Resolutely putting aside her thoughts about Will for the moment, Amy turned to face the pastor when Josh and Cami did. She took Cami’s bouquet and held it with her own as the ceremony got underway. Amy blinked back tears when Cami and Josh sang a song they’d written together just for their wedding and then listened as they pledged their love to each other before exchanging rings.
When the pastor pronounced them husband and wife, the people clapped and cheered. Amy couldn’t help grinning when her brother wrapped his arms around Cami and gave her a long kiss. Her teenage heart soaked up the romance, and she sighed in delight.
As she followed the bridal couple up the aisle to the back doors of the chapel, Amy’s gaze landed on Will and her heart skipped a beat. There he stood, looking tanned and a little more buff than she remembered. However, his dark brown was still cut short, and he had a familiar broad grin on his face as he clapped. He was looking at his sister and newbrother-in-law, but it wasn’t until she got closer to where he stood that Amy realized he wasn’t alone.
Fighting a slow-spreading sick feeling, Amy forced her gaze away from Will and kept a smile pasted on her face as they left the sanctuary. She gave Josh and Cami a big hug, congratulating them. It wasn’t long before the rest of the congregation spilled into the foyer as well. Amy stepped away from the crowd and pressed back against the wall so she wasn’t in the way. She tried very hard to keep a smile on her face, but as she saw Will approach Cami and Josh, it was nearly impossible.
He hugged his sister, shook hands with Josh and then slipped his arm around the young woman standing next to him. Even from this distance, Amy could see the smile on Cami’s face change as Will introduced the woman to them. Amy looked away, not wanting to meet her new sister-in-law’s gaze. Thankfully, Cami’s nieces, Rose and Addy approached her then, and Amy bent her head to talk to the young girls.
Back at the manor, the caterer had the food all set up for the reception. It reminded Amy of the Christmas they’d spent at Collingsworth when there had been a whole bunch of people gathered for the dinner.
“Are you okay?” Cami asked as she sat down. As the maid of honor, Amy was seated beside Cami, so there had been no way to avoid her.
“I’m fine.” Amy hoped the smile she gave her would back up her words.
Cami took her hand and leaned close. “Listen, sweetie, I want you to hear this from me because I have a feeling he’s going to announce it soon. The woman with Will, she’s not his girlfriend.”
Focusing on Cami’s last comment, hope flickered to life. “She’s not?” Amy met Cami’s gaze and saw the sadness there.No.
“She’s his wife.”
Amy felt as if all the air had been squeezed from her lungs. His wife? How was that possible? She’d been so sure that God had wanted him to marry her. She stared down at her lap where Cami’s hand still gripped hers.
God, I don’t understand why You let this happen, but the least You can do is help me get through this. I don’t want to ruin Cami and Josh’s day.
She looked up at Cami and smiled. “I’ll be fine.”
“We’ll talk about this later. Okay?”
At that moment, Amy was reminded again why she was so glad that Cami had married her brother. She’d never been super close to her own older sister, Bethany, and she had always suspected it had to do with more than just their age gap. In Cami, she’d found the relationship she’d always wanted to have with a sister. “Don’t worry about me. Just enjoy your wedding. I’m so happy for you and Josh.”
Cami pulled her close for a hug and then released her. “Wewilltalk later.”
The evening didn’t follow the normal reception traditions. It resembled a big family dinner with a few of the guests dressed more formally than the rest. There had been no tossing of the bouquet or long speeches, and the evening hadn’t dragged on as the wedding couple planned to head to a cabin about an hour away for their honeymoon.
Amy pulled her jacket close as she stood on the porch of the manor with the rest of the guests and waved goodbye when her brother and Cami pulled away in Josh’s truck. As she watched the red taillights disappear, Amy suddenly felt very alone. No one knew how she was feeling except for Cami. Somehow she had to make it through the next few days before she and her family left for home. She didn’t know when she’d next see her brother and sister-in-law, but she hoped it wouldn’t be too long.
Once back in the manor, the family crowded around Will to offer their congratulations to him and his new wife.Delia.That was her name. Amy allowed herself to really look at thewoman for the first time. She appeared to be Asian with long, jet-black hair and large brown eyes. As she stood next to Will, Amy could see that Delia was dainty, the top of her head not even reaching Will’s shoulder. She had a beautiful smile and readily shared it with those around them.
The sick feeling wouldn’t be suppressed any longer as she watched them. Pressing a hand to her stomach, she tried to look away, but she couldn’t. On Will’s face was the same love she’d seen on Josh’s not that long ago. Only it wasn’t directed at her like she’d dreamed. This dainty, exotic woman was the recipient of what she had thought would be hers. And if Delia was what Will wanted in a woman, Amy realized she would never have had a chance with Will anyway, because the woman he’d chosen to love was the opposite of her in pretty much every way.
Finally able to turn away from the sight of the happy couple, Amy climbed the stairs to her room. Just for tonight she would let herself weep for the heartache of a shattered dream. But tomorrow she would pull herself back together—she had to—and guard her heart much more carefully in the future.
CHAPTER ONE
Eight Years Later
“I can’t thank you enough for being willing to come help us out,” Lance said as he sank down onto one of the stools next to the counter.
Amy smiled. “I’m just glad the timing worked out for me to be here.”
Lance nodded, exhaustion etched on his face. No doubt the man hadn’t been sleeping well since they’d gotten the news that Jessa’s pregnancy was in jeopardy, and she needed to go on bed -rest.
“I know it will take a huge weight off Jessa’s mind knowing you’re here. Rose has been a great help, but she has a job, and Addy is travelling with some friends down to Florida for a few weeks.”
“Usually I have plans to travel once school is out too, but this year I just never managed to get anything together. I think God knew I would be needed here.”
“Did Rose take Julia with her?” Lance asked, referring to his and Jessa’s eight-year-old daughter. The only child they’dbeen able to have in the nine years they’d been married.
