Her Heart, His Home (Home To Collingsworth #5)

PROLOGUE

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

Home Is Where the Heart Is.

Amelia Moyer knocked lightly on the door of her soon-to-be sister-in-law’s room.

As she waited for Cami to answer, she glanced up and down the deserted hallway of the second floor of Collingsworth Manor.

She loved this place as much now as she had on her first visit over a year ago.

And it went without saying how much she loved the Collingsworth family as well.

In the year since she’d last seen them, there had been a few changes to the family, the biggest one being the newest baby.

Since she loved children, Amy held Violet’s baby, Danielle, every chance she got.

Benjamin, however, was a different story.

Laurel and Matt’s little guy was constantly on the move.

Amelia didn’t get much chance to hold him, and Rose was usually the one chasing him around anyway.

It didn’t matter though, as long as there were kids around, Amy was happy.

As the baby of her family, she hadn’t had any younger siblings to help her mom with, but she happily volunteered to work in the church nursery and babysat whenever she could.

They’d been at the manor for almost a week now, and she had loved every minute of it.

Well, except for the cold. Being the middle of February in northern Minnesota, there was still snow on the ground and frosty temperatures.

She kind of wished Cami and Josh had waited to get married when it was warmer, but she also found it super romantic that they were tying the knot on Valentine’s Day, not even two months after they got engaged.

“Hey, Amy,” Cami said when she answered the door. “What’s up?”

“Can I come in?”

“Sure.” Cami stepped back with a smile. “Something on your mind?”

She led the way to the window seat where it was apparent the bride-to-be had been sitting when Amy had knocked. Cami settled on one side, tucking her legs up under her on the cushioned seat. Amy mirrored her position as she sat down.

“Are you excited?” Amy asked, though she couldn’t understand how anyone could possibly not be excited about their wedding.

Cami smiled. “Yes, I am.”

“Did you always dream about having a wedding like this?”

“No,” Cami said. “To be honest, I never dreamed of getting married at all.”

“Really?” Amy could hardly believe that. For the past year, she’d spent even more time than ever dreaming about the wedding she hoped to have one day.

“I didn’t have any good examples of marriage growing up, so I wasn’t all that keen to try it out for myself.”

Amy tilted her head. “But Josh changed your mind?”

Cami’s gaze softened, and a dreamy smile curved her lips. “Yes, he certainly did.”

“I’m so excited to have you as my sister-in-law.” Amy could hardly keep from bouncing up and down. “And the dress you chose for me is so beautiful.”

“I knew you’d like it. I think the color and style suit you perfectly.”

Amy looked out the window to the darkness beyond. She wanted to ask Cami something important, but was worried how she might react. She looked back at the pretty blonde woman and blurted out, “Can you keep a secret?”

Cami arched a brow. “A secret? Well, as long as I’m not going to get in trouble for keeping it, I think I can.”

Amy bit her lip and clasped her hands together. She’d kept everything inside since the last time she’d been at Collingsworth, afraid if she said anything, it would be ruined. “Is Will coming for your wedding?”

“Will? “ Cami asked. “As in my brother, Will?”

Amy nodded. “He hasn’t arrived yet. I just wondered if you knew if he was planning to be here tomorrow.”

“Last I heard that was the plan. I’m not sure what the delay is though.” Cami paused then said, “Why do you want to know?”

Amy was reluctant to answer. She didn’t want Cami to laugh at her because, even at sixteen, she knew how crazy what she felt would sound to others. She looked away.

“Hey,” Cami said.

Amy felt a touch on her knee and looked down to see Cami’s hand with its sparkling diamond resting there.

“Talk to me. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

Sighing, Amy met Cami’s gaze again. “I think Will is the man God wants me to marry.”

Cami’s eyes widened. “Um. Okay… Why do you think that?”

Amy shrugged. How did she put into words the strong feeling she’d had the first time she’d met Will Collingsworth?

How did she explain that when she looked at him, she saw a future with him in it?

“It’s just how I...feel. Ever since I met him that Christmas we all came here, I’ve just felt like he is the one God has for me. ”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand that,” Cami said, her tone gentle.

“I didn’t even feel confident that Josh was the one God had for me until we’d known each other quite a while.

But of course, that doesn’t mean your feelings aren’t real.

” She paused. “You do realize, right, that Will is quite a few years older than you?”

Amy plucked at the fabric of her leggings. “Yes, but not too many. I know it wouldn’t work now, because I’m not old enough, but I believe God will keep him for me.”

“Have you told anyone else about your feelings?”

Amy shook her head vigorously. “My parents have always told us to pray for the person God might have us marry, but I don’t think they’d quite understand this.

” She looked at Cami again, needing her to understand.

“He’s everything I prayed that my husband would be.

And I know I’m young. I know it doesn’t make sense. ”

“So you love Will?” Cami asked. “Even though you hardly know him?”

Put that way, it sounded a little ridiculous even to Amy. “Don’t you believe in love at first sight?”

Cami gave a little laugh. “Sweetie, until I went through everything with Josh, I didn’t believe in love at all. Have you prayed about it?”

“Every day. Every single day,” Amy told her. “I pray for Will, and I pray that if it’s not God’s will that He would take away what I feel for him.”

“You know more about praying than I do,” Cami said. “Who am I to argue with God? If He’s given you this love for Will, there must be a reason.”

“You won’t tell anyone, will you?” Amy asked.

Cami shook her head. “It will stay between us. And I’ll pray for each of you, too. I want everyone to be as happy as Josh and I are.”

Amy leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Cami. “Thank you.” As she settled back on the seat, she said, “I hope Will comes to love me as much as Josh loves you.”

“I am very blessed,” Cami agreed. “And I love Josh more than I ever thought I could love another person.”

“I can hardly wait for tomorrow,” Amy said with a shiver of excitement. She slid off the window seat. “I’ll let you get some sleep. If you can. I’m not sure I’ll be able to.”

Cami stood and hugged her tightly. “See you in the morning, sweetie.”

Amy left Cami’s room with even more excitement zipping through her body than earlier.

Will was going to be there tomorrow. She could hardly wait.

It felt good to share how she felt with someone else, even though she knew Cami probably dismissed her feelings as teenage puppy love.

She just knew that somehow, some way, she and Will were going to be together in the future.

The next evening Amy stood in the bridal room with Cami and Lily.

The other Collingsworth sisters had left a couple of minutes earlier, so it was just the two of them.

Amy had been thrilled when Cami had asked her to be her maid of honor.

She’d been worried about what Cami’s sisters would think, but they had assured her they were fine with her standing up with Cami as maid of honor.

Lily was the other bridesmaid, while Colin was a groomsman.

Lance was Josh’s best man. It was going to be a small intimate wedding with only a handful of non-family members present.

Unfortunately, last she’d heard, the one person Amy wanted to be there still hadn’t arrived.

Amy looked over to where Cami stood, her bouquet clutched in one hand.

She wore a mermaid style dress that skimmed her curves without being too tight and had a softly flared skirt.

The sweetheart neckline framed the beautiful necklace Josh had given Cami the night before, and the elbow length lace sleeves were perfect for their winter wedding.

Amy thought Cami looked beautiful in her dress, but she also felt beautiful in her bridesmaid dress.

She turned to look at herself in the full-length mirror.

The dusty rose color Cami had chosen suited her as did the fit of it.

Chiffon fabric flowed from an empire waist band in a long handkerchief-style skirt.

The layers were different lengths and swirled as she walked.

The bodice was gathered from the empire waist to a band halter-style neckline that left her shoulders bare and had tiny sparkles of bling along it.

The dress wasn’t bare in the back like a regular halter, which was the only reason her mom had let her wear it.

Amy didn’t argue much with her mom, but she would have fought over the right to wear this dress if she’d said no.

Her hair hung in long loose waves down her back, and her shoes were silver strappy heels that added a few inches to her height.

She felt like a fairy princess, and she hoped that Will thought she was pretty when he saw her.

There was a quick knock on the door before it opened to reveal Lance standing there. “Ready to go?”

Because Cami didn’t have a father or mother to walk her down the aisle, she’d asked Lance to do fill in before he joined Will at the front as his best man.

Amy wondered if any of the Collingsworth siblings had ever tried to find their biological fathers.

She couldn’t imagine getting married without her dad there.

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Cami said. “Is Will here?”

Cami didn’t look at her, but Amy was pretty sure that she asked the question for her benefit.