Chapter 59
“How are you feeling? Do you need anything?” Benjamin sat next to Summer on Dad’s couch and studied her face anxiously, but she laughed and shoved his arm.
“I’m fine. You have to stop worrying.”
“I can’t help it. I love you.”
“And I love you too.” She’d said it probably a hundred or more times in the past week, but it still electrified him every time. He leaned closer to kiss her.
“Benjamin.” Summer’s cheeks pinked as she glanced around the room at the rest of the family, all in various states of chatter and laughter. Max was showing little Caroline his dinosaur.
“What?” he asked innocently. “They don’t mind if I kiss my wife.”
“I don’t mind,” Liam agreed, approaching the couch. “As long as you make room for me.”
“And get closer to my wife?” Benjamin asked. “All right, if I have to.” He closed the gap between himself and Summer, tucking his arm behind her.
“Every muscle in my body hurts,” Liam groaned as he sat.
Benjamin grinned at his brother-in-law. “You did good yesterday.”
Liam grimaced as he readjusted his position. “Twenty-ninth is better than I thought I’d do, but it’s no fifth-place finish.”
Benjamin shrugged. He was happy with his finish in the trail race—but even happier that his brothers had run the race with him. And happiest of all that Summer had been well enough to be at the finish line. Because of the baby, they’d kept her in the hospital an extra day for observation, but she’d been able to come home on Thursday, and they’d had a small funeral for her mama on Friday, and then they’d had the race yesterday.
And now they were all gathered at Dad’s after church, and Benjamin had something he wanted to say. Something he wanted to do.
He was about to stand and call for everyone’s attention when Dad popped into the room and announced lunch was ready. There was a stir, but before anyone could leave the room, Summer got to her feet.
“Um, y’all?” she said quietly.
No one else seemed to notice, so Benjamin stood too and yelled, “Hey, y’all, pipe down. My wife has something to say.”
Summer hit his arm, but everyone laughed and then grew silent.
“I just wanted to say thank you.” Summer cleared her throat again, blinking a few times, and Benjamin wrapped an arm around her back. She gave him a wobbly smile, then continued. “Thank you all for running in memory of TJ yesterday. And . . .” She drew in a breath. “Thank you for welcoming me and Max into this family. I used to be afraid of y’all because I thought you were so perfect. But now I see that you’re not.”
“Some thank you speech,” Joseph protested.
Summer laughed sheepishly. “That’s not what I mean. What I mean is that you’re all so real. And you’re always there for each other. And you’ve been there for me and Max and Benjamin. And just . . . You’re the perfect family for us.”
There was silence for a moment, and then, in true Calvano style, everyone started talking at once.
But Benjamin called out, “Hold on. I have something to say too.” He waited for his family to quiet again, then turned to Summer and took both of her hands in his. She gave him a questioning look, and a wave of nerves swept through him. Which was ridiculous, given that they were already married. But he needed her to know—needed everyone here to know—how much he loved her. How much he wanted to be with her.
“The last time I did this, I may have been a bit hasty,” he said, his voice a little shaky. “I may not have thought things through all the way. And I don’t regret that for one moment because it has brought us here. But I want you to know that I’ve thought about this now. In fact, I do nothing but think of you—”
He heard someone say, “Aw,” but he couldn’t take his eyes off of his wife, who still had an eyebrow raised, as if she wasn’t quite sure what he was doing.
So he would make her sure.
“And I am so deeply in love with you.” Emotion suddenly blocked his throat as tears filled her eyes. He cleared his throat so he could continue. “And I don’t want you to ever doubt that. I don’t want you to ever doubt that you are loved and wanted and treasured.”
Tears spilled from Summer’s eyes, and Benjamin gently wiped them away. Then, slowly, never taking his eyes off of hers, he pulled a small box from his pocket and lowered himself to one knee.
“Benjamin,” Summer protested weakly.
But he shook his head. “I know we’re already married. But I want to give you the wedding you should have had. One that says to the whole world that I, Benjamin Calvano, am the most fortunate man in the world to have you, Summer Calvano, as my wife. So will you renew your vows with me?”
“I don’t need a wedding,” Summer said softly.
“Well, we do,” Lydia’s voice chimed in with a tearful laugh. “We want to celebrate y’all.”
Summer bit her lip.
“Say yes,” Asher called.
Benjamin looked hopefully up at Summer, and when she nodded, he jumped to his feet and pulled her into a kiss as the family all cheered.
When he finally let her go, he opened the ring box and held it out to Summer. “I hope you don’t mind that it already has the wedding band.
“No,” she laughed, wiping at her tears with one hand and holding out the other for him to slide the ring onto. “I don’t mind at all.”
The family surrounded them with hugs and congratulations, and then everyone moved to the kitchen to eat. But Summer dropped to the couch, and Benjamin looked at her in concern.
“Are you okay?” He sat next to her, gathering her hands in his. “Do you need to lie down?”
She shook her head. “I think I need to wake up. It feels too much like a fairy tale to be real. I never expected to get my own happy ending.”
“Well.” He brought her hands to his lips. “I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure you do.”