“Come on, Uncle Harry. We can’t be late for the wedding.” Lily grabbed his hand and looked up at him, her expression solemn. “You’re giving Christine away because Dad can’t.” She leaned on tiptoe, whispered, “You have to be like her father, okay?” Her words froze Harry’s brain, made it hard to breathe. “Uncle Harry? Hey, what’s wrong?”

He opened his mouth to speak, tried to push past the words. You have to be like her father, okay? If she only knew how true those words might be. Harry coughed, cleared his throat, and said, “Okay.”

She nodded, a smile stretching over her face. “Yup. You’re gonna be a good dad.”

Harry fell in love with Lily Desantro that very second as her words melted his heart, gave him hope that sometimes people really did get a second chance, and maybe he could be one of them. “Come on, Lily girl, let’s get this wedding started.” He clasped her hand and headed toward the door with the pine cone wreath and red ribbon on it.

“We can just go in,” Lily said when they reached the landing. “Nate won’t mind.”

Harry was about to tell her that might not be exactly true, but Lily had the door open and dragged him in behind her. “Nate! Nate! We’re here.” She released Harry’s hand, moved toward the next room. “Come here, Uncle Harry. Look at all the decorations! So many flowers!” Lily pointed to the red and white poinsettias clustered around the fireplace. There were red and white candles on the mantel and pictures of Nate and Christine in solid wood frames, smiling, happy. In love. A Christmas tree stood in the corner, decorated with what looked like homemade ornaments and strings of popcorn garland. Harry bet Lily’s handiwork was on the ornaments and the garland. He could see where a kid would enjoy creating stuff for a tree rather than using manufactured goodies from other countries that were as impersonal as a paper bag.

“Christine and I made handprint ornaments this year.” Lily clasped her hands together, nodded. “All colors. My hands are almost as big as Christine’s.” She giggled. “But Nate’s are way bigger.” She twirled around, clicked her patent leather shoes against the hardwood floor, and said, “I’m a good dancer.”

“I can see that.” Where was Desantro? Harry shrugged out of his coat, checked his pocket watch. Where was everybody? He’d spotted the tire tracks when he pulled in but thought it meant Nate had been out earlier, not that he might have gone out and not returned yet. “Why don’t you go see if your brother’s in his bedroom? Maybe he’s getting ready and didn’t hear us.”

“Sure.” Lily’s blue eyes lit up and her voice turned gooey like melted caramel. “Maybe he’s daydreaming about his fiancée and forgot he’s supposed to be getting ready to get married.”

“Yeah. Maybe.” Something wasn’t right. Harry fished out his cell phone and punched out Christine’s number. Somebody should have been here by now besides the “father” of the bride and the maid of honor.