My One And Only (30 page)

epilogue

E
than gently adjusted Rachel's veil at the back of the church. He ha
d a tightness in his chest he'd
grown to recognize over the past eight years as the wellspring of emotion Abby had helped him find. He'd had it at his wedding. He'd experienced it again when each of his three sons were bo
rn
. He'd felt it countless times just looking at his wife and wondering how in the world he could have deserved her.

And now Rachel was getting married, and the emotion was back. He hoped he didn't embarrass himself when he walked her down the aisle. "You look gorgeous," he told her.

She fidgeted, but smiled. "Thanks. I'm really nervous."

"Don't be. Just enjoy the moment." The man
Rachel was marrying was a chef at the restaurant where she now worked. Soon they'd open their own place. Ethan liked him, primarily because the poor guy had survived the rigorous scrutiny he'd endured from Ethan and Harrison.

"Ethan?" Rachel said.

"Hmm?" He finished adjusting the fine lace.

"When you married Abby—how did you know? I mean, that she was the one. The only one."

He heard the slight thread of anxiety and took Rachel's hand in his. He carefully considered his words, not sure he could express what he was just beginning to understand himself. "Being with Abby was magic and humbling at the same time. She makes me feel alive—and sometimes better than alive. It's—" He searched for the right words. "It's like a paradox. I could live without her if I had to, but I'd never want to. She sets me on fire, and she's the place I go when my soul needs refreshing. I never have enough of her, but I'm always right on the verge of feeling too much." He shook his head. "That probably doesn't make any sense."

Rachel had grown teary. "That's exactly how I feel about Mike."

"Then it's love," he assured her. "That's how you know."

"Ready?" Abby asked them from the doorway. Ethan noted the mistiness in his wife's gaze. "Scott's getting ready to walk me down to the front. I'll signal the organist to start the prelude."

Rachel hurried across the room and hugged her. "I love you, Abby." She glanced at Ethan. "I'll go wait for you at the back."

He nodded. The tightness in his throat had increased. He went to Abby and took both her hands in his and raised them to his lips. "I mean it just as much today as I did the first time."

She brushed away a tear from her eyes. "Me too. I love you, Ethan."

"More every day," he told her.

Abby gathered herself together with a slight smile. "And Deirdre said that no Montgomery can commit to a single love for a lifetime."

He grinned at her. "Then I must have gotten it from my mother, because you're my one and only."