He couldn’t help himself, he shifted his attention from his mother to Samantha. His gaze met hers across the dance floor and she immediately looked away, color seeping into her cheeks.
Ian could feel his heartbeat accelerate. Was it possible? Could she share his growing feelings? Would she consider the possibility of someday making life changes that would enable them to be together?
How could he possibly ask that of her? It seemed grossly unfair.
He had never felt more trapped by the constraints placed on him now as his father’s heir. What if he could walk away from his life in England and move here with the children and study salmon to his heart’s content?
No sense dealing in rhetorical questions. He couldn’t. Just as he had married Susan when he found out she was expecting his child, he could not walk away from his responsibilities as heir to Amherst.
How much more bearable would those responsibilities be if he had Samantha at his side?
The idea tantalized him as much as it tormented him.
“You’re my son and I love you. But if you have feelings for Samantha and do nothing about them, I would be gravely disappointed in you,” his mother said. “I would hope no son of mine would throw away something that could be wonderful because of fear.”
She was right. He loved Samantha. She filled his heart with joy and color and texture and he didn’t want to imagine a future without her in it.
Yes, he had made mistakes in the past. His marriage had been a disaster. But Susan had never been the right choice for him.
Something told him Samantha was that and more. No. She was the only choice. If he didn’t act on his feelings for her, Ian suspected he would spend the rest of his days alone and unhappy, living a life he didn’t want and aching for a woman he couldn’t have.
GEMMA SUMMERHILL’S WEDDING to Joshua Bailey would always have a place in Samantha’s memory as one of the most romantic and yet most difficult she had ever attended.
She had found moments of pure joy, like dancing with Thomas and laughing at his free-spirited delight. Sitting beside Ian and holding his hand when Gemma and Josh had exchanged vows. Catching up with friends she hadn’t had the chance to see in too long.
Twisting through the bright spots of the event was the inevitable knowledge that this evening was a watershed moment and only brought her one step closer to the day when Ian and his children would fly out of her life.
“Everything okay?” Bowie asked, settling his sleeping daughter, Gabi, more comfortably in his arms. “You don’t seem like your usual happy self.”
They sat at one of the round tables placed around the dance floor, where she had stopped to talk to Katrina a short time earlier, just before Kat had promptly been dragged away to dance with Milo.
She sighed. “I love weddings. Don’t get me wrong.”
“That’s probably a good thing, considering you design wedding gowns.”
“Right?” She managed a smile. “They’re almost always joyful occasions. This one is, absolutely. Gemma and Josh are perfect for each other.”
“But?” Bowie pressed.
“I don’t know. Despite my happiness for them, sometimes at weddings I can’t help feeling a bit of melancholy.”
It had nothing to do with her own marital status or that she didn’t have a family of her own, which might be the logical assumption.
Weddings opened many doors but inevitably closed others.
“Were you melancholy at ours?” Bowie asked. “If you were, I don’t think I noticed.”
“I was sad to lose my best friend,” she admitted. “But I got over it quickly, especially once I accepted I was gaining another good friend in you, along with two adorable children.”
“There you go,” he said with a smile.
She didn’t have time to respond because Ian chose that moment to come over with two glasses of champagne. He handed one to her, which she took even though she knew she’d already had three, which was about two past her personal limit.
“I’m the worst wedding date. I’ve hardly seen you all evening,” he said on an apologetic note.
She had almost forgotten he was her date for the wedding—and also her ride home.
“Ian, have you met Bowie Callahan? He’s lucky enough to be married to my best friend, Katrina. Bowie, this is Ian Summerhill. Gemma’s brother.”
“I would shake your hand but I’m afraid mine are full at the moment,” Bowie said.
“No worries.” Ian smiled easily. “I’ve been there myself. I’m fortunate enough to have a nanny, who only ten minutes ago took the children home, since my son was falling asleep on his feet and my daughter wasn’t far behind.”
Samantha was sorry she hadn’t had the chance to say good night to the children before Mrs. Gilbert took them home for the evening.
They made small talk for a few moments, before Ian turned to her. “The champagne was a pretext,” Ian admitted. “In actuality, I was wondering if you might have a dance free for me.”
Something about his solemn expression sent butterflies twirling through her. “Yes,” she said softly. She wanted to tell him he could have all the rest of her dances forever, but couldn’t seem to find the words, even if such a thing were possible.
Leaving the champagne on the table, she took his hand and he led her out to the dance floor.
She didn’t want this moment to end. She wanted to remember it for the rest of her life, dancing with the man she loved under a sky peppered with stars.
“The moon is beautiful on the water here, isn’t it?” he murmured.
She told herself it was the champagne that left her breathless, light-headed. “I’ve always loved the view from Snow Angel Cove. The lake and the mountains are the same but the perspective seems so different. There’s a beautiful spot down by the water where you can see all of Haven Point, and some of Shelter Springs, too.”
“I
