by Karr, Kim
Oh, no! The bouquet toss!
I had to get out of there. I bent down and crawled around, through, and practically under, a number of jumping cowboy boots.
“One.”
“Two.”
“Three.”
Rushing out of the side of the crowd, I stood up, and I could hardly believe it when the bouquet landed at my feet.
Without thinking, I picked it up to throw it back into the crowd, but it was too late.
“Oh, Jules, you caught it.” It was Ethel, and she was escorting me to the front of the room. When I saw George leading Jake there as well, I wanted to end this charade.
It was too much to handle.
Having him so close was too much to handle.
He was too much to handle.
George and Ethel pushed us both together, and all the girls started chanting, “Seal the deal. Seal the deal.”
“What are they talking about?” Jake muttered.
“Kiss her, Doc,” George clarified for me, and before either of us could step away from each other, George and Ethel were once again pushing us together.
I landed against Jake’s hard chest. My mouth flew open in surprise, and a small sigh escaped.
My lips were so close to his.
Tantalizingly close.
The need to close the distance between us was strong.
He was breathing heavy, and I could see the muscle twitch at his temple, witness how tight his jaw was. Everything about him screamed he was holding himself back.
We were both losing that battle though.
Whether out of obligation, pressure, or need, his mouth came crashing down over mine in the hardest, heated, and most demanding way.
Oh, God, I wanted this.
Wanted him.
Especially when his tongue pushed inward, hot and sensual. It glided over mine as he licked at the roof of my mouth and swirled around my tongue in the most erotic dance.
His lips were so soft.
His mouth so hot.
His possession unlike any I’d ever experienced.
I could hear the catcalls, but ignored them all because he wasn’t simply kissing me, he wasn’t just sealing the deal, he was devouring me.
In that moment, any other man I’d ever kissed faded away.
No one had ever kissed me that way.
I became boneless. I became lost. I was lost. In him and his sinful mouth and full lips.
“Okay, okay, you two, that’s enough. You’re going to outshine the newly married couple.” George was now pulling us apart.
Stepping back, I stood stunned and brought my fingers to my lips, which tingled from his kiss.
“We need to go,” Jake said.
I swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes, that’s a good idea. It’s getting late.”
In a trance-like state, I thanked George and Ethel. They were such a perfect couple. I promised to call them and then headed for the door. The barn door was opened and gave rise to the most star-filled sky I’d ever seen.
It was magical.
This place was magical.
Sighing, I walked away.
With his hands in his pockets, Jake waited for me to pass through the door, and when I did, I looked up at him. His expression was blank, but his eyes were filled with a kind of strange light I couldn’t interpret.
I wondered if he was in some kind of state of shock, but then he passed by me without a word and took the lead.
Something was wrong.
Something was off.
On quick feet, I followed behind him, my wedges too high to move at the pace I was, and yet I still managed.
The thick air filled my lungs. The light breeze felt too hot. And suddenly it was obvious this whole thing was one giant mistake.
He was already at the car and holding the passenger door open before I made it halfway there. Clearly impatient, he practically ushered me forward when I was within his reach. “Get in,” he said, careful not to actually touch me.
It was a demand that I didn’t care for, but my mind was in too much of a flurry of upheaval to argue with him, so I got in.
After he put the top up, he hit the gas, and before I knew it, we were turning onto the country lane. I looked out the window. The night was dark. The sky filled with stars. And the company in the car was dead silent.
It wasn’t until we reached the main road that he looked over at me. “Are you cold? I can turn the heat on.”
Was he serious? It was like ninety degrees outside. Just then I glanced down. I was hugging myself and trembling. “No, I’m fine.”
Or I will be as soon as I get over that kiss.
“Jules?”
The sound of his husky voice had my heart doing a quick, extra thump. I looked anywhere but over at him. The knob on the radio was actually lovely with its sheen of silver. “You don’t have to say it,” I whispered.
“Say what?”
“That the kiss was a mistake, and it didn’t mean anything.”
He didn’t respond, and the silence was deafening. Wanting to escape it, I turned the music on and stared out the window.
As the country faded into a blur, the bright lights of Atlanta seemed almost intrusive, and I was reminded of the first time I’d seen them twinkle. That was not a happy time, and one I always hated thinking about it.
Yet, as an odd sadness seemed to swallow me whole, I couldn’t stop that time in my life from coming back, and I wasn’t sure I even wanted to.
Sometimes remembering wasn’t so bad.
Then again . . . sometimes it was.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
JULES ~ SEVENTEEN YEARS EARLIER
IT WAS A TYPICAL TUESDAY morning in Brooklyn at the Easton household as I walked down the stairs. The dog was at my mother’s feet waiting for a treat, and my father was on her other side waiting for a kiss.
I turned my attention toward the television, and the annoying newsman was talking about the election for Mayor.
Boring.
I grabbed the remote and immediately switched the station.
My mother was at the sink rinsing her teacup. My father was sipping his coffee. Almost in unison, they both yelled, “Hey, turn it back.”
I rolled my eyes and nabbed a cereal bowl. “Sorry, I cannot watch another minute of that.”
My father leaned back against the counter. He was in his neatly pressed uniform and highly polished shoes. As a K-9 unit officer in the Explosive Detection Division for the Port Authority, he could be very intimidating, especially when he pointed his finger at me. “That is very important. That is the fate of New York City right there. It might very well change your future, Juliette.”
Just then, his trusted partner, Diogi, rolled over. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Diogi was a golden retriever highly trained in sniffing out explosives, but at home, with us, he was just my dog.
I loved him.
Especially when even he knew what my father was saying was equivalent to, “Blah, blah, blah.”
Grabbing the box of Frosted Flakes and carton of milk, I sat down and flicked through the stations. When I glanced up, there were four narrowed eyes on me, so I gave in and switched the television back to the sleeper news station.
Whatever.
“I might be late tonight. I have a meeting,” my mother told me. “Will you be okay?”
I propped an elbow on the table. “Yes, Mom, I’ll be fine.”
My mother was wearing her very best suit and her pearl earrings rather than her favorite diamond stars. I knew the meeting had to be important. She worked for Silverstone Properties and was hoping to be promoted to senior executive. If that happened, she was going to get an office overlooking both New York Harbor and the Hudson River, and that really excited her.
I guessed it was cool.
“Call me when you get home, so I know you made it safely.”
I shoved a spoonful of cereal in my mouth. “I always do, don’t I?”
I looked up. “Bye, Dad, see you tonight.”
He snapped the leash onto Diogi’s collar. “Have a good day at school, and don’t forget your lunch again,” he pointed to the counter, “I made it, and that means there’s something delicious inside.”
“Josh Easton,” my mother scolded. “You know she doesn’t need any more sugar. Next thing we know she’ll be running into the walls.”
Okay, so I walked into an open locker yesterday after I bought a brownie for lunch and broke my glasses. It wasn’t like I’d done it before. And it wasn’t like it was the brownie’s fault.
“Rachael Easton, you know a little something sweet never killed anyone.”
“But Josh Easton—”
“Rachael Easton, you know Juliette is perfect just the way she is.”
“Well, you are right about that.”
The whole using full names thing was vomit-inducing enough, but when he patted her on the butt, I thought I might have thrown up a little in my mouth. “Gross!”
They both laughed. “Some day you won’t think so,” my mother said.
“I doubt that.”
“Lunch,” my father pointed, more sternly, and then after kissing my mother, he headed for the back door.
“Bye Diogi,” I called. “Love you, Dad,” I added.
“Love you too,” he said, and then he closed the door.
“You ready to go?” my mother asked.
Grumbling, I got to my feet. “I really hate school this year.
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do. I think I’m having a panic attack over gym class today, and maybe I should stay home.”
She jingled her keys. “Good try.”
“Feel my forehead.”
She handed me my lunch. “Let’s go.”
I grabbed my backpack. “Mom, you’re supposed to be worried about my mental state. Suggest I see someone or something like that.”
She shook her head. “Juliette, there is nothing wrong with you, now let’s go.”
Pulling at the sides of my old glasses because this old pair was way too small, I gave her an exasperated sigh and marched out the door.
After she dropped me off, I tried to figure out the best way to change for gym class without anyone seeing me. I was tall and lanky and flat chested, and I knew I was going to be made fun of.
School really did suck.
At eight thirty, the homeroom bell rang. Some of the kids lingered in the hallway, but I was sitting promptly in my assigned seat when the teacher came in. “Good morning class,” he said.
“Good morning,” some of us answered.
“Busy day today,” he remarked.
I started to doodle on my notebook.
There was a crackle overhead and he stopped talking so we could hear the announcements. First, we were given a rundown on school elections. I couldn’t escape politics. Then there was talk about the fall dance and blah, blah, blah.
I doodled a little more. This time I drew a heart and wrote Robbie’s name inside. He was so cute, but he never even looked at me. I quickly scribbled through it.
Math was my first class, and I stayed put. Even though it was only the second week of school, Mr. Gilbert loved to give pop quizzes, and as he handed one out, there was a twinkle in his eye.
I breezed through the quiz and waited for everyone else to finish. When time was up, we exchanged papers to correct them. And then the new lesson started. I took notes and doodled some more.
Time seemed to be dragging until I realized it was past first period and the bell had not rang yet. Everyone else must have realized the same thing because they started to talk over each other.
“Well, class,” Mr. Gilbert boomed, “perhaps the office is still working the kinks out of the new school year. Let’s give it another minute.”
It was less than thirty seconds later when the school principal’s voice came over the loudspeaker, and what he had to say would change my life forever. “Two planes have flown into the World Trade Center.”
Chaos broke out. The students were so loud I couldn’t hear anything else, but I didn’t move as my entire body stiffened.
My mother.
My father.
Diogi.
They were all there, but I knew they had to be okay. Just like I knew they would be coming to get me to assure me of that.
We were told to remain where we were. School would be closing, and parents had been notified.
Mine, too.
Girls were hysterical all around me.
Boys were milling around.
I stayed where I was.
Glued to my seat.
Then, not even an hour later, another announcement came overhead. “The South Tower of the World Center has collapsed.”
Tower Two.
Something started to rise in my gut, but I pushed it down. My mother worked in Tower One, and my father, well he could have very well still been outside.
They were coming to get me.
They’d be here soon.
I couldn’t stop myself from inhaling deeply and quickly.
I couldn’t seem to get enough air.
I waited in my seat while most of the other kids got picked up, and then the principal’s voice came over the loudspeaker again. “The North Tower of the World Trade Center has also collapsed.”
Tower One.
I vomited all over Mr. Gilbert’s floor, and then I raced to the bathroom to splash water on my face.
They were okay.
They were coming for me.
They’d be here soon.
I was feeling light-headed, and the dizziness caused me to sway as I walked down the crowded hall.
Back in the classroom, tears streamed down my face as I waited and waited and waited.
“I called your uncle,” Mr. Gilbert said, placing a hand on my shoulder.
I shivered. I was so cold. “My uncle?”
“He’s on your emergency contact list.”
“But he lives in Atlanta,” I told him, trying to blink the haze away and suddenly feeling so hot.
“I know. He asked me to take you home and find someone to stay with you until he can get here.”
Uncle Edward was my father’s much older brother and ran a wedding business in Atlanta. He came to the city twice a year, but other than that, I really didn’t know much about him.
“My parents will be coming to get me,” I insisted. “And my dog, too.”
“Well, how about we wait at your house?” he asked, and I hated the grim look in his eyes.
“I don’t feel so well,” I told him.
He squeezed my shoulder. “Come on, I’ll get you home.”
I looked around to see an empty room.
Everyone left.
Except me.
Panic struck, or maybe it had long ago.
Is this what a real panic attack was?
I looked at the clock.
Hours had passed.
And still no word from my either my mother or my father.
I was alone.
And I’d be that way for a very long time.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Out of the Horse’s Mouth
JAKE
THERE WAS A LOT MORE to say than what she’d said.
It was that simmering, smoldering heat inside the aloof package that stopped me from trying to talk about what had happened between us.
Correction, what was happening.
She was so much like me in that way. Shutting down rather than risking getting burned. It was my MO, and apparently hers as well.
The garage was dimly lit, and my hands were gripping the leather of the wheel so tight that I practically jerked my car into the empty parking spot next to hers.
I knew I only had a matter of minutes to try to turn this situation around. Yet the problem was even after more than six
ty minutes, I still couldn’t figure out what to say.
That didn’t change the fact that time was up.
As soon as I put the Jaguar in park and switched the engine off, silence rushed in. I didn’t like it, and I turned toward Jules. “Look,” I started to say.
She was already looking over at me, and the distance in her eyes made me wonder where she’d gone on the ride back. Momentarily caught off guard by the sadness I saw, I paused for a moment, and that’s when she pounced. “I’m sorry I ruined your night off. I’ll let your sister know she needs to find someone else to help her with her wedding. I’m not the right person for the job.”
I opened my mouth to tell her that was bullshit and she knew it, but she bolted out of the car so fast, I didn’t have time to utter a single syllable before the door slammed shut.
Without any hesitation, I jerked my door open and hustled around my car.
Obviously, she hadn’t planned her escape out very well because she was still rummaging through her giant bag, which she hilariously called a briefcase, when I caught up with her. “Damn it, Jules, you’re so frustrating.”
She whirled around, and her features were locked and impassive as she stared coolly at me. “I’m frustrating. Are you kidding me?”
The space between her car and mine was tight at best, but still, I moved closer. “Look,” I started again, “I know I’m not the easiest person to deal with, but you’re no piece of cake either.”
Her eyes were wide, her nostrils flaring, and I could see the pulse beating wildly at the base of her throat. “Grrr . . . you . . . you really—”
There she went again with the growl. I couldn’t decide if she was more kitten or cat or maybe even lion, and I couldn’t stop myself from throwing my head back in laughter.
Her eyes widened in surprise. She looked . . . shocked.
I sobered and glanced curiously at her. “What’s that look for?”
She immediately dropped her gaze and remained silent.
“Jules?” I prompted.
She sighed, and then lifted her head, her stare almost rebellious as her chin thrust upward. “I’ve never seen you laugh. Or even smile, for that matter. You don’t show your emotions much, other than the angry ones. I can never tell what you’re thinking, and that’s frustrating.”
Seemed like we were both filled with frustration.
