But then Lucas turned to Ethan. When he faced Kate again, he held a ring in the hollow of his palm. He’d taken care of it. Relief washed over her, and she smiled her gratitude.

He took her left hand in his and slid the ring onto her finger until it rested beside the glittering diamond. “With this ring, I thee wed.” The look in his eyes burned the words into her heart.

The band was white gold, elegant in its simplicity. When had he had time to buy a ring? And how had he known her size?

The preacher was prompting her to get Lucas’s ring. She turned to take the ring from Anna. There was no way Bryan’s ring would fit Lucas. She hoped it would at least slide over his knuckle. Maybe no one would notice.

She took the ring from Anna’s palm . . . but it wasn’t Bryan’s white-gold band with diamond-shaped cuts. This one matched the one Lucas had put on her finger. She turned toward him and took his hand in hers. The ring slid easily onto his wide, tapered finger and looked bright against the darkness of his skin. “With this ring, I thee wed,” she said.

Lucas caught hold of her hands, and the preacher began reading First Corinthians chapter thirteen. Kate was aware of nothing except Lucas’s hands holding hers, his fingers rough and calloused against hers. She noticed that he was almost a head taller than her five-foot-five frame. One strand of his hair had come loose and fallen over his forehead, rogue-style. Her gaze fell to his eyes. He looked straight at her, into her, anchoring her.

The preacher was making his closing statements. “For as much as Lucas and Kate have consented together in holy wedlock and have pledged their faithfulness to each other, by the power vested in me as a minister of the gospel by the State of Massachusetts, I now pronounce them husband and wife, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

The relief she felt brought a smile to her face. It’s done. I made it through.

“You may now kiss the bride.”

Her eyes flew back to Lucas. In all the commotion of last-minute changes, she hadn’t even thought about the kiss. Had he?

One of his eyebrows quirked as if challenging her.

She leaned toward him and felt his hands go to her waist. She brought her fingers to his jaw just as their lips met. His mouth was soft against hers. His lips moved slowly, deliberately, as he pulled her closer until their bodies nearly met . . .

Heat flowed through her, leaving her legs weak, her cheeks warm. And then it was over.