“Maybe I’ll ask Corinne to talk to the pastor,” Isabelle said, referring to the wedding planner. “See if she can schmooze him for more time.”
As Isabelle hurried off to find the wedding planner, Sidney walked over to join her father and Jenny, who stood in a group with Kathleen and Adam Roberts.
“Any word from Vaughn and Simon?” Kathleen asked.
“Simon’s last text message to Isabelle said that Vaughn was going to ‘bring the FBI noise’ if traffic didn’t pickup soon.”
Chuckling at that, Kathleen looked around the church. She took in the striking architecture, which was a combination of English and French gothic styles. “I was just telling your father how beautiful your church is.” She nodded at the east window. “That stained glass must be breathtaking on Sunday mornings, with the sunlight.”
Actually, Sidney had no clue what the stained glass looked like on Sundays, since she hadn’t been to church in quite some time—something for which her heathen ass obviously would be perishing for all eternity. “It is a gorgeous church,” she said, dodging the question. “I can’t wait to see it tomorrow, with all the flowers for the ceremony.”
Kathleen nodded. “Yep, the big day is almost here.” She sniffed and suddenly got teary-eyed.
Adam pulled a travel packet of Kleenex out of his pocket and handed it over to his wife. “Figured we’d be needing a few of these.”
Kathleen dabbed at her eyes. “I’m going to be a mess tomorrow.”
Sidney leaned in affectionately. “If it makes you feel any better, Vaughn’s prediction is that I’ll be right there with you and those tears during the ceremony.” She’d meant it as a joke, but as soon as the words came out of her mouth, she regretted them. It made her and Vaughn’s relationship seem so . . . familiar.
A fact that Kathleen, seemingly, did not miss.
There was a sudden gleam of interest in her eyes. “Really? When did you two have this conversation?”
Sidney shrugged, being more careful now. “I think it must’ve been during the tasting at the Lakeshore Club. Isabelle and Simon asked us to tag along.”
“Oh. Of course.” Kathleen’s shoulders fell.
“Speaking of Vaughn,” Sidney’s father interjected, “I heard about the purse from Isabelle.” He held Sidney’s gaze pointedly. “I’m really glad that worked out.”
Uh-oh. Probably not the best time for her father to bring up the subject. Yes, Isabelle had been thrilled and very touched when Sidney had given her their mother’s purse. But having this conversation in front of Vaughn’s parents was likely to invite more questions—questions to which she had no good answers.
“Isabelle told us the whole story,” Jenny said. “It’s amazing that Vaughn was able to track down the purse after all this time.”
“Vaughn hunted down a purse? Sounds like the FBI is a little slow these days,” Adam joked.
“I guess we missed this story. Someone needs to catch us up,” Kathleen said.
“Sidney had wanted to give Isabelle something their mother had worn on our wedding day. Unfortunately, everything that I’d kept in the attic had gotten lost.” Ross held Sidney’s gaze, his tone softening. “That was my fault. Something that special can’t ever be replaced, I know that.”
Sidney stayed silent, surprised by her father’s words and the meaningfulness of his tone. Not sure how to respond, she simply nodded.
After a long pause, Jenny jumped in to cover the silence. “But your son saved the day,” she told Adam and Kathleen. “Vaughn located a friend of Sidney’s mother, and that friend was able to find the purse she had carried on her wedding day.”
Ross smiled at Sidney. “I still don’t understand how Vaughn even knew Ginny Gastel’s name. How would he know that she was your mother’s best friend?”
All four pairs of eyes fell on her.
Sidney kept her tone nonchalant. “I . . . guess I must have mentioned Ginny’s name to him at some point.”
And just like that, Kathleen had that gleam in her eyes again.
Then the doors at the front of the church opened and Simon and Vaughn strode inside. With a grin, Simon led the way up the aisle. “So apparently they’ve opened a new runway in Chicago.”
The group laughed, and Sidney’s eyes met Vaughn’s as he walked up the aisle alongside his brother. She found herself momentarily holding her breath.
Then he looked away when Isabelle walked up to greet him and Simon.
Sidney exhaled and turned back around, when she saw Kathleen studying her.
“Does he know?” Kathleen asked softly.
Sidney opened her mouth to protest—but before she could say a word, Corinne, the wedding planner, clapped her hands.
“All right, people. We’ve got a bride, a groom, and a pastor. Anyone who isn’t here can get the CliffsNotes later. Let’s get this rehearsal started,” Corinne said.
Quickly, the scene turned into a flurry of activity as Corinne hustled everyone into place. Simon and the groomsmen lined up at the altar, while the church’s wedding coordinator played the processional music through a portable iPod speaker system. The two missing bridesmaids ran into the church just in the nick of time, quickly hugged and apologized to Isabelle. Then Corinne cued Amanda, the first bridesmaid in the lineup, to go.
Sidney waited in the wings for Jayne, the bridesmaid ahead of her, to hit her mark. When Jayne made it halfway down the aisle, Sidney began walking. She first saw Simon, who gave her an easy smile, and then her eyes drifted over to Vaughn, who stood next to him.