Page 69 of The Wedding Toast
“We’ll see you down there.”
Her mom appeared next to her dad and took hold of his hand, leading him away – leaving Becca and Jacob alone in the kitchen.
“Are you okay with everything?”he asked.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his shoulder.“I am.I’m fine.It’s a little bit stressful at the moment, but it shouldn’t be, should it?”
He kissed the top of her head.“I don’t want it to be, but I understand it.Your family seem fine.Callie’s doing a great job with them, and I imagine Xander will win them over too.”
She looked up into his eyes when he added, “Even if I can’t.”
“It’s not you.You know I can’t win them over either.At least, not Dawn and Dean.We’re just different kinds of people, I guess.Danny and CJ are doing okay, and I know they really like you.”
He chuckled.“It’s not a case of needing them to like me.All I want is for everything to feel good to you.”
“And it does,” she assured him.“It’s like Dad said – it’s not our responsibility to make sure that they enjoy themselves.I mean, of course I hope they will, but it’s up to them.And we have something much more important to focus on.”
He rested his forehead against hers and looked down into her eyes.“We do.We need to finally take care of making you Mrs.Jacobs.”
She cupped his cheek in her hand.“And this time tomorrow, I will be.We’d better get out there and practice.”
He pressed his lips to hers and then took her hand as they followed the others outside.
~ ~ ~
Jacob led Becca down the back steps.He wanted to make sure Elena’s car was out there.He’d thought she would come to the kitchen when she arrived and didn’t like the idea of her standing by herself outside.
He smiled when he spotted her.
“Aww, look at that,” said Becca.
He nodded happily when he saw what she was talking about.Walt was waiting, sitting on the low stone wall that divided the parking area from the lawn.He got to his feet when Elena got out of her car and went hurrying toward her.
Becca squeezed Jacob’s hand as they watched.They were too far away to hear whatever Walt said to Elena, but a rush of warmth filled Jacob’s chest at the sight of Walt offering his arm and Elena slipping hers through it.
“Oh my goodness,” breathed Becca.“I never thought about it before, but do you think the two of them…?”
He shook his head slowly.“I hate to say it, but I haven’t ever given it a thought before, either.”
“Wouldn’t it be awesome, though?”Becca insisted.
Jacob nodded his agreement.“It would.And after all these years, I love the idea that perhaps our wedding might serve as a catalyst to bring the two of them closer.”
Becca grinned.“Oh, I hope so.I know Elena was divorced a long time ago.And Walt’s wife died years ago, didn’t she?”
“She did.”Jacob watched Walt and Elena laugh together as they approached the small crowd gathered around the arch in front of the rows of seats that had been laid out, ready for tomorrow.He, too, was now hoping that something might develop between them.“Elena was divorced before I was even born.And Walt’s wife died more than twenty years ago.”
“I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for them.”
“I will too.But for now, we’d better get down there.Everyone’s waiting.”
It was strange to see the whole space set up as it would be tomorrow, but without any of the decoration.The arch was a bare wooden frame.It was incredibly intricate.He couldn’t believe Alara had built it over the course of the last few days with no help.It was beautiful enough that it could stand alone and be a centerpiece for someone’s wedding – but not for his and Becca’s.He could only hope that her promise to transform it with all the cornflowers and ribbons tomorrow morning would result in the arch he was hoping for.
He let go of Becca’s hand when the girls beckoned her over.He scanned the crowd standing around, grateful that they were all here.
Bentley caught his gaze and lifted a hand from where he was standing to one side with Smoke.Jacob started to make his way to them, greeting people as he went.It seemed that everyone was here – he hadn’t known how many people he was supposed to invite to the rehearsal dinner.
He chuckled to himself when Darlene winked at him from across the way.He adored that woman and had relied on her as his guide through much of the wedding etiquette.It remained to be seen whether her version would match what was standard in Napa, but between Darlene and Ria, he really wasn’t worried about what anyone else’s expected conventions might be.
