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But next, it was Aria’s turn. There were no tears as she beamed with joy when it was her turn to walk down the aisle beside Dan, her gaze on Gareth. He met her at the front, then they both hugged Dan and Cathy before heading up the stairs onto the stage.
During that interchange, Skylar stepped up and took Ciara from Jay. Thankfully, the toddler didn’t protest the move, and Skylar carried her to where Misha’s mom waited to take her into the small room at the back of the sanctuary, normally used by moms with young babies. It had a one-way mirroredglass window and a speaker, so her mom could still witness the wedding without Ciara interrupting anything.
With Ciara taken care of, Misha could relax and enjoy the wedding.
As the couple said their vows, Misha couldn’t help but wonder how long it might be until she and Jay would be ready to take that step themselves. Just because they’d had a brief discussion about marriage didn’t mean an engagement was imminent, however.
But as she listened to Aria and Gareth pledge their love and lives to each other, she knew it was something she wanted to do with Jay. Her love for him had only grown over the past year.
He’d had an endless amount of patience with Peyton, loving him through the rough moments when the boy hadn’t wanted anything to do with his dad. Jay had also always made time for the two of them, arranging dates and babysitting, so they could be together without the kids.
Their communication had struggled a bit at first, but they’d worked hard to get better at it. She’d known that they’d made big strides forward when Jay had told her about an interaction he’d had with Casey. Apparently, the woman had been back in town and cornered him again, deriding Misha and giving a bunch of reasons why she and Jay were the better couple.
Jay had told Misha all about the conversation, and though she’d been furious at the woman, she’d appreciated Jay’s honesty. Now that she’d been with Jay for a while, Misha understood a bit more why Casey might want him back. He might not be perfect, but Jay was a loving man who tried his best to care for those around him.
Casey shouldn’t have let him go, so it was definitely her loss and Misha’s gain. Misha had no intention of letting him go.
Though she was sure Jay wanted them to get married, Misha just didn’t know if they were on the same timeline. Unlike Jay, she only had Ciara to consider.
Peyton, however, was old enough to know what them getting married meant. He’d made great strides in the past year, but it was possible that Jay didn’t think Peyton was in the best place yet for them to take that step.
That was why Misha hoped his question earlier meant they were getting ready to have a conversation about it all. It would be another step in the direction they’d been moving since deciding to date again.
As Misha took Jay’s arm to follow the rest of the wedding party out of the sanctuary, she thanked God that they’d tried again, and that they had been able to stand firm in the commitment they’d made to each other on that day when they’d stayed late in the clinic.
~*~
Jay slipped his arm around Misha’s waist as they stood off to the side, watching as Gareth, Aria, and his parents stood in a receiving line in the church foyer. He was really enjoying the day. More than he might have thought he’d enjoy any day that involved him wearing a suit and tie for hours on end.
At least the suit made him look pretty good. Not as stunning as Misha, though. The lavender complemented her complexion, and the style was very flattering on her.
They’d had several pictures taken together that day, both alone and with the two kids, and Jay hoped to get copies of all of them.
“So, are you next, Jay?” Eva asked as she joined them. She didn’t bother with shaking their hands, choosing insteadto give them each a hug. “You’ve clearly already got yourself a wonderful woman. You just need to put a ring on her finger.”
Jay winked at the older woman. “We’ll just have to see who catches that bouquet.”
“Well, Misha, darling,” Eva began, “you better put in the effort to grab that bouquet. Don’t be afraid to use your elbows.”
Misha chuckled. “I will try my best, but I doubt I’m the only single woman here that would like to get their hands on that bouquet.”
“Get Jay to give you some hints,” Eva said. “He knows how to keep a person away from the goal.”
Misha glanced up at him, her eyes sparkling with laughter. “I will certainly do that.”
“I can’t wait to see how you snatch that bouquet from the other women. If I were a betting sort of person, I’d definitely put my money on you, Misha dear.”
“So would I,” Jay agreed.
As the woman moved on, Misha began to laugh. “I am going to feel so bad for letting Eva down if I don’t catch that bouquet.”
“I think she’ll get over it,” Jay said. “But I look forward to seeing you go for it.”
“So you have some tips for me?”
Before he could answer her, someone else approached them and engaged them in conversation.
Once the receiving line was over, the wedding party was driven to the spot where Gareth and Aria had planned for them to have their pictures taken.
