“Fair enough.” As she searched for the right words, Kelsey tapped her pen on the notebook. She glanced over at Will. “Today, in front of our family and friends, I pledge my love and my fidelity.”
“That’s a good one.”
His compliment made her feel all tingly inside. She smiled. “Thank you.”
“I promise to be your husband, your lover, and your friend.”
His smile, so sincere and open, made Kelsey feel as if he were making those promises to her. She wanted him to make those promises to her. Just as she wanted to make the same promises to him.
Warmth pooled low in her belly. “I vow to be your steadfast partner and to stay by your side in good times and in bad.”
“I will honor you, respect you, and cherish you.”
The look in his eyes took her breath away.Breathe, she reminded herself, but the last thing she needed now was air. She needed Will.
He moved closer, his gaze never leaving hers. “I’ll put you and our family first and never let an argument go beyond sunset.”
Happily ever after.
She could taste it. She could feel it. She wanted it.
Never mind that “happily ever after” went against everything she’d believed in for most of her life. She couldn’t help herself. Not when she could suddenly picture a future with a man by her side, and that man was Will Addison. An image so appealing it made her heart sing. Something so wonderful had to be right.
And that was when it hit her.
Cupid’s arrow to her heart.
She loved Will Addison.
Kelsey Armstrong Waters loved William Addison IV.
Loved him with her heart and her soul. “I promise to listen to you, to laugh with you, to love you.”
A featherlight brush of Will’s hand made her nerve endings dance. His smile softened, and he rested his hand on hers. “And when our time in this world does end, our love will continue on for eternity.”
Eternity.
Kelsey’s heart sank to her feet. She pulled her hand away and picked up the pen that had slipped from her fingers. Her eyes stung, and she blinked.
Yes, she loved Will, but his belief in one true love, in a love so all-consuming it lasted through eternity, would keep him from ever loving her.
He’d already found his one true love.
And it wasn’t her.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
February 13
So much for happily ever after.
Only seventeen minutes until the rehearsal was scheduled to begin, and no one had heard from Faith or Trent. Were they or weren’t they going to show? Two weeks ago, Kelsey knew where she’d place her money, but she hoped things would turn out differently for the Addison family’s sake.
Bill and Starr sat in the living room, holding hands and quietly talking with the minister. Neither looked overly concerned.
In the kitchen, Hope, the matron of honor, looked more tired than anxious, busy feeding a snack to her children. She was everything Will had described and more. Her stylishly short hair, a cap of dark brown curls, accented her natural beauty and didn’t require lots of work. With a peaches-and-cream complexion and to-die-for lush, dark lashes, she needed little makeup. Good thing since Hope had almost no time for herself with three young kids hanging all over her. She kept popping into the living room to see what was going on until a “Mommy” cry pulled her back into the kitchen.
Will, however, was another story. As he stood at a window staring out at the driveway, Kelsey caught a glimpse of his profile. His jaw was clenched, his features tight. Her heart went out to him. She wanted to kiss him and hold him and make everything better, but that was the last thing she could do. She glanced at her watch again.
