Page 115 of The Backup Groom

“Seriously—give me two minutes.” Scotty rushed to the bathroom and when he returned, hisSupermancostume was gone. He was now wearing white linen pants and a silk shirt that looked similar to Dean’s, except it was navy blue and had a palm tree on his pocket, instead of a pineapple.

We took the Harbor Tower elevator to the 40th floor, to the sky lounge called Top of the Hyatt. When the elevator doors opened, Scotty led me through the throngs of people eating and drinking, enjoying the view.

We stopped at the entrance to another room in the corner of the lounge.

Scotty reached for the door handle, turned back to me, and grinned. “Close your eyes.”

I smiled and did as I was told.

He led me by the hand into the room, closing the door behind us.

“Okay—open your eyes,” Scotty said.

I slowly opened them, then jerked my head back. “Oh, my goodness.” I put my hand on my chest, my eyes burning instantly.

There was a beautiful white wooden arbor straight ahead of us, filled with daisies from top to bottom. It was obviously the work of Eileen.

Scotty’s parents were there, plus Stella and Dean.

It was wonderful to see my cousin, Kathleen, too.

She was standing next to the photographer and videographer.

Faye, the officiant, was in front of the arbor.

Off to the side was Burt Bicker, the lawyer who needed to verify that I actually married Ryan Scott to get the inheritance.

Everybody had ear-to-ear smiles.

Then I saw my parents and just about lost it.

“Mom. Dad.” I rushed over and gave them hugs, trying to keep myself from bawling like a baby. “I can’t believe you’re here. This is a miracle.”

Dad chuckled. “I guess that would make your fiancé a miracle worker then. Scotty got our phone numbers from Stella and called both of us to make sure we knew how much he loved you, and that you were marrying for love, not money. Then he said our presence here today would mean the world to both of you. He even found us last-minute flights and booked them for us.”

I couldn’t believe Scotty had done all this for me.

“Speaking of which . . .” Dad looked over my shoulder.

I flipped back around as Scotty dropped down on one knee.

“I’ll keep doing this over and over again if I have to until we get it right and you are my wife,” he said.

I wiped my eyes as he continued, “Amber, my favorite moment of the day is when you walk through the front door in the morning and place your order for that Caramel Spockiato. Just the sight of you hits me like a double-shot of espresso. The worst moment of the day is when you walk back out. I want more than that. Ineedmore than that. Nothing would make me happier than spending the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

I sniffed. “Yes. Of course.”

Scotty slid my beautiful engagement ring back on my finger and kissed me as everyone cheered. “Let’s do this!” He reached for my hand and led me to the officiant.

Then a thought popped into my head, and worry filled me. “Scotty, this may be the most unromantic thing that has ever been said after being proposed to, but can we make this a quickie wedding?”

Scotty laughed, which was a good sign. “Why? What’s going on?”

“I’m afraid Mercedes is going to barge through the door and try to stop us. And not that I think either of us will change our minds, but I don’t want to have our beautiful wedding day tainted with the memory of her madness. I love you, you love me, and I just want to be married to you as soon as possible. Are you okay with that?”

Scotty grinned. “I don’t have a problem with that at all. I do have a security guard watching outside that door for unwanted visitors, so unless she kills him, I guarantee that the woman won’t ruin our moment. Still, I agree, better safe than sorry.” He turned to Faye. “How short can you make the wedding?”

Faye seemed surprised but played along. “I can honestly say nobody has ever asked me that before. I can make it as short as you want me to.”