Secretly Married Page 19
Janie, Annie and Sara came next, followed by Rebecca Clay—an old friend of Delaney’s who’d also left the city for small-town life. All the women looked lovely, too. But Sam barely noticed. He was busy watching his wife.
Then the harpist played a little louder, and Delaney started forward. The music wasn’t a wedding march. She’d put her foot down about that. But it was bright and pretty, and when Sam glanced at Etta, he saw her toe tapping in time to it.
Then he looked back at his wife, and their gazes met, and he didn’t see anything but her. She was beautiful. Hair pinned back. But that was okay, because he’d just get to unpin it later when they were alone. Her dress was a slip of a thing, thin layers of bluish-white fabric that swirled around her legs as she walked toward him. It made him think of the clouds drifting in the sky.
Then she stopped in front of him. And Alonso, who’d walked her down the aisle, moved over to stand beside Sam.
Delaney slanted them a look as she handed off her bouquet of flowers to Rebecca. He knew the flowers had come from Annie and Sara’s fields. Just as the food being served at the reception afterward had come from Maisy, it seemed like everyone on Turnabout wanted to contribute to the event.
In the bare seconds before Sam moved beside Delaney, he nudged Alonso with his elbow. “Got the ring?”
Alonso shook his head, speaking under his breath. “Ah, man, Sam. You know what she’s like. She wouldn’t take it off. Said you’d given it to her once and that was all she needed.”
Sam just smiled and took his place beside his wife. Her hand found his, which still wore his ring for the same reason, and their fingers linked tightly together.
The renewal of vows might be for them. But the ceremony was for everyone else who cared about them and was part of their lives.
They both looked over to Alonso, who was grinning as if he were personally responsible for arranging this more-than-perfect day. He didn’t usually miss much opportunity these days to brag that he was the reason Delaney and Sam had ever met in the first place.
And that was okay.
The point was they had met, and they were finally on course the way they were meant to be.
And Sam didn’t care that the pastor was still talking or that the service had barely even begun. He looked back down at the woman who’d filled his life with complications and challenges and love and a family that was more of a bonus than any man deserved. “I love you, Laney.”
Her eyes went soft. “I love you, too, Samson.”
Then he pulled her close and kissed her.
When he finally lifted his head, it was to laughter and cheers from the friends and family surrounding them. The pastor was eyeing them.
Delaney delicately touched the corner of her lip, looking a little dazed. But then she spoke. And her voice was clear, so that everyone could hear.
“My husband marries me again. The least he can do is greet me with a kiss, wouldn’t you all agree?”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6093-5
SECRETLY MARRIED
Copyright © 2004 by Allison Lee Davidson
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