***
Over three hundred people have RSVP’d for the wedding. There are tents and chairs everywhere, and the backyard has been transformed into a fairytale landscape by the time I make it downstairs. "I can't believe how much is already done," I say to Clara, who is on breakfast duty this morning. Which, for her, involves pouring coffee and a bowl of cereal.
Works for me.
By late morning Sebastian and I are both dressed and ready to go, as is everyone else in the Donovan family. As guests begin to arrive, I slip into the kitchen to help with moving food and setting up, even though they've hired a catering company to handle everything. I still want to feel useful. I'm not used to being at a party and not working.
The service starts promptly and is short, simple and beautiful. The bride is stunning, and the groom looks so happy his face is about to crack from that smile. I love it.
When they say, “I do,” Sebastian and I glance at each other. And for a fraction of a moment, I have another memory from that night we met. I remember looking into his eyes as we said, “I do.” Just a glimpse of the memory, but the emotions it brings back is enough to take my breath away.
I knew I loved him that night.
That's why I married him.
And I still love him now.
Chapter 28
Heart to Heart
That night, after all the guests have left, I find myself sitting outside at an empty table, plates of half-eaten wedding cake my only company. It's a balmy night, and the white lights that have created such a magical setting for a wedding continue to twinkle in the dark. Sebastian accompanied his dad to take home a few intoxicated guests, so I'm left with my thoughts, which isn't a bad thing.
Surrounded by people all day, mostly strangers, it feels good to grab a few minutes of solitude.
"Kacie, there you are." Sylvia walks out of the house holding two cups of coffee and smiles at me. "We wondered where you'd disappeared to."
"Just enjoying the night," I say.
"Would you prefer to be left alone? Or might I join you?"
I gesture to the seat next to me. "I'd love the company." It's true. I've wanted to spend more time with Sebastian's mother, but it's been such a busy weekend.
She hands me a cup of coffee. "Figured we could all use one after so much champagne and wine."
My head is still a bit buzzed from drinking, and I accept the coffee gratefully. The first sip burns down my throat in that oh-so-delicious way that only coffee can. I sigh with contentment. "This is excellent coffee," I say.
"Thank you. I worked as a barista in college. Guess my time there paid off."
The shock of imagining her working in a coffee shop must have shown in my eyes because she laughed. "We haven't always lived like this. This much opulence... it's a gift, but we started out modest, struggling, like most people."
"Clara said you're the one who made enough for… all this? Through your programming?"
She nods. "Yes. It was a combination of hard work, talent and luck. I had an idea, made it happen and became one of the few female dot-com billionaires of my time."
"I can't imagine growing up like this." To imagine this house as my childhood house seems impossible.
"I can't either, to be honest," she says. "We've tried to instill an ethic of hard work in our kids, to make sure they know not to take this kind of wealth for granted. Clara and Sebastian took to it. Matt… well, he has other challenges, but he's a good kid."
"What was Sebastian like as a kid?" I ask, dying to know more about this man I'm falling in love with.
She offers a sweet smile full of motherly love. "He was always such a nurturer. We weren't surprised when he chose medicine as his vocation, and I was glad, then, that we had the money to get him the best education. I didn't want my kids weighed down by college debt."
"He said it was partly because of Clara's heart condition?"
She takes a sip of her coffee and nods. "Yes, but I think he would have chosen medicine regardless. He definitely picked pediatric heart surgery because of his sister. They were all very young when we found out Clara needed a new heart. She was just a baby, and Matt and Sebastian doted on her as if they'd made her themselves. Those boys fought about everything, even when they were little, but when it came to Clara, they found common ground. They'd do anything to protect her."
Her words sound thick, and her eyes gloss over as she discusses the past. "It was a close call. We almost lost her. It was then that Sebastian came to us with his plan. With a little face so serious, he told us he'd decided to donate his heart to Clara so she could live." Her voice chokes at this, and I can feel tears burn the back of my eyes as well.