That he wanted at least three or four kids of his own, so that all the cousins and siblings could grow up together, as they had.
Finding out she could never give him the children he wanted had nearly destroyed her. She hadn’t wanted him to be destroyed, too. Or for his family to pretend it didn’t matter when it was so obvious it would.
“They’re over the moon,” he replied softly. “Four grandkids, another on the way and apparently we’re just getting started. Dad wants enough to field his own softball team.”
There was a tone in his voice she couldn’t ignore. Was it that he wasn’t contributing to the grandkid count? Or was it deeper than that? He’d wanted children and still didn’t have any. Even though there was lots of time—he wouldn’t be thirty for another four months—she wondered if seeing his sisters with babies was highlighting something he was missing.
“What about Drew?” she asked, changing the subject to the baby of the family. “What’s he up to these days?”
Dan laughed. “Drew never stays in one place for long. He’s busy setting up Aspen Outfitters locations all around North America. But he gets home a lot to visit. Dad’s sixtieth is coming up in a few months. I know he’s planning to be home for that.” Dan laughed. “Somehow he always manages to drag me out in the wilderness with him for a few days. He tells me if I don’t do that more often, I’ll have to have my phone surgically removed.”
“Sounds about right.” She took another bite of Danish, chewed, swallowed and tried not to feel self-conscious. “I will say, despite it being very touristy around here, unplugging and going for a walk in the mountains does a lot for stress levels.”
“I can see that. I’d forgotten how stunning it is. I’m hoping to do some skiing while I’m here. Get out and breathe the mountain air.”
Quiet settled around them. Did they have nothing more to say to each other? She self-consciously ran a hand over her hair, which was still precisely anchored in her topknot. Adele thought about filling the quiet with the action of finishing her breakfast, but she wasn’t hungry anymore. Her laptop screen had gone dark several minutes ago, so she tapped a key to bring it to life again.
“I’m holding you up from your work,” Dan said, pushing back his chair.
“No, not really.” She bit down on her lip. Hadn’t she just touched the keys to fill the awkward gap? Now, at the first moment he moved to leave, she didn’t want him to go. She was an idiot, plain and simple.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to be polite. I have a fitting in an hour, anyway.” He patted his flat belly. “Gotta make sure the tuxedo fits.”
He was going to be so dashing. She swallowed tightly, thinking about it. Seeing Dan wasn’t just seeing an ex; it was coming face-to-face with the life she might have had if her illness hadn’t stolen it all away. And yet seeing Dan’s face as he talked about having nieces and nephews reassured her it had been the right thing. Dan deserved babies, and lots of them. He would have been supportive and said it didn’t matter, but she knew it did. That it would eat away at him until their relationship paid the price.
And she hadn’t been honest about why she was leaving because she’d been too afraid he’d be able to convince her to stay.
“If you have any questions, I’ll be around the hotel all day.” Adele smiled, though her heart wasn’t quite in it. “Holly and Pete have some last-minute changes, and we’re setting up for the rehearsal in the hall this afternoon.”
He got up, took his wallet out of his back pocket and put a twenty down on the table. “I’m glad we talked, Delly,” he said quietly. “This doesn’t have to be weird. And after tomorrow, we won’t see each other, anyway.”
“Sure,” she agreed, but a weight settled around her heart. It might not be weird for him, but it certainly was for her. She’d spent eight years convincing herself she’d done the right thing. Sometimes she questioned whether she should have kept the truth from him. But then she reminded herself that she’d set him free to be happy. She’d wanted that for Dan. Wanted him to have the family he’d always talked about.
But she had forgotten to take into account how much she’d loved him. And how hard it would be to ignore those old feelings if they came face-to-face again.
* * *
Dan walked into the rehearsal with his nerves already on edge. This morning’s breakfast had taken his thoughts and turned them into a huge jumble of resentment and nostalgia. He’d spent a long time hating Adele for breaking his heart, but then he’d moved past it—at least mostly. Now and again he was reminded that he had an issue with trusting anyone, but as far as feelings for Adele...they’d faded.
Except they hadn’t, really. Being here, with her, took all the feelings he’d thought he’d locked away for good and sent them bubbling to the surface. He’d loved her more than she could ever know. A man didn’t get over that easily. Or, apparently, at all.
What were you supposed to do when The One wasn’t really The One at all?
The rest of the wedding party milled about the hall, their voices echoing through the huge space. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around. Chairs were set up on either side of the aisle... Were they actually painted silver? He looked closer. They were. And each chair had a swath of fabric woven through the top rungs in rich navy. The effect was stunning.
The knot of people at the back of the aisle moved and revealed Adele, deftly weaving more fabric through the slats. She was still in the dark trousers and sweater that she’d worn this morning, but some of her hair had come loose from her knot. Had she been working all day? It was nearly seven and she had several chairs to finish.
She stood, put her hands on her lower back and stretched. The movement emphasized the curve of her breasts and the long column of her neck before she relaxed again and reached inside a box for another strip of material.
Everyone else simply milled about, oblivious to how Adele was still working while they chatted and laughed.
Holly saw him standing in the doorway and beckoned him over. “Come on in, Dan! Meet our officiant, Ms. Fraser. She’ll be performing the ceremony tomorrow.”
He was aware of Adele looking up, then back down again as he strode toward the assembled group. “Ms. Fraser,” he said, shaking her hand. “I’m Dan Brimicombe, the best man.”
“Pleased to meet you. And now that we’re all here, we can get started.” She laughed a little, a warm and friendly sound. “I know you all want to get this part over with so you can have dinner. I’ll try to keep it painless.”
Over the next half hour, Ms. Fraser deftly positioned everyone where they were supposed to be and ran through the order of the service. At one point she asked Adele a question about the placement of the musicians—a string quartet would be playing the processional and recessional—and then carried on. Dan looked over his shoulder and noticed she still had at least a dozen chairs or more to finish. He frowned. Wasn’t this the job of the hotel staff? Surely she wasn’t doing this all herself.
He stood at the front and waited as they ran through the processional yet again, the bridesmaids and bride coming up the aisle and moving into position. It gave him an unfettered view of Adele as she worked, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, reaching into the box for more material as she made her way down the row. Someone from the hotel came in with a dolly and what appeared to be a dozen potted trees. As he half listened to the instructions about witnessing the marriage license, he watched Adele instruct the hotel employee and then help unload the ungainly pots and put them into position. As the employee wheeled the dolly back out again, he watched as Adele heaved a sigh, gave a stretch and then went back to work.
After thirty minutes, Ms. Fraser let everyone go except the bride and groom; she had a few final things to discuss with them before everyone departed for the onsite restaurant and the rehearsal dinner. He took the opportunity to go over to Adele. She had just finished tying a strip of satin