Now and always.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Tommy crossed his arms over his chest as he surveyed the room around them.
All the people he loved were here. Minnie, of course, as well as all his teammates, his parents, and his sister. Jack, Flora, and their children.
Then there were Minnie’s friends and family. He couldn’t say her parents were among the people he loved, but they had become much more welcoming of late, and he was grateful—because it mattered to Minnie. What had touched her most, though, was her sister’s visit from Sheffield. Tommy would long remember the sight of Minnie flying down the stairs and throwing herself into her sister’s arms.
“Well, Tom,” Rhys said, clamping a hand on his shoulder. Tommy turned to his captain.
“This isn’t the Cup, but I suppose we could call it a victory.”
Tommy laughed.
“It’s not quite the Cup, no,” he said. “We came close, though, didn’t we?”
Rhys sighed, remembering their loss from last week. It had been close, but Sheffield had come away victorious this year.
“You can’t win every year, Rhys,” Tommy said with a twinkle in his eye. “But we have lots to be grateful for.”
“Like your marriage,” Rhys agreed as he looked across the room at Tommy’s bride. “You told me you weren’t going to get married twice.”
“I did, didn’t I?” Tommy said. “I suppose I should amend that. I will not marry two differentwomen. The same woman twice? That is a possibility.”
“Nice of you to do this for her,” Colin said, joining them.
“It’s not just for her,” Tommy said in a low voice. “You do know how I love a good party.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” Colin said, shaking his head with a grin.
It had been Tommy’s idea to celebrate their wedding again, and Minnie had been ecstatic about the idea. None of their family or friends had been present for what felt like such a significant occasion in their lives. This time, they held the ceremony in a church, with her parents’ blessing, not that they’d had much other option. However, they had graciously offered their home for the wedding breakfast and dance later in the evening. Tommy was worried some of the guests would feel out of place, but from the looks of it, everyone was enjoying themselves.
“Where’s Jonny?” Colin asked.
“He said he’d come around later in the evening,” Tommy said with a frown. “Not sure what else was so important.”
Actually, he had a feeling he knew, but he was still hoping he was wrong about that.
“Ward, might I have a word?”
Tommy turned, trying not to show his dismay that it was Minnie’s father awaiting him.
He would actually rathernottalk to the man. As much ashe was trying to be friendly for Minnie’s sake, her father was still the one who had gotten them into such a mess, who would have happily married Minnie off to Arthur Bellingham the Third.
“Of course,” he said, despite his inner protests, slightly relieved when Minnie joined them.
“May I accompany you?” she asked, and her father nodded as he led them into his study, just off the ballroom they had created by combining two other large rooms in their house.
Minnie and Tommy sat in stiff-backed chairs in front of his desk, and Tommy loved that she reached over and took his hand in hers, uncaring about what her father might think.
Mr. Draper sat there, hands clasped atop the desk before him, as he stared at both of them.
“What’s wrong?” Minnie asked when her usually stoic father shocked them both by blinking back tears, although he recovered before they fell.
“Ah, nothing’s wrong. Well, it was, but—” He stopped, swallowed, and took a breath. “I wanted to apologize.”
“Apologize?” Minnie repeated, leaning forward, beautiful as ever in the white lace wedding gown her mother had gifted her for the occasion. It accentuated her every curve, making Tommy want to peel it off her, piece by piece.
