“I wear your collar—that’s enough for me.”
“We’ll see.” He rubbed a big finger over their little girl’s cheek. “This one may have other ideas when she gets a bit older, you know.”
Layla sighed. “Well, if she wants us to . . . I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to refuse.”
Duff bent to pick up the sleeping infant’s hand and kissed it. “Hear that, my darling girl? Have a talk with your mum for me, will ya?”
Layla shook her head.
“You’re awfully sentimental today. Duff? Are you sure you don’t regret turning down Jamie’s invitation to have you as his best man?”
“Nah, Mick is doing a good job of it. Jamie understands I wanted to be with you and Joy for this.”
She turned to him, smiling as she gave him a quick kiss. He’d barely been away from her side since she’d given birth, even taking two weeks off work to stay home with her and the baby. At the time she’d told him it was unnecessary, but she loved him for doing it—for wanting to do it enough to argue his way past her stubbornness, which, she had to admit, had been at an all-time high during her pregnancy. Duff was an amazing father—an amazing man—and her heart surged with love as she took in the sight of him gazing down at their daughter’s sweet face. She had to be the luckiest woman on earth.
But today wasn’t about her. It was Summer and Jamie’s day, which she was reminded of when the music shifted. Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love” began to play, and a new wave of emotion rolled over her. She glanced down at Joy, pressing her pinkie into her baby’s tiny fist, trying to hold back tears as everyone stood to watch the bride walk down the aisle.
Summer looked like something out of a fairy tale in her sweeping vintage satin gown, her hair a cascade of blond silk dotted with tiny white flowers beneath the long veil. The pale December sun shone through the sheer white curtains on the tall windows, filling the room with a misty light as Summer moved down the rows.
Layla had to sniff back more tears at the expression on Jamie’s face when he caught sight of his bride. There was such a profound and powerful happiness there, and it was a feeling she knew now, thanks to Duff being in her life.
She leaned her head on his broad shoulder, and he slipped an arm around her, kissing her hair as Summer joined Jamie, flanked by Mick at Jamie’s side and Summer’s best friend, Dennie, standing by her as maid of honor. The ceremony began, all of it a blur of emotion as the officiant talked about the nature of love and commitment. But Layla didn’t need to concentrate on the words to revel in the beauty of the day.
The officiant—a large man with a lovely deep voice—said Duff’s name, and he stood to read a piece from Kahlil Gibran. She focused on the seriousness of his handsome face as he spoke, the rich timbre of his voice laced with the Scottish accent she adored.
“‘Love one another, but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls . . .’”
Even she had to admit it was a lovely sentiment. She knew that sea, that ebb and shift of love between them, the swell when Joy was born. Duff sat down and the officiant turned to Jamie and Summer.
“Tell each other now the words you need to say on this most wondrous day.”
Jamie took Summer’s hands in both of his, gazing into her eyes, and he truly looked as if the rest of the world had ceased to exist.
“Summer Grace Rae, I love you more than life itself. I did long before I knew it. But you knew. And it wasn’t until you’d given up on me that I saw the light—and the light was you. That light has let me see how amazing life can be, how amazing love can be. I will thank you for that for the rest of our lives. You mean more to me than I can say, and without the words, the only way I can think of to let you know how I feel is to spend the rest of my days showing you. And I promise I will do that.”
“Jamie,” Summer started, her soft voice shaking, “I always knew I loved you. I fell for you the moment I met you, when I was just a kid. I had no idea then how big this love would be, but I’ve discovered that it’s endless, without boundaries, without limits. Love needs no limits, and that’s something I’ve learned—something I could learn only with you. Thank you for that lesson. Thank you for loving me so thoroughly. Thank you for allowing me to learn to trust in love again.”
Layla tried to hold it together, but the tears rolled down her cheeks, and there was nothing she could do to stop them. When had she become so unbearably sentimental? Maybe it was the poetic heart of her big Scotsman, whose hazel eyes had been glowing with emotion all day. Or maybe it was the almost unbearably sweet magic in becoming a mother that had opened her up like this. All she knew was being with Duff, and being Joy’s mother, had changed everything for her.
“Damn it,” she muttered under her breath.
Duff tucked a tissue into her hand, and she wiped her eyes.
“Everyone here can see the great love between you,” the officiant continued, “but the important thing is to always see it in each other. I believe you will. But first, you must make your vows. Jamie Stewart-Greer, do you take this woman to be your wife? To love her and cherish her, to honor and respect her, in good times and bad? Do you pledge your life and your love to her?”
“I do. God, yes.”
“And Summer Grace Rae, do you take this man to be your husband? To love him and cherish him, to honor and respect him, in good times and bad? Do you pledge your life and your love to him?”
“I do. I do.”
Summer was shaking as Jamie leaned in to kiss her, a hard, long kiss full of passion, while their officiant laughed.