Brett held Hannah in his arms and stepped into the waltz, slowly moving around the dance floor. He’d made sure they would have the barn to themselves. Holly and Daniel had driven into town with the bridal party an hour ago. By now, they would be enjoying a special pre-wedding dinner. Claire was sitting inside Daniel’s home, putting the finishing touches on the wedding guests’ name tags.
He wanted tonight to be special, to be something they would remember for a long time. If he could calm his racing nerves, he’d be even happier.
Hannah rested her head against his. “Have you seen Pat today?”
“He called me from the hospital. Ida is doing great. She knows what happened before she was placed in the coma.”
“That’s wonderful. She was getting frustrated with not being able to remember anything. Is she still having hallucinations?”
Brett pulled Hannah close. “Not so much now. I don’t know whether she can’t see them or if she’s ignoring them when she thinks they’re there.” For the first week after the doctors brought Ida out of her coma, she was convinced Ninja warriors were coming after her. Nothing they said or did could change what her brain was telling her. It had been frightening for Ida as well as for everyone else.
Hannah sighed. “Pat has been incredible. He loves Ida so much.”
“He found his soul mate.”
“Do you think they really exist?”
Brett’s eyes widened. “You don’t?”
“I’m not sure.”
A trickle of unease ran down his back. “What aren’t you sure about?”
“What makes someone your soul mate? Lots of people get married and more than half end up divorced. Did they think they’d found their soul mates, then realized they were wrong? Or did they have unrealistic expectations about the person they were marrying?”
Brett closed his eyes. Maybe this wasn’t the right time to ask Hannah to marry him. “It might not have anything to do with expectations. If your ultimate goal is to make your partner happy, then you’ll be more focused on them instead of yourself. If the person you want to spend the rest of your life with is happy, you’ll be happy.”
“What if they aren’t.”
“Then you could talk to each other to work out what makes you happy.”
Hannah rubbed her cheek against his. “What makes you happy?”
“You.”
He felt her smile. “What else?”
“The ranch, Pat and Ida, lemon cheesecake, seeing the changes in Dave and Thomas, and chocolate fudge. What makes you happy?”
“You.”
He kissed the side of her face. “And?”
“Claire, painting, the art workshops we run, and designing beautiful venues for special events.”
“That’s an impressive list.”
Hannah nodded.
The next song started playing and Brett kept dancing. As long as Hannah was in his arms, there was a small chance that tonight would have a happy ending.
“I’m glad Pat and Ida taught you to dance,” Hannah murmured.
“Ida told me a gentleman needs to know how to hold a woman and sweep her off her feet.”
“I’ll have to give Ida a hug next time I see her. Her words of wisdom worked.” She looked at him and smiled. “You’ve swept me off my feet.”
He could have drowned in the love shining in Hannah’s eyes. She might not believe in soul mates, but he did. “I want to ask you something.”
