Page 95

The women had been with Hannah for a while before she’d entered her final stages of labor.

Reese had been serene about this process all day and evening, so she obviously didn’t think anything was wrong.

“Hannah feels like she’s prepared,” Joy said. “You helped her a lot with that, Reese. She doesn’t seem anxious at all about the actual delivery. “

Reese smiled at the older woman. “You and Millie helped her more than I did. You’ve been through it. I’ve just helped deliver babies in the delivery room.”

“I can’t wait to see my first grandchild,” Millie said excitedly. “My boys have made me wait forever for this day.”

“Me, too,” Joy said with a sigh. “How are the wedding preparations going, Reese?”

Okay, that topic distracted me a little.

We’d set the date for the first Saturday in October.

It wasn’t that far away, but it still seemed too long to me.

“Good,” Reese answered in an upbeat tone. “I thought it was going to be difficult, but Devon sent me so many specialists that I don’t really have to do much but make the final decisions.

“I’m so excited that I’m going to be a bridesmaid,” Lauren said enthusiastically.

“Me, too,” Anna seconded. “The dresses we’re looking at are pretty stunning.”

Reese had asked Hannah to be her maid of honor.

I’d hired a dress designer for all the women’s dresses so they could get whatever they wanted.

Before Cole had left to return to Austin yesterday, I’d asked him to stand up for me to make the numbers even.

Surprisingly, he’d agreed without much hesitation.

I had to wonder if my mother had softened him up on the idea of family. She’d been at his place most of the time that he’d been recovering, and she’d fed him so well that he’d complained about gaining some weight.

Reese had checked on Cole every single day, and she’d just ignored his complaints about her worrying too much about a minor injury.

She was slowly getting used to living her old life again. A life that was free of fear and hiding.

Most of the people in town knew about what had happened to her now and her real identity. The people who knew her and cared about her had been incredibly supportive and had offered to help her with the wedding.

Honestly, Reese hadn’t needed my help all that much to get things started for the wedding. She had so many family members and friends to help her that it was probably overwhelming.

She asked my opinion on most things, but I agreed with whatever she seemed to want the most.

I didn’t care how we ended up married, I just wanted it to happen.

I was glad now that I hadn’t hauled her off to Vegas like I’d been tempted to do before I decided that she deserved better.

It would have been faster, but she would have missed all the normal bridal stuff and traditions that seemed important to her now that she was wedding planning.

When she was huddled with Hannah, Lauren, and Anna chattering about the wedding plans and the dresses, she just looked excited and…happy.

Just watching her during those moments made it worth the wait.

I glanced down at the ring I’d just put on her finger the night before.

I hadn’t screwed around when it came to her ring. I’d wished that I’d had that ring to put on her finger the moment I asked her to marry me. I’d had a jeweler at the house on Monday, and I’d gotten the custom ring back yesterday afternoon.

I would have preferred something a little flashier, but Reese loved her engagement ring, so I’d learn to live with a smaller carat value than I would have liked.