by Lucy Kevin
But today Rose didn’t know what she could say. She simply didn’t know how to explain the way she felt, or what good it would possibly do if she did.
She’d made up her mind, and now there were hundreds of people out there waiting for her. Her friends. Donovan’s friends. Their families.
“Don’t cry, sweetheart.”
Her mother’s arms came around her just as Rose whispered, “I feel like all this isn’t real. Like I’m not real. I look in that mirror, and I see a beautiful bride. But it isn’t me.”
“Do you know what I see when I look in the mirror?” her mom asked. “I see the little girl who used to have to come to the bowling alley after school because I couldn’t be at home. I see the girl who managed to make a good life for herself even when I couldn’t give her everything I wanted her to have. I see a beautiful woman who has worked hard to get into a position where she can do anything she wants. I’m so proud of you, Rose.”
Rose reached up to wipe away the tears before they could streak her makeup. “Then why don’t I know what to do right now?”
“I’ve made some bad decisions in my life, so maybe I’m not the best person to give advice, but I’ll say one thing. There have been times when I thought your father was one of those mistakes, but if I hadn’t met him, then you would never have been born, and you are the one thing I’ll never regret. I love you, and I don’t think you ever can go wrong trusting in what you love. And it also occurs to me,” her mother continued, “that if there’s one person in this room qualified to give advice to a bride on her wedding day, it isn’t me. It’s you, Rose. If there were another bride standing in your place and she told you that she felt the way you do now, what would you say to her?”
Rose was stunned at the simplicity of her mother’s advice. Advice she suddenly had no choice but to heed now that it had been given.
Yes, she was a nervous bride, but not because she was excited at the prospect of spending the rest of her life with Donovan, not out of anticipation of seeing him at the end of the aisle waiting to take her hand in marriage.
No, the truth was that she was almost broken with nerves because she could see the sheer scale of the mistake that she was about to make, and she had let herself be trapped by all the expectations around her. She was about to go through with the wedding because Donovan wasn’t a bad guy, and because she didn’t want to be a woman who upset people.
And yet, if a bride had come to her and said any of that, she knew exactly what she would have told the woman: “Don’t go through with the wedding unless you’re sure you’re marrying the one you really love.”
Rose knew whom she really loved.
And it wasn’t Donovan.
“People are going to be so angry with me.”
Her mother squeezed her tighter. “Let them be angry. They can take it up with me if they want to be angry. You think Vanessa McIntyre is going to be any nastier than some of the people we get in the bowling alley on a Friday night? So long as you’re happy, I don’t care if the whole world is angry.”
Rose had underestimated her mother so much. What did it matter if Susie Martin still worked at the bowling alley, or if she didn’t have the same social graces as Donovan’s family?
Her mother would do anything for the people she loved, and that was what really mattered.
Rose had been trying to deny that she loved RJ. She’d been trying to tell herself that Donovan was the one she wanted, but as much as she liked him, she didn’t love him. Not the way she loved RJ. Liking someone wasn’t a good enough reason to marry them, even with two hundred and fifty people waiting for her to make her way down the aisle to the wedding march.
Rose turned fully into her mother’s arms. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too, honey.” Her mother pulled back to grin at her. “Everything’s going to be all right.”
People had been saying that to her all week. Finally, Rose believed it might be true.
Rose went to the door and found Anne just outside.
“I need you to bring Donovan here.”
“But it’s not good luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding.”
“That’s okay,” Rose said. She took a deep breath and explained, “There isn’t going to be a wedding.”
Anne’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
Rose nodded. “Seriously.”
Anne reached out a hand for one of Rose’s. “Oh. That’s…that’s incredible.”
“I’m sorry you went to such trouble with the dress.”
“Forget the dress,” Anne said. “I’ll go get Donovan.”
Less than sixty seconds later, her mother was gone and Donovan was walking through the door to her dressing room.
“Rose, what’s going on?”
God, she hated hurting him. He didn’t deserve it. But she knew it would only be worse if she drew things out any longer.
“I’m sorry, I know this is the worst possible timing, and you’re a wonderful man, but the wedding’s off.”
“Off?” Donovan repeated the word like he didn’t know what it meant.
“I’m sorry,” Rose repeated, “but I just can’t go through with it.”
“Oh, is that all this is,” Donovan said, sounding relieved. “Rose, you’re suffering from wedding day jitters. I’m sure every bride goes through them, but once you start walking down the aisle, you’ll be fine.”
“Donovan,” Rose pointed out, stepping back from him as he tried to move forward to comfort her, “trust me, I know far more about wedding day jitters than you do, and this has nothing to do with them. I just can’t marry you.”
“And you’ve decided that now?” Donovan didn’t raise his voice. He never raised his voice. It was just one of the things about him Rose wouldn’t miss. “On the day of our wedding, with everyone we know out there to see me humiliated? And after we’ve finished building a home together?”
“I know the timing is horrible and I’m sorry. I really am. But the truth is, I care about you, and I like you very much, but I don’t love you. Not the way I should to marry you.”
“Doesn’t the fact that I love you count for anything?” Donovan shot back.
Guilt nearly took Rose over completely. “I’m sorry, Donovan. I don’t want to hurt you, but you deserve to have someone marry you who loves you with all her heart.”
And she already knew who she loved with all of hers.
She had to find him. Right away. Before he thought she’d gone and married another man.
Rose hitched up her dress, and started to run.
Chapter Nineteen
Organizing a Little League practice at such short notice hadn’t been easy, but it had been worth the effort, and not just because the kids were obviously enjoying themselves. With them to keep an eye on, he was committed to staying there, even when he was desperate to know what Rose looked like on her wedding day. RJ could almost see her now, in her dress, looking so beautiful and perfect in the middle of all those roses…
“Coach RJ? Are you going to throw the ball?”
Finally realizing that a baseball had landed at his feet, he picked it up and threw it back. Unfortunately, even working with his baseball team wasn’t keeping away thoughts of Rose. The best it could do was force him to stay here, away from her wedding, so that he wouldn’t be able to torture himself watching her marry another man. Just the thought of that made everything tighten painfully in him.
He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t stay away. He had to at least see her.
“Sorry guys,” he said. “It looks like I’m going to have to cut out of practice a little early today.”
“But coach—”
RJ was already moving. Thankfully, a couple of the kids’ parents who were sitting in the stands while they practiced were happy to take over for him.
He knew he couldn’t go on giving up everything for her. Except, even as he thought that, RJ knew he’d go on giving up everything for Rose whenever she needed him. He coul
dn’t do anything else.
She was the love of his life, and she would stay the love of his life, even if he could never be the love of hers.
He headed for his truck and was almost to it when he saw the figure running across the baseball field.
Rose was wearing her wedding dress. It was rumpled and dirty, and her hair had come loose from the elaborate style it had obviously been in. When she saw him, her entire face lit up with the biggest smile he’d ever seen. She kicked off her heels and ran even faster across the grass toward him.
What was she doing here?
Maybe, he thought wildly, the wedding setup had collapsed, or Vanessa McIntyre had choked on a crab cake, or the musicians had all turned out to only be able to play death metal interpretations of the wedding march. He didn’t need to look down at his watch to know that Rose should have been saying “I do” right around then. He’d been dreading that moment ever since she had announced her engagement.
But if she was here, then that meant she wasn’t at her wedding with Donovan, which had to mean—
“I love you,” Rose gasped out. She was almost completely out of breath from sprinting across the grass. “I love you. I’ve always loved you. And I—” She panted, “Oh God, it’s so much harder to run in a wedding dress than it looks…”
Kissing her probably wasn’t the easiest way to let her get her breath back, but RJ couldn’t help himself.
This moment was so perfect—so perfectly Rose. Just slightly out of step with everyone else’s idea of perfection, and all the more beautiful because of that.
And when he took her into his arms and he kissed her, she kissed him back so passionately that they ended up stumbling against his truck together.
Eventually, they drew back, just looking at one another. For the moment, it seemed like nothing else was needed. They loved one another, and that was enough.
Even so, there was one thing RJ had to say, “I can’t believe you ran all the way here, in your wedding dress and heels.”
“It was worth all the crazy looks people gave me. I don’t care what other people think. I only care what you think.”
“I think you’re the most beautiful woman in the world, Rose. I love you so much.”
“I always loved you, too. I just…I thought I needed to pretend to be someone else. But you always saw exactly who I was.”
“You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever known. You make people’s lives better just by being near them. You make my life better, and I’m hoping you’re planning to keep making my life even better.”
“I’m definitely planning on that,” Rose said with a smile that held every ounce of love she felt for him. “My mom was the one who helped show me that I knew what was in my heart all along.”
“I’ve always thought your mother was great,” RJ said. “I’m looking forward to convincing her that I’m good enough for her daughter. Because if I were her, I’d be crazy protective of you.”
“Can you bowl?” Rose asked.
“I’m never going to go pro, but I’m not bad.”
“Then I’d say you’re probably going to do just fine with my mother.”
They held each other for a long while, not talking, not even kissing. Just simply being there with—and for—one another. Nothing had ever felt so right as holding Rose in his arms, and RJ knew deep in his heart that it was where she’d be for the rest of their lives.
Chapter Twenty
From the chalet’s bridal suite, Rose could hear Tyce playing a simple, delicate tune on that beat up old guitar of his. It was hard to believe six months had rushed by so quickly. Dealing with selling the house she and Donovan had been building and unraveling all the other details of her almost-wedding and honeymoon hadn’t been easy, but things were all finally resolved, with RJ helping her every step of the way.
“Are you ready?” Anne asked her.
Rose didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes, I’ve never been so ready. And Anne? If I forget to say it later, thank you for repairing my wedding dress so beautifully.”
“It was my pleasure. Just don’t go running down the street in it again, okay?” She grinned. “At least not until after you say ‘I do’.”
Rose waited for her maid of honor to open the door and then stepped out, heading through the elaborate setup that RJ and his brother had spent so much time putting back together in the last week or so.
The roses were amazing. They were in full bloom thanks to careful preparations on Phoebe’s part, creating a riot of color that was simply breathtaking. Rose had tried suggesting that RJ might want to use a different setup for their wedding, but he’d shaken his head.
“I dreamed it up for you,” he’d said, “though I might make one change…”
Rose found out what that was as she stepped outside and rose petals started to spill down around her as her family and friends stepped out one by one and exchanged roses. Phoebe, Julie, Whitney, and her mother were all there, along with the whole extended Knight clan, all of whom had been quick to embrace her the moment they met her.
Finally, she made it to where RJ was waiting for her with the officiant and RJ’s brother Patrick.
God, how she loved him. And how lucky she was that he’d fought for her...and that she’d finally listened to her heart.
“We’re gathered here,” the officiant began, “for the marriage of Rose Martin and RJ Knight…”
Rose knew the words by heart, having heard them hundreds of times in other weddings. Yet this time was special.
Because it was her wedding.
All those months back, she’d pulled out of her wedding knowing none of her brides should ever feel as awful as she had. Whereas today she hoped every last one of her future brides felt exactly the way she did with her hand in RJ’s, and her entire heart given over to him. The perfect magical combination of happiness, fulfillment, and the contentment that came from true love.
And then, RJ said, “I do,” and the officiant asked her if she would take him to be her husband.
They had chosen the simplest vows for their ceremony, without the complicated speeches other brides and grooms often wrote. And when Rose looked over at RJ, she knew they’d already said the most important thing they could to each other.
I love you. Forever.
Rose looked into RJ’s eyes and said, “I do.”
She kissed him, feeling like it was the first time as she melted in his arms and he pulled her closer and silently professed his love to her one more time.
No question about it, she was the luckiest woman in the entire world.
There was the first dance and then cutting the cake, and the evening was a glorious blur of close friends and family wishing them every happiness. Finally, Patrick came by and told them, “Sorry to interrupt, but the limousine is outside ready to take you off on your honeymoon whenever you’re ready.”
They were going to head up to Canada to a little cabin out in the woods with nothing around for miles but each other.
“Thanks, Patrick,” she said, just as Phoebe approached.
“Sorry Rose,” Phoebe said, “but you know how you said to keep your Cousin Lyle away from the champagne?”
Rose’s response was cut off by the sound of the cello in Tyce’s string quartet breaking a string and going completely out of tune on a particularly loud note.
And then, a beat later, as if it had been choreographed into a three-part disaster sequence, one of their younger guests skidded face-first into what was left of the wedding cake.
So much for a nice, simple wedding day, thought Rose.
And yet as long as RJ was there beside her, holding her in his arms and loving her with every breath, none of it made a difference.
She shot RJ a grin. “You ready?”
“You bet.”
“We love you guys...and we’ll see you in two weeks,” Rose called out to her friends, just as RJ pulled her out to run with him for the waiting limo.
The others would handle t
hings for now. And she was absolutely certain that there would be plenty of wedding-related disasters at the Rose Chalet for her and RJ to sort out when she got back from her honeymoon.
Honestly, Rose wouldn’t want it any other way.
~ THE END ~
Don’t miss the first four books in the Four Weddings and a Fiasco series
THE WEDDING GIFT
(Four Weddings and a Fiasco, Book #1)
THE WEDDING DANCE
(Four Weddings and a Fiasco, Book #2)
THE WEDDING SONG
(Four Weddings and a Fiasco, Book #3)
THE WEDDING DRESS
(Four Weddings and a Fiasco, Book #4)
* * *
Please enjoy the following excerpt from Lucy Kevin’s books...
THE WEDDING GIFT
Book #1 in the Four Weddings and a Fiasco Series
© 2012 Lucy Kevin
After Julie Delgado’s restaurant closes, she temporarily takes over the catering position at the Rose Chalet, a full-service San Francisco wedding venue. She plans to dazzle the bride and groom so the chalet’s owner will keep her around, but fate has other plans for her when the bride’s brother shows up for the first food tasting.
Andrew Kyle is not only the Cuisine Channel’s Edgy Eats host and chef, but his recent review of Julie’s restaurant was the final nail in its coffin. Once he meets Julie at the Rose Chalet, he’s certain she’s playing it safe. And he wants nothing more than to be the one to break her guarded passions loose.
But despite the undeniable sparks between Julie and Andrew–and the fact that he seems to believe in her when no one else does–can she afford to be taking risks with her cooking, with her career…or with her heart?
Enjoy the following excerpt for THE WEDDING GIFT...
It wasn’t easy trying to finish off the main courses and desserts, knowing all the while that Andrew Kyle was probably out there telling the Rose Chalet’s owner exactly how awful Julie’s food was. And Rose would listen, of course, because what else would she be able to do in the face of a triple whammy: celebrity chef, the groom’s brother, and great dimples?