had been family dinners at exclusive restaurants, wedding breakfasts under the marquee in the back garden, and bridal teas with all the local ladies, as well as bridal showers and multiple rehearsals and today, finally, the wedding of the year.
Maeve had always wanted a big wedding, the chance to be the big star, but funnily enough now that it was here she knew she would have been happy with a two-line agreement in front of a celebrant as long as she was married to Rayne.
Her mother wouldn’t have been happy, though, and it was good to see Desiree finally pleased with her. But today she would marry Rayne, they would pack up and leave on their honeymoon then head back to Lyrebird Lake, and Maeve couldn’t wait.
Her husband-to-be had been amazing. Patient. Comforting when she’d become stressed, loving when she’d least expected it but had secretly needed that reassurance, and always so brilliantly patient and capable with Connor—and her mother.
When she thought about it, Rayne had learnt to be patient with mothers very early in his life and he was showing his skills now.
Her over-achieving sisters were here and she realised she’d finally grown out of worrying that about a hundred relatives were scattered in nearby hotels. She and Rayne and Connor were united in the birth of their family and their future and she couldn’t wait.
Eight hours later Rayne stood beside Simon, this time as the groom and Simon the best man, and Rayne’s hands were just slightly shaking.
In Boston, their bigger than Ben Hur wedding that Maeve’s mother had organised had seemed to never get any closer.
But finally, today, it would happen. Their family would officially be joined forever. Maeve was putting so much trust in him he felt humbled, and before God, and before the ceremony even started, he silently vowed he would never let her down.
The music started, the congregation stood, and then she was there. A heartbeat, a shaft of divine light, and she appeared. Standing at the end of that very long, very floral-bouqueted aisle, with her father beside her and a huge church full of people to witness them being bound together.
Maeve’s next older sister, the first bridesmaid, was almost up to them, coming closer with stately precision, Connor in her arms in his tiny suit, because that was the only thing Rayne had insisted on.
Then the second sister, and then the third, and then … Maeve. Sweeping down the aisle towards him, way too fast. To hell with the slow walk, he didn’t bother to look for her mother’s frown at the break in protocol, just grinned at her and held out his hand. He loved this woman so much.
The mass began and he missed most of it as he stared at the vision beside him. Remembered the last two months, the joy he’d found, the deep well of love he hadn’t realised he’d had to give.
‘Do you take this woman …?’
Hell, yes! He remembered to let the reverend finish. More waiting until finally he could say, ‘I will.’
‘Do you, Maeve, take this man …?’
The words drifted as he stared again into her eyes. Those eloquent eyes that said he was her hero, always would be, that she believed in him so much and loved him. What more could a man want?
Then she said, ‘I will.’ That was what he wanted!
‘With the power vested in me and before this congregation I now declare you man and wife …’ And it was done. Rayne lifted the veil, stared into her tear-filled eyes and kissed his wife with all the love in his heart in the salute.
Maeve clutched her husband’s hand and couldn’t help the huge smile on her face. The cameras were flashing, she was moving and signing and smiling, and all the time Rayne was beside her. Protecting her, loving her, and finally reaching out to take Connor from her sister so that he carried their son and it was time for the three of them to walk back up the aisle as a family.
Maeve met Rayne’s eyes, saw the love and knew this was the start of an incredible life with the man she had always loved. She couldn’t wait.
Emily Forbes
Luci Dawson’s guide to getting over your ex:
1. Leave your troubles behind and escape to Sydney for a temporary house swap.
2. When a gorgeous stranger walks into your bedroom, smile—you’ve hit the jackpot!
3. Indulge in a hot fling with said stranger!
But little does nurse Luci know that her fling is about to become so much more. Because Dr. Seb Hollingsworth has ways of making her feel alive again. With Christmas just around the corner, suddenly Luci knows exactly what she wants under her tree!
For anyone who has ever fallen in love when they didn’t
intend to—it’s never the wrong time!
‘OMG, FLICK, I wish you’d been able to see this place.’
Luci had spoken to her best friend several times already today but she couldn’t resist calling her again to update her on her good fortune.
‘It’s nice, then?’ She could hear the smile in Flick’s voice.
‘Nice! It’s amazing.’ Luci wandered around the apartment while she chatted. ‘It’s right on the harbour. The beach is just across the road. I’m looking at the sea as we speak.’ She could hear the waves washing onto the shore and smell the salt in the air. ‘I don’t know how Callum is going to manage in my little house.’
It was a bit odd to be walking around a stranger’s apartment. Luci had spent her whole life surrounded by people she knew so to travel halfway across the country to swap houses with a stranger was odd on so many levels. It had all happened so quickly she hadn’t had time to consider how it would feel. Callum Hollingsworth’s apartment on the shores of Sydney Harbour was modern and masculine. While her house wasn’t particularly feminine it was old and decorated in what she guessed people would call country style. No surprises there, it was definitely a country house. It was clear that her house-swap partner’s taste in decorating was quite different from hers. She felt self-conscious, wondering what he would think of her place, before she realised it didn’t matter. She didn’t plan on meeting the guy.
She heard the whistle of the Indian Pacific through the phone. The two friends had spent the past few days chilling on Bondi Beach, a girls’ getaway that Flick had suggested before Luci settled into her house swap and study course in Sydney, and Flick returned to South Australia on the iconic trans-continental train.
‘Are you on the train?’ Luci asked.
‘Not yet,’ Flick replied. ‘I’m just grabbing a coffee and waiting to board.’
‘Make
