Tears gathered in her eyes and she lowered her gaze, unable to watch as the man she’d loved for most of her life wrapped his arm around his new bride’s waist.Clay should be marrying me, Kate cried silently. I should be the one he’s looking at so tenderly. Me! During the past few weeks, Kate had repeatedly reassured herself that she’d done the right thing in stepping aside to bring Clay and Rorie together. But that fact didn’t lessen her pain now. Kate loved Clay, and that wasn’t going to change. He was her best friend and confidant, her compass, her North Star. And now Clay was married to another woman—someone he loved far more than he could ever care for Kate.A clean white handkerchief was thrust into her hand by Luke Rivers, her father’s foreman. Kate knew he’d been waiting for this moment, convinced she’d dissolve into a puddle of tears.She declined the use of his handkerchief by gently shaking her head.“I’m here,” he whispered in her ear.“So is half of Nightingale,”
