Ryan thought of the way Sean had taken an instant liking to Maggie. "If I don"t, my my brother will beat me up." brother will beat me up."
"Then I guess you"re highly motivated," she teased, deliberately wiggling her hips beneath him.
"Highly motivated," he agreed, right before he set out to show her just how motivated it was possible for a man to be.
Epilogue.
Despite Maggie"s initial insistence on marrying before Ryan found the rest of his family, she was finally persuaded by her mother to at least wait until fall to give them time to plan a proper, lavish ceremony befitting the oldest O"Brien daughter.
"In fact," Nell had said with a sly gleam in her eye, "if you want to teach Ryan a bit more about romance, a wedding on the anniversary of your first meeting would certainly be a good way to start."
Maggie had been convinced, especially since it meant that the Thanks giving season would mean something special to Ryan and possibly even chip away at his general hatred of holidays.
Besides, a fall color palette for the bridesmaids" dresses had made her sisters happy. With the trademark O"Brien auburn hair, they all looked fabulous in shades of bronze and gold velvet.
Maggie"s dress, a heavy white satin sheath with simple pearl trim at the low neckline and a dip in back, was far more elegant and sophisticated than she"d originally envisioned, but she"d fallen in love with it the instant she"d seen it. She made a slow turn in front of the dressing room mirror, still not quite believing that her wedding day was finally here after a wait that had seemed to last an eternity. In less than an hour she would be Mrs. Ryan Devaney.
When she made one last turn, she met her mother"s gaze and saw that Nell O"Brien was trying valiantly to smile through her tears.
"Mom, are you okay?"
"You"re just so beautiful. They say every bride is radiant, but I swear I don"t think I"ve ever seen one who glowed with happiness as you do right this minute."
"That"s because Ryan makes me very happy."
Her mother smoothed an errant curl back into Maggie"s upswept hairstyle. "He"s a complicated man, your Ryan. That won"t change just because he"s been convinced to make a commitment to you."
"I know that. I don"t think he"ll ever truly be at peace until he finds the rest of his family."
"How"s that search going? Anything new?"
Maggie shook her head, sharing in Ryan"s frustration. Jack was concentrating on finding Michael at the moment, and he"d run into one brick wall after another.
"Ryan and Sean are ready to give up looking for their brother, Michael, but I"ve been pushing them to continue. I keep imagining that little boy they"ve described sobbing his heart out as they were separated. I know he"d be happy to see them again, that he"s been waiting for them all these years."
Her mother smiled. "You just want happy endings these days," she teased.
"Well, of course I do," Maggie said. "I"ve found mine."
"And Ryan"s found his."
"I"m part of it," Maggie agreed. "But he needs his family."
"You know, it wouldn"t be so awful if he didn"t locate them," her mother said. "He has all of us now and Sean and the Mon-roes. And Rory and Father Francis. I"d say his life is full."
"He says that, too," Maggie said. "But I want more for him."
"You want it, but does he?"
Maggie thought about it. "Yes, I think he does deep down. Finding Sean was a turning point. Before that, it might not have mattered as much to him, but he"s been a changed man since he located Sean." Maggie smiled. "Of course, some of that is because Sean has a wicked sense of humor and a zest for living that can drag Ryan out of his dark moods. I wonder if it was always that way, if Ryan was the serious, responsible big brother and Sean the cutup or if they changed after their parents left."
"You"ve never asked?" her mother said with a surprised expression.
"They don"t like talking about their childhood. Sometimes they"ll start, but it always leads back to that day they came home from school and no one was there." Maggie sighed. "Enough sad talk or I"ll start crying and have to do my makeup all over again. Have you seen Ryan yet? Is he as handsome as I imagined in his tux?"
"Not as handsome as your father," Nell said with a smile. "But he"ll definitely do." She touched Maggie"s cheek. "Your father and I want nothing more than your happiness, but I must say I"m thrilled that you"ve found it here rather than in Maine. It"s going to be good having you nearby. We missed you."
"Now I"ll be underfoot all the time," Maggie said. "You"ll get tired of seeing me."
"Never," her mother said. "And I"m looking forward to all the grandchildren you"ll bring over, as well."
Maggie laughed. "Let"s not rush things. Ryan"s still getting used to the marriage concept."
Her mother glanced at her watch. "Then we"d better not keep him waiting. I"ll send your sisters in and then go into the church. Your father"s waiting for you in the foyer, probably wearing a hole in the carpet, as he did with your sisters. I love you, Mary Margaret O"Brien."
"And I, you. No woman ever had a better mother."
"And no woman will make a better wife and mother than you," Nell said, tears welling up. "Here, I go again. Let me get out of here."
Maggie"s sisters came in as her mother departed and offered her the traditional something old, something new-a lace-edged handkerchief carried by every O"Brien bride for three generations, a brand-new blue garter from Frannie and a pair of Colleen"s pearl earrings, loaned for the occasion.
"I think that"s it," Colleen said, standing back to study her. "Mags, you"re even more beautiful than I was, dammit."
"But not as gorgeous as I"ll be," Katie insisted.
"What an ego, baby sister," Frannie chided.
Maggie laughed. "Come on, guys, let"s go march down the aisle and show everyone just how beautiful all all the O"Brien women are. We"ll make Mom and Dad proud." the O"Brien women are. We"ll make Mom and Dad proud."
"They"re not proud of us because we"re pretty," Colleen began.
"But because we"re smart," the rest of them said in a chorus.
Maggie didn"t say it, but she thought she might be the smartest one of all, because she"d seen through Ryan"s brooding moods and tough demeanor to the wonderful man beneath. And today she was making him hers for the rest of their lives.
"Stop fidgeting," Sean commanded Ryan, "or I will never get this tie on straight! The person who invented these things ought to be taken out and shot. Had to be a woman, since they"re the ones always anxious to get a noose around our necks."
Ryan frowned at his brother. "A fine thing to be saying to me on my wedding day."
"Well, it"s true. Your Maggie is a wonderful woman, the finest I"ve ever met, in fact, but making a commitment to her for the rest of your lives requires a kind of courage I can"t begin to imagine."
"You"re a firefighter, for heaven"s sake!"
"I"d risk a burning building a thousand times before saying I do," Sean said with feeling.
"We"ll see about that," Ryan retorted. "If I could fall, so can you."
"Never!" Sean insisted.
Ryan laughed. "As an Irishman, don"t you know better than to tempt fate that way? The G.o.ds are probably up there right this second laughing as they plan your downfall."
Sean shot him a sour look. "Don"t go getting any ideas about helping them along."
"Doubt I"ll have to," Ryan replied. "Destiny does a pretty good job all on its own."
"Tell that to all the people who meddled in your life to get you to this point."
The door cracked open as if on cue, and Father Francis came in with Rory right behind him.
"Are you thinking of getting married today or next month?" Rory asked irritably, running a finger inside the tight collar of his tux. "I don"t know how much longer I can stand this thing."
"Then by all means let"s not make you wait," Ryan said, before turning to the priest. "Is Maggie ready?"
"Waiting in the foyer for the wedding march to begin," he confirmed. "And looking like an angel."
Ryan sighed. "Then by all means, let"s get this show on the road."
They started from the room, but Ryan caught Sean"s arm. "I"m glad you"re here to be my best man," he told him. "It makes today feel right."
"From here on out, nothing"s ever going to keep us apart again," Sean said, pulling him into a hug. "If the world tangles with one Devaney, it has to deal with both of us. We"re a team."
Ryan fought back unexpected tears and forced a smile. "Moving words, but I"m still not sharing Maggie with you. She"s mine."
Sean grinned. "No question about that. I"ve seen the look in her eyes when you"re in the room. You"ll never have any cause to question her love."
Ryan sighed as a rare feeling of pure contentment stole through him. A ceremony wouldn"t change the truth of his brother"s words. Maggie O"Brien well and truly loved him.
And that made him the luckiest man on earth.
The ceremony was everything Maggie could have hoped for, though it pa.s.sed in a bit of a blur. She had a feeling the wedding pictures were going to be disastrous, because one person or another was either bursting into tears or laughing. And the reception at Ryan"s Place was filled with music and laughter and dancing.
Through it all Maggie could think of nothing besides the wedding night ahead, which they were spending upstairs before going off on a honeymoon trip to Ireland first thing in the morning. By midnight she was trying to shoo everyone out of the pub.
"She seems a bit anxious for us to leave, don"t you think?" her brother Matt asked. "Why is that? It"s not as if this night is any different from the others the two of them have shared, now is it?"
"Don"t be telling me about that," her father retorted. "Now come along. You didn"t find Maggie lingering with you on your wedding nights, did you?"
"Actually, I"m pretty sure she was the one involved in short-sheeting the bed in the hotel on my my wedding night," John replied. wedding night," John replied.
"Not our saintly Maggie?" Colleen said, feigning shock.
Maggie frowned at the lot of them. "Ryan, as your first official duty as my husband, make them go away."
He laughed. "Aren"t you the one who"s always telling me about the importance of family?"
She scowled at him. "And it is important, just not tonight."
Her mother finally took pity on her. "Come along, you hooligans. Let"s leave the newlyweds alone."
Even with that encouragement, it took another half hour to get everyone out of the pub, the doors locked and the lights turned off. When it was all done, Maggie sighed and turned to Ryan.
"Now, then, Mr. Devaney, we are officially on our honeymoon."
"Is there something special required of me?" he inquired, his expression innocent.
"First you have to carry me upstairs and across the threshold," she instructed.
When he"d done that, she gazed into his eyes. "Now you have to get me out of this dress."
He grinned. "With pleasure, though it"s a lovely dress. I could go on admiring it for hours."
"No, you can"t," she said. "It"s in the way."
"In the way of what?"
She touched his cheek. "You making love to me for the first of a million times as my husband."
"A million times, huh? Won"t I be too worn-out to do anything else?"
Maggie laughed. "Precisely. Which is why I"ll have to take over everything else around here."
"Is this your devious plan to poke your nose into my accounting ledgers?"
She nodded. "Pretty clever, don"t you think?"
"Come here," Ryan said, his gaze already heating. "Let"s see how tonight goes, and tomorrow and the day after that. We"ll talk again after the five-hundred-thousandth time."
Maggie slipped into his arms. "I can live with that."
"Must be your fine head for negotiating that recognizes a win-win compromise when it"s presented," Ryan declared approvingly.
Maggie laughed. "I knew that MBA would be good for something one of these days."
Ryan leveled a long, serious look into her eyes. "You do know I didn"t marry you for your MBA, don"t you?"