Some Bright Someday (Maple Valley #2) - Melissa Tagg Page 0,79

thought you said I looked too old.”

Not right now. Not with that vulnerable softness and trust in her emerald eyes. Had Jenessa ever been given a greater gift? “You look perfect. Now, there’s a gentleman downstairs waiting for us. I’ll grab Cade if you fetch Violet.”

Colie toed on her sparkling silver shoes. “Fine, but he’s not waiting for us. He’s waiting for you.”

“Don’t be so sure. I have it on good authority that he’s a pretty big fan of you Hollis kids.”

“Maybe, but he sure doesn’t stare at us the way he stares at you.” Colie smirked and glided from the room.

Jenessa lifted Cade and paused in front of her mirror. “Does he really stare at me, Cade?” Hopefully he’d like what he saw if he stared tonight. Her dress was an even deeper blue than Colie’s. Its sheer long sleeves and neckline meant she’d probably freeze at the outdoor wedding, but she hadn’t been able to say no to its graceful style.

She’d kept the rest of her appearance simple too, pulling her black waves into a side bun, her hair’s only adornment a silver barrette that matched her earrings and lone bracelet.

Cade kicked his legs against her. “Right. That’s his third knock. Let’s go.” She grabbed his diaper bag from the bed and slipped on her shoes. The girls were waiting for her in the hallway and they made their way downstairs before Lucas could knock again.

With one last frayed breath of anticipation, she opened the door. “Sorry we kept you . . .” She couldn’t get the last word out. Not at the sight waiting for her. “I think I need that thesaurus app again.”

The corners of Lucas’s eyes crinkled as he gave her a lopsided smile. “Huh?”

She needed the thesaurus app because handsome wasn’t a good enough word. Not even close to how striking he looked in his gray suit and hunter green tie. And he’d cut his hair? It was still lengthy, long enough to be pushed back behind his ears and brush his collar. He’d shaved too, which meant she might very well spend the rest of this night having a giddy mental debate with herself as to whether she liked his attractive jaw better with or without the facial hair. It might be the closest call in the world and . . .

If she didn’t stop staring at him, they’d never make it to the wedding. And she was the maid of honor.

Apparently he gave up on receiving an explanation for the thesaurus comment. He stepped forward to take Cade from her arms, glanced behind her. “Colie and Violet, you are probably going to be the prettiest girls at the wedding and that’s a fact.” He leaned closer to Jen, kissed her cheek, and whispered, “And you’ll be the most beautiful woman there, by far.”

He picked up the diaper bag, gave her a wink, and reached for her hand.

She’d been right to anticipate this night. Amazingly, wondrously right.

This was the kind of thing Lucas usually avoided—events that required suits and ties and small talk.

But he’d wear a suit every day for the rest of his life if it meant having Jenessa Belville at his side. And she’d been at his side for hours, only leaving him long enough to stand up with Mara for the short ceremony, along with Lenora Worthington, the Everwood’s former owner.

And just now, she’d slipped inside the B&B to change Cade’s diaper. Otherwise, from the moment they’d arrived at the little backyard wedding, she’d stayed near him. Almost as if . . . as if she was proud to be here with him.

The ceremony had begun just as dusk danced through the sky, leaving a glowing trail of purple and hazy orange. The scent of vanilla, probably from the candles on every table, hung in the air, and it was as if even the trees had dressed to celebrate, leaves having deepened into fiery hues during these early days of October. The sun had ducked into the west by the time the catered meal began after the ceremony, but a full moon now illuminated the yard, along with string lights and paper lanterns.

Someone had turned up the music a few minutes ago and he watched from his perch near a ribboned tree as Colie and Violet danced with several other kids amid a cluster of adult couples.

“They seem attached.”

Sam’s voice startled him and he straightened. They hadn’t spoken much tonight—hardly at all in the past week. Though they’d both stood