She looked away from the ring and into his eyes and nearly cried again when she read in his eyes the truth she’d needed so much to see. Warmth, passion, love.
Before she could say anything, Nathan continued. “When you left the other night, you took my heart with you,” he said, gaze moving over her face like a caress. “I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t do anything but try to think of a way to bring you back home where you belong.”
“Oh, Nathan.” The diner, their audience, the whole world fell away and all that was left was the two of them. She and Nathan, together as she’d always dreamed they would be.
“I let you go once,” he said tightly. “I don’t know how I lived these years without you, but I know I can’t live the rest of my life without you.”
Her tears overflowed and tracked along her cheeks unheeded. Gently, he used his thumb to wipe the tears away and gave her a sad smile.
“I was young and stupid seven years ago,” Nathan said, “but I’ve changed as much as you have. I know you could raise our child on your own—but I hope you won’t.” He took the ring from the box and slowly, carefully, slid it onto her ring finger, then kissed it as if to seal the ring in place. When he looked into her eyes again, he said, “I want to be with you, Amanda. Always. I need you. And our baby. And the family we’ll build together. The family we should have started all those years ago.”
She couldn’t look away from his eyes and, in truth, she didn’t want to. The ring felt warm on her hand and her heart felt even warmer. Amanda took a breath and slowly let it out, enjoying this moment, wanting to treasure the memory of this one small slice of time forever.
This was everything she’d ever wanted. He was saying the words that were so important to her. Offering her the life she craved. And she believed him. Nathan’s eyes were filled with love as he looked at her and she knew that she would never doubt him again.
All around her, she sensed people’s attention, knew they were all listening in and found she simply didn’t care.
“I love you, too, Nathan,” she said and smiled when he grinned down at her. “I just needed to believe.”
“And now you do?” he asked, wrapping one arm around her waist to hold her to him.
“Now I do,” she said and realized she’d never been more sure of anything than she was of what she and Nathan shared. For a while, she had allowed doubts and fears from the past to cast dark shadows over the present and the future. But she was through looking backward.
“I swear, you’ll never be sorry.” He swept her up tightly to him and kissed her so deeply, Amanda would never again have any doubts about his feelings.
And while the people in the diner broke into applause, Amanda knew that she finally had everything she had ever wanted.
The man she loved, loved her back, and there was nothing in the world more beautiful than that.
The wedding wasn’t as small as Nathan wanted and not as large as Amanda had feared.
There was family—Jake, Terri and the kids. Pam and JT, practically joined at the hip. Amanda had the distinct feeling it wouldn’t be too long before there was another wedding in Royal.
And there were friends. Piper and Chance and Abby and so many others gathered together to wish them well.
Nathan had surprised her by outfitting the wraparound porch of their home with all of the rockers and gliders and chairs that she’d talked about once. She could see them in the years to come, sitting on that porch, surrounded by family, and it filled her heart to the point of bursting.
To avoid the steaming heat of a Texas summer, on the last day of July, the wedding was held in the evening. Lanterns were strewn across the yard, lending a soft glow that was matched only by the early starlight. Flowers in vases, wreaths and vines trailed from every available surface and sweetened the air with a perfume that flavored every breath.
Tables groaned with food and music played from the stereo situated on Jake’s front porch. Children clambered all over the swing set Jake and Nathan had built while their parents chatted with friends. There was laughter and there was love.
Amazing how love, when it finally arrived, made the whole world shinier, brighter, more filled with promise.
“A bride as beautiful as you are shouldn’t be standing here alone,” Nathan said as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
She leaned back into him and smiled, loving the feel of him pressed close, knowing, trusting now, that he always would be. “I was just thinking how perfect today was.”
“Agreed,” he said and dipped his head to kiss her cheek. “The only way it could have been better was if Alex were here, too.”
Amanda turned in his arms and looked up at him. She knew his friend’s disappearance was haunting Nathan. It had been nearly a month now and there were just no clues to follow. “You’ll find him, Nathan. And everything will be okay.”
He nodded, glanced out over the crowd gathered at the Battlelands, then turned his gaze back to hers. “I’m going to have to officially declare him missing.”
A twinge of worry caught her, but she let it go again because of her faith in Nathan. He would find a way to make this right. “You’ll find him.”
“I will,” he said, then smiled. “But that’s for tomorrow. Today is for dancing in the moonlight with the woman I love.”
“I’m never going to get tired of hearing that, you know.”
He led her onto the makeshift dance floor installed on the front yard specifically for the wedding. And as they moved to the music and their friends and family applauded, Nathan promised, “I’m never going to stop saying it.”
Amanda gave herself up to the moment, to the magic, to the man who would always be the very beat of her heart.
‘From one of category romance’s most accomplished voices comes a beautifully told, intensely emotional and wonderfully uplifting tale of second chances, new beginnings, hope, triumph and everlasting love. Caroline Anderson’s WEDDING OF THE YEAR is an engrossing, enthralling and highly enjoyable tale that will move you to tears and keep you riveted from the first page until the very last sentence. Moving, heartbreaking and absolutely fantastic, with WEDDING OF THE YEAR Caroline Anderson is at her mesmerising best!’
—www.cataromance.com on ST PIRAN’S: WEDDING OF THE YEAR
‘Photojournalist Maisie Douglas and businessman Robert Mackenzie have been more or less amicably divorced for almost two decades, but the upcoming marriage of their daughter, Jenni, stirs up old emotions on both sides. Very young when she married him, Maisie—pregnant and disowned by her family—was miserable living in Scotland with Rob’s judgmental parents, and left after little more than a year. Maisie hasn’t found another partner and neither has Rob. Can they find a way to trust each other again, after all this time? This lovely reunion romance is rich with emotion and humour, and all of the characters are exquisitely rendered.’
—RT Book Reviews on MOTHER OF THE BRIDE
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