“Are you all right?” Katherine stopped adjusting Elizabeth’s bridal veil and took her eldest sister by the elbow. “I thought this morning sickness stuff was only for the first three months.”
“The doctor swears it will ease any day now,” Alexandra replied, taking deep, shaky breaths. “If he’s wrong, I’m going to have him beheaded.”
“All you have to do is make it through the wedding,” Serena said. “Then you can throw up all you want.”
“Thanks,” said Alexandra dryly.
“The wedding,” Serena repeated. “I’m so glad at least one of us is getting married here. The rest of us will live vicariously through you, Elizabeth.”
“And it will make Mummy and Daddy so happy.” Katherine’s face lost a bit of its happy glow. “I still feel badly that I deprived them of the chance to throw us a big ‘do.”’
“Mummy and Daddy are happy for all of us,” Elizabeth reassured them all, thinking back to her mother’s words before she’d left for Phoenix the last time. “They wanted each of us to find love and hold it tight for the rest of our lives. And we have.”
“I only wish we could have found James,” Alexandra said. “What a wedding present that would have been!”
There was a moment of silence as they contemplated how very close they might be to giving their parents the gift of a lifetime.
“One last group hug,” Serena said as she sniffed and dabbed at a tear. “The music’s started and we have to start down the aisle any minute.”
The four sisters huddled together, Katherine fussing at them not to wrinkle Elizabeth’s gown.
She loved them so much, Elizabeth thought, swallowing tears of her own. It was almost inconceivable to think that they’d set out for the States mere months ago. So many events had occurred that it seemed much longer.
And now they would all be married. The wedding would barely be over before preparations for the coronation anniver
sary celebration would move into high gear. Mitch and Alexandra, along with Katherine and her new husband, Trey, as well as Serena and Gabe, would be staying in Wynborough until after the festivities.
Her smile faded a bit. The only person missing was Laura, whom they all cared for dearly. But she was needed at the Colton ranch in case John Colton showed up during Mitch’s absence.
The wedding coordinator hissed at them then, and a maid handed Katherine her flowers. Katherine blew Elizabeth a kiss as she started up the aisle, and Alexandra gave her a sickly smile when her turn came. Serena accepted her bridesmaid’s bouquet and flashed her one last wink before moving toward the front of the enormous old church.
Then it was her turn. King Phillip, who had been watching his other three daughters, came to her side and offered her his arm. One single tear slipped down his cheek and she reached up and wiped it away with her thumb.
“Don’t you start,” she said. “Serena was bad enough. I refuse to get married with smudged mascara.”
Her father’s chuckle was genuine. “Sorry. I was remembering you as a bare-bottomed baby and it suddenly hit me that very soon you’ll have a baby of your own.”
She grimaced. “I did things a bit out of order.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Her father’s tone was fierce, but his eyes softened as he looked toward the front of the chapel where the woman he’d loved for more than thirty years waited to see him give away their child. “What matters is that you and Rafe love each other, and for that, your mother and I are very, very thankful—for all four of our daughters’ marriages. Not everyone is so lucky.”
“We had a fine example to show us what it should be like.” She gave him one last, misty smile. “I love you, Daddy.”
He led her forward then. As she got near enough to the front of the church to see the tall, broad-shouldered man waiting there with his father and brother and a line of other attendants, she gave Rafe a radiant smile.
Her father was right. They were lucky.
And she intended to show Rafe every day for the rest of their lives just how much she valued his love.
The Prince’s Secret Baby
Christine Rimmer
For my family. For the joy, the laughter and the tears. You’ve made my life rich and full beyond my wildest dreams and I love you all so very much!
CHRISTINE RIMMER came to her profession the long way around. She tried everything from acting to teaching to telephone sales. Now she’s finally found work that suits her perfectly, she insists she never had a problem keeping a job — she was merely gaining “life experience” for her future as a novelist. Christine lives with her family in Oregon. Visit her at christinerimmer.com.
Chapter one