Way to Her Heart

chapter 19

If anyone had told Sherri how they would be celebrating Sydney’s birthday, she wouldn’t have believed them. It was a huge celebration with so many people invited that they had to have it at Alexis’s house because she had a large backyard. There were a group of Sydney’s little friends, including Courtney and Gabriel, the VanBurens and Grandmother Delilah, Aretha Sharp and Alexis’s sisters, Alana and Ava. Even Royce was there, looking debonair as always. To Sherri’s surprise, her parents were there, too, and they weren’t being standoffish and stiff. The whole Trevor debacle had given them an opportunity to start over as a married couple and as parents, and they were taking full advantage. They laughed and conversed with everyone and were obviously having a great time.

Sydney was absolutely thrilled with her puppies. She named them Sugar and Sweetie, and they were equally happy with her, doing their best to lick her face off. They tumbled around the yard playing with Alexis’s dogs. The sight of all of them chasing each other around barking with excitement was absolutely adorable. Sherri was so happy she thought her heart would burst. Lucas never left her side, not even to cook. He let Jared and his father handle the grill because he couldn’t stop holding Sherri’s hand and looking at her with eyes of love.

Every time they had a moment alone he was kissing her madly, and she would giggle like a teenager in love because that’s what she felt like. She’d always been a happy person, happy with her daughter and her career, but now that she had Lucas in her life, she was truly filled with joy. He completed her in a way that no other man ever could and she loved him more than she could’ve imagined. She understood now why Alexis was so blissfully happy and at peace. She had watched her friend smiling as Jared rubbed her still-small baby bump. They looked so good together that Sherri had a moment of wondering if she’d get a chance to share that kind of emotion with Lucas.

A while later, Lucas and Jared had gone into the house and Alexis made her sit down with her on the love seat under the trees. “Come talk to me,” she said. “I think you’re having more fun than Sydney.”

“I am,” Sherri said happily. “This is the best birthday party ever, isn’t it?”

Lucas and Jared came out on the patio and called for everyone’s attention. “I have one more present for Sydney, the one she said she really, really wanted. And because she’s in on the surprise, she’s going to help me out a little.”

Sydney ran to Jared and Lucas and stood there with a big smile on her face. His father turned up the music and the three of them began singing a number that needed no explanation—“Sherry” by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

They had a whole routine worked out with a cute dance as they sang the words to the classic song. When they got to the chorus, Sydney ran over and grabbed her mother’s hand to lead her up to Lucas. They finished the song and Lucas took both of her hands in his.

“Sherri, you and Sydney mean more to me than I can say. I love you both so much, and I want to spend the rest of my life taking care of you. Sydney told me on Mother’s Day weekend that she wanted me to be her daddy and I’d like nothing more than to make her wish come true. I want to be your husband and be her daddy. So what do you say, Sherri baby? Will you be my wife?”

“Oh, yes, I will. I love you, Lucas, and I can’t wait to be your wife.”

They kissed each other to a chorus of barking from the dogs and applause from everyone else. Lucas picked Sydney up and kissed her on one cheek while Sherri kissed the other. Then he slid a ring on Sherri’s finger.

“Mommy, this is the best birthday I ever had in my life,” she said happily. “Look at your ring, Mommy! Do you like it?”

Sherri took a good look at the astounding ring and tears of happiness started flowing. It was a five-carat princess-cut diamond surrounded by smaller stones set in platinum. Before she could say a word, Lucas kissed her again. It was the best day of her life since the day Sydney had been born seven years earlier. It was hard to imagine being any happier than she was at that moment.

* * *

But in a few months she was even more filled with joy because the Saturday before Christmas she and Lucas became man and wife. It was a huge celebration and a joyous one. The wedding party was big, consisting of Alexis and Emily as her maids of honor, Lucas’s sisters, Tamara and Camilla, as bridesmaids along with Alana and Ava Sharp and, of course, Sydney and Courtney as the flower girls. Lucas had Damon and Jared as his best men, with Roland Casey, Todd Wainwright, Royce and Roland’s brother Duncan as the groomsmen.

It was a romantic affair, but the most touching moment was when Lucas included Sydney in his vows to Sherri and presented her with a beautiful necklace that bore a small diamond in the center to signify his commitment to her. Everyone in the church was in tears at this point, especially Sherri’s mother, who’d become the most doting grandmother in the world since she had come so close to losing everything at the hands of Trevor Barnes.

It was hard to say who had the most fun at the reception. It was held at Seven-Seventeen, and it was all about the great food, the music provided by David VanBuren’s jazz group and the dancing, which never seemed to stop.

Sherri was having another dance with Lucas before they left to go to their honeymoon suite. They planned to spend Christmas in Columbia and take a real honeymoon later, but they were going to have a few romantic nights before then. Lucas looked down at her and told her that Sydney had told him what she wanted for her birthday next year.

“Already? What could she possibly want after this year’s celebration?” Sherri said with a smile.

“Twin brothers,” he informed her and they both laughed.

“We’ll have to see what we can do about that,” she promised.

“I’ll do my best if you will,” he said before stealing another kiss from his bride.

* * * * *