Irritation spiked through Colleen at Delores’s words, at her prettiness…at her presence. “A couple more weddings like this one, and you ought to be driving one like it in no time flat,” Eric said.
Delores’s laugh was meant to captivate. Much to Colleen’s satisfaction, however, Eric’s gaze flickered back to her face.
“Are you getting him used to the center aisle of a church, Delores?” she teased lightly, trying to banish her immature annoyance. Eric could flirt with every woman on the planet, for all she cared. What difference should it make to her? “I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a phobia toward it—when it comes to weddings, anyway.”
“He better get used to it! He’s giving Natalie away,” Delores said.
“I’m getting used to the idea…slowly.”
Colleen arched her brows. “Nice and easy does the trick, I suppose,” she said quietly.
She blinked when Delores looped her wrist through the crook of Eric’s bent arm. “Maybe I better walk with you up the aisle a few times. I suspect you’re one of those men who requires practice beyond the wedding rehearsal.”
Colleen’s spine stiffened. Maybe Delores wasn’t ditzy, but she definitely had nerve. She had to remind herself that her fantasies about ways to get rid of Delores’s insipid smile were highly inappropriate in a place of worship.
“Actually, I think I’ll do my practicing in the other direction, if you don’t mind,” Eric said mildly, turning his head toward the back of the church. “I see Father Mike, and I need to have a word with him about something. Would you mind coming with me?” Eric asked Colleen.
Delores gave an uncomfortable laugh and withdrew her arm. Eric extended his freed hand toward Colleen. He ignored her wariness, of course, and touched the back of her waist when she walked alongside him. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to snarl at him for the proprietary gesture or purr in a satisfied manner that he’d touched her so familiarly in front of Delores’s narrowed stare.
“What do we have to talk to Father Mike for?” Colleen asked quietly as they approached the back of the church.
“I wanted to ask him about the musical accompaniment for the singer I hired.”
She heard the sound of children’s voices and realized for
the first time that Father Mike wasn’t alone. He was escorting her friend, Ellen Rappoport, and Ellen’s two children. They paused near the front doors. Ellen was talking earnestly with the elderly priest while her children—Nathan, age eight, and Melanie, age ten—waited for their mother. It must have been Ellen and the kids whom Father Mike had said he needed to meet with in his office earlier, Colleen realized. She and Eric came to a standstill several feet away, not wanting to intrude.
Melanie glanced around her mother and met Colleen’s eye.
“Hi!” the girl called, her thin, somber face lighting up with a grin. She immediately walked over to give Colleen a hug.
“Hey, how are you doing?” Colleen responded warmly. It did her heart good to see the girl smile. Melanie and Nathan had seemed so serious and sad since Cody, their adoptive father, had left. “I’m sorry Ellen, Father Mike,” she apologized as Ellen, Nathan and Father Mike approached them. “We didn’t mean to interrupt. Eric wanted to speak with you, Father.”
“We were just finishing up,” Father Mike said amiably.
“No problem at all,” Ellen assured him, giving Colleen a quick hug. “I’m glad to see you. We haven’t spoken since the engagement party. I know I told you before, but you two did a wonderful job with it,” Ellen said kindly, including Eric in her glance. “Are you here about Liam’s wedding?”
“Yes. We had a meeting with the florist and wedding planner.”
Eric hadn’t met Ellen’s children, so Colleen introduced him. She began catching up with Ellen and the kids while Eric and Father Mike stepped a few feet away and addressed Eric’s question. At one point in their chat, Ellen and Nathan became involved in unfastening Nathan’s stuck coat zipper. Melanie looked up earnestly at Colleen, the two of them somewhat isolated from the others for a brief moment.
“We were meeting with Father Mike because Dad…Cody, I mean, hasn’t been around to see Nathan and me since he moved out,” Melanie told Colleen in a hushed tone.
A rush of compassion went through her when she saw the girl’s careworn expression. Melanie was an especially bright girl who seemed older than her ten years.
“That’s a good idea for you three to talk to someone. I’ll bet Cody’s leaving is making you and Nathan really sad.”
“Nathan won’t say it out loud, but I can tell it’s really bothering him.”
“And you?” Colleen prompted softly. Melanie nodded in agreement.
“Did it help, talking to Father Mike?”
“Yeah. I was starting to feel…you know, really bad about myself because both my father and Cody left. I thought maybe it was something I did…something about me. But my mom said no way. Father Mike told me that love from parents is very, very important. He said God would never stop loving me for a second, and neither would my mom. He said that the real challenge was for me to keep on loving myself, no matter what difficult things happened to me in life.”
“He’s a smart man, Father Mike. You’re a smart girl with your own unique gifts to give the world. Life will go on, Melanie. You’ll see.” She ruffled Melanie’s hair as they shared a meaningful glance. Colleen’s head turned when Eric stepped beside her. He did a double take.
“Are you okay?” he asked, looking confused and concerned as he focused on Colleen’s face.