At the River’s Edge The Chesapeake Diaries (23 page)

“Sounds like fun,” Sophie said. “Sign me up.”

“Consider it done. Thank you. We’ll expect you at ten next Saturday morning at Ellie’s.” Grace looked pleased. “I’m happy to say that so far, no one has turned me down. Well, they’re starting up the music, and it looks as if Jesse and Brooke are going to have their first dance, so I’m going to dash up to the bar and grab a glass of wine. Good to see you both.”

“I think I’ll move closer to the dance floor before they begin.” Sophie stood. “I want to watch.”

“I’ll give you a call after I speak with Cam,” Ellie told her.

“The sooner the better.” Sophie stood. “And thanks for keeping my confidence, Ellie.”

“Of course.”

Sophie made her way through the crowd that was starting to gather to watch the bride and groom’s first dance. The happy couple took the floor as the music began to play, and were obviously lost in each other’s eyes.

Just like the morning a few months ago in Cuppachino, Sophie sensed Jason’s presence even before he was standing next to her.

He held up a bright, shiny penny between his thumb and index finger. Sophie stared at it for a moment, then smiled. She put out her hand, palm up. When he placed the penny in the center, she closed her fingers over it.

“First,” she said, “I was thinking how happy my brother looks, and how happy I am for him. He and
Brooke look like they were born for one another, like they were destined to …”

There was an awkward silence when she remembered that Brooke had previously been married to Jason’s brother, who died in Iraq.

“Foot, meet mouth,” she muttered. “Jason, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking …”

“Let it go,” he said softly. Before she could finish her apology, he’d moved past the moment. “So, if there’s a first, there must be a second. What’s second?”

“My feet are killing me in these shoes.”

He glanced down at her feet. “They are pretty hot-looking shoes, though.”

“Yes, they are. But they’re arch killers, and right now my arches are screaming for mercy.”

Jason leaned over and whispered in her ear. “You could take them off. I’ll bet no one would even notice. And I bet you won’t be the only barefooted woman in the room before the night is over.”

“Good point. I think I’ll ditch them when I get back to my seat.” She smiled and handed him back the penny. “Your turn.”

“Well, I was thinking how beautiful you look in that dress. I like blue on you and I like your hair down like that.” He stood as he had in the church, hands in his pockets, his stance casual. “Was that too politically incorrect? Is it okay to tell a woman she’s beautiful these days, or is it frowned upon?”

“Ah, no. I do not frown when someone gives me a compliment. I say ‘thank you.’ Actually, I rather like it. I’m not used to it, of course,” she explained, “having been a lawyer for the past eight years.”

“A much maligned profession.” He nodded knowingly.

“Often from within.” She stepped aside to permit a couple to pass on their way to the dance floor. “How do you stop a lawyer from drowning?”

Jason shrugged.

“Shoot him before he hits the water. Where can you find a good lawyer?”

“I give up.”

“In a cemetery. How do you get a lawyer to smile for a photo? Just say ‘fees.’ ”

“Looks like I’m going to have to brush up on my lawyer jokes if I want to keep up.”

“Just search the Internet. There are a million of them,” she confided. “But enough about me. I believe you owe me one thought. You only gave me ‘first.’ What’s the second?”

“I was wondering where your date is.”

“My date?”

“Yeah. Don’t women usually bring a date to a wedding?”

“Well, yes, if you’re dating someone on a regular basis. Which I am not.”

“And that answers the next question.”

“So where’s
your
date?”

He shrugged. “No one I wanted to bring.”

“So we’re even on that score.”

“How fortunate for me.”

Jason’s smile brought a smile to her face as well. He definitely looked pleased, almost as pleased, she realized, as she was to find out that he was single and apparently available. Not that she was ready to admit
that to her mother, who would read entirely too much into it.

“Now, for my bonus thought,” he was saying, “I was wondering what this song was that they’re dancing to.”

“ ‘The Twelfth of Never.’ ”

“I don’t know it.”

“Johnny Mathis. Brooke’s parents danced to it at their wedding. She thought it would be nice to have the same song. Besides, it’s very romantic.”

“Is it?”

“Definitely. One more thing to look up on the Internet.”

“I just might do that.”

More and more guests began to dance.

“Would you like to join them?” he asked, gesturing toward the dance floor.

“I would. Thanks.”

He took her hand and they made their way through the crowd. At the fringe of the group, he took her in his arms and they began to move in time with the music.

“Small dance floor, many people,” he noted. “Not much room to move around.”

“It’s okay. Dance floors at weddings are supposed to be crowded. You want a lot of people up to dance and have a good time,” she said. “At least, that’s what Brooke said.”

Sophie was jostled slightly by a passing couple and Jason pulled her a little closer. His chin rested against her cheek and his fingers entwined with hers. With his breath soft against the side of her face, her heart began to race, and she wondered if he could hear it
through the thin silk of her dress. His arms were strong and he smelled of an aftershave she’d once bought for Chris, who’d never worn it because he hadn’t liked it. Ironic, she thought, because she’d been drawn to it then, and it was pulling her in now.

The song ended and she took a step back. Still holding on to her hand, Jason said, “It’s really stuffy in here and the music is really loud. Want to grab a drink from the bar and find a place where we can talk without yelling over the band?”

“Sounds good.” They wove their way around tables to the bar at the side of the room. Sophie waited while Jason ordered a beer for himself and a glass of wine for her.

“Let’s head out to the lobby for a few minutes,” Sophie suggested. “It’s bound to be cooler and quieter out there.”

The inn’s lobby was cooler and it was quieter, but it was hardly more private. Groups of three and four guests congregated throughout the room.

“Apparently others have had the same idea,” Jason noted. “I know where we can go.”

He led her by the hand into the hall and through the side door, out onto the lawn, and down a flagstone path.

“How much farther? Are we walking all the way into town? Because if we are, I wish you’d told me. I’d have left my shoes under the table.”

“We’re here.”

The path ended at a gazebo that overlooked the Bay. Jason opened the door and held it for her.

“Oh, this is lovely,” Sophie told him.

“Cameron built it last year for a wedding that Lucy
was doing here at the inn. It was her idea to have the seats built in all the way around the sides.”

“I like it. It’s cozy. And you did all the landscaping here, I understand. I got to see a lot of it this afternoon when the photos were being taken. You did a beautiful job.”

“Thank you. This was my first big job in town.”

Sophie sat and peeled off her shoes and stretched her legs out in front of her. “Oh, God, that feels good.”

“You have to wonder about the people who design shoes like that. I mean, what are they thinking when they make heels that high?”

“They’re thinking that the shoe looks sexy, that if you wear them, your legs look sexy, you look sexy …”

“I don’t know that they’d do much for me.”

She laughed. “Most men like them.”

“Liking them and wanting to wear them are two different things.”

“So how’s my pop’s backyard coming along?”

“Great. He wanted to show it off to your family this weekend, so I had some sod laid yesterday and it looks good.”

“He’s having the out-of-towners over for brunch before they leave to go home. I thought it was pretty ambitious, but he’s having it catered, so he really doesn’t have to do anything.” She thought of the look on her grandfather’s face when he announced the brunch to the rehearsal dinner attendees. “He seems so happy to be hosting everyone. He even invited my mom and Delia.”

“Who’s Delia?”

Sophie explained.

“Let me get this straight. Your grandfather invited two of his former daughters-in-law.”

“Right. It’s okay. They like each other. At least, they appear to like each other. Probably because all of us—my dad’s older kids, that is—we all get along. Finding them—my two half sisters and brother—has been one of the best things to happen to me in a long time. They’re all terrific people and have wonderful spouses and kids.”

“Your one sister looks just like you.”

“Zoey.” Sophie nodded. “We do look a lot alike. That was pretty freaky, the first time I met her.”

“That’s quite a complicated family tree you’ve got there,” he said.

“You have no idea.”

“But it’s nice that all of your siblings—half or otherwise—are here for Jesse.”

“Oh, not all of them. Pammie’s son isn’t here.”

“Who is Pammie?”

“My dad’s third wife. The one he left my mother for.”

“Ouch.”

“Right. But Judd’s only nine, and since there was no way in hell that Jesse would invite Pammie, he wasn’t about to invite her son. He may be a very nice little boy. I’ve only met him a few times and he was very quiet each time. Who knows what the kid thinks now that his father has left them?”

“Your father left them, too?”

“Last year. For Tish.” Sophie rolled her eyes. “They might be married, but maybe not. No one knows for sure.”

“Sounds like someone has commitment issues.”

“Oh, he commits. He just can’t stick. If that were the only issue my father had, we could deal with it,” she said dryly. “How about you?”

“No errant branches that I know about. My parents only married one time—to each other—and Eric is—was—my only sibling.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“It happened to a lot of families. The war … well, it’s been hard on a lot of people.”

“Listen, Jason … what I said before, about Jesse and Brooke …”

“It’s okay, Sophie.” He seemed to be searching for words. “I don’t know why things happen the way they do. Eric and Brooke did love each other very much. They should have been able to live out their lives together, maybe have a few more kids together, to live happily ever after, like in the fairy tales. But that wasn’t in the cards for them. Sometimes life throws a curve when you least expect it and you have to deal with it. My parents dying when they did … Eric … I don’t know why those things had to happen, but they did. I’m glad—really, I am—that Brooke found someone to love who loves her as much as Jesse does. I mean, it’s obvious that he’s totally shit-faced over her …”

Sophie smiled. “To put it mildly.”

“They’re happy together, and I’m happy for them. I wish my brother hadn’t died so that she could have had that happy ending with Eric—I’m not going to lie. But I’m glad she’s happy with someone and I’m glad it’s Jesse. He’s a good man and he’s very good to Logan, and that means a lot to me.” He looked up,
and even in the dark she could see the sadness in his eyes.

“You love your nephew very much.”

Jason nodded. “He’s all I have left of my family.”

“How old were you when your parents died?”

“I’d just turned fifteen. Eric was eighteen, old enough to qualify as my guardian, which means I didn’t have to go into foster care. Our grandmother lived with us for a while, but Eric was more responsible than she, and we had a neighbor who was very good to both of us. We managed.” He took a long sip of his beer. “I don’t know where I’d be … what I’d be … if Eric hadn’t been there for me.” He paused, then added simply, “Things were really tough all the way around after the accident.”

“It must have been very hard to lose both parents at the same time. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like.”

He turned his head and looked out toward the water. In the dark, the waves brushed quietly against the sand and for a long moment, there was no other sound.

“Yeah, it was rough,” he said softly.

Music began to float across the lawn from the ballroom, where someone must have opened the French doors to bring in fresh air. Jason’s grief seemed to float around him along with the music, and it saddened her.

“Dance with me again.” She stood and held out her hand. When he took it, she pulled him to his feet and draped an arm around his neck. She moved in close to him and he had no choice but to hold her. When she began to sway, he swayed with her. They danced in
silence, but this time, when the song ended, she did not step away.

“I’m sorry that you lost so much,” she told him.

Jason shrugged. “A lot of people have lost more than I did. A lot of people have it worse than …”

She drew his face down to hers and kissed his mouth to stop the words. His lips were softer than she’d expected, hesitant, as if surprised to find themselves pressed to hers. But if there’d been some confusion on his part, it passed. His arms tightened around her and his tongue teased the corner of her mouth. When he started to release her, she pulled him back to her. It had been a long time since she’d been kissed like this, and she wasn’t ready to let him go. Jason had reawakened something inside her that had died after her breakup with Christopher, and now that that spark was coming back to life, she wanted to see where it would lead. She kissed him again, letting herself feel the heat that was growing between them.

When the kiss ended, he touched his forehead to hers and said, “Was that a ‘poor Jason’ kiss?”

“No.” Her hands slid to his lapels. “That was an ‘I wanted you to kiss me and you didn’t so I had to take matters into my own hands’ kiss.”

“Oh.” He seemed to reflect on that for a moment. “How was it?”

“Pretty darned good.”

“I thought so, too. Want to try it again?”

“Yes, but just a quick little one this time. I really need to get back inside before people start to worry about me.”