Authors: Linda Winstead Jones

Tags: #Romance

A Week Till the Wedding (24 page)

BOOK: A Week Till the Wedding

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But she couldn’t imagine moving forward without Jacob in her life in some way. As a friend, as more than a friend. She needed him.

The mariachi attempt ended, thank goodness, and he started something new. She remembered this song, recognized it even though he pretty much butchered every note. It was the song they’d danced to just last week.

“You were never very good, but I have to say, you’ve gotten worse,” she said as she approached him.

“I know. I need more practice.” He glanced over his shoulder, and his dark gaze cut through her. “I need to practice quite a few things I’ve lost touch with.”

Daisy sat beside Jacob, not too close, but close enough. She’d been running away, not just from Miss Eunice’s lies, not just from a life that had gotten stale, but from Jacob and everything he represented. She’d never stopped loving him, and in spite of everything that had happened here he was literally on her doorstep.

Her gallon of death-by-chocolate ice cream. Her first love. Her past. Maybe her future?

She blamed him and his family for the fiasco, but she had to face the truth that she shared some of the blame. When she’d heard the name
Tasker,
she’d been so certain Jacob was the one behind the sale of that downtown property. She’d condemned him without asking for an explanation.

She’d torn them apart before he could break her heart again.

All day she’d been thinking about her life, her mistakes...the rut she was in of her own free will. After Miss Eunice’s visit, she’d been forced to think about other things, as well. Most of all she’d thought about Jacob. She loved him and she always had. She was in a rut because he was no longer hers. Since Lily and Mari had left home, she hadn’t just been keeping their old life alive, she’d been sitting here
waiting
for Jacob to come for her. She hadn’t realized it, and if she had she would’ve been horrified, but it all made sense to her now.

“Ask me again to go to San Francisco with you,” she whispered. This time she’d say yes, she’d throw away everything to be with Jacob.

“I can’t,” he said. He stopped playing and put the guitar aside.

Daisy’s heart broke all over again. He hadn’t forgiven her for not trusting him, for thinking the worst. Why should she expect anything different? Thank goodness he didn’t allow her to suffer for very long.

“I’m not going back to San Francisco. Not for very long, anyway. There will be things to take care of, I suppose.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I quit my job,” he said. Jacob looked at her, really
looked
at her for the first time since she’d walked out of the house, and her heart flipped wildly in her chest. She loved him, she liked him; she could even forgive him for being a Tasker...

“You did
what?
”

“Well, I tried to quit. I’ve been on the phone all day, and as it stands now I’m going to work freelance for the company. I’m now a consultant. That means I can live wherever the hell I want to. My boss is very unhappy, but he’ll learn to live with the change. We’ll make it work.”

He sounded so calm, so reasonable, and the truth became clear to her. “You’re the one who bought my house!”

Jacob nodded. “I did. I also bought the old Hamilton place. We need a home of our own, Daisy, a home that’s
ours,
but I thought you might want to hang on to this house, too. Your sisters might want to stay here, now and then.”

The old Hamilton place was a grand two-story colonial on the edge of town. She’d always loved that house, and Jacob knew it. No one knew her the way he did.

“A home of our own?” she repeated.

“I also bought a condo in Buckhead. The Hamilton house needs a lot of work, and I wasn’t sure where you’d prefer to live, here or in Atlanta. If you want to live somewhere else just tell me. We can live anywhere, and when I do have to travel you can come with me, if it suits you. Or you can stay here and we’ll talk on the phone for hours while I’m gone, or you can visit your sisters, or stay at the condo. Whatever you want, whatever you need. You’re my number-one priority, Daisy, you will always come first. I won’t forget that again.”

Her mind continued to spin. “You bought a house and a condo? For
us?
”

“If you’ll have me.” Jacob reached into the open guitar case, opened a small compartment that was built into one side and drew out a small velvet box. He got on one knee so they were face-to-face. Daisy’s heart thumped. This was happening too fast! She wasn’t ready! It was too soon!

She took a deep breath and her heart resumed a fairly normal rhythm. No, it wasn’t too soon, not at all. In fact, this was overdue. They’d both waited more than long enough.

Jacob opened the box and offered it to her on his open palm. A simple diamond solitaire set in yellow gold winked at her. The stone was a good size, but was far from ostentatious. “Daisy Bell, I love you. I have always loved you. Will you marry me?”

Her heart caught in her throat; her mouth went dry. Finally she choked out a soft, “Yes.”

Jacob smiled, as he crept up the steps to take her hand and place the ring on her finger. “I hope you like it.”

“I do, very much. It’s perfect.” She kissed him, once. Again.

Jacob drew away slightly and looked into her eyes. “Good. It’s been sitting in this guitar case for seven years.” He leaned in and kissed her again, his lips soft and warm against hers.

She enjoyed the kiss for a moment then she pulled away. “Seven years? Jacob!”

He shrugged his shoulders, and with one finger moved a strand of hair off her shoulder. “Seven years. I saw the ring and knew it was right for you, so I bought it. I kept trying to plan the perfect proposal, but nothing ever seemed quite right. Besides, I wasn’t in a rush. I thought we had all the time in the world. We were so young, and all I could see ahead of us was blue skies.”

“And then my parents died,” Daisy whispered.

Jacob nodded. “Everything fell apart after that. I couldn’t give you an engagement ring right after your folks died, and I didn’t want to propose and then move to the other side of the country. My plans to come home at Christmas didn’t work out, but for a long time I still believed that we had all the time in the world, that nothing would change for us. I waited for the perfect moment, and it never came. You know the rest. I’m sorry it took me so long to put that ring on your finger, where it belongs. I love you, Daisy. I need you. I don’t care where we live, as long as I get to live with you.”

She draped her arms around his neck. “I love you, too.”

Her last name was going to be Tasker. Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad, after all.

She kissed Jacob again, wallowed in the kiss, and when she pulled away she placed her forehead against his and smiled.

They’d waited long enough, and this moment was as perfect as it could possibly get.

“I hope you don’t have a long engagement in mind...”

Chapter Seventeen

“I
told you so,” Eunice whispered to Vivian, as they sat near the foot of the stairs, waiting. She was seated in a comfortable wing chair, as was her friend. The wheelchair was parked in her bedroom, and while she might need it by the end of the day, she didn’t need it right now. Eunice had been surprised by how much she could do when her friend pushed her.

“Don’t brag, Eunice,” Vivian responded, her voice low. “It’s not attractive.”

Vivian had moved into Tasker House a few days earlier, at Eunice’s insistence. She’d brought her little dog, Buster, with her. The mutt was not as annoying as Eunice had initially thought it would be. In fact, Buster was a very loving and loyal animal, and he was surprisingly smart. She allowed the dog to sit on the foot of the bed when they ate chocolate-covered cherries, or watched a baseball game. She and Vivian were already planning a trip to Atlanta to watch a game in person, as soon as Eunice was able to get around a bit better. With Vivian’s help, she grew stronger every day. Caleb, who loved baseball, had promised to take them.

Eunice had to admit—silently and only to herself—that she wasn’t always right. Maddy hadn’t forgiven her the way Daisy had, but she was here for the reunion. Eunice had watched and listened a lot during the reunion. Others in the family seemed to genuinely like Maddy. Maybe she didn’t dress properly, and maybe she did wear too much makeup, and goodness knows she’d never be a brain surgeon, but she was friendly and sunny. She and Ben had shared big news this weekend; they were going to have a baby. The Tasker family was growing once again. Eunice hadn’t given up on earning the girl’s forgiveness. One day.

Finally the music began. Not a recording, but a live string quartet. Eunice could get things done right
and
in a hurry, if need be.

Lily and Mari walked down the stairs slowly. Daisy’s sisters both wore yellow sundresses, though they were not identical. Jacob elbowed his brother in the ribs when Caleb whistled and muttered an appreciative, drawled, “Damn.” Those who were close enough to hear laughed lightly.

Eunice was not amused. Neither of the available Bell girls would be appropriate for Caleb! Mari was too young, and Lily was too harsh and outspoken. No, she’d need to look elsewhere for a bride for Caleb. And soon.

When Lily and Mari reached the foot of the stairs, Daisy appeared at the top. Eunice smiled. Her wedding gown fit Daisy perfectly. No adjustments had been required. That was a good thing, given the short time they’d had to pull this wedding ceremony together. The bride’s hair was down, simple and unadorned, and she carried white and yellow roses.

Daisy walked down the stairs slowly. Even though the foyer and the hallways beyond were filled with people, her smile and eyes were for Jacob alone. When she reached her waiting groom she whispered, before the preacher said a single word, “I do, I do, I do.”

And Eunice turned once more to her friend, a smug smile on her face. “I told you so.”

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt of
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