Page 43 of Innocent Union
Emilia gently slaps Gemma on the arm. “No, we’re not. Gemma is just talking nonsense.”
Lilian smiles and claps her hands again. “I just love weddings.”
“So, do I,” my mom says. She turns to Killian and holds her hand out to him. “Well, you finally married my daughter.”
Killian shakes her hand. “I know you still don’t approve.”
“So, win me over,” she says. “And we won’t have a problem.” She walks over to Erin. “Mother to mother, tell me the truth. What’s your son really like?”
Erin gazes at Killian with so much love in her eyes, it steals my breath away. “He’s the best son. He helped me through a tough time when I lost my other son. Your daughter is lucky. Trust me. Killian will treat her right.”
My mom’s eyes get misty. “I didn’t know you lost a son.”
“Years ago, but it hurts every day.”
“I can only imagine. When I lost my husband, I was a mess. I can’t imagine losing any of my children.”
Erin grabs my mom’s hand. “And I hope you never have to.”
“Wow, our moms are getting along,” Killian murmurs to me.
“I know. That’s a good sign.”
“Maybe I underestimated your mom.”
I shake my head. “No. She’s easy to underestimate. But my mom has layers. She just doesn’t always show them to people.”
“So,” Gemma says, drawing everyone’s eyes to hers. “What are we gonna do about food?”
A few minutes later,my entire family is in the hospital’s cafeteria. Erin remained in her room to rest. The wedding took a lot out of her.
“This is surprisingly good,” my mom admits about the meatloaf. “But nowhere good as mine.”
“Of course not,” Emilia says, flashing me a smile. “So, Mia, how does it feel to be married?”
“It feels … good. I feel special.” As I take a bite of my mashed potatoes, Killian gives me a smile over his own plate of food.
“I’m glad,” Emilia says. “You deserve it. You know, you were always the one I worried about the most.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Because you were the youngest. You were so vulnerable when Dad died. I always hoped you’d be ok. I’m glad you have Killian now.”
“Hey, Lucia,” Gemma says, nudging our baby sister, “now you can’t pick on Mia because she’ll be moving in with Killian.”
Lucia pouts. “I know. There goes my fun.”
That makes everyone laugh, including me. I never knew a wedding at a hospital could be so much fun, but sitting around the table with my family, I’m realizing it was never about a dream wedding. It was never about the venue or the cake or the flowers. It was about my family. Having my family with me makes the world a whole lot brighter.
Sitting here, eating hospital meatloaf, surrounded by my family and with Killian at my side, I think I can be happy. For once, looking over at Cecilia, I don’t feel that burning resentment.
I can see a happy future for myself, and I don’t want to lose it.
I turn to Killian. “Thank you for convincing me to do this.”
“And thank you for agreeing to it. We made my mom’s day today. She’ll never forget this. And sometimes, happiness like this can help people last longer.”
“We gave your mom more time? No pressure or anything.”
