had believed that the evening was a simple family get-together to celebrate Keely and Rafe's new house. But the surprise had delighted them all.
"How is Da doing?" Brian asked, peering through the French doors that led to the garden.
"Your father looks a little nervous," Laurel said. "I think he would have been happier if the wedding had been held at the pub."
Sean gave her waist a squeeze. "I never thought this would happen. Da and Ma getting married again. But it feels right."
"I think it's sweet," she said. "And so romantic."
"Technically, they're already married. They never got a divorce."
Laurel reached up and brushed his hair off his forehead. "After all that time apart they realized they still loved each other. That's pretty amazing."
"It's not hard to imagine," Sean said. "I plan to love you for the rest of my life. And no time apart, not a day, or a month, or a year is going to change how I feel about you."
"One of these days, we're going to have to plan our wedding," she said.
"I'm not going to wear a tux," he said immediately. Then he shrugged. "I guess I could wear a tux if you want me to."
"Maybe we shouldn't have a big wedding. We could take the whole family up to Deer Island and get married at my uncle's house. It's beautiful around the holidays with the snow and the pines. And I know he would love it if we got married there."
"Just send me the invitation and I'll be there. I'll marry you anytime and anywhere you want me to. Unlike your last wedding, you won't need to hire a groom."
"We should really thank Eddie," she said smiling fondly. 'The poor guy practically introduced us, and all he'll have to show for it is a prison record."
"Here's to Eddie," Sean responded and kissed her cheek.
Keely hurried into the room. "All right," she said breathlessly. "We're ready to start. Everyone get settled outside. Ma is about to come down. All the brothers need to stand behind Seamus. And make a nice straight line for the photos. And don't forget to smile."
"Come on," Sean said, taking Laurel's hand and tucking it into the crook of his arm. "I'll walk you down the aisle."
They walked out into the garden and Laurel stood next to Lily, Brian's fiancée. As Sean took his place with his brothers, he let his gaze wander over the family that had gathered in the garden. There had been a time when he'd felt like an outsider, like he didn't belong to the family he'd been born into. But now, as he gazed at the woman he loved, he realized just what Laurel had given him.
He remembered his mother's words as Fiona walked through the garden to join Sean's father in front of the priest. She'd claimed that all the Quinns had a bit of magic in their blood, carried with them from Ireland. There had been a time when it would have taken every fairy and gnome and wizard on the Emerald Isle to make Sean Quinn believe in love.
But all it had really taken was one woman-Laurel Rand. The woman he'd been destined to meet all along, the woman who had worked her own magic on his heart. And the woman he'd marry and love for the rest of his life.
And as for the Quinn family curse, in fact, it had been a blessing. Something so wondrous that, by future generations, it might be told as another legend of the Mighty Quinns, a tale of how love had captured six brothers, one by one, and shown them what had been in their hearts all along.
Kate Hoffmann
