Flirting with the Society Doctor (16 page)

T
HE
sun was shining on the first day of August. A gentle breeze blew in off the Atlantic and butterflies fluttered around the grounds of the Cape May lighthouse.

When Vale had first suggested having their wedding at the lighthouse, she'd thought he was teasing. When she'd realized he wasn't, she'd agreed that the lighthouse was the perfect place to start the rest of their lives.

Unlike his cousin's wedding, they'd opted for small, and had somehow managed to keep their upcoming nuptials out of the press.

Faith had invited her mother and stepfather, a beaming Mrs. Beasley, and a couple of friends from med school and work. Vale had his mother, Sharon, Angela, their parents, and Marcus Fishe, who served as his best man. Sharon stood next to Faith as her matron of honor.

Vale had also invited Steve, but mostly so the handsome footballer's presence could get under Sharon's skin.

All Wakefields apparently enjoyed getting under people's skins and based on how the former beauty queen kept stealing glances at her estranged husband her skin was crawling.

Vale had wanted to marry at the top of the lighthouse,
but had conceded that Faith would have problems with the one hundred and ninety-nine steps in her wedding gown.

He'd offered to carry her, but thoughts of him being too tired for their wedding night had Faith convincing him that standing just behind the lighthouse on the grassy fenced lawn would be perfect, and a lot less windy for their photos.

Faith had struggled with asking stepfather number six to walk her down the aisle and had ended up deciding to walk alone. Her mother had seemed to understand. Vale, however, had wanted to track down her real father, to help her put to rest her abandonment issues. She'd assured him that he'd already done that by loving her. She didn't need anything more to have her happily-ever-after.

When the wedding march began to play, Faith walked to the man she loved with all her heart. The stubborn man who had so much pride and arrogance, but also the capacity to love her fully, completely, and without holding anything back.

The man who gave her so much. The whole world.

He was her whole world.

She handed her simple bouquet of wildflowers to Sharon, then turned to face the man she'd spend the rest of her life loving and being loved by.

The only other member of the wedding party was a tiny cream-colored poodle with a tiny black bowtie collar.

Yoda followed Faith down the aisle, sat at her feet, and quirked his head in silence at the vows being exchanged.

“I do,” Faith promised, not able to keep the tears
of joy from her eyes as she slid the ring onto the third finger of Vale's left hand.

When he took her hand in his, stared deeply into her eyes, his love shining as brightly as the sun above them, happy bubbles danced in her belly.

“I do,” he promised, placing the golden band symbolizing that promise on Faith's finger. “For ever and always, I do.”

Her insides melted and her knees wobbled.

“You may now kiss your bride,” the minister told Vale.

His hands caressed her neck, holding her as if she were a fragile flower. “I love you, Mrs. Wakefield.”

Then he kissed her, sealing his promise for all time.

Faith returned his kiss, knowing deep in her heart that, although there would be times of troubled waters just as there were in any relationship, their love would light the course safely back to each other.