Danielle Steel - Rogue

“Max?” He shook as he asked her. It was twelve-thirty by then, and the wedding guests had been waiting for half an hour while the music played.

“Yes.” She breathed the word, and he kissed her. It was what they had both wanted to do the night before. It had taken Charles to get them back together again. Charles was everything she should have wanted, but all she wanted, and all she had ever wanted, was Blake.

“Let's go!” Blake said, springing into action, his hangover forgotten, and she was feeling better too. “Jack, you take Grandma down the aisle to the front pew. Sam, you take Zellie. Daffy, you come with me. Dad”-he looked at his father-in-law, and they exchanged a smile-“is this okay with you, by the way?” Not that it mattered to either of them, but he didn't want him to feel left out.

“She would have died of boredom with the other guy,” Arthur said, smiling broadly at Blake, “and so would I,” he added, and Maxine laughed.

“Give us five minutes, then you two come down the aisle.” The minister had already been out there, on the altar, for over half an hour, wondering what had happened.

They all ran out the door then, and the guests watched them come down the aisle. They all recognized Blake, and were a little puzzled when he and Daphne took their places at the altar, and were joined by Sam and Jack a minute later. This was obviously a very liberal modern wedding with the ex-husband helping to give the bride away. The guests were impressed and a little startled. Zellie and their grandmother were seated, and Blake and his children stood at the altar, waiting for Maxine and her father to come down the aisle. And suddenly the music changed, and she was walking toward Blake with eyes only for him, while her father beamed. She never took her eyes off Blake as they looked at each other and all the years they had shared with each other, the good and the bad, telescoped into this one shining moment.

The minister was watching them, and understood what had happened. Blake leaned over to talk to him and whispered that they didn't have a license.

“We'll wing it today,” he whispered back. “Get a license on Monday, and we'll do it again privately. How does that sound to you?”

“Perfect. Thank you,” Blake said respectfully, and then turned to look at his bride again. They had finally reached the altar. He and

Arthur shook hands, and Arthur gave him a little pat on the arm, and whispered, “Welcome back.” Blake turned his full attention to Maxine then, and took his place beside her as their children watched. They could see that their mother had damp eyes, and their father did too.

The minister turned to everyone then and looked at them solemnly. “Dearly beloved,” he began, “we are gathered here together today to join this man and this woman, and as I understand it, or from what I can figure out, they have been joined before”-he glanced at the children with a smile-“with very handsome results. And what I want you all to know is that when I perform a wedding ceremony, it sticks. So you won't be coming back here for another round.” He looked pointedly at Maxine and Blake, who were beaming at each other. “All right then, let's get on with it.

“We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman…” All Maxine could see was Blake, and all he could see was her, and all they could hear was each other and the buzzing of their hangovers until they both said “I do,” kissed, and walked back down the aisle. And this time, not just the children and the minister, but everyone in the church cheered.

It wasn't the wedding any of them had come for or anticipated, not even Maxine or Blake, but it was the wedding that was meant to be, the one that was their destiny. It was the marriage of two people who had always loved each other, and each, in their own way, had grown up at last. It was the perfect union between a delightful, lovable rogue and his very happy bride.

Her father winked at them as they walked past him, down the aisle. Blake winked back, and Maxine laughed out loud.