Beach Wedding (19 page)

I feel like I could combust, just from the feel of his hands on my
body again.

I arch up against him, eager. He drags his mouth from my lips, and
kisses down the hollow of my neck. He grips my hips and pulls me into
his lap so I’m straddling him.

“God, Ginny, look at you.” Luke lifts his head. Sunset
and lust are reflected in his eyes, bright as fireworks. “I’ve
dreamed about this, you and me, but nothing could ever come close.”

My heart swells. “I missed you,” I whisper. “I
missed you so much. I told myself I was building you up in my
memories, that it couldn’t have been this good, but…”

“It is.” Luke finishes for me. He leans in and drops a
kiss on my forehead, suddenly tender. “It’s you and me.”

I nod. For a moment, the reality of what we’re doing – me
and
Luke
– threatens to break this magical moment. Then
Luke stands, lifting me easily in his arms.

“I’m not letting you get away so easy this time,”
he says with a wicked grin. “And I figure there’s one
sure way to keep you in my arms tonight.” He leans in, his lips
brushing my ear in a way that makes me shudder. “You were my
first, Ginny Austen, but I’m damn sure going to show you I’ve
learned a few things since then.”

He carries me inside to the bedroom and sets me down on the bed. My
pulse catches, looking up at him. With the setting sun behind him, he
has a golden aura, a halo against the blue.

My Luke
. My heart.

When we were teenagers, we would sneak moments together, breathlessly
tearing off each other’s clothes in the backseat of a car, or a
stolen hour alone in the house. Now, we have all the time in the
world. We undress each other slowly, rediscovering every inch of the
bodies we once new by heart. The broad lines of his shoulders, the
sexy jut of his hipbone. I feel like I’m dreaming, but I don’t
want to wake up. The night drift away, lost in the storm of sensation
and pleasure we’re creating here between us.

As he moves inside me, I realize. I’ve been waiting ten years
for this.

*

I wake the next morning with sunlight streaming through the open
drapes. I roll over, still sleepy, wondering how my aunts got their
vintage linens so soft…

The sound of the shower shuts off. A familiar voice says, “Morning,
sleepy-head.”

Luke. In a towel. Wet from the shower and hot as all get-out.

I sit upright with a bolt, last night flooding back to me.
All
of last night. We were about as intimate as it’s possible for
two people to get, but now in the bright light of day, I’m
totally tongue-tied.

“Um, hi,” I say shyly. I quickly tug the sheets up around
my naked body. Luke grins.

“Nothing I ain’t seen before.”

I blush. “Did you, umm, sleep well?”

“Well enough.” Luke’s smile spreads. He saunters
over, water dripping down his half-naked body. “Except I had a
gorgeous woman in my bed who wouldn’t let me get a moment’s
rest.”

“Hey!” I laugh. “It takes two to tango.”

“Yes it does.” He leans over and kisses me, a lazy,
weekend kind of kiss that untangles the knot in my chest and floods
me with joy. “And I’ve got to say, I’m liking some
of those new steps.” Luke winks.

“Right back at you.” I kiss him again, reaching playfully
for that towel. “I guess not all guys peak at eighteen.”

Luke pulls back. “What’s that?”

I giggle. “Just something Jules said. Apparently, boys reach
their sexual prime when they’re teenagers.”

“Oh yeah? And what about you ladies?”

“We don’t hit our stride until forty or so,” I
reply, with a smile.

“Lucky me.” Luke suddenly grabs me, and rolls us over
under the covers. “Sounds like I’ve got nothing but good
times ahead.”

His mouth lowers to me, his body hot and hard against my bare skin. I
melt into him, savoring the sweetness of his kiss—and the
slow-burn heat in his touch. He moves lower, kissing a searing path
along my collarbone, and over the swell of my breasts--

My cell phone breaks through the moment.

“Ignore it,” Luke orders me, teasing along the side of my
ribs.

“OK,” I breathe. I want to stay wrapped in this moment
forever, caught up in the sweet torment of his lips, grazing softly
over my breasts, just circling at my---

Then his phone sounds too. For a moment, we’re frozen there, an
impatient chorus flanking us from both nightstands. Then he sits up
with a sigh. “Hold that thought.”

We both reach for our phones. I can hear him start to talk about
material estimates and construction timelines as I answer.

“Why haven’t you answered me?” It’s Marcie,
of course. “I’ve sent you like a hundred texts.”

“Sorry,” I yawn. “What’s up?”

“I need the details for the florist again.”

“Just call Theo,” I tell her, impatient to pick up right
where Luke left off – or maybe just a few inches lower.

“He’s not answering either.”

“OK, OK,” I stop her. “I’ll forward the
info.”

“Great, and also, I need—“

I hang up. Luke is already half-dressed, and pulling on a shirt.
“No,” I protest, “What happened to holding that
thought?”

He gives me a rueful smile. “Believe me, there’s nothing
I want more than to spend the day with you in bed. And in the shower,
and on the kitchen floor… But one of my clients just showed up
on site and is throwing his weight around. My guys need me to smooth
things over.” Luke must see my disappointed expression, because
he swoops back in for another kiss. “I promise, I’ll make
it up to you.”

“No, it’s OK.” I get out of bed too. “I have
a million and one things to get done.”

I pause, looking around for my dress—and the right thing to
say. I’m not used to one-night stands, let alone with my ex.

Luke chuckles, and plucks my dress off the floor. “Here,”
he says, kissing me on the cheek. “I’ll see you later.
And Ginny?” he pauses by the door. “Don’t overthink
it. We’ll figure this out.”

Then he leaves.

Don’t overthink it.

Luke knows me too well, because that’s exactly what I do. The
minute he leaves, my brain is already kicking into action,
over-analyzing one of the best nights of my life. By the time I
shower, dress, and make it back into my car to drive home, I’m
holding off a major meltdown.

There’s only one thing left to do. I call Jules.

“Help!” I cry, the minute she picks up the phone.

“Whoa, Ginny? What’s wrong?”

“I did something bad. Well, not exactly bad, more like
mind-blowingly good.”

“I knew it!” Jules laughs. “Are we talking option
A, B, or C?”

“How about option OMG?” I say, unable to keep the smile
from my lips. “But Jules, I’m freaking out here. What
does it mean? What are we supposed to do now? What is he thinking?
Should I be thinking? I think too much!”

“Hold your horses,” she laughs. “This sounds like a
three-waffle emergency. Meet you at your place?”

“Please,” I beg. “And bring the maple syrup.”

Jules does one better. When her bright blue beetle pulls up outside
the ranch, she climbs out almost hidden under a massive grocery bag.

“I brought SOS cupcakes too, just in case,” she tells
me.

“You are a lifesaver.”

I carry the stuff inside. Jules takes one look around my aunts’
kitchen and bursts out laughing. “You weren’t kidding
about a freak-out. You can’t move in here for waffles.”

“I had a forty minutes head-start.” I protest. “But
I waited for you. I haven’t had a bite.”

“I’m here now, babe. Go crazy.”

We fill a couple of plates with waffles and sticky sweet syrup, then
go outside. I don’t want my aunts walking in during our girl
talk, so I take Jules to Rae’s studio, which I’ve been
using as a makeshift wedding planner station. The small shed is
filled to the brim with party favors, fabric reels, and decorations.

“It looks like Vera Wang threw up in here.” Jules
gingerly picks her way through the centerpieces. I find us a couple
of free seats and collapse with a sigh.

“I don’t know what to do,” I tell her through a
massive bite of waffle. “One minute, I’m talking about
how I have a whole life waiting for me back in New York, and the
next…”

“Tell me everything,” Jules demands. “And don’t
skip the good stuff.”

I inhale another waffle before I relate the events of last night. I
leave things at the bedroom door, but I can’t hide the grin
that spreads across my face just thinking about it.

“Go Ginny.” Jules whistles, sounding impressed.

“But what do I
do
?”

“I would suggest all of the above, a couple more times.”
Jules grins. “I’m guessing our Luke hasn’t lost his
magic touch.”

I shake my head and sigh. “He’s still got it.”

“So why the sad face and emergency carbs?” Jules looks
puzzled now. “If I were you, I’d be crawling right back
into bed and holding my calls for a week.”

“I want to,” I say slowly. “But, what does all this
mean? We’re not kids anymore. I’m going to wind up
hurting him all over again when I go back to the city.”

“Ever heard of plane tickets?” Jules arches an eyebrow.
“Plenty of people make it work long-distance, and it’s
not like you’re going to exile yourself all over again.”

“True.” I take another bite of waffle.

My phone buzzes with a text. It’s him. I snatch it up.

‘
missing something
?’ he writes, along with a
picture of my bra.

I laugh.
‘keep it safe & you can take it off again
later
,’ I text back.

Jules arches an eyebrow. “Look at you, giggling like a
schoolgirl.”

“Sorry.”

“Hey, don’t be. I’m jealous. The last time a guy
got my panties in a twist like that, I walked in to find him wearing
them.”

My jaw drops. “Did not!”

“Did too,” she grins. “I had to break up with him.
He looked better in them than me!”

We fall about laughing, until finally Jules pulls it together. “See,
this is good for you, babe. I say you take it slow, figure things out
together. You’re not kids anymore, if you’re feeling
confused, you can have an adult conversation about it – in
between ripping off each other’s clothes, that is. And if it
doesn’t work out…?” She shrugs, like it’ll
be no big deal.

But her words stay with me. The thought of leaving Luke all over
again makes my blood run cold. Oh God, what am I getting myself into?
It broke my heart to walk away last time around, so what happens if
it doesn’t work between us now? I can’t imagine that kind
of pain, to open myself up to him again and see that fail.

“I know that face,” Jules warns me. “That’s
your over-thinking face.”

I shake my head. “OK, I won’t. Promise. What about you?”
I change the subject. “Are you sure there’s no-one worth
talking about in your kitchen?”

“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” Jules
quips. She laughs. “No, I don’t have any epic love
affairs brewing. I could use some fun, though, get a little of that
good-time grin you’ve got going on.”

At that moment, the studio door opens, and Theo pokes his head in.
“You were looking for me?”

Jules and I look at each other, and crack up. We laugh like crazy,
while Theo stares, puzzled. “What did I say?”

“Nothing,” I giggle, wiping tears from my eyes. “Jules?”

“Don’t look at me,” she snorts. “I’m
not robbing any cradles!”

Theo backs away. “I’ll be inside,” he says slowly,
before turning on his tail and fleeing.

Our laughter subsides. “That poor kid,” Jules giggles.
“His face!”

“I better make sure he’s OK,” I say, getting up. I
hug Jules. “Thanks for the carb session.”

“Any time. And good luck, babe. I’m rooting for you two.
I always did.”

Less than one week to go, and everything’s heading according to
plan – for the wedding, that is.

“Tell me again,” I insist, as Theo and I walk through
the mansion. I hardly recognize it anymore. It’s still
crumbling and romantic, but the crews have cleared out all the dirt
and rubble, and started staging it for the big day with antique
furniture in the bridal salon, and gorgeous big mirrors leaning
against the walls. Once we start draping curtains and bring in fresh
roses, it’s going to be a dream.

“Relax, Ginny. I’m telling you, this thing is going to
run like clockwork.” For some reason, Theo doesn’t seem
happy as he ticks off the list. “The final dress fitting went
off without a hitch, flowers are arriving on the morning of the
ceremony, and we’ve booked every hotel and inn in a hundred
mile radius for all the guests.”

“So what aren’t you telling me?” I study his
expression. “If things were really working out, you’d be
spinning cartwheels by now.”

“I can’t cartwheel.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Everything’s fine,” Theo insists. “I
promise, nothing to worry about. I just need to catch up on sleep,
that’s all.”

“You and me both.”

He snorts.

“What?”

“Nothing. I just don’t know how you’ve found time
to get yourself a boyfriend when I can barely remember to eat lunch.”

I flush, and thwack him with my notebook. “He’s not my
boyfriend. He’s… Luke.”

“Same difference. Anyway,” Theo says, getting back to
business. “The weather report is a balmy seventy-five.”

“But what if it rains?”

“Then we have canopies set to go, and a back-up location booked
for the reception.”

“What if it’s a hurricane?” I ask, struck by a
sudden nightmare scenario. “What if eighty-mile an hour winds
come sweeping through and destroy the whole thing?”

“Then I’ll see you in Oz,” Theo sighs. “Come
on, Ginny. We’ve done this a hundred times. Plans A, B and C
are ready to roll.”

“I know.” I take a few deep breaths. “And I know I
say that every wedding is the most important one of our careers, but
this one really is. I’m serious.” I grip his arms and
look him dead in the eye. “We can’t fail, do you
understand? This wedding has to go off without a hitch, or I’m
ruined. You and me both.”