“I have something to say,” Eli announces, tapping his water glass with a spoon.

“You always have something to say,” Savannah says sweetly, but Eli just smiles and turns to Kate.

The room quiets as we all watch as Eli clears his throat, looking nervous for the first time in… ever. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she replies cautiously.

“You know,” he continues, “It’s amazing how someone can come into your life, and you expect nothing out of it, but suddenly, right there in front of you is everything you’ll ever need. I don’t need much in this life, although I’ve been blessed with more than I’ll ever want. But at the core of it all, it’s quite simple. I need my family, and I need you, Mary Katherine O’Shaughnessy.”

Kate swallows hard, unable to look away from Eli’s face.

“Oh my,” Charly says with a sigh.

“I spoke with your father this morning, and he gave me his blessing. I also had a long talk with Rhys.” He glances at our brother-in-law, who smiles and nods as he rocks his sleeping daughter on his shoulder. “So,” Eli continues and lowers down to one knee as he pulls a blue box out of his pocket. “I’m going to ask you, here, with every person who means the most to me in one place, to be my wife. Grow old with me. Build a family with me. As long as you’re mine, I’ll have everything I’ll ever need. And I promise you this: I will protect you, respect you, and love you every minute of every day.”

Tears spill onto Kate’s cheeks as she smiles up at Eli. Finally, she nods vigorously and launches herself into his arms. “Of course. I’m already yours.”

“Yay!” Sam yells and as the others applaud, Mama slips something in my hand, then winks at me. I glance down and see the antique sapphire with diamonds sparkling in my hand, then reach over and silently slip it on Callie’s finger. She looks up at me in surprise.

I lean in and whisper in her ear. “We’ll share our news later, but I want you to have this. It was my grandmother’s, and her mother’s before her. And now it’s yours.”

She looks down at it, touching it reverently, then looks over my shoulder and smiles. I glance back in time to see Mama smile back, and nod, proudly surveying the table where her family is all gathered, and so much happiness lives.

I wish Daddy was here to see it. He’d be bursting with pride.

Chapter Twenty-One

Six Months Later…

~Callie~

“Oh my God, I’m so damn nervous.” I’m standing in a room in the inn, shaking my arms out at my side. “I can’t feel my fingers.”

“You’re going to be great,” Savannah says, smiling as she adjusts my veil. All of the girls are in the room with me, helping me with hair and makeup and keeping my nerves at bay. Charly offered me a cocktail, but I want to be one hundred percent sober when I walk down the aisle.

Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea, because I sure could use that drink now.

“You’re a stunning bride,” Mama says and pats my hand. “You chose the perfect dress.”

I smile and look into the mirror, surveying the simple style. It falls to my ankles. There is no train. I figured that with an outdoor wedding, it would just get mucked up, so I went with a simple, mermaid style dress, but it’s all lace, and rather than white, it’s a light, barely-there shade of pink. The neckline is heart shaped around my breasts, and lacy straps hold it all up.

“The shoes are the best part,” Charly says with a grin and passes me the black lacy Louboutin shoes that the girls all gave me as a wedding shower gift. The heels are high, and thankfully the aisle is the brick path in front of the house, between the massive oaks, so I won’t sink when I walk to my groom.

“I think the whole package is pretty great,” Adam says from the doorway. None of us heard him come in.

I grin and turn around and hold my arms out at my sides. “What do you think?”

“I think Declan’s going to faint dead away when he sees you,” Adam says as he walks to me, wearing khakis and a white button-down.

“You look very dignified,” I say and play with a button on his chest.

“I’m just relieved you didn’t make me wear a tux,” he replies and glances around the room. “Do y’all mind if I have a few minutes with her?”

“It’s about time for you to walk down the aisle anyway,” Gabby says. “So just come on down when you’re ready and we’ll get this show on the road!”

The girls all file out and close the door behind them, and Adam sighs as he takes me in, from my hair to my shoes.

“Nice shoes.”

“This is why we’re friends,” I say, trying to keep it light. “Because you understand the importance of shoes.”

He smirks and nods his head. “Okay, before I walk you down the aisle, I want you to tell me. Why Declan?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why, out of the billions of men in the world, did you choose to marry him?”

I frown and blink at Adam. “Are you saying I shouldn’t?”

“Not at all. I just want to know, before I hand you over to him, what it is about Declan that makes you ready to commit to him for the rest of your life. That’s all.”

“Well, aside from the whole I love him thing…” I reply and chew my lip, thinking.

“You’re eating your lipstick off,” Adam says with a smile.

“Damn it. Don’t let me forget to put it back on before we go down.”

He nods and waits. “It’s really pretty simple, Adam. I can’t imagine my life without him. He fits. Every part of him fits into my life, as if he was a puzzle piece that was missing. He’s the only piece that will ever fit.” I shrug. “He’s just… mine.”

“Okay.” He smiles.

“I want you to feel this someday,” I murmur quietly and Adam immediately shakes his head. “I know, you don’t think you want to settle down with one woman, but I hope that someday you meet a girl that just fits you, and you know that you’ll never be the same.”

“It’s a romantic thought.”

“It’s much more than romance,” I reply. “And I think I get now why Daddy never really got over losing Mom. She was his piece, and when he lost her, he just couldn’t deal with it.”

Adam frowns and looks down, then back up at me. “You’re in such a better place now, Cal. When I think of where you were when you moved back home more than a year ago, to now, it’s like you’re a new person. You’re you, but you’re…”

“Better,” I reply for him and he nods.

“You are. You were always great, but you’re better.”

“And Declan is the piece that makes me better, Adam.”

Adam grins and pulls me in for a big hug, clinging to me. “I’m so happy for you, Cal. Really happy for you. I like him, and I couldn’t love you more if you were my sister by blood. So, thank you for letting me have the honor of walking you down the aisle.”

“There’s no one else I’d rather have do it,” I reply. “And speaking of, we’d better get down there.”

“Put your lipstick on,” he says and steps aside to watch me primp.

“Okay, I’m ready.” I grab the bouquet of pink roses and cala lilies that were my mother’s favorite and lead Adam out of the room and down the stairs.

It’s evening. The sun is just beginning the set, sending a riot of color through the sky. The trees are adorned with white lights, and pink fabric that matches my dress is draped among the limbs. Tables are set up for eating later, and for now, enough white chairs are gathered in a semi-circle for just Declan’s immediate family, my Uncle Bernie, and Adam to witness the ceremony.

I wanted a very small wedding, and that’s what Declan and his family are giving me.

Adam takes my hand, loops it through his arm, and escorts me down the steps of the porch and down the brick path as a simple piano version of When A Man Loves a Woman that Declan recorded plays on the sound system.

I can see his family, all smiling, some wiping at tears, watching me make the journey to my man, but all I can see is him.