Authors: Susan Mallery
Zane moved close and lowered his voice. “I'm going to risk the tear seal and say you know you're always welcome here, right? You're family. I know we've had our differences, but they're behind us now and you'll always be a part of things.”
“I know.” She swallowed, fighting tears. “I wish we'd had this talk ten years ago. I might not have stayed away for so long.”
“Me, too. But maybe we both needed to grow up. You more than me, of course.”
The need to cry evaporated as she laughed. “I can always count on you to put me in my place.”
He kissed her cheek. “No. You can always count on me. Period.” He nodded at Del as he approached, then went off to talk to Phoebe.
“You doing okay?” Del asked.
She tucked her arm around his. “Yes. Just bonding with family and trying not to cry. You?”
“I've sobbed at least twice since we arrived. Did you see the flowers in the dining room? They're so beautiful.” He waved his free hand in front of his face. “I just love weddings.”
“Mock me all you want,” she told him. “I'm having a moment here.”
“You should enjoy it. Zane's a good guy. I'm glad he found the right woman.”
“Me, too.” She sipped her champagne. “I hope this isn't too intense for you.”
“It's nothing. At my house there was lots of yelling and the occasional fight broke out.”
“I guess that comes with having five boys so close in age.”
“My mom was doing most of the fighting.”
Maya laughed. “I'm serious.”
“Okay, serious it is. We fought a lot. And then we made up.”
“Are things better with Aidan?”
Del considered the question. “Some. He's avoiding me less.”
“You helped him out. That has to mean something.”
“So you'd think.” Del pointed to where Chase and Zane were talking. The two brothers were laughing, obviously at ease with each other.
“I want that,” Del admitted. “Before I leave, I want to have one good conversation with Aidan. I want to know things are okay between us.”
He kept on talking, but Maya had stopped listening. All she could hear was his phrase, “Before I leave.”
Because that was what was going to happen. Del was going to leave. He'd come back for his father's birthday party. Once that was over, he had no reason to stay.
While she'd always known his stay wasn't permanent, somehow she'd forgotten. Del was a part of her days now. A part of her work. Having him gone was going to be awful. But he was a man who needed to be on the move, and getting him to stay, well, that wasn't going to happen.
Last time she'd been the one taking off. This time it was him. But the end result was going to be the same. Once again, she and Del would be apart. She knew she was going to miss him. The question was, how much?
* * *
A
S
EXPECTED
,
MUCH
of the town turned out for Phoebe and Zane's wedding. Del mingled with the other guests before the ceremony started. Maya was busy helping the bride do whatever it was brides did before they got married. He spotted his brothers and headed over to talk to them.
“Nice suit,” he said to Nick, then turned to Aidan. “You, too.”
Both brothers had on dark suits with ties. Aidan tugged at his collar. “Damned social conventions.”
Nick looked comfortable in his fancy clothes. “I like getting dressed up every now and then. Besides, it's for Zane.”
Aidan grumbled something under his breath, but Del suspected he was a lot less annoyed than he let on. Aidan and Nick had been friends with Zane since grade school.
“Big turnout,” Del said. “The folks here?”
“Naw,” Nick said. “Dad's got a commission and Mom's not feeling well.”
Del remembered his conversation with Ceallach a few days before. “You think she's okay?” he asked.
Aidan frowned. “Why do you ask?”
Del told them about their father's visit. “He was worried.”
“You mean he thought about someone other than himself?” Aidan asked bitterly. “Let's put a star on this day on the calendar.”
Del wanted to chide his brother for being cynical, but he'd had the same thought himself.
Nick grimaced. “Yeah, you have a point. If Dad's noticing, it must be bad. I'll stop by and talk to her. Maybe getting the party together is too much for her. We can all help.”
“Already offered,” Aidan said. “She told me she was handling it.”
“I'll make sure I go by, too,” Del told them.
“That will make everything right,” Aidan muttered.
“You're in a mood.” Del stared at his brother. “What's your problem?”
“This isn't the time,” Nick said, his voice calm. “Both of you, stop it. Zane's getting married. Zip it.”
Del nodded. His brother had a point. Whatever Aidan's issue was, Del wasn't going to get into it now. He turned and walked toward the big tent in the backyard.
Inside, the catering staff was setting up for dinner. There were dozens of round tables. Crystal and silverware gleamed in the lights strung across the ceiling. The sweet smell of flowers mingled with the faint smoky scent of a smoldering grill.
He crossed the tent and went out the other side to where chairs had been set up in the shade of a grove of trees. There were two sections on either side of a center aisle. Ribbons and flowers framed the area. A woman played a harp while guests found their seats.
Del saw Eddie and Gladys and headed their way. The irreverent old ladies were exactly what he needed to forget about Aidan and whatever bug he had up his ass. Del didn't want to fightânot today. Tomorrow they could take it up, but for now, a good guy was marrying a great girl. They should stop and celebrate that.
It didn't take long for the rest of the guests to take their seats. The music changed to something slow and romantic. Zane took his place by the minister, his brother, Chase, next to him.
Maya appeared at the back of the grove of trees. Del about fell out of his chair when he saw her. She'd joked about her dress and having to get all fancy, but he hadn't expected her to look like a goddess.
She'd put up her blond hair into some complicated swirl of curls and swoops. Her dress was pale blue, long and with a deep V. The top of it had a crisscrossy thing going on and seemed to hug every curve. He was torn between wanting her and needing to throw his suit jacket over her shoulders so no one else could see her.
She walked slowly, a small bouquet of flowers in her hand. As she passed him, he caught sight of the dress from behind. It was cut low with straps that made an X and these drape things down the side. He was sure it was stylish and he liked how it looked on her but mostly what he was thinking was there was no way she was wearing a bra.
It was the wrong thing to fixate on during a wedding. Only a sleaze dog would be imagining taking that dress off her as the bride came down the aisle. Del half expected lightning to strike, and when it didn't, he knew he was damned lucky.
The ceremony passed in a blur of vows and the exchange of rings. Del kept his attention on Maya, who was obviously moved by the sight of her friend marrying Zane. After the bride and groom were pronounced husband and wife, they hugged Maya and Chase before walking down the center aisle together.
“That was so beautiful,” Eddie said, clutching Del's arm. “They're a beautiful couple.”
“Who are going to have sex tonight,” Gladys added from Del's other side.
“They're having sex every night,” Eddie responded with a cackle. “If you had Zane in your bed, you'd be doing it all the time, too.”
“Good point.”
Del extracted himself from the septuagenarians. “And that's my cue to excuse myself. Ladies, it's been a pleasure.”
Eddie pouted. “We're old. No one wants to do it with us anymore. The least you can do is let us talk about it.”
Del held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. “I'm not stopping you at all. I encourage you to talk about it.”
Gladys grinned. “Just not with you here?”
“You're too much for me.”
“Chicken.”
“Absolutely.”
He kissed them both on the cheek, then went to find Maya.
She was with the rest of the wedding party. They were taking pictures. He stood by the trees and watched the posing. In the background, a guy with a video camera recorded everything.
Del wandered closer and thought about the composition of the shot. The eye line looked good. There would be an establishing shotâprobably a picture of the wedding invitation, or the veil or something to show the viewers were about to watch a wedding video.
He turned his attention back to Maya, who was laughing at something Zane said. Why hadn't she married? She was beautiful, talented, funny, easy to be with. He was surprised some guy hadn't snapped her up.
She turned from Zane and saw him. Her smile widened, as if she was happy to see him. Something hit him hard in the gut. Wanting, he acknowledged, but there was something else. A deeper sensation he was in no mood to analyze. Instead, he stayed where he was and watched them take the rest of the pictures.
When they were done, Maya walked toward him. She had trouble on the uneven ground and when she reached him, she grabbed his arm, then stepped out of her heels.
“These do not work on grass,” she said with a laugh. “In case you had any transvestite tendencies.”
“Not so far.”
He took the bouquet from her and dropped it to the ground, then put his hands on her hips and drew her against him.
They were in relative privacy in the grove of trees. People were all around them, but no one was that close. The music had started, and judging by the scent of steaks filling the air, the barbecue was going. Which meant the guests would be moving toward the tent.
Better for him
, he thought as he lowered his head and kissed her.
Maya raised her chin and met him more than halfway. Her lips were soft and yielding, clinging to his. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
He settled his mouth more firmly on hers. She tasted of mint and champagne, and her lips parted before he asked. He moved his tongue against hers, feeling the heat, the electricity. They'd always been good together, he thought hazily. Well matched. Time away from each other hadn't changed that.
Wanting poured through him. Blood rushed to his groin with a predictable result. He moved his hands from her hips to her rear, sliding across the slick material of her dress. She nestled closer, relaxing into him, as if trusting him with all she was.
In the distance a bell rang. It was an insistent sound. She sighed against his mouth.
“They're calling us to dinner.”
“You hungry?”
She chuckled. “Yes, and exactly the way you mean. But there's a head table and we're both at it. Someone's bound to notice two empty spots.”
“Damn.”
She stared into his eyes. “My thoughts exactly.” Her mouth turned up. “It's the dress, isn't it? I knew it would make you hot.”
He touched her cheek. “It's not the dress.”
Her pupils dilated. “You say the sweetest things.”
He kissed her lightly, then dropped to one knee and collected her ridiculous heels. “You want to go barefoot?” he asked.
“It seems like the best plan.”
He grabbed the flowers and rose. She took the bouquet. He held her shoes in one hand and rested the other on the small of her back.
“Shall we?”
* * *
D
INNER
PASSED
IN
a blur. Despite the steaks done to perfection and the delicious side dishes, Maya didn't eat much. She was too aware of Del sitting next to her. Every now and then he would touch her. A brush of his fingers against her bare arm. His thigh pressing against hers.
She and Chase had written a toast together. She joined the teen to give it, then stood with Del as Zane and Phoebe stepped into the center of the room for the first dance. Once the chorus began, the DJ invited everyone to join them.
Del surprised her by pulling her into his arms. They swayed together, the other guests around them fading to the background.
She liked being in his arms, she thought. Maybe it was the lingering effects of the kiss or the champagne she'd been drinking, but all of this felt good. Right.
They moved easily together. When the song ended, they were by the back of the tent, so slipping outside was simple. Without discussing a destination, they walked toward the barn. Halfway there, Del pulled her against him again, but this time he didn't have dancing in mind.
She stepped into his embrace and leaned into his kiss. His mouth was warm as it claimed hers. She swept her tongue against his. Their kiss deepened.
Her breasts nestled against his chest, as if seeking comfort. The night was cool, the stars bright. She felt the prickly softness of the grass beneath her bare feet. Del was the only solid object in a world that started to spin. She hung on, letting need blend with memories. She knew how they'd been so long ago. What would they be like together now?
She wanted to find out. She wanted to know it was just as good. She tilted her hips forward and let her belly come in contact with the hardness of his erection. All that for her? Talk about getting lucky.
A burst of soft laughter came from the other side of the barn. She jumped. Del drew back a little, but kept his arms around her.
“Seems like we're not the only ones thinking a little privacy would be a good thing,” he murmured, his voice low and husky.
She moved her hands from his shoulders to his wrists. “Follow me,” she said, taking his hand in hers.
She led him out of the barn to the back door of the main house. A few lights had been left on, but most of the rooms were dark. She took the back stairs, remembering exactly how many steps until they reached the main landing, then drawing him down the hallway to her high school bedroom.