By this time, everyone stopped what they were doing and the orchestra stopped playing to see why her family was laughing

so hard.

"Do you think William knew she would come along?" Tristan asked hosea.

Her cheeks grew red and her eyes narrowed as she watched Tristan give Austin some more advice.

"I took the time to mark the pages I think you‟ll find extremely helpful. Like this stuff right here. That‟s typical Claire behavior. She seems like she‟s rough but she‟s really not," Tristan said. Austin knew she was embarrassed but he had trouble not laughing with the rest of her family.

"Oh sis, we only joke with you because we love you." He lightly punched her in the arm. "There‟s no need to act all shy.

We know you can‟t help but voice your opinion."

"We also got you something for headaches when she‟s keeping you up all night with her insistent nagging on how to do it right," hosea called out as he threw a bottle of pain medicine Austin ‟s way.

Austin caught it before it landed in the wedding cake.

She stood up. "I‟ve taken all I can from you two."

Austin couldn‟t tell if she was upset or not. She actually seemed to enjoy their ribbing.

"You need to behave. We are here to make a good impression," she whispered. "People are watching."

It was true, and Austin was beginning to feel self-conscious.

"You can tease me over Christmas," she continued in a soft tone.

"Nobody move! I just lost my mouse!" ten year old Jamie screamed. "Wait. There it is."

He hopped up on the table and raced after it. The women shrieked as the mouse scurried across the food.

"Jamie! How could you bring that thing here?" Claire snapped. She lunged for it. Just as she caught it, Jamie ran into her and knocked her into the cake.

"Now my sister is sweet!" hosea cheered. "Better grab her while she‟s good to go."

Tristan and hosea pulled her out of the cake while Austin backed away so his suit wouldn‟t get ruined.

She threw some of the cake at them which landed on some of her other family members.

Jamie grabbed the mouse from her hand and jumped off the table. "I told him not to get out of his cage." He quickly put him back in the small wire cage he brought with him to the wedding.

Austin cringed at the realization that the mouse had been there the whole time. His perfect wedding was quickly turning into a perfect disaster.

"Jamie, I told you not to bring that thing," her father admonished. "You‟re going to do extra chores tonight for disobeying me."

"Because of you and Tristan, my dress is ruined," Marie cried. "Take this, you dolts!" She poured champagne on their heads.

"Are you thinking what I‟m thinking?" Tristan grinned mischievously at hosea.

They picked her up and counted to when they would throw her at the cake.

"Oh no you don‟t," Claire interfered as she stood between them and the cake. "This has to stop! We are at a wedding, not a food fight. Put her down right now."

"I knew the sweetness from the cake couldn‟t tame her,"

Tristan grumbled as they obeyed her.

"We‟ll just have to hope the book does the trick," hosea agreed.

"Sorry everyone," Tristan apologized to the people in the room. "We don‟t mean any harm. And thank you for watching our production of „A Wedding Folly.‟"

To Austin‟s surprise, people applauded and commented that it was an entertaining show. Jasper came up to him and patted

him on the back. "What a great idea! Weddings are usually boring but this was a treat. Everyone‟s going to be talking about

this one for a long time."

Suddenly, Austin felt much better, but it occurred to him that he wasn‟t included in her family‟s good-natured fight and it

bothered him.

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