He gave Sammie a quick, deft smile, before directing his gaze to the ceiling in an effort to avoid the inevitable.
All of his efforts were in vain, however, when she took him by the chin with one finger and turned his face back to her line of sight.
“We did it. She’s all grown up now.”
He attempted to chuckle, which seemed to break the dam, and he had to lean forward to clutch his temples. He felt her inch closer and rest her head on his shoulder, as she often did while rubbing circles on the center of his back.
After a moment, he managed to discreetly compose himself and sat upright, as he took in the sight of their daughter happily basking in the glow of candles, amidst hundreds of white roses.
“She looks just like you did,”he mused.
Sammie gleamed at him.“It doesn’t feel like that long ago, does it?”
“May as well have been yesterday,”he agreed.
She abruptly grasped at his hand, interlacing their fingers, and dropped her temple back on his shoulder.“I wish it was only yesterday. I wish I could get back all those years I wasted being horrible and angry. It never should have been like that. We were supposed to be happy.”
He lifted her hand to his mouth, placing a small kiss on the back of it.“We’re happynow.That’s what matters. All of that…it only matters because it madethisall the more wonderful. I wouldn’t trade any of it. Not one moment.”
She lifted her face to look at him through misty eyes.“Thank you for never giving up, even when everything was difficult. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that.”
He nudged her.“Hey, you never gave up either. So thank you.”
“I love you, hon.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart.”
She squished his cheeks between her palms and kissed him, releasing him in time to cheer after the minister made a joyful announcement.
Sixty-five.
Nick chuckled as he entered the kitchen to find Sammie filling a fourth vase with flowers. He slid up behind her, placing his hands on her hips and kissing first the side of her short silver curls, then the deep crease of one of her laugh lines.
“No need to go overboard, sweetheart,” he teased.
“Honey,” she scolded with a titter. “They are going to tell us they’re expecting. There iseveryneed to go overboard.”
He chuckled again. “What if you’re wrong?”
“I amnotwrong.” She waved atsk-tskfinger in his face, then kissed his lips. “You ought to know that by now. Now, go put these on the coffee table in the living room so I can gather the veggies.”
“Yes, dear,” he complied in his continued teasing tone, as he rounded the corner out of the kitchen.
Just as he set the vase down, he heard her voice carry from the kitchen, uttering a phrase that was kind of confusing and more than a bit concerning.
“Nick … Nick, hang on. Somebody’s coming.”
He abruptly stood upright and swiftly ambled back to the kitchen, only to find it empty.
Strange. He’d heard her as clear as a bell.
Recently, he’d been feeling like the coffee was starting to make his ears buzz. Perhaps it was time to cut back to half a cup a day.
He poured himself a glass of water and one for Sammie and then sat at the kitchen table to glance over the news as he waited for her to return.
A few moments later, he heard her voice again.
“See? Somebody’s coming. They’ll be here soon.”
