Drake Sisters 05 - Safe Harbor

as a small wedding, even if you were having a private, intimate gathering, not in Sea Haven. The Drake family alone comprised well over a hundred easily. Anyone growing up in Sea Haven had to invite everyone from the town, as they were considered more family than friends. He found himself smiling as laughter reached him from the lawns below.
    "I did exactly what you said. I found a woman who will always be my best friend.
    She's so beautiful, Mom, and she overlooks those little flaws you were telling me about. She has a way of looking at me that makes me feel—makes me know—that I'm the luckiest man in the world."
    He stood at the window taking in the semichaotic scene below. He'd always felt part of the Drake family, but now, when he was officially joining his life to Hannah's, he felt joy and an overwhelming happiness. "We're going to use this room as the nursery.
    I want our babies to feel your presence from the moment they're born. We plan on filling the house up with children and laughter, the way you always wanted it to be, and we're counting on you to help us look after them."
    Jonas walked around the empty room. He'd long ago taken the bed out. He'd hated that bed, knowing his mother had felt a prisoner in it. Her things had been carefully packed, her most favorite possessions sentimentally kept in a glass cabinet in his den.
    He missed her, especially now, on this day, the one she'd so looked forward to.
    A light knock had him turning. Jackson stuck his head in the room. "It's time, Jonas.
    You don't want to give Hannah time to rethink this."
    Jonas smiled, saluted his absent mother and followed his best friend down the stairs.
    "I don't think she's going to run out on me." It amazed him how utterly confident he felt in her. Hannah was his best friend, his confidante and an amazing lover. From the moment he'd first set eyes on her, a part of him had known that this day was inevitable.
    "You're already thinking about having children, aren't you?" Jackson said.

    Jonas's gaze flicked to his friend. For the first time in his memory, he observed that Jackson looked uncomfortable.
    "Hannah and I talked about it. We want a houseful. She's a homebody, Jackson. We have the money for her to be able to stay home and raise our kids. The house is enormous and the town is the perfect place to raise children."
    "The thought of having kids doesn't scare you?"
    "I grew up around the Drakes. For me, a big family seems natural and right. It's what my mother always wanted and it's what Hannah had. I can't imagine her without her sisters, or me without them either." He knew his eyes went a little steely. "Does the thought of children bother you?"
    Jackson frowned. " 'Bother' isn't the right word. I've never been around children. I can't imagine being a father. I know I'll never be anyone's idea of an average dad."
    "You've been around the Drakes long enough to know what a family is—what it should be. It's your choice whether or not you want it. Me? I'm grabbing it with both hands and hanging on tight."
    Jonas walked with Jackson and the other groomsmen, down the long outdoor aisle between rows of chairs on the rolling lawn, surrounded by his family and friends. He looked around him and realized what he had. These people made up his life. And it was a good life. He had everything he needed right here, in this place, to be happy.
    The music started and he turned to watch her come toward him. She was so beautiful she robbed him of breath as she stepped out of the authentic 1920s car and looked at him. Her smile lit her face as her gaze met his.
    Hannah. I love you. Always. Always I'll love you . He meant it. Knew it, in his heart and soul.
    I love you, Jonas. I want this more than anything, to be your wife and have your children. I always have.
    Her sisters came up the aisle dressed in vintage wear from the era, the dresses clingy with dropped waists. They looked beautiful, happy for him and Hannah. Pride swelled.
    This was his family and he mattered to them every bit as much as they did to him.
    Jackson had called it right on the yacht. The moment he'd returned, walking through the door, they had swarmed around him, hands brushing to make certain he was uninjured, lightening his heavy heart for the kill shots he'd taken, and removing the bruise on his jaw.
    His throat closed as the music changed and everyone rose. Hannah Drake flowed up the aisle with her famous walk. Her blue eyes were vivid and bright, sparkling like the