Page 101 of The Backup Groom

Scotty was a good man, the first thing on a long list of qualities I admired about him. He was genuine, fun, intelligent, trustworthy, loyal, and passionate about what he loved and believed in.

It was all I needed to focus on.

“These are the best cupcakes I’ve ever had,” Dean said. “We should offer a couple of these flavors to our customers. They would eat ’em up. What do you think?”

Scotty tilted his head pensively. “That’s not a bad idea at all, and we have room in our display case. ”

Dean jumped to his feet. “I’ll talk with Lesta. And I think I’m going to get a few sample pastries. For research, of course.”

“I would feel horrible if I didn’t help you with that research,” Stella said.

They walked away from us, cracking each other up along the way.

“They make a cute couple,” I said, watching Dean wrap his arm around Stella’s shoulder while looking at the pastries in the display in the front of the bakery.

“Not as cute as us, though.” Scotty reached for my hand. “Are you nervous about getting married?”

The question surprised me. I get why he asked. It was just as fast for him as it was for me. I really wanted to know what was on his mind and decided there was no time like the present to find out.

“I know you feel the same spark I do, which is wonderful,” I said. “We’ve got something good here. I can feel it. And I also feel we have a darn good chance of a successful marriage because we both respect each other. So, to answer your question, yes, I’m a little nervous, but because it’s a big step, not because I’m marrying you. How do you feel about all of this?”

Scotty didn’t waste a moment to show me.

He pulled me into his arms and kissed me with all the emotion I was feeling. When the kiss ended, we stared into one another’s eyes. I was glad I’d spoken up. His simple reaction told me everything I needed to know about the man I was about to marry.

“I feel the same way,” Scotty said. “I’m beyond surprised. I never planned to marry again. Then I met you.”

He’d done it again. He had such a way of saying what I needed to hear.

“I consider the first marriage more of a practice round, not a failure. You learn from your mistakes, then you’re much better the next time you give it a shot. The trick is to not give up on love.”

I smiled. “That’s a great way of looking at it. Do you believe there’s only one person in the world destined to be with you? Your soulmate?”

“I believe in soulmates,” Scotty said. “But I also think that some people are lucky enough to have two in their lifetime. Or more even.”

“At the same time?” I joked. “That’s against the law.”

He chuckled. “I’m serious. There are no written rules that say you can only have one soulmate. So long as you’re open to the possibility of meeting someone new, I believe the Universe will make it happen. My first marriage was not what I expected, but I always knew I would meet someone else I was destined to be with. That’s you. Destiny brought us together.”

“My uncle Garfunkel’s will brought us together. If it were destiny, that would mean we would have found each other even without his will.”

“And I believe we would have,” Scotty said.

I tilted my head to the side. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because I would have made sure of it.” He leaned closer and kissed me.

The man kept getting sweeter and more charming. At first, I thought he was wreaking havoc with my hormones, that maybe this was simply an attraction between two people who like each other. I was wrong. What was happening between the two of us was much more than that. It was something so profound that came straight from the heart before diving into the deep end of my soul. I swallowed hard, having come to a powerful, mind-blowing realization. I wasn’t falling in love with Scotty.

I had already fallen.

Hard.

There was one other thing I knew for sure; I was going to burst if I didn’t express my feelings immediately. I had to tell him.

I leaned closer and locked gazes with him. “I love you.”

Scotty’s mouth dropped open.