Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
As the wedding march began, Bob Spencer walked Rosie down the aisle. She wore the traditional white wedding dress, a beautiful two-foot train trailing behind her. Pearls delicately covered the gown’s bodice, her shoulders bare above it, while a filmy veil draped over her face.
Most of the children were in the kids’ tent, but a nanny had brought Rosie’s two-month-old to Susan only moments before the wedding began. The baby girl, even if she would have no recollection or understanding, needed to be part of her parents’ wedding.
As Rosie passed, the child reached out chubby fingers, grabbing her mother’s veil and tugging it off. Then, unbelievably, baby Isabella somehow pulled it crookedly over her own head.
For one long second, the entire assembly held its breath. Until Rosie began to laugh as the baby, batting at the veil, managed to make it drift down over her face just like a bride. Leaning over, Rosie rubbed noses with her sweet child and said loudly enough for everyone to hear, “That’s yours, sweet pea, to wear when you’re all grown up.”
Sighs of awe and joy rose up all around. The photographer snapped what would be a marvelous photo of Rosie and the baby, Susan looking down at the little girl with such love it almost brought tears to Ava’s eyes.
Ransom leaned in to whisper, “That’s the cutest damn thing ever.”
The minister began the ceremony. Ava hadn’t been to a lot of weddings—in fact, she generally avoided them. But she couldn’t avoid the heat of Ransom’s body beside her, nor the memory of all the plans she’d had when she was too young to realize that plans never worked out. At least not where she and Ransom were concerned.
The minister said, “The bride and groom will recite the vows they’ve written to each other.”
Gideon took the ring off the small pillow that Jorge held and, taking Rosie’s hand in his, slipped it over the tip of her finger.
In a deep voice that trembled with emotion, he said, “I had so much to thank you for even before I knew you. For how you found my sister in foster care and took care of her and loved her.” He glanced at Ari, exchanging a smile as a single tear trickled down her cheek. “I recognized how special you were from the moment I saw you, but I told myself I had to think of you as a sister, because you and Ari are sisters of the heart. Trying to hold back the way I felt about you was like trying to hold back an ocean wave. My love for you simply crashed over me, and all I could do was hold on and ride that wave with you. And I’m so glad I stopped fighting it. You’ve given me an amazing son.” He ruffled Jorge’s hair. Gideon wasn’t his biological father, and they looked nothing alike, but his love for the boy glowed in his face.
He turned back to Rosie, the love of his life. “And now we have a beautiful daughter.” Emotion wobbled in his voice, and he stopped a moment to gather himself. “I love all of you with all my heart. I will protect you with all my love from anyone who might try to harm you.”
The words might seem unusual for marriage vows, but Ava knew the story. Rosie’s ex had been a terrible man, and Gideon had protected her and Jorge with everything in him.
Then his voice dropped, his vow for Rosie alone, barely carrying out to their guests. “I will always love you. I will always be here for you. For our children. For our family. In accepting me as your husband, you’ve made me complete in a way I’ve never been before.”
He slid the gold ring fully onto Rosie’s finger, and without her veil, Ava could see tears streaming down her face.
Noah stepped up then, after a little prod from Ari, and Rosie took the ring from his pillow. Then both boys left the gazebo, taking seats next to Bob and Susan.
With Gideon’s hand in hers, Rosie held the ring just short of putting it on his finger. She spoke in a musical voice that was all Rosie. “I loved you from the moment Ari told us all her stories about her special big brother. I always knew in my heart that you would find her again and, when you did, that you would find me too. You are my support, my warrior, the father of my beautiful children, and my true love. I loved you from the beginning, but I fell in love with you when I watched you with our son, when I saw the way you looked at him, as if he belonged to you as a son belongs to a father. I love the way you look at our children, the way you talk to them, the tears in your eyes as you gaze at them. You are the best man I’ve ever known. In making you my husband, I am now complete in a way I’ve never been before. And I will love you for the rest of my life and beyond.”