Free Daring Brides by Ava Miles Page B

thing.
    The woman returned moments later with a bouquet of white and blush-colored roses with a pink sprig of something too lacy and delicate to survive the hour. The ribbon-wrapped stems felt awkward in Peggy’s hands, and she was afraid she’d break them without trying.
    While she might have delegated the wedding flower and color choices to Mac and Abbie, she had drawn the line in the sand on one thing. Peggy wasn’t really a bouquet thrower, so there would be none of that single ladies nonsense. It was too embarrassing.
    Having delivered the bouquet, Mac’s helper was now pinning a boutonniere on Keith, who was squirming again. She couldn’t blame him.
    Tanner put his hand on her arm and gave her a soft smile, like he knew the thought of everyone staring at her as she walked down the aisle was making her get all fidgety. “Break a leg.”
    She laughed half-heartedly, and then Jill and Meredith hugged her and disappeared behind the massively carved wooden double doors.
    The woman checked her watch—a fanciful confection with diamonds around the face. Peggy couldn’t imagine wearing a watch like that, but then again who was she to judge? She was wearing a giant ruby around her neck.
    “Two minutes and counting,” the woman said in a drill-sergeant tone.
    Did she plan on counting down the seconds when they got to ten like it was New Year’s Eve? Peggy hoped not.
    Keith curled his hand in hers, and she looked down at him. His brow was furrowed.
    “Are you nervous?” she asked, wishing her stomach would stop acting like there were magic jumping beans inside it.
    “No,” he said quietly. “I just…don’t want to mess anything up.”
    She dropped to her haunches so they were eye level. “You could never do that.”
    “That’s what Dad said,” he muttered, looking down at his shiny black shoes.
    “Well, he’s right,” she told him, smoothing down his cowlick. “This is our special day, and nothing could ruin it.”
    “Because we’re really going to be a family now, right? In the eyes of the law and everything?”
    Her heart swelled with pride. “Yes, in the eyes of the law and everything.”
    “Then it’s going to be okay. Dad says us being a family is all that matters.”
    She couldn’t agree more. She knew she and Mac were going to last. She knew it like she knew she wanted to be a cop.
    She stood, and all her nerves about being in the spotlight slipped away. The woman opened the doors, and suddenly a long aisle with a white runner stretched out in front of her. She took a step, feeling Keith match her stride.
    Together, they walked down the aisle.
     
    ***
     
    Mac had thought Peggy’s brother would give her away. And since Peggy had balked at a wedding rehearsal, saying, “How hard can it be to walk a straight line?” he hadn’t pressed.
    But he hadn’t been prepared. Not for this.
    The woman who’d captured his heart was walking toward him hand-in-hand with the little boy he already thought of as his son. And she was wearing the ruby pendant he’d given her. As far as life moments went, this one was pure perfection, and he almost wished she’d walk slower so he could savor it. But even with “Here Comes The Bride” being played by the orchestra he’d hired, she couldn’t stop herself from giving into her natural gait: a power walk.
    Keith was grinning, and as soon as he cleared the last row of chairs decorated with roses in white and blush, he let go of his mom’s hand and ran to Mac.
    “Dad!” he cried as Mac swept him up into his arms. “We’re getting married. Finally!”
    “Amen,” Rhett added from the front row.
    The guests all laughed, and Mac felt a grin tug at his mouth.
    “I’m glad you brought your mom down the aisle,” he told Keith. “That was a nice surprise.”
    “Mom said we both had to do it since you’ll be living with both of us now,” Keith said, his missing tooth utterly charming as he smiled back at Mac.
    He was moving into her smaller house with