“Pretty sure you were going to do that anyway.” I laughed and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Shoo. Behave yourself.”
He shot me another wink and went out, leaving me alone with Mama.
She faced me and took a steadying breath. “You sure you don’t want Uncle Rudy walking you down the aisle? Or Bibi? There’s still time to get her back. I know she’d be honored.”
I shook my head and slipped my hand in hers. I’d thought about it, but Bibi and I had talked it over.
“A parent gives the bride away. There is no better way to show Marie that you see her than to let her do this.”
I agreed.
“You’re my mama,” I said with a teary shrug.
She felt the weight of everything in those three words, her eyes shining too. “Thank you, Shiloh.” She hugged me close.
“You don’t have to thank me…”
“I do.” She pulled away, her smile beautiful. “I know a second chance when I see one.”
June Seong, my wedding planner, rushed in and delicately cleared her throat. “Excuse me, ladies.”
She’d done such an impressive job with the grand opening of my shop, her name was the only one on my list to handle the wedding. As I knew she would, June made it the beautiful, somewhat rustic event I’d dreamed of. Unfussy, set in the backdrop of the forest, with just enough touches to give it an understated elegance that wasn’t too fancy, nor too casual.
“Crisis averted,” she said. “Your flower girls showered your ring-bearer with all their petals, much to his delight, but everything is ready now.”
I grinned. While Ronan was incarcerated, Maryann Greer had been promoted at her work and moved from the Cliffside apartments to a better place, but we never lost touch. She and her twin girls were frequent visitors at our home, Cami and Lily treating August like their baby brother.
“You both look gorgeous,” June said, sizing us up. “Ready?”
Mama and I nodded and followed June outside. The day was warm but with a breeze rustling the leaves in the trees to keep it from being too hot. I couldn’t see around the corner to the flower-laden awning in the clearing amid the redwoods that served as our altar, but I could hear the soft sounds of Miller’s guitar as he accompanied the procession down the aisle—Cami and Lily, then August, then our bridesmaids and groomsmen.
The music changed to “Here Comes the Bride” and I heard the rustling of fifty guests as they rose from the white folding chairs that faced our little awning. I laced my hand around Mama’s arm and she gave it a squeeze. Then we walked.
I’d already seen the wedding preparations, of course, at the rehearsal yesterday. But seeing the finished product, with everyone Ronan and I loved in the world gathered together, stole my breath.
And Ronan…
My heart ached to see him standing there, devastating in the same soft gray suit, no tie, his hands clasped in front of him stiffly. His eyes widened to see me come down the aisle, and his jaw clenched, a muscle ticking in his cheek.
I had to bite the inside of mine to keep the tears in check. We arrived at the end of the alter, and the officiant—Eleanor Hutchins, a friend of Bibi’s from one of her church groups—smiled down at me from her small podium.
My mother gave me away, placing my hand in Ronan’s, and when I looked up into his eyes, nothing could stop the tears from blurring my vision.
“Shiloh…” he whispered gruffly.
I knew how he felt, the overwhelming perfection of the moment washing over me too. I squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back, anchoring us to the present, sharing our strength. I felt the power of our partnership that had seen us through so much together and that had carried us through when we were apart.
Eleanor began the ceremony, giving a little speech about the power of enduring love, and then had us repeat the traditional vows. It would have been too much to ask Ronan to write his own to be recited in front of fifty people. It wasn’t his way—Ronan made vows to me every day: in the work he did to help create our perfect life, in the way he loved our son, and in the grasping embraces in our bed at night. The intensity of his gaze when he looked at me held all of his promises, and I knew deep in my soul that this love was going to last forever.
“And now the rings,” Eleanor said, and the entire congregation awwwed as August, in a miniature version of the men’s suits, climbed off Mama’s lap and toddled up.
“Hi, Mama! Hi, Daddy!” he exclaimed loudly, setting the crowd off again and making my eyes shine.
“Hi, baby,” I said, taking two boxes from his hands and passing them to Eleanor. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
“Okay, bye!” he said, job done, and rushed back to my mother’s lap.
I exchanged a grin with Ronan, but nerves twisted my stomach. We’d both wanted to keep our rings a secret until this moment.