Forever My Love: A Christian Romance (The McKinleys Book 2) Read online

  Sarah beamed. “So I have two uncles now.” She lifted her hand and poked one finger up. “Uncle Trent.” And another finger. “And you. What’s your name?”

  Brooke burst out laughing. Danny had been a more reserved child, so this precociousness of Sarah’s was new to her. But she liked to see it. This girl wasn’t going to let the world overlook her.

  “My name is Lucas.”

  Sarah nodded. “Uncle Lucas.”

  When Lucas looked at her, Brooke saw humor glinting in his eyes. No doubt he wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the little girl.

  “Everything okay out here?” she asked him.

  “Seems to be. There was some debate on where some flowers were supposed to go, but I think Eric just made an executive decision.”

  “Lucas Hamilton.” The deep voice drew their attention to the door behind them.

  Brooke recognized Marcus Black as he joined them. He wore a dark gray pinstripe suit and looked every inch the business owner. Much like Lucas did.

  “Marcus. Good to see you again.”

  The two men shook hands before Marcus looked at her. “Brooke. Right?”

  Brooke nodded and held out her hand. He took it and gave her a quick smile. Of all the men Eric worked with, this was the one that came closest to unnerving her. She sensed he was a man who would try—no, not even try—he would just control everything. All Brooke knew was that she was very glad she moved in this man’s sphere of influence only once in a blue moon.

  Leaving the two men to talk, Brooke took Danny and Sarah by the hand and went in search of Eric and Trent. She found them in a group of other men…all of them dressed in suits. It was like a gathering of the Secret Service or something.

  “Daddy!”

  Eric turned from the group and with a smile, held his arms out to Sarah. He swept her up so she was level with the men he was talking to. She and Danny approached more slowly. Though she didn’t know them all by name, Brooke recognized most of the men standing with Eric.

  She didn’t miss the interest in the eyes of a couple of them. But none of them attracted her in the least.

  “Guys, this is my sister, Brooke.” Eric gestured to the man on the other side of Trent. “That’s Justin. Alex. And you know Than.”

  Oh yes, she did. After narrowing her eyes in his direction, she turned to the others. “Nice to meet you.” She tipped her head back toward the house. “Just met Marcus. He’s talking to Lucas now.”

  “I’d better go have a word with him,” Eric said.

  Not terribly interested in being left with his work buddies, Brooke fell into step beside him as she retraced the path she’d just taken. “Nice they all showed up for your wedding.”

  “I think they are happy to come to a wedding, as long as it’s not theirs.”

  “Confirmed bachelors, eh?”

  As they walked up on the porch, Brooke noticed Marcus and Lucas had been joined by two women wearing elegant dresses and jewelry that screamed money. One was a little taller than the other, but both were immaculately dressed with perfect makeup. They reminded her a lot of Lindsay. The Lindsay she’d first met.

  “Hello, ladies.” Eric greeted them as he held out his hand. “So glad you could come today.”

  “Wouldn’t miss it, Eric,” the taller one said with a quick smile. “You give me hope for the rest of those bachelors at BlackThorpe.”

  “Brooke, this is Adrianne and Melanie Thorpe. They are Alex’s sisters.”

  They both smiled at her and shook her hand. The taller one—Adrianne—seemed to be the more outgoing of the two.

  “What’s your connection here, Lucas?” Adrianne asked.

  Brooke wondered if he was tired of the question yet.

  “Linc is Brooke’s son’s father.”

  Adrianne’s eyes widened momentarily as she shot a glance at Melanie. “Well, didn’t see that one coming.”

  “None of us did,” Lucas said. “We didn’t find out until we read Lincoln’s will last week.”

  A woman with a clipboard approached Eric. “We need to get organized for the start of the ceremony.”

  Eric set Sarah down. “You go with Danny and Aunt Brooke, okay?”

  Sarah nodded and took Danny’s hand.

  People had begun to arrive and fill the chairs set up in the shade of the towering trees in Marcus’s backyard. Brooke turned to say something to Lucas, but he was engaged in a conversation with Adrianne as he walked with her and Melanie to the edge of the porch.

  Brooke frowned, not sure why it bothered her that he was enamored with the other woman. It wasn’t as if she was interested in him, she reminded herself.

  Repeating that a couple of times under her breath, she returned to the coolness of the mansion and found the bridesmaids along with the bride gathered in the large living room. Her parents were there as well.

  “I’m just going to go grab a seat,” Brooke told them once Danny and Sarah were under Victoria’s direction. She gave Staci a smile even as she tried to ignore the yucky feeling in her stomach.

  Taking a deep breath, she walked back out on the patio and glanced over the seats. The first row had been reserved for the family, but Lucas was seated further back with Adrianne and Melanie. There was no empty seat beside him.

  She tried to find anger to replace the hurt and sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Rarely did she ever compare herself to another woman, but it was hard to not do that with the two Thorpe sisters. They were definitely more in Lucas’s league. But then, she hadn’t even been invited to play the game.

  And she didn’t want to play it anyway, she reminded herself as she walked alongside the white chairs to the row for family. Refusing to look around to see if Lucas saw her, Brooke took a seat on the end of the family row and stared at the string quartet that was playing. She blinked a couple of times, annoyed to find moisture pricking at her eyes.

  What was going on? This was ridiculous. If Lucas preferred to sit with them, it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t like she’d be sitting all by herself. Once the processional was over, her parents, Alicia and both kids would be sitting in the row with her.

  She saw Eric on the other side of the large floral arch that had been set up for them to stand under while they said their vows. He and Trent were standing together, and Eric was grinning. She didn’t miss how his gaze kept going to the house. His anticipation for the wedding to start was clear.

  Brooke let out a little sigh. She couldn’t remember the last wedding she’d been to. That was probably why she was feeling a little emotional. After all, everyone cried at weddings. Didn’t they?

  “Brooke?”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  LUCAS’S voice washed over her. She took a quick breath and looked up to find him bending close to her.

  “Am I supposed to sit here with you?”

  “If you want, but if you’d prefer to sit elsewhere, that’s fine.”

  His brows drew together, and he stared at her for a moment. “Scoot over. Please.”

  Telling herself she should not be this happy he’d decided to sit with her, Brooke stood and moved over one chair. As he settled into the seat next to her, he slid his arm along the back of her chair. That would be one way to start a few rumors.

  The string quartet changed songs and the pastor led Eric, Trent, and Philip to the arch. She turned so she could see the back doors to the house as they opened. First came her mom and dad, beaming as they slowly walked down the aisle. Once they were halfway down the aisle, the door opened again and this time it was Victoria who came out.

  Brooke glanced at the guys, surprised to see a rakish grin on Trent’s face as he watched her sister walking down the aisle toward him. She looked back at Victoria, but her sister—though she was smiling—was not looking at Trent. Interesting.

  Next came Denise and this time when she looked at the guys, Brooke wasn’t surprised to see Philip smiling broadly. It was matched by a flirtatious one on Denise’s face as she got closer.

&n
bsp; Then the door opened again and out came Danny and Sarah. Danny carried a satin pillow, but his attention was on Sarah as she carefully held a basket and dropped red petals on the white carpet as they made their way to the front. They were adorable. And from the murmurs of the crowd around her, Brooke wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

  Once they were at the front, the quartet changed their music to the bridal march. The crowd stood and turned to face the house. Brooke couldn’t see over the people so she kept her gaze on her brother. She knew what Staci looked like already, but she wanted to see her brother when he got his first glimpse of her.

  Standing there, she felt the warmth of Lucas as he stood close to her. She glanced up at him and found him watching her. Not wanting him to see the flush that was creeping into her cheeks, Brooke turned back to watch Eric.

  The grin from earlier was gone as he stood, feet braced apart, one hand gripping the wrist of the other. Was he having second thoughts? But then she saw it. The rush of emotion on his face that told Brooke he just seen his bride. The woman he loved. Moisture again gathered in her eyes and she blinked to clear it away.

  No one had ever looked at her the way Eric was looking at Staci. He loved her. That was why he’d done the difficult things he’d had to in order to make sure this day happened. Brooke glanced over and saw that Staci had reached their row. She paused for a moment and Brooke could see on her face, the same emotion that was on Eric’s. Her bouquet shook a little as she took the last few steps to join Eric when he moved away from Trent and Philip.

  The couple came to a stop in front of the pastor. He smiled at them then looked out over the gathering of family and friends and invited them to be seated. Once again, Lucas put his arm across the back of her chair. Part of her wanted to give him an irritated look. What was he thinking when he did that? Didn’t he know how others would interpret his action? But another part of her wanted to just sink back against him and watch the wedding unfold.

  She ignored both parts and sat stiffly, watching as her brother bent and said something to Staci. In the midst of the crowd gathered there, it was a moment of intimacy that just the two of them shared. That was something Brooke had never shared with anyone. Not even Lincoln.

  What was it about Eric that made Staci so willing to forget past hurts and promise her forever to him? She glanced down the row and saw her parents sitting close together. Her dad had one arm around her mother while she held his other hand with both of hers. As she watched, her dad looked down at her mom, and on his face was the same expression that had been on Eric’s.

  Brooke shifted in her seat, inadvertently bumping her arm against Lucas’s chest. She shot a quick look at him and found him watching her, his gray gaze serious. When her stomach quivered, she clenched her hands together and looked away.

  This had been a mistake…bringing him to this wedding. Of course, when she’d decided impulsively to invite him, she hadn’t known how being around him affect her. Hadn’t known that he would make her think about things she’d long since dismissed as unnecessary in her life.

  When Staci handed her bouquet to Denise, Danny took Sarah’s hand and brought her over to where the family sat. There was still an empty chair for Alicia, but she hadn’t shown up yet. Brooke glanced around and spotted her on the porch with Marcus. For someone who always appeared so timid, she looked amazingly composed standing next to someone as intimating as Marcus Black.

  She turned her attention back to where the pastor was giving Eric and Staci some advice for their marriage. Something told her it wasn’t anything they hadn’t already heard in their counseling sessions, but maybe one could never hear it too often.

  Brooke shifted again. She didn’t begrudge Eric and Staci this beautiful wedding, but she really could have done without the sermon.

  “Eric and Staci, many here know your story of how—after six years apart—God brought you back together in spite of all odds. Many hearing of your prior relationship might have thought it impossible that you’d be able to make things work now. But when you have God and you have love, nothing is impossible. It has been my joy to work with you over these past few months as you prepared for a God-centered marriage. To see your dedication to each other and your relationship. To witness you forgiving that which you cannot forget and to see the love you have for each other deepen and grow. And now it is my privilege to stand here today to join you two together in holy matrimony.”

  Brooke watched as her brother and Staci turned to face each other. Again, the look on his face hit Brooke in the heart.

  “Staci, when I saw you for the first time after being apart for so long, all I wanted was answers. Instead, you made me question everything I’d ever thought I’d known about you. About us. I have never met a more giving person. A more loving person. I knew pretty quickly that I didn’t deserve you at all. But hey, no one’s ever accused me of backing off when I want something. Thank you for not making it easy for me. You deserved more than I’d ever given you. Because of you I’m a better man. A better father.” Eric lifted their joined hands and brushed his thumb across her cheek. “Today I pledge to continue to seek God with all my heart so that I can love you the way He does. I’m going to make mistakes, but never ever doubt my love for you. I thank God every day for bringing you back into my life. Each night when I go to bed I think that I can’t possibly love you more…until I go to bed the night next realizing that, in fact, I can. I can’t wait to show you every single day for the rest of our lives. I love you, Anastacia Stapleton, for now and for always.”

  “I should have gone first,” Staci said as she wiped her cheeks. The crowd laughed amid sniffles of their own. Finally, she reached out and gripped Eric’s hands in hers. “I was very mad at God about you. I couldn’t understand why He’d let you back into my life. I was scared to trust that He would really want us to be together again. I was scared to trust that a relationship now would be better than it had been before. I was scared to trust you with my heart. But that fear could have robbed me of something more amazing than I could have imagined. I had to make the choice—protect my heart or trust that God would take care of me no matter what lay ahead.

  “But, as is always the case, God knew what He was doing. He knew that we were better together than apart. It’s hard to imagine now that I ever considered life without you. I love you more than I thought would be possible. I look forward to what God has in store for us in the future. I know that there will be ups and downs—there already have been—but I know we’re both committed to the long haul with this. The difficult times we’ve been through have just made the place we’re at now that much sweeter. And I can’t wait to finally be your wife.”

  Brooke took a deep breath and let it out. Was it fear that held her back from allowing herself to experience love? She’d always told herself it was because she was strong and independent. She didn’t need a man to make her happy. She didn’t need love from a man to make her complete. And while those things were true, the underlying reason had been that she was determined to never give a man another chance to hurt her. Like Staci, she was letting fear rob her of the possible happiness that may lie ahead.

  She glanced at Lucas, but this time his gaze was on the couple as they exchanged rings. Why was he the one that had her thinking these thoughts? He hadn’t even indicated he was interested in any kind of relationship beyond what they had through Danny. Was she brave enough to test the waters knowing that rejection and hurt might lie ahead?

  As Eric pulled his bride close for their kiss, a yearning blossomed to life in Brooke that she’d never experienced before. She wanted to love and be loved in the way her brother and Staci did. But was she brave enough to risk the hurt to get it?

  Lucas spent the ceremony trying not to think too much about the woman sitting next to him, but it had been an exercise in futility. It hadn’t been too difficult to determine that she was not exactly enjoying the wedding. Her back had been ramrod straight and at particularly moving spots in the ceremony,
she’d shifted around. Nailing him in the ribs at least once.

  It had been a bit funny if he was being honest. Usually, women soaked up the romance that saturated events like this. Married women would recall their own wedding days. Single women would dream of the day that was yet to be theirs. Brooke’s body language had screamed her discomfort at being subjected to so many in-your-face declarations of love.

  He had to wonder what it was exactly that had made her so jaded when it came to love and romance. Had it been her experience with Lincoln? His brother had been known for his charm and flirtatious nature, but it had never come with promises of a future filled with love.

  The crowd around him stood as the pastor presented Eric and Staci as husband and wife. The people clapped and cheered as Eric bent down to kiss his wife one more time before taking her hand and heading back between the rows of chairs.

  As the noise settled down around them, Lucas leaned toward Brooke and asked, “So what’s next on the agenda?”

  Brooke turned to face him but didn’t look him in the eye as she said, “I think they’re going to take some pictures, but there’s a cocktail hour before the reception begins.”

  “Are you supposed to be there for the pictures?”

  Brooke nodded. “Yes. Mom wants some family shots. Since you know people, you could just hang here and visit if you want.”

  “And if I want to come with you?”

  Her gaze shot to his then. “I guess you’re welcome to. Don’t blame me if you get bored though.”

  He grinned. “Something tells me it will be anything but boring.”

  “Brooke?”

  At the softly spoken word, Lucas turned to see a young woman with hair a few shades darker than Brooke standing in the row behind them.

  “Hi, Alicia,” Brooke said, her tone reserved.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but your mom wanted to make sure you were coming for the pictures.”

  “Yep. We’re on our way. By the way, Alicia, this is Lucas. He’s Danny’s uncle.” Brooke gestured to him. “Lucas, this is Alicia. She’s my dad’s daughter.”