What the Heart Wants (3 page)

She was finally here.

As Chelsea pulled onto the road, Heaven rolled down her window and leaned back against the seat. The plush headrest was far better than the plane’s hard-as-a-rock one. She enjoyed the breeze blowing through her hair as she read the street signs.

Century Boulevard to I-405. Guess we’re taking the interstate.

“What’s new with you, Chels?” Heaven asked, looking out of the windshield toward the massive amount of traffic. She knew she’d never seen this much on any interstate in Ohio. “How is life in Cali?” 

“Better now that Brooke and I are on our own. I can’t wait to show you our condo.”

Better? God, I hope she’s not thinking about…no! She wouldn’t.

Heaven shook the thought from her mind. Her eyes went to the tall palm trees spread over the city. Though the memories of Chelsea’s darkest hour had resurfaced, Heaven refused to dwell on them. There would be plenty of time to talk about it during the trip.

If they even needed to talk about it.

“Your social life has to have improved.” Faith said as she pressed her head against the back window, looking less than enthused with the conversation. “Are you rubbing elbows with any celebs?”

Heaven’s eyes tore from the passing subdivisions and businesses to focus on her best friend. She watched as Chelsea fought against a smile, a feat that failed when her lips curled into a huge grin.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say I’ve been rubbing elbows.”

“So what
have
you been rubbing and with whom?” Faith’s deep laugh filled the car, her eyes hiding behind black, Gucci sunglasses.

“Wouldn’t you love to know?”

Faith lowered her glasses to the bridge of her nose, peering over the top. “Uh, yeah, I would like to know! It’s why I asked.”

“All I can say is it is part of the reason you are here.”

Heaven tried to read the hidden message in her best friend’s words, but she couldn’t help getting lost in the passing scenery. She thought the large shale wall lining this particular section of the interstate was pretty. The ivy growing along the wall was an added touch. A large, green street sign caught her eye.

Culver Boulevard.

“I knew it!” Faith screeched, startling Heaven in the process. “That’s who got this car. Your sugar daddy. You’re dating a celebrity, aren’t you?”

Chelsea gave Heaven a sideways glance. A smiled flashed across her lips before she refocused on the road. “Um…yeah, you could say that.”

* * * * *

CHAPTER 2

“I get the feeling you’re in a rush today,” Heaven said as she found herself once again gazing at strange palm trees and unfamiliar buildings.

Maybe we’re going to meet Chelsea’s boyfriend. I wonder who it is. If he really is famous, why haven’t I seen them together in a tabloid?

“What makes you think I’m in a rush?” Chelsea asked as her knuckles pressed white against the steering wheel.

The smile on Chelsea’s face looked forced; at least, Heaven thought it did. After fifteen years, she was good at reading her best friend. Until now.

What is up with her?

“Ah, yes, Heaven Lewis’s intuition. Your
feelings
have never left me much privacy. It would be nice to have a secret or two.”

“You know that I can’t control what my instincts tell me. Besides, we’ve never kept secrets before.”

“I know, Hev. After today, there won’t be any more. ” Chelsea promised as she glanced at her watch. “And you’re right. I am in a time crunch today.”

“Why?”

“We have to meet Brooke. We’re actually five minutes late. Crap! Hold on!”

As Chelsea stomped on the gas, Heaven looked through the windshield in time to see the traffic light turning red. She clenched her eyes shut, praying there wasn’t a car about to smash into them.

“Did you bring us all the way to L.A. just to kill us?” Faith complained from the back seat.

“Don’t worry about it, Chelsea,” Hope snorted. “It’s just karma biting Faith in the butt. She drives like a mad woman back home.”

Heaven opened her eyes and turned to see Faith holding her seat belt as though it were a magic shield protecting her from harm. Faith’s eyes narrowed on Heaven before cutting toward Hope.

Hope grinned impishly at Faith.

Just leave her alone, Hope. Don’t wake the dragon.

“I had to get through that light. It takes an eternity to change. Don’t worry. I won’t kill us. Not with…”

Chelsea didn’t continue. She bit down on her lip as though she’d said too much.

As they passed through the next intersection, Heaven glanced up, her attention drawn to a billboard. The advertisement was for a sleep center with the words, “Losing sleep? We’re here to help.”

Perfect. Maybe I should check in to this clinic. I’m losing sleep…over him. I shouldn’t be upset with Chelsea. Not when I have my own secrets.

Her judgmental eyes stared back from the tinted windows, forcing her to face her own faults. She wasn’t perfect; she shouldn’t expect others to be, either.

Espresso eyes filled her mind. The way they lit her soul on fire when he looked at her made her heart pound. She gave in to the memories of the dream, focusing on the finer points: the way the breeze tossed his hair against his face, or the dangling branches of the willow tree that sheltered them from the sunrays beating down on the rest of the world. And those lips…when they pressed to hers, it was as if they transformed her body into butter.

“Why are we pulling into a boutique?” Hope questioned from the back seat.

Her sister’s gentle voice lured Heaven’s thoughts back to the conversation. She pushed the memory of the dream aside and gazed at the sign above the building.

Ultimate Occasions.

Chelsea smiled at the valet who walked toward her side of the car. She gazed at Heaven a moment and then turned to Faith and Hope. “Come inside. I’ll explain everything once we find Brooke.”

Before she could protest, another valet opened Heaven’s door. She smiled up at him, saying a soft
thank you
before stepping out to wait for her sisters and Chelsea. She wanted to ask a dozen questions, but knew it was useless. Chelsea gave her an I-will-tell-you-soon look on the way to the door.

Heaven dropped her shoulders and sighed like an obedient child who had just lost the battle to stay up late. The answers she wanted were inside. There was no point in standing around moping about Chelsea’s secrets—or her own.

As she entered the shop, sequins and silk danced before Heaven’s eyes. The crisp smell of new fabric filled her nose, tantalizing her senses. She could hear feminine laughter from the opposite side of the building.

Stepping to the side, she peered into another room just off the main entrance. The sea of tulle and lace stunned her as she stared at an array of wedding gowns.

Her love of weddings had begun years ago, when she and her sisters were flower girls in her Aunt Marissa’s wedding. Since then, she’d fantasized about what her wedding would be like. In fact, she already knew where she wanted hers to be—on a Caribbean island. It didn’t matter which island, and she didn’t want anything lavish, just an intimate gathering with close friends and family.

Maybe one day she’d be lucky enough to… yeah, right.

Espresso eyes filled her thoughts. She would love to stand opposite the man they belonged to and say “I do.” But who was she kidding? He was only a—

“So, are you taking us to some fab celebrity party or what?” Faith’s voice intruded into her thoughts.

When Heaven looked at her sister, she felt her eyes bug as Faith held a sexy, strapless, red dress up to her body and waggled her brows.
Dear God. It’s shorter than the skirt she’s wearing. If Hope and I don’t keep an eye on her… She needs a leash.

Glancing over her shoulder once more, Heaven sighed at the wedding gowns. Her daydreams would have to wait for another time. For now, she needed to be her sister’s keeper, or Faith would go back to Ohio knocked-up.

“You’re close to the truth,” Chelsea answered with a smile and a wave at one of the sales associates. “It’s more than a party. It’s a celebration.”

“You’re not making any—hey! Stop that!”

Heaven turned in time to see her sister shoving a pair of hands from her eyes. A splash of panic seemed to emanate from Faith. Heaven knew it was because of her sister’s fear of the dark. She wished she knew why her sister’s childhood fear still affected her. What
had
caused Faith to be so terrified of the dark? Faith never explained, but tendrils of suspicion played in the back of Heaven’s mind. It was something bad—something that made her gut ache.

Maybe one day she will feel like letting me in. Then again, I don’t know if I want a peek inside her warped mind.

As she laughed to herself, she noticed platinum blonde locks peeking around Faith’s shoulder. The midnight blue eyes twinkling in the fluorescent lighting were familiar and warm. It was Brooke McConnell, Chelsea’s sister and Faith’s long-time best friend.

To see the two standing so close was like looking at night and day. Faith’s long, chestnut hair and jade eyes contrasted with Brooke’s shoulder length, blonde waves and sapphire eyes so dark they almost looked like onyx.

“You should always be aware of your surroundings,” Brooke chided as she walked around to face Faith. “Hello, self-defense class, freshman year. Did you learn nothing?”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Faith chuckled as her eyes roamed over the woman standing before her. “Do my eyes deceive me or is this the invisible woman in the flesh?”

“Hah!” Brooke punched Faith in the arm before she threw an arm around her neck. “I guess that makes you Mr.—scratch that—
Miss
Fantastic.”

“Oh, you know I’m fantastic.”

“Of course, you are. I made you that way.”

“Um, no. I made you fantastic,” Faith said as she shrugged off Brooke’s arm and then gave her a nudge. “You were such a loser until we started hanging out,”

“We met in kindergarten. How can a toddler be a loser?”

“I don’t know, but you made it possible,” Faith laughed, patting Brooke’s cheek.

Heaven watched nervously as the best friends traded barbs. Those two played like kittens, claws out, but she was afraid the kittens were now cats. She sighed in relief when they embraced each other.

“I have missed your smart ass mouth,” Brooke chuckled.

“Same here. My sisters have no sense of humor. I can’t joke with them the way I joke with you.”

“If you two are finished with your little reunion, we have a busy day ahead of us,” Chelsea said as she winked at Heaven.

“Oh, be quiet,” Brooke said, stepping away from Faith. “You’ve had time with
your
best friend since she arrived. Faith and I just got to see—where the hell is your ring?”

Chelsea’s eyes grew twice their size before settling back into a glare intended for her sister. Her jaw tightened. “You have such a big mouth.”

Brooke rested her hand on her hip as she thrust it forward. “Did you misplace it, again?” she asked, staring at her sister’s hand.

Ring? What ring? And why was Chelsea fumbling through her purse?

“I haven’t lost it. I put it in here,” Chelsea fired back as she continued to dig in her purse. “For safekeeping. You know I wanted to surprise Hev with the news.”

Heaven grew more confused by the second as she tried making sense of the cryptic conversation between the sisters. When Chelsea pulled out a light blue jewelry box, Heaven felt the light bulb effect.

“Oh, my God!” she gasped and covered her mouth. “You’re…you’re getting married, aren’t you?”

Chelsea beamed. She nodded slowly as she pulled a ring from the box and slipped it onto her finger.

“Sorry it took so long to tell you.”

“It’s beautiful!” Heaven cried as she grabbed Chelsea’s hand. The platinum band held an enormous, emerald-cut diamond surrounded by baguettes. The fluorescent lights from the boutique enhanced their brilliance.

“I want you guys to be in the wedding. You will, right?”

Heaven met Chelsea’s eyes, where anticipation filled them to the brim. Heaven swore she could feel every ounce of it herself. She gently squeezed her best friend’s hand and nodded.

“Yes, we will.”

“Hold up!” Faith interrupted as she wedged between Chelsea and Heaven. “When exactly is this wedding taking place?”

“In two days.”

“Two days?” Faith’s shriek not only pierced Heaven’s head, it drew attention from other patrons. After receiving a warning glare from Hope, Faith softened her voice. “Why the rush? Are you pregnant or something?”

“No, I’m not pregnant. I didn’t just get engaged, you know,” Chelsea said, while moving around Faith to stand next to Heaven. “Please don’t be mad at me for keeping all of this from you.”

Heaven swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled for Chelsea’s benefit. “You still haven’t told us who you’re dating—I mean, marrying.”

“I know; I’m sorry,” Chelsea chuckled. She clasped Heaven’s hands and pulled her close. “I’m marrying—”

“Good morning, ladies.”

Heaven’s face felt heavy with disappointment at another failed attempt to find out who her best friend’s mystery man was. Her eyes shifted to the intruder. The woman staring back at them had a kind face. Gray eyes matched the streaks in her strawberry blonde hair. Laugh lines outlined her thin lips. Those same lips stretched into a smile when she noticed Heaven staring at her.

The woman’s name badge read, “Cheryl Doss, Owner
.
”

Chelsea’s voice was cheerful as she spoke to the owner. “Good morning, Ms. Cheryl. Sorry we’re late. I had to pick up my friends from the airport.”

Ms. Cheryl smiled, casting her eyes on the triplets. “It’s okay, dear. You can’t very well do a fitting without your bridesmaids.”

“I just hope the sizes I picked work.”

“That’s why you’re here,” Ms. Cheryl said as they began walking toward the room with the wedding dresses. “We’ll make sure everyone’s dress fits perfectly.”