Chapter Twelve

December 15, 1912

Rose stood at the back of the church, her bouquet in her hands. A few feet ahead of her, Hope turned and gave her an encouraging smile.

Rose smoothed her elegant, white satin dress, with its empire waist and long sleeves. Her hand moved to touch her veil, trailing down her back in a cloud of satin and lace. It was her wedding day.

She took a deep breath as the baby moved inside her, kicking beneath the concealing dress. She put a hand on her stomach, feeling it move. Today, she was getting married, and in a month, she would bear her first child. How different this was from what she had expected a year ago!

A year ago, Rose had been engaged to Cal, planning for a June wedding. She hadn't been happy about her impending marriage even then, but had gone along with it because it was expected. After all, that was what young ladies of the upper class did—they debuted at fancy parties when they were sixteen, found a suitable husband, and married soon after. Rose had turned sixteen on April 10, 1911—one year to the day the Titanic had set sail. And what a difference that year had made.

Now, instead of being married to Cal, and possibly expecting his child, she was marrying a man considered wholly unsuitable by those she had grown up with—a reporter, someone who was looked down upon, except for when publicity was needed. And she was carrying the child of a man she had only known for three days, but would forever love.

By any standards, it was unconventional—but Rose didn't care. She had found love for the second time in her life, and, while it would never have the depth of the love she had shared with Jack, it was nevertheless real and lasting. And how often was a woman blessed with two great loves in a lifetime?

Rose looked toward the altar, smiling as the music started and Hope began to walk up ahead of her. As she straightened her back, preparing to walk up the aisle herself, she sensed someone standing beside her.

Turning, she saw Jack, dressed in the same tuxedo he had worn the night he had come to dinner on the Titanic. Gasping in surprise, she almost dropped her bouquet, but he steadied her hand.

"Jack," she whispered. "How...what are you doing here?"

"Shh," he whispered in reply. "I'm giving you away, Rose. Isn't it traditional for someone to give the bride away?"

"Yes," she replied, "but that's usually her father."

He grinned. "Well, he's watching this now, pleased as anything with the man his little girl is marrying. But it's up to me to give you away." He sobered. "After all, had things turned out differently, it would have been me waiting for you at the altar. But fate stepped in, and you're going to spend a lifetime with someone else. I wish it could have been otherwise, but there's no changing the past. I can't spend my life with you—it's over—but I couldn't think of a better, more loving husband for you than Luke Calvert. In spite of everything, Rose, you've been given more than most women could even dream of."

"Oh, Jack. I wish..." She trailed off.

"...that today was our wedding day?" he asked softly. "That day will come, Rose. When the time comes, I'll be waiting. But you have your whole life ahead of you, and I can see in your eyes that you love Luke. Sometimes life is like that—it takes you in directions you never expected. But it's always worth it, Rose. Really it is. Just do what I did, in the few years that I had in this world—make each day count. You're the strongest, smartest, most beautiful woman I've ever known—and you always will be. You'll make it."

"I know. But I couldn't have done it without you, Jack. Thank you."

He held out his hand, smiling sadly as he set it on her arm. "It's time to go now, Rose. You're going to get married, and have a good life. You'll tell our daughter about me, and what we had together, so that she'll understand. And you'll make a good wife for Luke. He's the luckiest man alive, marrying you."

Rose nodded, too choked up to say a word. Somehow, she knew that this was the last time she would see Jack—at least in this lifetime. Smiling tremulously, she stepped into the aisle, Jack at her side.

No one noticed that Rose did not walk up the aisle alone, or realized that she was walking at the side of her first love, escorted up the aisle by the man who, had fate been kind, would have been the man waiting for her that day.

As they reached the steps leading up to the altar, Jack stopped. Taking his hand from her arm, he whispered, "Go to him, Rose. Make the life I always knew you could." As she nodded, he stepped in front of her, giving her one last kiss. "Good-bye, Rose. I love you. Be happy."

And with that, he was gone, and Rose handed her bouquet to Hope and came to stand beside Luke. Jack's words echoed in her mind, and she turned to Luke, her face lighting in a smile as she stepped forward into her future.