“And she’s still beautiful now,” Rowley added, enjoying the encounter and thoroughly proud of his beautiful bride.
“She certainly is.” Mattheus jumped on it. “Congratulations on your marriage.” Then Mattheus turned to Cindy. “And I’d like to introduce you to my fiancée as well,” he continued. “This is Cindy Blaine.”
Cindy stood up. “Hello,” she said, smiling, surprised to be introduced as Mattheus’s fiancée.
“Hi,” Kara offered brightly as Rowley smiled and extended his hand. “It looks like congratulations are in order for the two of you, as well,” Kara added.
“Thank you,” Mattheus responded proudly before Cindy could say a word. “Would you like to join us for breakfast?” Mattheus asked then. “Of course there’s absolutely no pressure about it at all. I totally realize that you’re honeymooners.”
“We’d love to.” Kara took the lead. “We’ve been here a few days already and my dad will be thrilled when he hears that we ran into you. He really wanted you to come to the wedding.”
Mattheus seemed to feel bad. “So sorry I couldn’t,” he said.
“Of course,” said Kara. “It’s great to run into you now, though. I’ll tell my dad and he’ll be thrilled.”
“Well, thank you for that,” said Mattheus. “I’m thrilled to have run into you too.” Then he motioned for the waiter to find a larger table for four.
*
Cindy thoroughly enjoyed their breakfast, finding Kara and Rowley to be a delightful couple. They’d known each other for years and said their marriage was the next natural step. In his thirties, Rowley was already a successful plastic surgeon and Kara worked as a counselor at a job that meant a lot to her. Cindy was surprised to hear that. It didn’t exactly fit the picture Cindy had of Kara, who was perfectly put together, dressed in expensive designer’s clothes from head to toe.
“It’s wonderful to love what you do,” Cindy commented to her. “Where do you work?”
Kara paused a moment. “I love what I do,” Kara declared, “although Rowley’s not totally thrilled with my job and neither is my family. But it means a lot to me.”
“Your job is fine, it’s okay,” Rowley defended himself, smiling first at her and then at Cindy. “Once we have children, though, things may be different. Kara may decide that our family’s enough to occupy her then.”
“It’s not one or the other.” Kara gave him a long glance. “I can do both. We’ve discussed it, Rowley.”
“Yes, of course, we have,” Rowley conceded. “It’s fine with me, whatever you want, truly.”
Kara smiled, looking relieved. “That’s what I love so much about our relationship,” she went on cheerily. “Rowley and I work things out in a minute or two. Whatever I want, he’s happy about.”
Amazing,” said Cindy, impressed, wishing she could say the same for herself and Mattheus.
“Yes, I know it’s amazing.” Kara beamed at Rowley with love. “Everything about Rowley’s amazing when you get to know him. How did I get so lucky?”
Rowley loved that. “How did I get so lucky?” he shot right back.
Mattheus laughed. “How did we get so lucky to meet the two of you and find a couple who knows how to work things out?”
They all laughed together then as Cindy winked at Kara in encouragement. Cindy was taken aback by Kara’s free spirit, liked her immensely. Other than that little difference between them, Kara’s and Rowley’s lives seemed entirely harmonious. Rowley said he’d just bought a condo a few blocks away from their families, and they were surrounded by many friends. It was heartwarming to watch the newlyweds hold hands as they talked about the life that spread out in front of them with seemingly endless possibilities.
They all chatted easily throughout breakfast, as though they’d known each other for years. Kara told Cindy and Mattheus about the Love Conference that went on routinely in St. Lucia. Wedding planners gathered from all over to discover the incredible wedding venues here and plan dream weddings for their clients.
“We’ve just been through that ourselves,” said Mattheus.
“Really? You’re planning a wedding?” Kara looked surprised.
“We were,” Cindy chimed in lightly.
“Just haven’t found the right spot yet,” Mattheus quickly added.
“Take your time, it’s important,” Rowley joined the conversation. “Kara and I were engaged for almost two years before we firmed things up. We finally decided to have the wedding back in Connecticut and our honeymoon here. That made it so much easier for our guests and worked out beautifully for us as well.”
Rowley seemed to have a maturity and solidity about him that one might miss at first glance. Cindy liked him very much. So did Mattheus.