Winter Wedding Bells. Jennifer Snow
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“I saw him come in shortly after you left for your jog and he looked as if he’d seen a ghost. Then, when I went out to my car last night, I watched you leave together. Guessed you were friends or more.”
“More.” Julie traced the rim of her porcelain teacup. “We were supposed to get married after college but I kept putting it off. At first I needed to stay home to care for my mother. I planned to eventually join him on the road and follow his team as a photographer. It was a passion of mine, even though I’d gotten the accounting degree my parents wanted.”
Noelle studied Julie over her raised cup. “But you never went.”
Julie crammed another bite into her mouth, chewing and thinking. “I wanted to.”
“So what stopped you?”
A log popped, making both women jump. Julie stared at the growing flames, the heat blazing along the calves exposed by her knee-length skirt.
“I don’t know.” Julie shoved back the hair that slipped out of her low bun. “Fear maybe. Doubt. But I never stopped loving him.”
The truth of each word stung, realization buzzing through her. Strange how she could be so honest with Noelle—more truthful than she’d been with herself.
“And now you have another chance.” Noelle leaned forward and grasped Julie’s clammy hands. “Don’t squander it.”
Something in Julie’s chest collapsed. “I could never be with someone like him permanently.”
“And what’s he like?”
“Spontaneous, daring...terrifying.”
“Why not?”
“Because I never know what’s going to happen around him. What our future would be like. After last night, I knew what I didn’t want, but I still don’t feel comfortable with the unknown.” Her heart left, hitchhiked right out her body, caught the gondola ride up Whiteface and leaped from the pinnacle.
“It keeps things interesting,” observed Noelle. She pulled out her buzzing cell phone, checked the message and then clicked it off.
Julie compared her whirlwind days with Austin to the comfort of her routine with Mason.
“Yes,” Julie admitted. “It did.”
“Let me show you something.” Noelle scrolled to a screen on her cell phone and handed it to Julie. “That’s my ten-year-old. Josh.”
Julie stared at the sandy-haired boy, and her lips curved at his impish grin. More freckles than skin covered his thin face and cowlicks sprouted from his hairline. His green eyes resembled his mother’s. Otherwise, he must take after his father. A quick peek at Noelle’s ring finger revealed a vintage-set diamond.
“His father and I met at an eighth grade Sadie Hawkins dance. I’d asked a boy who was more interested in my best friend. Ted went because his younger neighbor wanted to go to her first dance and couldn’t work up the nerve to ask anyone else.”
A wistful smile lifted Julie’s mouth. “Sweet. And you’ve been together ever since?”
Noelle set down her teacup and folded her hands on her lap. “Nope. We broke up after high school graduation. He’d signed up for the military and didn’t want any ties back home since he planned on going into the Special Forces. Said he loved me but had to put all his focus there.”
“That’s so sad.” Julie stared down at the boy again, understanding dawning. “And then you found out you were pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“And he didn’t come home after you told him?” Worry took hold. “Was he...was he...hurt?” Mason’s brother nearly lost his life fighting in Afghanistan. They’d agonized for almost a month before the doctors declared his critical injury stable.
Noelle half laughed, half sighed, an air-filled exclamation of jumbled emotions. “No. I just never told him.”
“What?” Julie stared at the sensible-looking woman. How could she have held back that information? “Why?”
“I thought he didn’t care. Wasn’t sure if he’d want me and the baby. I was afraid to try.”
Julie squirmed, the similarity to her past with Austin hitting its mark.
“So he still doesn’t know?”
A tiny smile tucked itself into the corners of Noelle’s mouth. “We met again at a friend’s Thanksgiving dinner three weeks ago. Although his parents moved away after he graduated, he came back while on leave this year to look up old buddies.”
“Was Josh there?” Julie scanned the photo again.
Noelle’s smile faded. “Yes. It didn’t take Ted long to put everything together and let me know exactly what an idiot I was for never telling him. He’d regretted breaking up the moment he finished basic training. He was hurt when I ignored the letters he sent. He would have married me then if he’d known.”
“You didn’t answer his letters?”
“I didn’t let myself read them. He said he didn’t need anything taking away his focus. A wife and a baby? Major distractions. Plus, I didn’t want him marrying me out of obligation.”
“Still, you lost so much.”
Noelle held up her dainty hand, her diamond twinkling in the strengthening sunlight. “Not anymore. After he got over the shock, and I explained why I hadn’t written, he proposed. What’s more, he convinced me not to waste another minute, which is why, on Christmas Eve, we’re getting married by a justice of the peace before he ships out again. I’d always dreamed of a fancy wedding like yours, but just saying I do and being Mrs. Ted Banks will be enough.”
Julie’s foot stopped swinging. What a beautiful story. An incredible couple. How unfair that they couldn’t have a wedding worthy of them. After a second, she slowly straightened, the afghan pooling in her lap. “No. It’s not enough.”
Noelle angled her face, her expression puzzled. “What?”
“It’s not enough. With everything you’ve been through, you deserve a big wedding.”
Julie took a deep breath, making up her mind.
“You deserve my wedding.”
Before Noelle could interrupt her, Julie hurried on.
“Mason and I can’t get back the money we’ve paid this late in the game and everything will go to waste. I know Mason will want you to have it as much as I do.”
Noelle waved her hands, then stood. “No need, Julie. Honestly. We’re blessed just to have each other.”
Julie stood and squeezed Noelle’s hands. “Please. Let something good come out of all this. I’ll talk to Mason when he gets back and we’ll catch Grace later this afternoon to tell her about the switch in plans.”
A rosy hue infused Noelle’s cheeks and her eyes sparkled. “Thank you, Julie. That’s the kindest thing anyone’s ever done for me. I’ll talk to Ted, but I’m sure he’ll agree.”
“You and Ted and Josh deserve it. I wish it’d happened for you years ago.”
Noelle hugged Julie, then pulled back. “I could say the same for you and Austin. Love is too precious a gift to waste. Never let it go once you’ve found it. Especially the second time around. It’s worth the risk.”
She rolled the cart away, humming “Joy to the World.”
At a window, Julie cranked open the panel and let in a frigid blast of air. She studied the Adirondack Mountains and imagined Austin working up there with the team before they broke for the holiday. Was he thinking of her? Of their kiss?
She pressed her warm forehead against the frost-patterned glass. Was she crazy to think of taking another