A Wedding on Primrose Street (Life In Icicle Falls Book 7) by Sheila Roberts Page A

guarded her, now publicly declaring that he was willing to share her love with a new man, to let her start a new chapter in her life.
    Anne stayed long enough to see the father kiss his daughter and join her hands with the hands of her groom. Then she went to the fancy old historical home in Seattle where the couple was having their reception to make sure all was in readiness.
    She knew it would be. Everything had made it there safely. The cake was standing in place, a lacy tower of elegance, surrounded by tiered plates of cookies shaped like tuxedo-clad hearts; the tables were all set, draped in navy tablecloths and topped with green vases filled with gerbera daisies and ferns, while a giant swan sculpted in ice presided over the buffet table. The caterer was busy setting out the food—appetizer trays with everything from brûléed goat cheese to asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, Caesar salad and pasta salad, crab legs, crusty rolls, teriyaki chicken and rice pilaf. Soon the elegant room would be filled with a new Mr. and Mrs. and all their friends, ready to help them celebrate.
    Soon
happened in twenty minutes, with families starting to trickle in. Then came some of the younger couples, the women all lovely in heels and party dresses, their guys equally dressed up, their suits a traditional contrast to their piercings, gauges and tats. Two couples were talking and snickering, a sure clue that Teddy had put on a show at the wedding.
    Next came the bride’s parents. “Everything looks beautiful,” Greta, the mother of the bride, said to Anne.
    Anne murmured her thanks and asked Greta how the ceremony had gone.
    “It was lovely,” Greta said, tears in her eyes.
    “It would’ve been better if Teddy hadn’t been in it,” her husband muttered.
    Greta shrugged. “Little boys.”
    Her husband shook his head.
    “Teddy went under one of the pews with the rings and my son had to get him out,” Greta explained. “It’ll make a funny wedding story someday.”
    “Yes, and it’ll make a funny story when I tie him up and stick him in a corner,” her husband said darkly.
    “Now, Theodore,” his wife scolded.
    Obviously, Theodore wasn’t happy with his namesake.
    “These things do happen,” Anne said. Especially when the Teddys of the world weren’t left on the dock.
    “Well, that better be all that happens,” said the bride’s father.
    But it wasn’t. Teddy was on a roll. As the guests milled about or found seats at the tables, he darted in and out of the crowd, chasing a little girl with red ringlets. In the process he managed to run into a tall, willowy woman whose height was accentuated by six-inch heels, knocking her off balance. She grabbed for the nearest person, who happened to be another woman in equally high heels, and that woman, too, lost her balance. Down they both went, taking a bowl of Caesar salad with them and sending a tray of teriyaki chicken flying.
    This was the final straw for Grandpa, who took off after Teddy. In an effort to escape, the child dived under the elegantly clothed table with the cake and cookies on it. Several people gasped, “Oh, no,” and one of the groomsmen jumped to save the cake, which, thanks to the movement of the tablecloth, was in danger of sliding off the edge. He caught it in time, setting it back in place, and everyone heaved a sigh of relief...until the redheaded girl decided to join the mischief-maker under the table, taking the tablecloth with her, bringing down the cake and sending cookies flying just as Grandpa reached under the table and grabbed Teddy.
    There was much howling as Grandpa took the young man to another room for a stern talking-to and the bride saw what had become of her cake.
    “Not to worry,” Anne told her. “We’ll fix this.”
    “But my cake,” the bride protested.
    “I can’t duplicate the cake, but I can make sure you have something.”
    And while the caterers cleaned up the mess and Teddy probably got tied up and stuck in a corner,