When Saturday arrived, Lisa had his suit pressed and waiting for him. She’d gone to retrieve the painted silver roses. He dressed, loaded Jackson into his new Mercedes, and drove over to pick Isabella up.

She was at her parents’ house already. She’d been staying there, sleeping in their guest room, which was painted with cars all over the walls because it was usually referred to as “Jackson’s room.” He pulled into the driveway and got Jackson out of the car with his overnight bag.

His former mother-in-law, Michelle, answered the door. “Well, aren’t you a sight!” She pulled him into a hug, then bent to hug and kiss Jackson. “I don’t know who is handsomer.”

“He is,” Lucas said and smiled at her.

They followed Michelle inside and Jackson immediately ran to the living room to find his grandfather. Michelle stood at the bottom of the stairs and called up to Isabella that he had arrived.

“Wait until you see her,” Michelle said. “I wasn’t sure what was going to happen after things with Matthew ended, but if there are any single men there tonight, they might not be single for long.”

He forced a smile, but again, the idea of Isabella meeting someone tonight made his stomach turn. He lowered his voice. “What happened there?”

She shrugged. “She hasn’t told me much except that she just didn’t love him enough. Maybe she’ll tell you more.”

Didn’t love him enough? Interesting reason to give. He supposed it could be true. Perhaps they’d grown apart over the two years they’d been together. He’d try to find out more tonight.

When Isabella made her appearance at the top of the stairs, Lucas’s heart almost stopped. She had outdone herself. He hoped the bride was a supermodel, because Isabella looked drop dead gorgeous. She’d steal the show if she wasn’t careful.

“Isn’t that poor etiquette?” he asked, holding out his hand to her.

“What?” she asked, her glowing smile fading.

“To be more beautiful than the bride on her wedding day.”

Isabella rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t worry about that.”

“I told Lucas no single man at this wedding stood a chance with you looking like that,” Michelle said.

Did that include him, he wondered? Or had they both forgotten he was single? Did they think of him like that, as available? Or did Michelle still think of him as her daughter’s husband? He’d wanted a hundred times to ask her and John, Isabella’s father, if he could date Isabella. If they would be okay with that. But then she’d met Matthew and had gotten engaged and it seemed that was one awkward conversation he could avoid forever. But now, he wondered. It’d been five years. Surely, they would want him to move on, wouldn’t they?

But he noticed, in the time it took them to get a few photos, to say goodbye to Jackson and her parents, that though Michelle and John both encouraged Isabella to keep her eyes open for eligible men, they never said a similar thing to him.

And Isabella, having just ended an engagement less than week ago? It seemed much to soon for her to be moving on. Yet, it’d been five years for him and they didn’t think he should be looking out for single ladies? It seemed to confirm his suspicions. They didn’t want to see him with someone else.

He was sure if he asked, they’d say of course they wanted him to be happy. They were good people. But their actions showed their true desires. That he would forever love Abigail, and only Abigail, and somehow, that would keep her memory more alive.

“The flowers are a nice touch,” Isabella said as he held the car door open for her. “I didn’t know roses came in silver.”

“They don’t,” he said, and climbed in to start the car.

They drove for a few minutes in silence, Lucas still pondering the situation with her parents. Maybe Isabella would have some insight.

“What do you think your parents would do if I started seeing someone?” he asked.

She turned to him, a surprised look on her face. “You’re seeing someone?”

“I said ‘if.’”

“So you’re not seeing someone?”

“Not yet. But I noticed they don’t ever ask. They don’t ever offer to fix me up, like so many people like to do to single men who are in their late twenties. I wonder if they secretly want me to stay single forever.”

“Why ever would they want that?” she asked.

“So they can always think of me as Abigail’s husband. It would be hard to do that if I were with someone else.”

“Yeah. I guess it would.” She grew silent and stared out the window at the afternoon sun.

“So, you think that’s it? The don’t really want me to move on?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never heard them say anything like that.”

“But have you heard them say otherwise? That they wished I would find someone or something along those lines?”

“I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I guess not.”

He’d been hoping she would reveal to him that the conversations he wasn’t a part of were all about them trying to find someone to set him up with, them hoping he’d meet someone. But it seemed those conversations never took place, and it secured what he’d always dreaded. That they likely wouldn’t be happy if he dated Isabella. It was just another strike against them being together in a long list of things.

But it didn’t stop him from wanting her. And when she looked like she did today, he couldn’t stop picturing her in a white dress, walking toward him as Abigail had done so many years ago. That was before he’d become rich. He wished he could have given Abigail her dream wedding. But at the time, he was fresh out of college. He hadn’t started his life in the business world, and he hadn’t found out yet how very good he was at making investment choices. If they were married today, it would be a multi-million-dollar affair. Then, it had cost less than fifteen thousand.

All throughout the ceremony of Isabella’s friend, he pictured both his wedding to Abigail and what it would be like to marry Isabella. They looked similar enough, it wasn’t hard to imagine. He loved them both just as much as well, though he had to admit Abigail had moved backward in his heart. He’d always love her, of course, but Isabella was there every day with him, caring for their son, and his love for her was refreshed all the time, while his love for Abigail was tied only to memory and what he saw of her in their son. Even that, Jackson’s nose and hair color, were the same as Isabella’s. He couldn’t escape this woman beside him, and he didn’t want to. He wanted more of her. He wanted all of her.

By the time the reception started in full force, the dance floor filling with couple after couple, he’d decided to take a chance. Sure, there were a hundred reasons why they shouldn’t be together. But they had the best reasons to try. Jackson, for one, would surely benefit from having a steadier mother figure, and who better than his aunt, who loved his mother even more than Lucas had? And, though he didn’t know if she had any feelings for him at all, he thought she could love him. They could be in love and be happy forever. They could make their family complete again. And wasn’t that worth taking the risk?

The hours passed, but Lucas still hadn’t found the right moment. It had to be done just right, he knew, or he could blow it all. He had to be able to read her, gauge her interest level if there was one, and that would take just the right words.

“Do you want to step outside?” he asked. They’d been dancing so much that he was getting hot in the stuffy room.

“Sure.” She waved her hand in front of her face, showing that she, too, was warm.

He took her hand and they strolled along the edge of a curved garden. “Beautiful spot for a wedding.”

“It really is,” she said. “I thought I’d be gathering ideas for my own wedding tonight.”

“You still can.”

“Umm, not if I don’t have a fiancé.”

“I’m sure you’ll find someone else and be married one day.” He took in a deep breath, surprised he was feeling so nervous about this. “Do you mind me asking, what happened with Matthew? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“No, nothing like that. I just realized that I didn’t love him like I should if I was going to spend the rest of my life with him.”

The same answer she’d given her mother. Was it the truth, then? “That’s it?”

“What better reason do I need?” She chuckled. “Would you want me to marry someone I wasn’t head over heels for?”

“I didn’t want you to marry him at all.”

She stopped walking and turned to face him. “Why is that?”

Their positioning was now perfect. All he had to do was lean in. “You’re too good for him. And maybe I always sensed that he didn’t light you up. You deserve someone who can really take care of you.”

She looked away, staring at the flowers. He wondered what she was thinking. His heart started to race.

“You’re so beautiful, Isabella. And so much more. Intelligent and kind, a perfect aunt. You’re going to make a fabulous wife one day.”

She looked back at him, meeting the intense look in his eyes with one of her own. They said nothing with words, but their shared gaze spoke a lot. She did want him, he thought. She pulled the edge of her lip into her mouth and held his stare. This was the moment.

He took in a slow breath, but had to look away. It was too much. If she turned him down, if he’d been wrong about her interest, it would crush him. But not knowing might crush him worse.

He looked at her again, then his phone buzzed in his pocket. He would never think of answering it, but the vibrating pattern was Joe’s, and he would never call now unless it was important.

“Ugg,” he said, taking out his phone. “I’m so sorry. It’s Joe.” She would know what that meant.

“Go ahead and take it. I’m going to use the restroom anyway.”

She smiled at him and walked away. His heart sank. He’d blown it.

“Hey Joe, what’s going on?” Lucas walked a few steps farther from the party to hear better.

“So sorry to call you, but I needed a decision on this fast.”

“That’s okay. Go ahead.”

“The Spencer deal. Another company is moving in. I had our… sources… look into it and they found out what they’re offering them.”

“Sources” was their way of discussing the somewhat unethical means they sometimes had to go to in order to get information on business deals. Sometimes it was barely ethical, other times, it was downright illegal what they did. But business was business, and sometimes, ruthless moves were the only option.

“Then up ours. Whatever it takes.”

“That’s what I thought you’d say. That’s all I needed to know.”

He put his phone back in his pocket. It was just enough of a reminder, though. Isabella was sweet and pure. A good person through and through. She wouldn’t be happy about some of his business practices, and he wouldn’t want to put her in a position to be affected by anything he might do. The people he did business with weren’t always upstanding citizens. He couldn’t drag her into his world, no matter how badly he wanted her.

She would make his life better by far. But he could do nothing to improve her life, aside from provide her with a wealthy lifestyle, but she was never interested in his billionaire status. She didn’t need money like he did. She was happy and perfect without it. And by bringing her in, he’d ruin that. He’d corrupt her. And he never wanted her to change.