Forcing them back up, I lifted my head and rested my chin on my hands over his chest. “When?”
He stared up at the ceiling. I could see the tears building and my heart ached for him. “Right before the wedding. The young girl was standing in the garden and she looked up at me. Her face was hard to see. She waved though, which I thought was kind of weird, but at the same time I had the overwhelming feeling it as Kate. Renee walked up and I turned to look at her for one second. When I looked back … the girl was gone.”
Goose bumps covered my body. “Maybe it was Kate.”
He smiled. “Maybe it was.”
“I can’t wait until her designs are being walked down the runway. I just wish she was here.”
Ryder’s arm pulled me closer as he gazed down at me. “I know, but knowing you had such a huge part in this, and will continue to, is more than amazing.”
“It was Kate’s name and work that caught Michael’s eye … not mine.”
He shook his head. “You are amazing, do you know that?”
I snuggled back down into Ryder’s side. “This whole day has been amazing.”
“Yes, it has.”
We both settled in while my body began to relax.
I swore I heard a little girl’s voice calling out Ryder’s name as sleep started to claim me. Smiling, I whispered, “Kate,” before drifting into a dream where Ryder carried a little girl with light-brown curly hair and bright blue eyes on his shoulders.
And her name was … Kate.
One year later
MY MOTHER SIGHED. “Ava, you need to slow down. You’re making me a nervous wreck with how you’re rushing all over the place.”
“We’re late.”
Hearing her sigh only made me sigh … again. “Ava, I’m just saying I think you need to slow down. I mean, you’re building a house on the ranch, you’ve just remodeled part of the house in Helena, and now you’re rushing around Paris. You need to slow down!”
Ryder and I had decided to move into Lizzy and Robert’s house while having a house built on the ranch. Once the ranch house was completed, we would live there full time, but spend time in Helena as well. As much as I loved the old house in Helena, I was still a country girl at heart and I wanted to raise my child in the country.
I laughed. “Mom, we’re late and I have to be there early.”
“Sweetheart, you’re pregnant!”
“So? Why is me being pregnant have anything to do with this?”
I knew I wasn’t being fair to my mother. It had to be hard for her with me living in Montana. Then throw in I was expecting my first child in a few months. My parents, Walker, Liza, and Nickolas had flown into Paris yesterday and it had been nothing but rushing ever since we picked them up from the airport.
“It doesn’t, I’m your mother and it’s my job to worry. Anyway, change of subject.” Turning to Lucy and Nate Sr., my mother asked, “Are you both just so excited?”
“Yes. Beyond excited!” Lucy exclaimed.
Nate walked in and got everyone’s attention. “We really need to head down to the limo now if we want to be there early.”
“Ava, do you need to use the restroom before we leave?” my mother asked as Nate laughed.
“Yeah, Ava. Do you need to use the potty?” Nate teased as his father smacked him across the back of the head.
Rolling my eyes, I placed my hand on my six-month pregnant belly. “I’m good, Mom.”
My father came up and walked next to me. “Cut your mom some slack. She is jet lagged and hasn’t seen you in months. Let her baby you some.”
Smiling, I stopped, reached up, and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m so glad y’all are here. I really am. I’ve missed you both so much.”
He kissed my forehead softly. “We’ve missed you too, sweetheart. We are both so proud of you. I know tonight the main focus is on Kate’s work, but I want you to know that when they preview your spring line, I’m going to be yelling out that you’re my daughter.”
Laughing, I felt the tears build up in my eyes. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too.”
My eyes filled with tears as I blinked rapidly to keep them back. Ryder took my hand and kissed the back of it. “You ready?”
Taking in a deep breath, I replied, “As I’m ever going to be.”
Ryder held the limo door open and helped me as I crawled in. Lucy, Nate Sr., Jennifer, Jackson, Dani, and Nate, as well as my parents, all followed in behind me. Ryder slid in last and sat next to me. My heart started to pound in my chest as I looked at Kate’s family. This was it. This was the moment they had been waiting for.