But then again…he was here. Now.
He didn’t have to be. But he’d made a promise to her son. And like he’d proven to her many times, he was a man of his word.
A man who wanted to be there for her and her kids even though she kept pushing him away.
Her throat constricted again as she remembered how nervous Paul had been about today. How when Jack could have disappeared just like Leo, he’d been there. And she wondered at Paul’s eager acceptance of this man into his life even though his own dad had disappointed him over and over.
He had taken a risk on Jack.
She looked over to her brothers who were smiling secretly at their wives, remembering how Kate and Payton had tried to tell her that sometimes it was okay to rely on another person to help you. A person you loved. But she’d stubbornly resisted.
Sure, she’d taken steps this week by letting each of her siblings help her with getting her new catering business off the ground, something she’d have felt too guilty to do before. And she’d discovered that, in allowing them to help her, she hadn’t felt robbed of the chance to do it herself, but rather sharing the experience had only made her prouder. Of herself and them.
Maybe by letting Jack in, giving him the chance to help, wouldn’t rob her of her identity. Her independence. After all, she’d proven more times than she could count these past two years that she was strong, independent, and that she could do everything by herself.
The difference now was that even though she knew she could, with Jack by her side…she didn’t have to.
It had only been a few weeks, which seemed crazy to think that anyone could find someone they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with in such a short amount of time.
But she was becoming more and more convinced that he was the only man she wanted to spend her life with. She wanted to offer him comfort and love and support, just as…just as he wanted to do for her.
The sudden need to go to Jack and tell him that she was ready to let him in was overwhelming. He’d asked her to take that leap with him, and she was finally ready.
And although she was happy to listen to her sister promise the words of forever to her groom, Daisy was almost impatient for it to be over so she could get to Jack and tell him everything she was feeling.
The crush as she and the other bridesmaids reached the vestibule was disorienting, and she scanned the small area, trying to find Jack’s tall form somewhere in the group. She spotted her kids, laughing at some trick their uncle Dominic was showing them, she saw Benny and Henry slipping away to the back with the priest where they would formally sign the wedding license—something she needed to be following to witness.
But no Jack. No Lily.
Knowing she was pushing her luck, she went outside to the front of the church, hoping to see that they’d gone out for fresh air. But there was only the trickle of the guests chatting among themselves.
From the corner of her eyes she spotted a dark Suburban, the tinted windows making it impossible to see inside, and she waved her hands in the hope that someone might see her and stop. Only, it didn’t stop, instead turning at the corner past the church, continuing on.
He was gone.
Hope that was high and buoyant just moments ago, was now dashed in a swell of disappointment.
She’d lost the moment. And she might have lost Jack.
Her gaze dropped down to the small bouquet still in her hands. Earlier she’d marveled at its beauty, beauty that was now blurred by the sheen of tears in her eyes.
She blinked, trying to focus.
Because beyond the blossoms of the flowers, she was almost certain she was staring at a pair of dark dress shoes. Men’s dress shoes.
Despite the heat of the sun, she shivered, knowing what she was going to see when she looked up.
Jack was there. Smiling. He hadn’t left after all.
Chapter Twenty
Jack had sat through the ceremony, trying to draw his eyes off the beautiful woman standing next to the bride. The bright color of her dress, a dark pink, almost like a ripe raspberry, made her stand out against all the others. Or maybe that was just the woman in the dress.
God. He’d missed her.
Why had it taken him so long to get here? To ask for forgiveness and see if maybe they could find a way to be together again?
He hated how she wouldn’t look him in the eyes.