The late-afternoon sun shone brightly as Owen accompanied his mother down the steep flight of stairs to the sand. Per Laura’s wishes, everyone was barefoot. Her mantra from the beginning had been to “keep it simple,” which had been just fine with him.

His beloved sisters, Julia, Katie and Cindy, came down with Julia carrying Holden. Though they were twins, Julia had dark hair and Katie was blonde, but they had blue eyes in common. Cindy’s hair was light brown, as were her eyes. She, Jeff and Julia favored their father’s side of the family, while the rest of them were blond like their mother. His sisters smiled brightly at him as Julia handed over the baby to him. Owen kissed and hugged them. He was so damned glad to see them.

Holden wore the same white shirt and khakis as the other men in the wedding party and took in the proceedings with a curious expression on his adorable face.

Evan was doing double duty as Owen’s best man while providing the music. The florist had placed two huge arrangements of tiger lilies, day lilies, daisies, roses and something Laura had told him was called “bird of paradise.” Owen had wondered about Laura’s decision to go with corals and oranges, but he had to admit the flowers were quite spectacular. He should’ve known Laura would get it just right. She always did. Their guests stood in a half circle around the flowers. Since the ceremony would be short and sweet, they’d skipped the bother of bringing chairs down to the beach.

The wedding party came down the stairs in pairs: Adam and Abby, Shane and Janey, Jeff and Stephanie, Josh and Maddie. As the maid of honor, Grace came down alone, and Owen watched Evan’s face light up at the sight of her. Evan never took his eyes off his fiancée as she made her way to them in a coral dress that clung to all her curves.

And then Laura appeared at the top of the stairs, her arm tucked into her father’s bent elbow, and everything else faded away. There was only her. There would only ever be her. Evan played an acoustic rendition of “Here Comes the Bride” as Laura came toward him, her gaze locked on his.

Owen couldn’t seem to breathe until she smiled, and the knot of nerves in his chest became a feeling of pure joy, the likes of which he’d never experienced quite so profoundly before. His Princess… His love. His life.