Three Down the Aisle
Page 20
Then Melanie emerged in a slim gown of white silk and lace, a bouquet of white roses and lily of the valley from the garden in her hands. Her gaze locked with his, and a radiant smile blossomed on her face. It was a stark contrast to the glower on her father’s features. Max D’Angelo didn’t scare Mike. He knew the man wanted only the best for his daughter, and Mike intended to exceed his expectations. He had a hunch he’d be just as fiercely protective when Jessie found the man of her dreams—say, thirty years from now.
When Melanie reached Mike’s side, the minister asked, “Who gives this couple to be wed?”
Max D’Angelo glanced down at Jessie standing solemnly by his side and tucked her tiny hand in his. “We do,” they said together.
“My love for you will be eternal,” Mike said when the time came, clearly taking Melanie by surprise with vows he’d labored to write himself. “Like this garden, it will have cycles, but it will always bloom and thrive. It will weather every storm and reach for the sunlight. If we nurture it, our joy will be bountiful.”
“Oh, Mike,” she whispered, looking as if she might weep.
“Don’t you dare cry,” he said. “Or I’ll never say anything romantic again.”
She laughed at that, and the world righted itself. He sighed, gazing into her sparkling eyes. This was it, he thought. This was love—looking into Melanie’s eyes and finding that his world was complete.
“I thought I was the one who had all the words,” Melanie said slowly. “But you’ve left me speechless, Mike. ‘I love you’ doesn’t seem to be nearly enough, and yet it’s everything. I love you and your daughter. I love the family we will become, the children we will have somewhere along the way. I love that you’ve taken me into your heart, and I promise you will always be in mine.”
Mike grinned at her. “Not so speechless, after all.”
The minister cleared his throat. “My turn?” he inquired.
“Absolutely,” they both said.
“Then I now pronounce you husband and wife.” He gazed out at the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen, I present Mr. and Mrs. Mikelewski.”
Jessie tugged on the minister’s clerical robe. “What about me?” she asked, drawing laughter.
“And daughter,” the minister said.
Mike was about to reach for Jessie, but Melanie was there first, scooping her new daughter up in her arms, then reaching for Mike’s hand. Together the three of them walked down the aisle.
A family, he thought happily. The way it should be. The way it would always be.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5139-1
THREE DOWN THE AISLE
Copyright © 2005 by Sherryl Woods
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