“I don’t know. It fell out of your binder.”
“It did?” Angela looked closer at the handwriting on the envelope. It looked like her mother’s. But she didn’t remember seeing it before.
She accepted the envelope. It was sealed shut. The tremble in Angela’s hands returned. Had her mother written her a note, and she’d just now found it?
Angela carefully opened the envelope and pulled out a sheet of paper with her mother’s handwriting.
My dearest Angela,
If you are reading this, it means I am gone. I’m so sorry. But please know that my spirit is always with you, cheering you on.
I want you to know how much putting together this wedding planner has meant to me. It wasn’t the style of dress or the type of blooms that we picked out. In the end, none of that truly matters. It was the time we spent together. It was communicating with you and seeing you smile. That was a priceless gift.
I know you could have been doing other things instead of sitting by my bedside, like spending time with that amazing man of yours. I hope you two have the most incredible life together.
You’ll notice that I didn’t say extravagant wedding because it doesn’t have to be fancy or elaborate. Believe me when I say the most important part of a wedding isn’t the dress or the tux. It isn’t a five-tier cake or a live band. The most important part—frankly, the only important part—is the love between a bride and groom.
Don’t let the fun we’ve had putting together this planner overshadow the love you have for Carter or his love for you. If you put your love first, you’ll make it through the happy times as well as the challenging ones. It’s how your father and I made it all of our years. He was the love of my life. My wish for you is that you know that sort of love. When you find it, fight for it.
I love you, my sweet, amazing daughter,
Mom
The tears rolled unchecked down Angela’s cheeks. Oh, how she missed her mother. It was like her mother knew exactly when Angela would need to hear those words.
She did love Carter.
Maybe the reason she continually put walls up between them was that she was afraid of loving and losing him, just like she’d lost her mother. She wasn’t sure how she would go through that sort of great loss again.
Angela heard her mother’s words in her mind. She’d told Angela to fight for love. She needed to fight for Carter.
She stared down at the diamond ring on her finger. She couldn’t help but wonder if she’d pushed him away one too many times. Would he be able to understand and forgive her?
There was no time to waste. Angela swiped away the tears. She stood to find Clara at the back of the church with her digital tablet. Clara glanced up when she noticed Angela headed her way.
“I don’t want to cancel the wedding.” There was certainty in her voice.
Clara smiled. “That’s great to hear.”
“It’s probably too late, but I have to try and convince Carter that we really do belong together.”
“I don’t think that will be a problem.”
That was an odd thing to say. “Why?”
“Because all of this is for you.” Clara waved around at the decorated chapel.
“I don’t understand.”
“This is the backup location for your ceremony. Carter asked me to decorate it for you so you could see how it might look for your ceremony.”
“He did?” Her vision swam with happy tears. When Clara nodded once more, Angela said, “I have to go find him.”
“You won’t have to go far.”
“He’s here?”
Clara nodded. “He’s waiting for you on the beach.”