Page 20 of Rescued Hearts
I was nearing the bar when something smacked into the back of my legs and wrapped around them. I smiled when I saw a tiny hand clutching a toy dinosaur. When I twisted around, I found a mop of red curls attached to a small boy. “Wevi!”
My heart melted when Luke smiled up at me, remembering how scared he was when we met three weeks ago. “Hey, buddy.” I squatted down to his level. “Lookin’ sharp.” He had on little khaki pants with suspenders and a white button-down. It was shockingly adorable.
He frowned. “What does that mean?”
I chuckled, straightening one of his suspenders. “It means you look handsome.”
“Oh.” He puffed up a little at that—proud. “Mommy said that, too.” Just the mention of her had me wanting to look around for her, but Luke kept talking. “I’m gonna carry the rings with Henry,” he said with a wide grin.
My eyes widened dramatically. “That’s a very special job. You can’t drop them in the grass.”
“I won’t, I promise. Mommy said to go swow.”
He turned, pointing towards the ceremony space, but his voice faded the second my eyes landed on Tess. Her dress was lavender, stopped mid-calf, and nearly stopped my heart as well. Her hair was down and softly curled, pinned back to reveal more of her breathtaking face. She was looking around, eyes wide, but stopped short when they locked on us, the tension visibly leaving her body. She smiled softly at me, waving, and my stomach flipped.
“Come on,” I said, grabbing Luke and hauling him into my arms as I stood. I should’ve asked first, but I had a one-track mind right now. He didn’t seem to mind it, though, his little fingers curling into the collar of my shirt as we strode across the field.
“Where are we going?”
“To tell your mom how pretty she looks.”
He giggled. “Okay.” Thank God, he didn’t ask questions, because I didn’t have answers.
She was even more devastating up close. Her eyes shimmered in the sunset’s glow, and her lips were the same pouty pink as they were at the bar last week. I forced myself to think of something else. Literally anything else besides her mouth and how much I wanted to feel it against my own.
“Found something of yours,” I managed to say.
Tess chuckled. “Looks like it.”
“You wook pretty, Mommy!” Luke said, beaming.
I frowned at him. “Hey, that’s my line.”
He just smiled more, his head falling onto my shoulder, arms wrapped around my neck. “Sorry,” he said, dragging the word out. He wasn’t sorry at all.
I set him down, and he ran off, likely going to find Henry, but I watched until I knew he was safe with an adult. Tess was smiling when I looked at her again, and all the blood in my head rushed south, turning me stupid. “He’s right,” I said, scratching the back of my head nervously. “Pretty, you look.”
She gave me an amused yet concerned look. “Thank you, Yoda?”
I ran my hand over my face, laughing it off. “Hey, at least you got a compliment and a Star Wars reference in one. I’m multifaceted.”
That got her laughing, which made me coming off as an idiot completely worth it.
“Everyone, please take your seats,” someone said from the altar. People started making their way to the rows of wooden fold-out chairs while I stayed still, trying to delay leaving Tess’s side for as long as possible. I didn’t want to crowd her or make her uncomfortable; she was already going through enough, but I couldn’t help wanting to be near her.
“Want to sit together?” she asked, her voice soft, timid.
“Sure,” I answered casually, trying not to sound too eager.
We stayed silent as we walked to the ceremony space. It was comfortable, just like it was yesterday in the car ride after the hearing, despite the heaviness of the day.
Tess gasped and stumbled a little, her ankle rolling on an uneven part of the ground. I gripped her outstretched hand to steady her before she fell. “These stupid shoes,” she murmured, looking at the strappy nude heels she had on.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.” She nodded, and we started walking again. “Not used to wearing heels.”
I chuckled. “I don’t know how women do it.” Tess’s weren’t that tall, maybe three or four inches at most, but definitely a walking hazard in a grassy area like this.
