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It was a beautiful early summer day, though Jay’s suit made him feel a little hot standing out in the sun. Misha didn’t appear to be bothered by the heat, however.
At one point, the photographer had him, Misha, Peyton, and Ciara pose together, and Jay was glad that Aria and Gareth had included that pose. It was his hope that while it wasn’t technically a family photo yet, it would be in the not-too-distant future.
Once their pictures were taken, Peyton ran off with Layla, while Ciara tried to catch them. The older kids were good about not running too far away from the much younger toddler.
As his gaze tracked his son’s movements, Jay was so glad for the progress Peyton had made that year. Amberlyn had stuck to her guns and hadn’t contacted Peyton at all. In fact, she appeared to have disappeared completely.
Jay had tried to contact her a couple of months after he and Misha had gotten back together, but her number was disconnected. And when he’d contacted the lawyer he’d used for the change of custody to ask him to check on Amberlyn, he hadn’t been able to find her anywhere in Idaho Falls.
Now that they were this far out from that initial difficult period, Jay was kind of glad that Amberlyn wasn’t in their lives. Peyton was doing much better, and the relationship father and son shared now was stronger than Jay had ever imagined it would be.
Peyton had even started calling him Dad, after basically calling him nothing at all for the first six months they were together. It hadn’t been something that Jay had stressed over, but now, he was glad that Peyton had come to accept Jay’s role in his life.
Jay stood off to the side, watching as the bridesmaids lined up with Aria for some shots, loving how Misha laughed and smiled with the other woman. He loved how confident she was in herself and her beauty. It made her so easy to be around.
“You’re looking a little besotted there, bro,” Jackson said as he joined Jay.
“Besotted? Do you even know what that means?”
“Are you calling me dumb?” Jackson demanded.
“Am I?” Jay asked, giving him a wide-eyed look.
Jackson rolled his eyes. “I’ll have you know that Idoknow what besotted means. And that look on your face as you watch Misha is it.”
Jay shrugged. “You’re not wrong. I am absolutely besotted with her.”
Jackson sighed. “Lucky you.”
“Not lucky,” Jay told him. “Luck has had nothing to do with it. It’s taken some hard work to get to this point. Maybe you need to prove that you’re a bit more serious if you want someone to take you seriously.”
“My sense of humor is my biggest draw,” Jackson said.
“It might be, but being serious sometimes isn’t a negative thing.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to be with a woman who doesn’t know how to have a good time.”
“If you’ve exhausted the possibilities around Serenity, you might have to go further afield.”
Jackson groaned. “I don’t want to leave.”
“Not sure what your options might be, then.” Having found Misha, he understood why Jackson might want a relationship, too. But he also knew that having a relationship with the wrong person, just so he had someone, wasn’t a good option to being single.
Once all the pictures were done, they headed for the hotel where they’d be having the reception. Kayleigh had gotten Gareth and Aria a good deal at the hotel, and Jay was prepared for a wonderful meal.
He was thankful that he and Misha didn’t have to sit at the head table. Instead, it was just Gareth, Aria, Wade, Janessa, and his parents. He and Misha were at a table with Jackson, Charli, the kids, and Denise. So far, the kids were all doing pretty good, even Ciara, which he knew was a relief to Misha.
Misha let out a sigh as she leaned against him once they’d found their table and sat down. “This has been incredible, but I’m getting a little tired.”
“Me, too. Hopefully, some good food perks us up.”
“It should be great, if the food we had at the steakhouse is any indication.”
“Gareth raved about it after Kayleigh arranged a tasting menu for him and Aria.”
“This wedding has been amazing,” Misha said.
“Amazing, but also… a lot of work and expense.”
