Natalie came downstairs the next morning looking cool and summery in a sky blue sundress and white, strappy sandals. She found Adrian already downstairs, dressed in more new clothes — this time a pair of sand-colored trousers and a matching blazer with a blue shirt underneath. His shirt was nearly the same color as her dress, and paired with a dark blue tie patterned with lighter blue dots.
Adrian's eyes lit up when he saw her. "You look great."
"So do you," she replied, eyeing him with approval. The light color of his suit contrasted nicely with his olive-toned skin, and the bold blue was an unexpected splash of color against the pale jacket.
Julie came down the stairs just then in a sleeveless white blouse, pastel floral-patterned skirt, and high-heeled wedge sandals. She took one look at Adrian and shook her head. "No, no, no," she said, going over to him. "Lose the tie. This is a casual brunch."
"But — " Adrian began. Before he could say another word, she swiftly unknotted his tie, pulled it from his neck, and unbuttoned his top collar button. She also unbuttoned his blazer so that it fell open.
She adjusted his collar, then stepped back and eyed him critically. "Much better," she announced. "I'm going to put this away and then we can go." She went back upstairs, tie in hand.
Natalie couldn't hold back an amused grin. Adrian shrugged, and adjusted his collar again. "She's the boss," he said sheepishly.
"Maybe you should let her see your tux for the wedding," Natalie said, her eyes dancing. "You know, just in case it isn't up to her standards."
"She's already seen pictures," he admitted. "She says it's fine."
They both laughed as Julie came down the stairs again. She looked the two of them over. "Please tell me you didn't plan the matching outfits."
"We didn't plan the matching outfits," Natalie said. And it was true. She'd had no idea what he was going to wear today, and she doubted that he knew what dress she'd chosen, considering she hadn't decided herself until about an hour ago.
"Well, good, because deliberately dressing alike is a little too lovey-dovey," Julie said, adjusting her purse over her shoulder. "Even for you guys."
She looked Adrian up and down again. "You should wear that suit to the rehearsal," she told him.
"With or without the tie?" Adrian asked.
Julie pursed her lips. "With the tie," she decided. "It's at the Four Seasons, after all."
"What about me?" Natalie said. Julie was the fashionista of the family; it wouldn't hurt to ask her opinion, since the subject had come up.
Julie eyed her critically. "What you have on today is perfect for brunch, but a little too informal for the rehearsal." She snapped her fingers. "I know. You should wear that blue cocktail dress from New Year's Eve. That'd be perfect."
"I really like that dress," Adrian agreed, a suggestive note in his voice that made Natalie flush.
Julie rolled her eyes. "Keep it clean, kids, we're going out in public. Now let's go before we're late."
When they arrived at Ella's, they were escorted to a table near the back. As they approached, Natalie suddenly squealed in delight. "Jonathan!"
"Hey, sis," he said with a grin, bouncing up from his seat. She flew into his outstretched arms and he hugged her tightly. "Long time no see."
"When did you get here?" Natalie exclaimed, pulling back. As she did, Julie, a happy smile on her face, moved in to hug her uncle.
"Yesterday. I flew in for Adrian's bachelor party," Jonathan said. He reached over Julie to shake Adrian's hand in greeting.
Natalie turned on her heel to look at her fiancé. "You knew he was in town and you didn't say anything?"
Adrian couldn't help but grin at the joy on her face. "He wanted to surprise you," he said, delighted at the success of it.
She smiled at him, and then turned back to her brother. "Oh, I can't believe you're here!" she said, her eyes shining. "How long can you stay?"
"I'm here until after the wedding," Jonathan said, causing her to squeal again and throw her arms around him.
"Natalie, for heaven's sakes, sit down before you strangle the boy," Bobby said, but he was smiling at the two affectionately.
Natalie insisted that Jonathan sit between her and Julie, and she spent the meal peppering him with questions about Seattle, his job, and his social life.
"Enough about me," Jonathan finally said, wiping his mouth with his napkin and pushing his empty plate away. "How's the wedding stuff going? Do you need me to help with anything?"
"Oh, no, Cassandra has everything taken care of," Natalie said with an absent wave of her hand. "We just need to get the license tomorrow, and pick up the tuxes next week."
"Is that the same Cassandra who's a bridesmaid?" Jonathan asked. "The one I'm walking with?"
"The very same," Natalie confirmed. "She's so sweet. You'll love her."
Jonathan shot her a warning look. "You're not planning any matchmaking, are you?"
"Of course not," she insisted, but she deliberately avoided his gaze by drinking from her water glass.
Peggy saved the day by chiming in. "She's absolutely right, Jonathan; Cassandra is very sweet. And she's very good at her job. It's going to be a beautiful wedding."
Jonathan raised his eyebrows. "High praise." He looked at Adrian. "You're sure she's not a homicidal maniac?" he asked wryly.
"Very sure," Adrian chuckled. With Natalie's blessing, he'd actually had Leland do a run on Cassandra shortly after they'd hired her. You couldn't be too careful, especially given his line of work. "No criminal record. And Randy had never seen her before in his life."
"That's a relief," Jonathan said with an exaggerated sigh that made everyone, including him, laugh. Natalie was glad to hear that her brother could now joke about his disastrous wedding experience. He'd refused to even talk about it for months, even years, after it had occurred. She couldn't really blame him, but on the other had she'd worried that it wasn't healthy for him to just pretend it hadn't happened. But he certainly looked happier, and more at ease, than he had the last time she'd seen him.
"So, what should we do today?" Julie asked.
"We're not going bowling," Jonathan said, glancing at Adrian ruefully. "I really don't feel like getting my ass whipped by my future brother-in-law again." He rubbed his shoulder. "Plus my arm's so sore it feels like it's about to fall off."
Adrian grinned. "Same here."
"Mine too," added Bobby.
"Okay, no bowling," Natalie said, laughing. "It's a beautiful day. Why don't we go to the Botanical Garden? It's supposed to be really impressive this time of year."
"Oh, let's do that," Julie agreed. "I haven't been there in ages."
They spent a lovely afternoon walking in the Garden, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. Natalie felt an incredible sense of peace as they loitered along the paths, taking in the views of the exotic flowers, shrubs, and trees as they chatted and laughed. Her family — healthy and happy, enjoying a flawless afternoon in May. She sighed with contentment as she saw Adrian and Julie laughing about something together. How had she gotten so lucky? First Mitch, and now Adrian. Most people were fortunate if they fell in love once, yet she'd been blessed twice.
"Thinking deep thoughts?" Jonathan asked as he fell into step beside her.
She smiled at him. "Just counting my blessings."
"It's a perfect day for it," he said, taking a deep breath of the fragrant air. "I'm not used to this much sunshine anymore."
"Move here and you can enjoy it year-round," she hinted, poking him playfully.
He grinned. "Maybe someday. For now, I like Seattle." He stuck his hands in his pockets as they walked along. "You know, I have to admit, I was kind of weirded out when you told me you were going to marry Adrian."
"Were you?" she said lightly, her eyes twinkling. She could only imagine what had gone through his head, given how little he'd known about Adrian then.
He laughed, glad to see she understood and wasn't offended. "I only remembered him a little from my wedding fiasco, and what I did remember was… pretty strange. I mean, I was grateful to him for exposing Theresa, but otherwise he struck me as really odd."
He glanced behind them at where Adrian and Julie were walking together and chatting. "But he was really nice when he called and asked me to be a groomsman, and last night he seemed like an entirely different guy than I remembered. And seeing him with you today… it's pretty obvious that he really loves you."
"I really love him, too," she said softly.
"I can tell." Jonathan nudged her slightly with his shoulder. "I guess what I'm trying to say is… I'm really happy for you. You deserve it."
"Thank you," Natalie said, genuinely touched. "You do too, you know."
He shrugged, frowning slightly. "My luck's been pretty miserable in that regard."
"It's bound to turn around eventually," Natalie said positively. "It did for me."
"Ever the optimist, aren't you?" Jonathan said wryly. That had always been their sibling dynamic — Natalie had been the constant "glass half full" type, while he'd always taken a more pessimistic view of things.
"You know it." She took his arm as they strolled. "I'm glad you're here."
"So am I." He gave her a sideways glance. "I should have come when you were in the hospital."
She shook her head. "I was only in there for a week. You didn't need to disrupt your work and everything just to come see me."
"Yes, I did, and next time I'm not going to let you talk me out of it," Jonathan said firmly.
"I hope there isn't a next time," Natalie said fervently.
He winced. "Bad choice of words there, but you know what I mean. I felt terrible that I had to miss the medal ceremony on top of everything else."
"You were sick," Natalie said sympathetically. "We understood."
"Horrible timing, but what can you do?" Jonathan sighed. "At any rate, I intend to stay healthy for your wedding."
"You'd better," Natalie laughed. "I'm not sure if we could find another groomsman on such short notice."
"Why do we need another groomsman?" Adrian asked, catching her remark as he caught up with them.
"We don't," she told him. "Jonathan was just promising that he wouldn't get sick at the last minute like he did before the medal ceremony."
"That's a relief," Adrian said, linking his fingers with hers.
"C'mon, Uncle Jonathan," Julie said, grabbing his arm. "They're about to get sappy. Let's clear out of here."
"Oh no, not sappy," Jonathan said in mock horror. "Anything but that!"
"You have no idea," Julie said, and giggled at the warning glance her mother shot her. "Let's go check out the gift shop."
"I guess I'll see you guys later," Jonathan told them as Julie dragged him away.
Natalie slipped an arm around Adrian's waist. "Are we going to get sappy?" she asked teasingly.
"Sappy sounds good to me," he replied, grinning at her, and leaned down for a kiss.
