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The dress fell all the way to the sand, and she didn’t wear shoes right now. Harrison wore a tuxedo, as he claimed he wanted to dress up and look as nice as she did. She’d tried to tell him her dress wasn’t anything fancy, but he’d swallowed hard and his eyes had filled with desire when she’d entered his dressing room twenty minutes ago.
I don’t want to go out there, he’d murmured in her ear as he’d taken her into his arms.Maybe we can stay here, and I can examine every inch of this dress to make sure it’s appropriate for a wedding.
She’d giggled into his shoulder, excited to become his wife, finally sleep in the same bed as him, and merge their lives as they both moved forward into the future.
Out here they had come, of course. She’d kissed him in his dressing room until Bea and Grant had insisted they get in position. She hadn’t wanted to be walked down the aisle. She hadn’t wanted to invite a lot of people. Her closest family and friends had come from Texas, and Harrison had invited a similar number from around the island. A couple of his best friends at his construction firm. Along with Grant, Blake, and a man named Tyler Parker, who sold a lot of real estate on Hilton Head, Oliver Blackhurst, who owned the smoothie shop where Bea and Grant had first met, and Scott Anderson, who Harrison had sold the landscaping part of his business to a couple of years ago, his party then included his brother, parents, and Beryl. Her golden retriever sure did love Harrison, and Cass was sure it was because of all the hamburgers he fed to the canine.
The pastor walked toward them, and Cass and Harrison turned to face each other instead of the crowd as he took his place behind the altar. He smiled out at them and everyone beyond them, and Cass settled her hands in Harrison’s. His were so much bigger than hers, and she felt safe and secure with him in everything they did together.
“Welcome to the union of Cassandra Haslam and Harrison Tate,” Pastor Rollins said. “Cass started coming to my services about a year ago, and it has been a pure delight getting to know her.”
She gave him a warm smile, glad she’d been able to make a few connections here on the island. She’d worked with several clients too, but she’d only invited one of them to her nuptials. AnnaMae Hank sat on the end of the second row with Sage and Sage’s sister, Thelma.
A shot of worry bulleted through Cass. Sage had just finalized her divorce, and yet she sat at Cass’s wedding with a smile so wide, Cass would never suspect that she was hurting inside.
She was, and Cass knew it. Bessie beside her wiped her eyes, but Cass knew watching yet another person in their Supper Club get married and leave Sweet Water Falls was difficult for her. Joy, who sat next to Bessie, had struggled the most with the dissolution of their group. She’d invited Cherry Forrester to the group in an effort to keep it thriving, and she sat next to Joy in a ravishing red dress that Cass wanted to try on.
She knew it wouldn’t fit her. She stood about six inches taller than Cherry, and the woman had far more curves than Cass did. She was more straight up and down and always had been, even after the birth of her babies.
Her children sat on the first row, along with her parents. She looked past her husband-to-be and smiled at all of them, grateful there hadn’t been any drama leading up to this wedding. Of course, Sariah and her husband, Robbie, hadn’t arrived on the island until yesterday, and Jane had barely beaten them. Conrad, her only son, lived with her right now, but he worked two jobs on the island in his efforts to save money for college.
He’d go back to Baylor in the fall to start his junior year, and Cass still traveled to Texas plenty to see her kids. Both Sariah and Conrad lived there, and she wanted to keep her spot in the Supper Club.
This month, they’d do Supper Club here on Hilton Head, because Lauren, Joy, and Bea all lived here. For now. Once fall returned, Joy and Lauren would go back to Sweet Water Falls. Back to their normal lives.
Maybe, Cass thought as the pastor started talking about love and marriage. Lauren sat awfully close to Blake Williams, and she’d shown up to the fireworks picnic with his hand in hers two nights ago. She seemed happy and in control of her emotions, but Cass knew Lauren on a deep level. She could see past the façade that kept most people in the dark about how Lauren really felt.
This wedding was very difficult for her too, and Cass renewed her commitment to make sure her friends knew how very much she loved them. Just because she was getting married again didn’t mean she wouldn’t be there for them when they needed her.
Bea stood beside and behind her a step, as Grant did for Harrison. That was the extent of the people Cass needed to see and bless this wedding, and she turned to look at the pastor so she wouldn’t miss more of the ceremony.
“…seeing people find each other later in life,” Pastor Rollins said. “It renews my faith and belief that God’s hand is in all of our lives, no matter how old we get or how much experience we have.”
He looked up from a small book he held in his hands. “Now, I was told not to carry on too long, so I think we should get right to the part where these two are joined together in marriage.” He looked from Cass to Harrison. “Would that be all right with the two of you?”
She nodded, and Harrison said, “Yes, sir,” in a somewhat rusty voice. He didn’t attend church with her, and she was okay with that. She didn’t go every week either. She was a praying woman though, and he supported her in whatever she wanted to do.
“Great,” Pastor Rollins said. “Then Cass, I believe you have some vows to read.”
She nodded and extracted one hand from Harrison’s. Bea handed her a small index card, and Cass glanced at it. She’d gone over the bullet points with her Supper Club last night as they’d gone to dinner together.
“Harrison,” she said. “I’ve appreciated your steady friendship and companionship as I’ve healed these past couple of years.” She drew in a breath, because thinking of West still made her chest pinch. No sadness accompanied the tug on her heartstrings anymore, and Cass knew she was ready to say I-do to another man.
Not just any man.
The one standing in front of her, his features so dark like West’s but so different at the same time. He squeezed the hand he still held, and Cass focused.
“You took care of me when I needed it most,” she said. “I love you for that. I love you for how you can make me laugh, and how you love my children and my dog, and how I wanted to live in my house even though yours has the outdoor kitchen you’ve always wanted.”
He chuckled and shook his head, his chin dropping slightly. He was absolutely adorable, and Cass’s love for him doubled.
“I love that you’re quiet when I’m loud, and you’re the complete compliment to all of my flaws, making them smoother and easier for everyone to deal with.”
“Not true,” he whispered. “You don’t have any flaws.”
Cass smiled at him, her eyes filling with tears. “I love you, and I want to walk at your side for the rest of my life.” She handed the card back to Bea, who tucked it somewhere.
Cass slid her hand back into Harrison’s as the pastor prompted him to say his vows. He cleared his throat, his face suddenly filling with a handsome blush. “Cass,” he said. “I’m not one for talking too much about how I feel. I wrote these vows at least ten times, but they never seemed quite right.”
