Tags:
Humor,
Suspense,
Sagas,
Family,
Mystery,
Nora Roberts,
series,
Contemporary Romance,
Short Stories,
Romantic Comedy,
new adult,
Love Story,
Friendship,
Heroes,
small town,
sweet romance,
Sisters,
falling in love,
wedding,
bride,
alpha males,
award-winning romance,
billionaires,
bestselling romance
Then he felt a spot of warmth on his back, almost like Jemma’s comforting hand was resting there. Part of him thought he might be a little crazy, but he’d visited her here often, and he’d sensed it before. She was there. Or something of her was. And it soothed him like always.
“She’s here,” he said in a soft tone against her neck. “Can’t you feel her?”
She inhaled jaggedly and nodded. “Yes. When the baby gets big enough inside me, I want to come back and visit her. I…I just know the baby is going to kick…almost as if he or she can feel her too.”
Talking about the baby kicking—the miracle they hadn’t meant to make—was pretty much enough to turn him to pudding. “Do you have any idea how much I love you? How precious you and the baby are to me? Jill…Jill…I’m so damn happy we’re together.”
The laugh she uttered was a bit desperate with emotion. “Finally. I love you too. And you and the baby…well, it’s going to be awesome.”
It hadn’t started out that way. He’d been shocked and more than a little freaked out at first. He hadn’t expected to make a baby before he was thirty, and certainly not before he was married, but sometimes fate knew better. Both he and Jill had pretty hard heads, so perhaps they’d needed a kick to their proverbial behinds.
Jill pressed back and traced the top of Jemma’s grave. “I miss you, Jem. So much. I wish you could see my dress. Heck, I wish you could have been with me and my family when we bought it. I wish you could have been at my bachelorette party. I wish…”
He reached for her hand again.
“I wish you were still here, dammit.”
“That’s my wish too,” he said. “But I have to believe she’ll find a way to be there.”
His beautiful bride-to-be turned her head to gaze at him. She stopped his very breath, made his heart rate lull to a slow, thudding beat.
“Like heavenvision instead of television?” she asked.
“Or she could just be a ghost like in Charmed. She loved that show.”
“We both did.”
The silence grew around them. The wind rushed up and over them suddenly, sending the tree limbs into a playful dance, like the leaves were waving at them. And damn if the sun didn’t peek out from behind a cloud and shine on them with blinding light.
“Yeah, I think she’s here,” Jill said quietly. “Let’s go get married, Bri.”
He turned her to him and chucked her under the chin, something he used to do when he was flirting with her in high school. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Just like he was expecting, she poked him in the belly. They laughed a little, which eased their grief. And as they walked through the sunshine, heading back to the church to say their vows, they both felt a warmth on their backs and knew Jemma walked with them.
***
Jill took a moment to admire her dress in the full-length mirror of the church bridal room. Her dress wasn’t white—and not because she was knocked up. Nope. She’d meant to wear white, but that was before she’d seen this yellow wedding dress tucked away on a rack in the corner of the wedding shop with a sign above it saying For the Daring Bride . She hadn’t been able to resist. Color. It was her best friend.
While the sunshine tone might be too daring for some, the dress itself was simple, suiting her tastes. The chiffon skirt fell to the ground in a sumptuous line while the bodice’s material crisscrossed over her breasts and then curled over her shoulders. She’d chosen a simple wedding flower crown rather than a traditional veil. The white cherry blossoms contrasted beautifully with her red hair and gave her the dreamy elegance of a flower child bride, something she rather liked.
“You look beautiful, Jill,” Meredith said from beside her.
The rest of her family echoed her sister’s comment, oohing and ahhing over her.
Everyone had understood the reason for her spontaneous drive after hearing that Brian had taken her to visit Jemma’s