Justin had spent the evening milling about the room, accepting congratulations and talking to the guests. Sometimes Hannah was on his arm or standing nearby, but just as often she was speaking to someone else or handling some detail about the party. He’d been surprised to find he missed her when she was absent.

“This all seems a little sudden,” one lady said.

Justin looked at her a moment trying to remember her name. Her snow-white hair was cut in a short cap and her makeup was impeccable, that didn’t help him put a name to her.

“It was a little fast,” he glanced around for Hannah, wondering where she’d gotten to, “but when I met Hannah it was like fate.” It was a story they’d practiced, that they’d met and it had been love at first sight. An instant attraction and an extremely short courtship. It was one of the few ways they could think of to keep the truth from coming out. Secrecy was part of the contract with the Diamond Bridal Agency and he wasn’t about to damage Hannah’s reputation by letting anyone know she’d been his mail order bride. “We considered waiting, having a big wedding and inviting everyone,” he was improvising now. Something about this woman’s superior attitude rubbed him wrong. “Then we realized, the most important people were already there. Us.” His parents weren’t there to say they hadn’t been present and Hannah’s couldn’t have been, they all knew why. This was the group of people who had known Hannah all her life, yet hadn’t lifted a hand to help her after she’d been orphaned. The same people who had left her desperate enough to be willing to marry a total stranger. Somehow, they were no longer the kind of people he wanted to be around, or to spend his time with.

It had only been a week since he’d met Hannah, but he’d become more fond of her than he’d thought possible when he’d sent for a bride. He’d gotten to know her and realized he liked her and not only that, but he liked pleasing her. Surprising her, seeing her happy smile. And hearing her laugh made his whole day. That this woman seemed to be looking down her nose at Hannah and their hasty marriage bothered him more than when they looked down at him. He was used to it. But he hated that anyone would treat Hannah that way. What he really wanted was to tell the woman off. But he held his tongue. He smiled and made small talk, but at first opportunity went looking for Hannah.

He found her not far away, she’d been talking to a few other women, smiling and laughing. The sound of her laughter made his stomach flip. Her smile reached her eyes for the first time that night and he knew that whoever she was with were people she knew. He stepped close and wrapped one arm around her waist.

“Hey, baby,” he dropped a kiss below her ear, “who’s this?”

“This is Stephanie and her husband Robert. I went to school with Stephanie,” Hannah made introductions and Justin could tell, unlike most of the people there, these were people Hannah enjoyed being around. Earlier as they’d made the rounds of the room she’d smiled and looked happy, but it had been a facade. Now, seeing the smile in her eyes, he recognized it as how she looked when they spent time just the two of them, whether alone in their apartment, checking out the hotel or seeing the sights in town.

“It’s nice to meet you both.” He extended a hand and made a mental note to invite them for drinks or maybe dinner soon. He visited a little longer and stayed close to Hannah, and surprised himself by admitting to himself how glad he would be when everyone had left and it was over. “If you don’t mind though, I’d like to dance with my wife.” Her friends waved them away and he swept her out on the dance floor, glad he’d taken a few lessons in years past. He didn’t have much time with her, here, but the moments with her in his arms, even surrounded by their guests, were the best moments of the evening.

“Well, was it what you had in mind?” Hannah asked as she fell back on the sofa in their apartment, still wearing the sparkling cream-colored gown she’d worn to the reception. Her shoes had come off as soon as they’d stepped in the door, but she’d not bothered to undress yet.

“You did an amazing job, baby. The party and planning were more than I’d hoped for.”

“And the connections? Did you meet the people you wanted to meet?”

Justin took a seat in a chair facing the sofa where she half lay. “I met a lot of people, and I learned about even more.” He fell silent for a moment, watching her. “But I think the one I learned the most about tonight was me.”

Hannah frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I thought what I wanted was to be accepted by people who mattered. By the who’s who, not only in this city, but in the country.” He shook his head a moment, marveling at how naive he’d been. “I realized tonight that I’d put stock in the wrong people. I was looking for approval in the wrong place.” He looked down a moment, noticing the delicate curve of her foot where it rested against the table between them. “I thought I needed it from them. I was wrong.” He looked back up to her face to find she wore a bemused smile, as if she didn’t quite get what he was saying.

“As I talked to people tonight, there were people who seemed to look for something to pick apart, as well as people who were happy you’d found someone to care for you, and not just financially.” He shook his head again. “It made me realize I had a problem. My priorities were in the wrong place.”

“What do you mean?” Her frown deepened.

Justin sighed as he tried to figure out how to say this so she understood it.

“I mean I wanted approval. I still do. But I’ve come to realize I was looking in the wrong place for that approval.”

“You were looking to the who’s who. The people I grew up among.”

“Yes.” Relief washed through him, she was getting it.

She frowned again.

“If they’re the wrong people, then who are the right ones?”

Justin pushed himself out of the chair and moved to sit next to her on the couch. “Don’t you get it?”

Hannah shook her head.

“Baby, you’re the right person.”

Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open, but no words came out.

“I didn’t know it when I went to the Agency, but they knew what I needed better than I did. They sent me not just what I thought I wanted, but what I needed.” He picked up her hand and kissed the ring he’d slid on her finger barely a week earlier. “I asked for someone with connections and instead they found someone who completes me.” He watched as tears pooled in her eyes, then spilled down her face.

“I thought it was just me. That I’d been stupid to fall in love with you and I was just going to end up being hurt.”

“If you get hurt, so will I, baby, because I love you. More than I ever thought possible.”

Hannah sat up and threw her arms around his neck before kissing him. The moisture from her tears wetting his cheek. He wrapped his arms around her and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.