Page 123 of Tempt Me Forever

"I don't, not even a bit."

Dad walked arm in arm with Gran for only a few steps before she pulled away. "You walk too fast. Let me be. I need to go at my pace."

We all laughed.

I gave my sister to Lara, and then Dad held his arms at his sides and said, "Girls, want to walk with this old man?"

"Sure, Dad." I took his arm. Reese took the other.

Gran was walking in front, and Lara was behind us.

"It's good that you've come. I know it means a lot to Gran," I said.

"It means a lot to me, too, to witness this day. I'm happy Mom finally found someone."

He looked at each of us for a moment. "Girls, I had a lot of time to think about the two of you lately, and, well, I wanted to apologize for not being more present for you while growing up."

Reese and I exchanged glances. Dad never spoke about that time. Mostly because it had been very painful for him.

"You did your best," I said. I knew from the bottom of my heart that he really had, and that was all any of us could do.

"I know, but I want to do better. I know we live an ocean apart, but I want to be a bigger part of your lives, girls."

Reese beamed. "You're doing fine, Dad."

He frowned. "Neither of you has come to visit me lately."

"I might," Reese said.

We walked through the narrow corridor that led straight to the huge yard. It was a small luxury hotel. Gran insisted she wanted to have a wedding at a venue that had plenty of space outdoors because she didn't want to feel confined.

Our uncle was waiting right outside. I offered him my other arm, and he took it right away.

"How are you holding up?" Dad asked him.

Emmett cleared his throat. "Honestly, I never thought this day would happen."

"Gran's radiant," I said. "I don't think I've ever seen her this happy."

"That's all we want for her," Emmett said. He and Dad were both stoic. I could imagine this was a very emotional day for them.

It was for us grandkids too. My throat was full of emotion, but not just because Gran was getting married. Having Dad here and being together as a family meant a lot to me.

The hotel had done a fabulous job with the sitting area outside. I was trying to shut off my work brain, yet I couldn't help but notice details: the carpet they'd put between the rows leading up to the aisle, and even the chairs themselves—they looked very comfortable, even though they didn't take up much space.

Most of the guests were sitting down, but not us Maxwells, of course. Everyone seemed to be on their feet. Tate and Travis were chasing their toddlers. I loved seeing both of my cousins like this. Fatherhood truly was good for them.

Bonnie and Lexi were sitting down, heads together. Lexi winked at me. I wondered what they were planning.

Liz was at the appetizer table, instructing the server. She was such a darling. She'd offered to help us find a catering team and to keep an eye on them.

Sweet Lord, I hadn't wanted her to work the day of the wedding. I'd have a word with her later, or I could get Declan to do it. He was far more convincing than I was.

Suze was by the table, too, holding Michael on one hip. Drake was next to her, wiping a bit of drool from Michael's chin.

Not the moment to jump him, Kimberly.

Noticing me, he kissed Michael's head before joining us. I’d met his parents, too, when they came to visit recently. They seemed to like me, which was all I could hope for.

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