the interaction with an expression she couldn’t read.
He cleared his throat. “We really should be going. We wouldn’t want to be late for Gemma’s wedding.”
“No. Of course not. I only need a moment.”
She slipped into her bedroom for her shoes and evening bag and then returned to the living room. “Ready.”
She might be ready for the wedding, she thought as they all headed for Ian’s vehicle. But she was certainly not ready for everything that would come after.
* * *
HOW WOULD HE possibly be able to keep his hands off Samantha through the entire evening?
The evening was one thing. He could endure anything for one night. But how would he be able to walk away from her to fly home in only a few days?
She had become infinitely precious to him during the short time he had been in Haven Point. He pictured her there as she had been a short time ago in the hallway of her home, holding both of his children and looking as if she was about to weep. His chest ached.
How had she become so very important to his world?
She brought sunshine and joy into a world that had seemed dark and cheerless for a long time.
The children chatted all the way to the house of Gemma’s friends where the wedding would be held. As soon as they walked to the backyard, which was decorated with garlands of entwined ribbons and lush, brightly colored flowers, his mother headed straight for them.
“Thank the lord you’re here,” Margaret exclaimed.
“What do you need me to do?” Ian asked immediately, afraid he had forgotten some kind of wedding responsibility.
“Not you. Her.” She pointed to Samantha. “We’re having a wardrobe malfunction. The mother of the groom is wearing a dress that just ripped at a fairly important seam and she’s quite literally frantic. She’s crying right now in the room off the kitchen we’ve all been using as a dressing room. Is there any chance you could possibly work your magic and repair it?”
Samantha didn’t hesitate. “Of course. Show me where to go. I have a spare needle and thread in my bag.”
Ian had to blink, wondering what sort of woman carried a spare needle and thread in an evening bag little bigger than a credit card.
“Let’s go see if there’s anything we can do to help outside,” he said to the children after his mother and Samantha hurried away.
“Is Mrs. Gilbert here yet?” Amelia asked.
He looked around. “I don’t see her. But she’ll be here.”
They walked around the expansive lawn overlooking the lake where chairs had been set up under an awning for the wedding ceremony.
Ian wasn’t normally the kind of guy who noticed that sort of thing, but even he could tell this was a stunning setting for a wedding.
A quartet of musicians with stringed instruments was setting up on one side, tuning their instruments as a few guests started to arrive.
Already the low hum of conversation and laughter filled the afternoon.
He refused to draw comparisons between this joyful event with his somewhat stiff, formal wedding to Susan. The past was past. His marriage might have been a mistake but he had gained two amazing children out of it, so he couldn’t regret any of it.
He spotted his father rearranging chairs with McKenzie Kilpatrick and Eliza Caine and immediately headed in their direction.
“We’re here to help. Three Summerhills reporting for duty. What can we do?”
McKenzie threw him a look of vast relief. “Thank you! We had a bit of a crisis when one of the dogs escaped from the garage and came barreling through. I’m afraid he messed up the garlands on the chairs.”
“I’m so sorry,” Eliza said. “Boomer can be such a rascal.”
“No harm done,” McKenzie said. “We can fix it.”
“We can help you put the chairs into their correct positions,” Thomas said, looking serious and concerned in his adorable little gray suit.
She looked down at him with a broad smile. “That would be extremely helpful, kind sir.”
He and the children helped set the chairs back into rows while McKenzie rearranged the garlands. After that, they carried out more flowers to put on the guestbook table and even helped usher people to their seats.
They were so busy he didn’t have the chance to see Samantha again until just prior to the ceremony, when he and the children were finally seated and most of the guests had arrived.
He had saved the seat next to him for her and was relieved when she slid into it, a bit more