Read Online Marrying Daisy Bellamy by Susan Wiggs - Free Book Online Page A

an elite training program, so he made sure he outperformed everyone else.
    Taking pains not to mess up his uniform, he slipped his hand into his inner breast pocket and touched the ring for luck.
    His phone buzzed, and he picked up. “Gastineaux.”
    â€œHey Mister Almost-second Lieutenant,” said his brother, Connor. “We’re outside. Come on down.”
    â€œI’ll be right there.”
    Connor and Olivia had driven from Avalon with Daisy. His nerves jangled with excitement. He turned to Davenport and was startled to see all five of his suite-mates gathered at the exit. They had shared quarters all year long. They’d fought and laughed and partied and competed and helped one another. Now the five of them formed a gauntlet at the door.
    â€œGood luck, Jughead,” said Williams. “We wish you the best.”
    The solemnity of the moment was broken by Del Rio, who played the air force hymn on a kazoo.
    Julian saluted them with all the smartness and respect he would afford a superior officer. “Thanks, guys.”
    He made one last check of everything. Tie, perfectly knotted. Shoes, gleaming. Hat, well-placed on his shorn head.
    He was ready. He was so damn ready. He took the elevator because the stairwells tended to be dusty. He emerged into the small lobby of the residence hall and headed for the door, which opened onto a shady courtyard. In search of his visitors, he strode outside, his heart beating a mile a minute.
    When he saw Daisy, he could feel himself smile out of every pore of his body, if such a thing were possible. She was wearing a yellow dress with white dots, white sandals with heels. Toenails painted pink. And a smile he saw every night in his dreams.
    â€œJulian!” She ran over to him but brought herself up short. A shadow of something—uncertainty, bashfulness?—flickered in her face. “Is it okay to hug you?” she asked. “I don’t want to muss your uniform.”
    He laughed and held his arms wide. He didn’t care if she smeared lipstick all over his formal blue shirt, truth be told. She looked like a fantasy to him; staring at her was like staring at the sun too long. So bright, she hurt his eyes.
    â€œGirl, you can mess me up anytime you want,” he whispered into her silky blond hair.
    â€œI might take you up on that,” she said, but then she stepped back, smoothing her hands down his jacket sleeves. “You look incredible. Just so you know.”
    His heart hammered against the ring stashed in his pocket. He almost did the deed right then and there, but forced himself to wait, take a breath, try to think a coherent thought.
    He greeted Connor and Olivia, and Zoe in her stroller. Julian’s half brother, Connor, was also his best friend. IfConnor hadn’t stepped in when Julian was an exploding teenager en route to juvey, things would have turned out very differently for him.
    Olivia and Daisy were cousins, though they looked enough alike to be mistaken for sisters. There was definitely a Bellamy family resemblance—blond, classy, but not too full of themselves. More than that, they both seemed to be the type of women who inspired thoughts of forever.
    â€œWe have a surprise for you,” Daisy said, leading the way to the paved footpath, crowded with families headed toward Statler Auditorium.
    â€œWhat kind of surprise?” He wasn’t expecting anything
    â€œThis kind!” She brought him around a corner of the walkway. In the shade of a budding chestnut tree stood a slender woman in a blue dress and high-heeled sandals.
    â€œMom!” Julian couldn’t believe his eyes. His mother? Here?
    She had sent her regrets several weeks ago, saying she couldn’t get away from work this weekend. These days, she had a job on a cable series filmed in L.A., and was in the middle of taping a new season of episodes.
    But here she was, beaming at him. “Well, look at you,” she said.