Daughters Of The Bride(111)

Courtney and her sisters exchanged glances. None of them seemed to know what to say, so they followed Neil to the table and took seats.

He wasn’t a classically handsome man, Courtney thought as she looked at him. He was a little short and a little round. Balding. But there was a kindness in his eyes. A gentleness that made her feel, in her gut, that her mom was going to do very well with Neil.

Now he leaned forward, his hands on the table. “I have a few things to say and then we’ll eat pie.”

They waited.

“I was very lucky to find your mother. I’ve told you before, I lost my first wife to cancer and it took me years to get over the loss. I didn’t want to be alone, but I couldn’t imagine loving anyone the way I’d loved her.”

He drew in a breath. “And here’s the funny thing. I don’t love Maggie the same. I love her differently. It’s just as wonderful, just as deep, but I don’t for a moment think I’m marrying someone who’s similar. Maggie is her own person.”

He smiled at them. “So don’t worry that I expect you to see me as your father. I hope, over time, we’ll be close. That you’ll see me as someone you can come to, a man you can trust. But I’m not your father and I don’t expect to replace him.”

Sienna nodded. “Thank you for saying that. You never had children?”

“No. We weren’t blessed. I hope you girls don’t mind if I sometimes think of you as mine. Just because it makes me happy.”

“That would be all right,” Rachel told him.

“Good. I’m hoping I can convince your mother to sell her business and travel with me, but if she wants to work awhile longer, I’ll keep myself busy. I also want you to know that I did all right in my business. I’ve put aside some money for your mother. It’s in a trust fund. If I go first, she’ll be taken care of. I don’t want you to worry.”

Courtney might not remember much about her father, but she did remember her mother worrying about how things were going to work out. Even after she was successful and the family was back in a house, she’d made comments from time to time that had made it clear that the fear of losing everything hadn’t gone away. Courtney couldn’t recall the man, but the pain his passing had caused had stayed with her. She and Maggie had their differences. Maybe they would always clash, but even so, she was happy to know there was a wonderful man who had her mother’s back.

Without thinking, she rose and walked around the table. She leaned over and hugged Neil.

“Thank you,” she told him. “For loving her. I hope you’ll be very happy together.”

“Thank you, my dear.”

Courtney returned to her seat. Neil cleared his throat.

“Now that we have that out of the way, I thought I’d get your opinions on taking your mother to Vail for our honeymoon. There are some lovely resorts. This time of year, it’s relatively quiet. There’s enough nature to be beautiful, but also shopping and lots of restaurants.”

“It sounds lovely,” Rachel told him.

Sienna fluffed her short hair. “Jennifer Aniston honeymooned in Bora Bora. You could go there.”

Neil smiled. “I’m not really the swimsuit type.”

Courtney leaned toward her sister. “Since when did you care where Jennifer Aniston honeymooned?”

Sienna laughed. “I don’t. I have no idea why I mentioned it.”

“It’s a lovely suggestion,” Neil told her, “but I think we’ll stick to Vail.” He reached for the menus at the center of the table and handed them around. “Now, I understand the peach pie is not to be missed. Who will join me in a piece?”



The house was definitely a starter home—small, old and far from the beach. But the garden was pretty and there were a lot of windows to let in light.

Sienna had seen the open-house signs as she’d driven back to the office. She’d been at a women’s business group luncheon, talking about what The Helping Store did for women in need. She’d ignored the first sign but had turned when she’d seen the second.

Despite the fact that it was a Tuesday afternoon and the open house was due to close in a few minutes, there were three other cars parked in front. She pulled in behind a young couple and followed them inside. Jimmy winked when he saw her. He handed all three of them flyers.

“New on the market,” he said with an easy, welcoming smile. “The sellers are motivated. I’ve had a lot of interest and I expect this one to go quickly. Please let me know if you have any questions.”

She murmured her thanks and walked from the surprisingly large living room to the kitchen in back. It was smaller and in need of updating, but it had that look of being well loved. There were stencils up by the ceiling, and the tiles were carefully scrubbed.