Love Scars - 5: Covered (4 page)

The bedroom door closed. I hesitated behind the bathroom door. Maybe Lisa would leave and never know I’d heard everything. But a horrendous sob filled the air. She was sitting on the side of the bed, stunned. A tear ran down her cheek, dragging a black trail of mascara with it.

“God, Leese,” I said. “I didn’t mean to listen. I didn’t know what to do.”

“Nora.” She grabbed my hand.

The door flew open and Stacey breezed into the room flushed with happiness. “It’s almost
time
!” The Mason Brewer campaign must be going according to plan. She frowned at me, sitting next to Lisa in my bra and panties. “Nor, what are you doing? Put your clothes on.”

“Excuse me.” Lisa jumped up and rushed to the bathroom while Stacey helped me into my dress and zipped me up. As Lisa came back with her mascara fixed, Frank stuck his head in the door.

“Frank, what are you doing?” Lisa looked horrified. “
It’s
bad luck to see me in my dress.”

“I won’t stay, baby doll.” He pushed the door open wider and stood there holding the handle. “I just want to tell you how much I love you. I’ve been waiting forever for this day. I want you to know I’m going to dedicate the rest of my life to making you happy. You're my world, Lisa.”

He blew her a kiss and winked at me and Stacey. Then he disappeared down the hall.

I couldn’t help thinking Frank must have seen Brad leave the room, and he’d come to check up on Lisa. I couldn’t even guess what she was thinking.

“What a doofus, but we love him,” Stacey said. “I’ll go find your dad, Leese. It’s time.”

I closed the door after Stacey left and gave Lisa a hug. “She’s right about Frank. We do love him.”

“He never said it, you know,” she said. “He never said he loved me.”

She wasn’t talking about Frank.

We mustered in the kitchen and proceeded out the deck down to the lawn. I scanned the guests seated in fold-out chairs as I followed Stacey up the aisle, wishing she’d go a little slower.

The groom’s side was as full as the bride’s, but I only recognized Frank’s parents and the DJ from our end-of-semester party who worked at the equine center. For the processional music, she played Eddie Vedder’s
Longing to Belong
.

I did know a few people on Lisa’s side, her parents and some people from the restaurant. Dr. Barton and his wife had come. Jane Marks was there with an amazingly gorgeous date.
Go Jane!
Cindy gave me a little wave. I guess she thought we were buds now. She nodded at Brad, standing beside Frank’s brother and mouthed
wow
.

Wow was right. Brad looked amazing in a
tux
. With his black-rimmed glasses, he made me think of a Ken doll. Did Ken ever wear glasses? Maybe Nerd Ken™ who dated Geek Barbie™. Brad’s gaze flew past me, his eyes for Lisa alone. I had a feeling Cindy wouldn’t let that get in her way.

There were others from school and the restaurant. Mason Brewer ogled Stacey as she walked by. When he looked my way, I gave him the evil eye and he turned red. Fun.

I searched the rows as best I could before I reached the front and had to keep my focus on Lisa and Frank. J.D. hadn’t come.

He didn’t come.

Lisa handed me her bouquet, and the minister went through the words, but it all sounded far away. I don’t know why I thought J.D. would be here. There’d been no word, no hint from Brad. J.D. had sent gracious regrets in response to his invitation—along with eight complete place settings of Lisa’s registered china and glassware and silverware.

Still, I thought he’d come.

I wasn’t going to forget him. I refused to let him mean nothing. Our last night together was everything to me. It was the first time I’d truly made love as opposed to had sex. I had remained in my body, self-aware while letting him in, and we’d merged and become one. I was sure he’d felt it too.

I couldn’t mean nothing to J.D. either. He’d come for me and found me at the cabin. He’d anchored me to reality and made it safe to confront the past, to really see that horrific night and my part in it. When I thought of Foresthill now, I didn’t forget where I really was. There was no scent of wet dirt or pine needles.

It wasn’t a flashback anymore. It was a memory.

With J.D. by my side, I’d looked the dragon in the face and acknowledged my failure. Because of him, I was learning to live with that failure, to accept it as a part of me and let the guilt go. I was so much happier. Freer. I wished I could share that with him.

“Ladies and gentlemen.” The minister’s words brought me back to the present. It was all over. “I’m delighted to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Granden.”

A cello and guitar version of Bach’s Invention 13 filled the air for the recessional. I handed Lisa her bouquet, and the happy couple went down the aisle accompanied by applause and a few whistles from the restaurant crew.

As soon as the guests were on their feet, the caterers descended and set to work transforming the yard into the reception site. Within minutes a dance area appeared on the lawn surrounded by tables and chairs. The food was already set up on the deck, and the champagne began to flow.

Lisa and Frank started the first dance,
Dream A Little Dream of Me
by
The
Mamas & The Papas. Frank’s brother asked his wife instead of me, and Stacey grabbed Mason. That left Brad free, but Cindy shot me a warning look. I chuckled inwardly and pretended not to see him so she could move in. As I turned away, someone swept me into his arms.

“Ms. Deven,” J.D. said. “May I have this dance?”

“You came.”

The world faded away. I was exquisitely aware of a few simple things. My hand lost in J.D.’s hand. A warm breeze on my bare shoulders. My breasts pressed against his solar plexus. His other hand firmly on my back. There was music, somewhere.

“God, Nora,” J.D. said. “You’re beautiful.”

The world came back into focus. “So are you.”

He was sleek and perfect in a black
tux
. His hair was brushed back, and his dark eyes were full of admiration and desire. Were his lips always that sumptuous? A total cliché, I trembled in his arms.

“I must have stumbled into a fantasy wonderland,” he said. “I’m dancing with an honest-to-god fairy princess.”

“That’s the idea,” I said. “And Lisa is the fairy queen.”

“Married to the wrong king, I think.”

“Don’t jinx it.” I put a finger to his lips. As long as no one said the words, it wouldn’t be true.

Lisa and Frank looked good dancing together. Frank said something in her ear, and she smiled. I’m sure it was a happy smile. Brad and Cindy danced close by. Cindy was being her chatty self. I wasn’t so sure Brad’s smile was a happy one. Stacey was definitely having a good time, and Mason seemed like a nice guy.

But it didn’t want to think about them, any of them. I wanted to float in J.D.’s arms for the rest of my life. Another song started, Michael Bublé singing
The Way You Look Tonight.
I laid my head on J.D.’s chest and listened to his heart.

“Brad told me you gave him the scanner,” J.D. said. “Thank you.”

“It belongs to BlueMagick,” I said. “There’s nothing to thank me for.”

“And you’ve decided to sell your house,” he said.

“The decision is made,” I said. I couldn’t take hearing J.D. tell me what everyone else had said. That it was a mistake. That I’d regret it. I already regretted it. It was painful beyond words. But it wasn’t a mistake. “I only waited so we wouldn’t have people coming through looking at it until after the wedding.”

“That makes sense.”

“But that’s not going to happen,” I said. “My realtor mentioned to some clients it was going to be for sale, and she instantly had a bidding war on her hands.”

“So the deed is done, so to speak.”

“It sold this morning.” I looked away. I couldn’t let him see I was crying inside. “And for more than I ever expected.”

“That’s good then, right?”

“It’s for the best,” I said, as I’d been telling myself all day. “Maybe the new owner will treat the place better than I did. Put on a new roof. Give it some paint and update the kitchen.”

J.D. responded with a hug that made me want to cry.

“It’s a six-week escrow, so it’s perfect timing. Lisa will move in with Frank when they get back from their honeymoon, and Stacey will be in Palo Alto by then for school. I’ll rent an apartment near the university. Dr. Barton has offered to sponsor me for the PhD program.”

“So you have everything all figure out.”

“I’m splitting the money with Stacey,” I said. “This was never just my house. Her half will get her through med school. I just hope they don’t tear out the roses.”

I buried my face against his chest.

“That would be a crime,” he said gently, patting me on the back. “I don’t want to hear about Stacey or Lisa.” J.D. held me closer to him. I hated his tuxedo for coming between us. “I want to hear about you,” he said.

“I’m fine,” I said. “I’m great. Really.”

“I can see that,” he said. “In fact, you’re stronger than you realize.”

“I hope so.” That word again. I truly hate
hope.
That hadn’t changed.

“Nora,” J.D. said. “I want to start over. I came here today with a purpose. I’m a man on a mission. I’m here to woo you.

He lifted my chin and looked directly into my eyes. Little sparkles of pleasure fluttered through my body. My lower region tingled and swelled. Could everyone see that I was on fire?

“I’m finished with apologizing for who I am,” J.D. said. “I’m rich, Nora. It comes with the package. Can you handle that?”

“I…I don’t know.” Did he just say he wanted me?

“Well, answer this then: Do you care for me at all?”

Was he crazy?

“Do you think you could love me, Nora? Me, J.D. Reider. CEO of BlueMagick, yes, but I’m also just a guy who adores you utterly.”

“I could love you, J.D. I do—”

Before I could finish the sentence, his lips were crushing mine. His tongue pushed into my mouth eagerly, his hand on my neck. I felt him swell and harden. Again I
was hating
on the tuxedo.

“Great moves, J.D.,” Stacey said behind me as she and Mason danced by.

J.D. and I stopped kissing and got hold of ourselves. Figuratively. I was panting a little as he changed the subject. “I drove here in one of our hybrid demos, a white convertible.”

“That’s nice.” Yeah. I’d think of cars instead of J.D.’s rock hard body and my need to drag him into my bedroom. Right. This. Minute.

He pulled a keyless remote out of his pocket, showed it to me, and put it back. “It’s your new car. I’ll keep the keys for now, since there’s not a millimeter of storage space in that fabulous dress.”

“Thank you. I think. I mean for the compliment.”

“And for the car,” he said. “Say yes, darling Nora. It goes with the gig: billionaire’s girlfriend.”

What could I do? He’d taken over my will. “Yes.”

“Good girl. Tonight, I’m staying here with you, and in the morning we’ll talk about what comes next. Say yes, sweet Nora.”

“Yes.” I laid my head against his chest again and drifted, listening to the music.

“I love the way you look tonight, by the way,” J.D. said. “Your hair is awesome.” He tweaked the silver hair picks.

“It’s comfortable, having it off my shoulders in the heat,” I said. “I got the idea from—that’s funny. I got the idea from her.”

The red-haired girl, Nicole who’d argued with Steve Heron, was at the side gate. She walked toward us, her eyes fixed on J.D. My stomach was suddenly in my throat. I knew that look. She was holding a gun. She glared at me, then back to J.D.

“J.D., you bastard,” she said. “You think you can just fuck me and pay me to go away?” The gun went off. Dirt and grass flew up from the ground near our feet.

I was frozen where I stood as Nicole fired again. Lisa screamed, and as I turned to her Frank stepped in front of her in slow motion. Surprise registered on his face, and a red color spread over his white shirt above his midnight blue cummerbund. “Frank, no!” Lisa screamed.

Everybody screamed.

I heard Stacey crying behind me, and something clicked inside me.
Not again.

I turned back toward Nicole and lunged for her, though it felt like I was moving through water. “Nora, no!” J.D.’s voice echoed in my mind as burning pain ripped into me. I hit Nicole—or did I fall against her?—and slid to the ground amidst the screaming.

Orcas Island, the third week in August.

A month after the wedding, I felt better than I had a right to. As soon as Brad was stabilized, J.D. had taken me away from Granite Bay to his mom’s house on Orcas Island in the Pacific Northwest. He had a room on the top floor with a wall of windows facing west and a deck looking out over the ocean. We had our coffee there every morning.