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Back The Christmas Wedding Guest Save as PDF
Chapters (36)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. Dedication
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty-One
  25. Twenty-Two
  26. Twenty-Three
  27. Twenty-Four
  28. Twenty-Five
  29. Twenty-Six
  30. Twenty-Seven
  31. Twenty-Eight
  32. Twenty-Nine
  33. Thirty
  34. Thirty-One
  35. Booklist
  36. Excerpt

He accepted that one day he would be open to caring about someone else. Physical interest was a good first step, he told himself, although one he had no idea how to manage. He didn’t have a clue about what to do next, or even if there should be a next step. Dena had deliberately gotten pregnant on her own—hardly the act of a woman looking for a man.

“There wasn’t even one guy you would have considered having father your baby?” he asked, before he could stop himself.

She blinked, as if trying to keep up with the change in topic. “You’ve seen Wishing Tree. It’s not a big town, and I can assure you, there aren’t a lot of age-appropriate single guys hanging around, waiting to fall in love with me.” She smiled. “Besides, I’m not like you. I don’t have a million guys falling all over me every time I walk down the street.”

“Is that what you think happens?”

“Sort of.”

“But I’m not into guys.”

She laughed—a bright, happy sound that made him join in. The need to touch her cranked up just a little. He decided he would simply enjoy the feeling for now. If it lingered, then maybe he would do something about it.

“I meant, I don’t have your array to choose from,” she said.

“I’m not that guy anymore. I’m much happier being a one-woman man.”

Her expression softened. “That’s nice. I’ll bet you were a great husband.”

“I tried to be.”

“Adriana was lucky,” she said, turning back to the bins. “You loved her a lot. I’m sorry you lost the great love of your life.”

It took him a second to realize what she meant. Dena was assuming he was saying that because there had been Adriana, there couldn’t be anyone else, which wasn’t what he’d meant at all. But given that he was only in town for a few weeks, and he wasn’t sure how much he’d healed from the loss of his wife and son, it was probably best not to correct her. For his sake as well as hers.

Eleven

Reggie circled her mother, taking in the lace overlay and long sleeves of the traditional wedding gown. It wasn’t too fancy, and the fit was good. Her mother’s devotion to Zumba and long hikes had kept her in excellent shape, so the V-neck sheath style should have looked amazing.

“I don’t love it,” Reggie admitted, stopping behind her mom and looking at her reflection in the full-length mirror. “I should. It’s pretty, you’re pretty, but it’s just not...something.”