Page 106 of Forbidden Dark Vows

“You look pretty good too.”

“Why thank you.” He leans closer and whispers in my ear, “How’s my baby?”

“She’s doing just fine.”

“She?” His eyebrows slide upwards. “What if it’s a boy?”

“He’ll look just like his dad, and I’ll have two of you to keep on track.”

The guests start filing into the banquet hall, and the day becomes a blur of speeches, toasts, and congratulations. I clap when I’m supposed to, kiss people’s cheeks when they tell mewhat a beautiful couple we make and talk without thinking about what I’m saying. I feel dazed, like this is all a dream, and I’ll wake up in my bedroom at home and realize that I fell on the skating rink in Chicago and imagined the whole thing.

“Breathe,” my dad says. He’s sitting next to me at the top table, and I realize that I’ve barely paid attention to him since he handed me over to Harry in the salon.

“Is it that obvious?”

“You’re still my little girl, Ruby. No one knows you like I do.”

Harry will, I think. Harry will know me better than my dad does in time, but then perhaps Harry sees a different Ruby to the one my dad sees. Perhaps I can be everything to both these men at the same time. This thought makes me feel even luckier than I already do.

Harry and I cut the cake together, his warm hand on mine.

Then we move through to the room where the band is already playing music to welcome our guests. Harry, still holding my hand, leads me onto the dance floor.

“Harry, what are you doing?” I whisper.

“It’s our first dance.”

“But…” I never thought about it. All the preparations I made over the past six weeks, all the choices I had to make for food, wine, flowers, and seating plans, I totally forgot to include the first dance on my many lists.

Harry stands in front of me, his eyes gleaming. “Do you trust me?”

“Ye-es.”

“Then follow me, Ruby. I have it all under control.”

The music plays, ‘The Lady in Red’ by Chris de Burgh, a song that we listened to together in a restaurant in Edinburgh, and Harry’s hand slides around my waist. He whirls me around the dance floor, our eyes locked, and my body moves instinctively with his. I never knew he could dance like this, and by the time the song ends, I’m literally breathless.

We stop in front of my dad who is watching us with tears in his eyes, and I realize that Harry did this as much for him as for me.

“How did you…? You never said you could dance like that.”

“I couldn’t.” Harry’s smile is wider than I’ve ever seen it. “I’ve been having lessons.”

“When? How did I not know about this?”

“Lunch breaks, after work some evenings. It’s my wedding gift to you, Ruby. I know I’ll never be as good as your dad, but, well, I tried.”

I kiss Harry, and my dad is on his feet, pulling us both unsteadily into a hug. “You looked amazing on that dance floor, Ruby. Just like I always knew you would.”

“Oh, Dad.” Tears fill my eyes, and my dad catches them on his fingertip.

“No sad thoughts today, remember? Only happy ones.”

“That’s just it. They are happy ones.”

There’s only one more thing that I need to complete the day. I keep scanning the room, searching for a glimpse of a familiar face. I sent an invitation. I explained how much it would mean to Harry, but still, I don’t know if it’s going to happen, and I’llbe gutted if it doesn’t. What else do you give the man who has everything?

Especially when he learned to dance for me.

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