Chapter Fifteen
WITH ALL THE PREPARATIONS going on for the impromptu wedding, Bailey hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Landon.
He’d blown her away by telling her that he was falling in love with her.
For a moment she’d stood there frozen and missed the opportunity to say it back to him.
She was the luckiest girl in the world. Bailey was soaring like a high-flying kite.
In so many ways Landon was the partner she had always dreamed of having. Warm. Kind. Loving. Loyal.
And their feelings mirrored one another’s. Squee. It was almost too good to be true, but it was happening. Really and truly. If this was all a dream, Bailey didn’t want anyone to wake her up.
Once everything settled and they had a moment alone, Bailey would tell him that her feelings mirrored his.
She felt a smile tugging at her lips just thinking about it.
This would be a first for her, admitting serious feelings for someone.
All her nerve endings were on fire, sparked by the anticipation of what was to come.
At the moment she was up in Hattie’s bedroom with Sophia and True, helping Hattie get into the ivory-colored lace dress they’d found among her dress collection.
It was a perfect dress for a bride to get married in.
It was so spot-on that Bailey had to wonder whether Hattie had been planning this moment for a while.
“Were you just saving this for a rainy day?” True teased.
“It’s just a little something I had stashed away.” Hattie winked at them. “A girl can dream, can’t she?”
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams,” Bailey said. She’d always loved that quote, and by choosing love in this fragile moment, Hattie was cementing another part of her legacy. Love never fails.
Hattie met her gaze, her eyes full of understanding. “Eleanor Roosevelt. A personal shero of mine. She had an iron will and a heart of gold.”
“Now who does that sound like?” Sophia quipped, hand on her hip.
“I have no idea,” Hattie said coyly.
After rummaging among Hattie’s dozens and dozens of hats, True found an ivory-colored fascinator to serve as a veil.
They brushed out Hattie’s hair and swept it up into a sleek chignon before clipping on the fascinator.
With a little blush on her cheeks and soft pink lipstick, she was simply radiant.
“You look stunning,” Bailey said, reaching out and gripping her friend’s hand.
“Jacques won’t know what hit him,” Sophia said, nodding approvingly.
“I like the sound of that,” Hattie said, sounding gleeful.
Helping Hattie downstairs was a delicate balance due to her lack of strength. It took all three of them to make it happen. Bailey thought that Hattie’s determination to get married had caused a sudden burst of energy that made it possible.
This was all so sweet and romantic, Bailey thought.
Jacques had put on a slate gray suit with a red tie.
He looked dashing and handsome. The Stone brothers and Red flanked him.
She wasn’t sure how they’d pulled it off, but all of them were wearing dark suits.
All of them standing together in a row provided a stunning visual.
Bailey couldn’t take her eyes off Landon.
He came forward and offered her his arm, and she looped hers through his.
“This is so exciting,” Bailey whispered. “I’ve never been to a wedding before.”
“Never?” Landon asked. “Not even once?”
“Nope,” she said. “I kind of thought my sister Lynn would be my first wedding, but that’s not happening.”
“Probably for the best,” Landon said. “I think that when people pledge to love each other for a lifetime, they should really mean it. Your sister deserves much better than someone who wasn’t even willing to go the distance with her.”
Landon totally got it. He understood what it meant to make a commitment to another person and make promises for a lifetime. Just when she thought that she couldn’t possibly love him any more, he went and said something so powerful and poignant.
“That’s really true. And it’s so beautiful to see Hattie and Jacques ready and willing to take this leap of faith and promise each other forever, especially under the circumstances. Their love for one another is awe inspiring.”
He reached for her hands and gently pulled her toward him. He looked down at her, then pushed away some curls from her face. “I’m really glad that you’re here to share this with us. It means all the more to me just having you here.”
“I’m honored to be here with your family. It may sound corny, but it feels like I’m being enveloped in one big circle of love.”
“You are,” Landon said, his eyes locked with hers.
He was sending her a message that was tied into the words he’d spoken to her earlier. Bailey couldn’t have been more thrilled. This man made her feel safe and secure, and very loved. It was time she told him how she felt instead of leaving him hanging.
“Landon, I—”
Just then the strains of the wedding march started to play through the speakers, and Lily began to walk down the makeshift aisle.
She was clutching a poinsettia to her chest. Since the ceremony was last minute, they’d had to think fast on their feet for flowers.
Hattie was next. She was in her wheelchair being pushed by Xavier.
Bailey felt Landon’s arms wrap around her waist as he stood behind her in the front row.
She leaned back against him as he pressed a kiss on her neck.
She could smell the light sandalwood scent of his aftershave.
Everyone sat down in their seats as Hattie and Jacques said their vows.
Tears pooled in her eyes at the romanticism laced in their words.
She looked around, noticing that there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Once again Hattie had used her superpowers for good. She had brought everyone together—four generations of Stones—for a common goal. Celebrating love.
The words “till death do us part” had never been more poignant, Landon thought as Hattie and Jacques sealed the deal with a tender kiss. Laughter and applause rang out as Red, wearing his “Justice of the Peace” hat, pronounced them as man and wife.
True produced a cake that Caleb had run out and picked up before the ceremony started. Although it had clearly been made for someone else who’d never picked it up, Hattie was delighted by the festive icing and rosettes.
Watching Hattie and Jacques pledge their undying love to each other had changed him.
It was more than a leap of faith, he thought.
They were courageously choosing love despite the odds being stacked against them.
They knew Hattie didn’t have much time left, yet they had chosen to spend the rest of it loving one another.
Landon had never really thought about finding someone to love—and who loved him back—the way Xavier and Caleb had.
Of course he’d wanted that type of devotion, but he’d never imagined that he would be in that place.
Until now. Until Bailey. In order to have a shot at something real with her, Landon needed to know if Bailey returned his feelings.
She’d left him hanging, leaving him to wonder whether her feelings matched his own.
He was wild about Bailey, and for the first time in his life, he had fallen head over heels in love with someone.
And more than anything else in this world, Landon needed to summon the courage to find out whether Bailey felt even a smidgen of what he did.
Just the thought of receiving that type of affirmation from her made him feel ten feet tall.
“Isn’t anyone going to ask me to dance?” Hattie asked, looking around her. “I still like to cut a rug.”
Landon stepped forward, reaching for Hattie’s hand as he gingerly raised her to her feet. “How about it? Shall we dance?”
“There’s nothing I’d rather do,” she said, a poignant smile twitching at her lips.
“I’m not the best dancer, but I promise not to step on your toes. And I’ll hold you up if need be,” he promised. “Just let me know if you get tired, okay?”
While Ella Fitzgerald’s song “Someone to Watch over Me” streamed from the speakers, Landon guided her across the floor.
As the lights from the Christmas tree glistened and shimmered, Landon and Hattie glided and swayed to the beat.
He could feel her bones through the light fabric of her dress, but she was steady on her feet and following his lead.
She leaned her head on his shoulder and let out a contented sigh.
“Grandmother, I—” He choked. The words simply wouldn’t come out. His emotions were at an all-time high. Time was a thief, and he knew it was slipping through his fingers at an alarming rate.
She patted his back. “I know, my sweet boy. I feel the same about you.”
Tears blurred his vision. “I-I don’t know what I’ll do without you. You’ve given us so much. Loved us so unconditionally.”
“What you’re going to do is live. Hopefully you and Bailey will go the distance and end up as happy as two clams.”
Hattie looked up at him. She wiped away moisture from her eyes and cleared her throat. “It’s been the absolute honor of my life to be your grandmother. I just wish that I could stick around long enough to see you triumph over your adversaries.”
Just knowing that Hattie wouldn’t be around much longer gutted him. But it also lifted him up to know that she believed in him.
“Take that unexpected trip to Paris. Get on the dance floor and boogie all night long. Love with all of your heart and soul. Make that scientific discovery you’ve been longing to do. Live out your purpose on this earth.”
“I will,” he vowed. And he meant it. He intended to do all the things Hattie was advising him to do.
Jacques walked up and said, “May I cut in? I’d like to dance with my wife.”
“Absolutely,” Landon said, transferring Hattie to Jacques. He watched as he sat her down in her wheelchair and began twirling her around to an upbeat tune.