Elliot: The Williams Brothers

by Jenni M. Rose

  “Too much?” she asked, looking down. Her dress was a lovely long-sleeved trumpet gown, the nude underlay with a black lace overlay made her short body look longer.

  “You can’t wear that,” Beth complained. “I’ll look like a frump standing next to you.”

  “I have another dress I can wear,” Julia admitted, lifting her hem and turning back to the bathroom.

  “Wait!” Beth called suddenly and eyed Julia’s feet. “Can I see your shoes?”

  Confused, Julia lifted her hem again and held out her foot.

  “Please tell me those are my size,” Beth begged.

  She told Beth her size.

  “Can I wear them?” Beth asked.

  “Excuse me?” Julia responded, confused.

  “Your shoes,” Beth explained. “I couldn’t afford the pair I loved and just ended up with these.” She held out a pair of shoes that were plain and so very unlike the bride herself. “But your shoes go perfectly with my dress. At least let me try them on,” she wheedled.

  Julia slipped them off and handed the sling backs with the crystal scrollwork over.

  “Oh my God,” Beth breathed. “Freakin’ Louboutins.” She put them on and everyone admired how perfectly they went with the wedding gown.

  “I packed the gold Oscar de la Renta,” Kelsey told her. “There’s a pair of shoes that match in the bag.”

  Julia went back into the bathroom and changed again. This time, she came out wearing a long-sleeve, knee-length, sequin dress.

  Beth huffed again.

  “Next time I get married I’m not inviting any more beautiful women. Too much competition.” She eyed everyone. “I wish you were all uglier.”

  “She’s joking,” Alex told Julia. “I think.”

  When the time came, they all piled into an elevator to head down to the beach patio, where Beth and Logan were getting married in front of the ocean. She expected the ride down to be a flurry of activity and nerves, but it was surprisingly silent.

  “Mom would be so proud of you,” Andy said into the silence and put a hand on Beth’s shoulder.

  “We’re so proud of you,” Alex added, her hand on the other shoulder.

  Beth breathed in deeply and huffed. “No crying before the wedding. You’ll ruin my makeup.” She said it, though Julia could see she was struggling not to cry herself. “Someone change the subject.”

  Julia, following a lead Kelsey had shown her many times, steered the conversation in a different direction.

  “Elliot told me he wants to marry me,” she said into the emotionally charged air.

  Every head turned in her direction. Julia casually watched the numbers above the elevator door, only shifting her focus when the doors slid open.

  Alex and Andy pushed Beth out and Jenna followed. Kelsey stayed behind with Julia. “So, surly and sexy wants to put a ring on it, huh?”

  “He’s not surly.”

  “Sometimes,” Kelsey argued. “He’s surly to everyone else, maybe.”

  Julia shrugged. “Maybe.”

  They turned the corner to the patio and Julia saw Elliot waiting for her by the French doors. She was vaguely aware that Kelsey hurried out onto the patio, but she only had eyes for Elliot. He was stunning, waiting in a tailored tuxedo, tall and broad, hands in pockets, eyeing her intensely. When she got about halfway there, he held out a hand to her. She didn’t hesitate. Elliot pulled her into his body and held her close, his mouth against her neck.

  “I can’t let you go out there,” he told her.

  “Why not?”

  “Every man out there will be watching you and wondering the same thing I am.”

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  He pressed his lips to her ear. “What you’re wearing under that dress.”

  Julia put her hand on his cheek and looked deeply into those passionate gray eyes. “Nothing.”

  Elliot watched her ass as she walked to the patio in front of him. The sun was low, well on its way to descending for the night. The bright orange light reflected off the white-and-gold sequence of her dress, making her sparkle in the light. Her legs were shiny and elegantly lean in her tall black shoes.

  “Jesus, Elliot.” Spencer sidled up to him as he followed Julia down the aisle.

  “I know.” Elliot agreed to the unspoken observation. Julia was a sight to behold, gorgeous and glamorous and completely oblivious to it. “Stop looking at my girl.”

  Spencer shrugged. “Can’t help it. That dress is like a magnet.”

  The ceremony was set up for no more than fifty people. Elliot found his seat next to Julia, his brothers, and of course, Kelsey. He watched Logan standing at the altar, waiting for Beth, a ridiculous smile on his face. His cousin was ready to marry the love of his life. That’s what Logan had told Elliot that morning. He was marrying the love of his life and he had no reason to be nervous. If he could have, he would have done it even sooner.

  Never in his life had Elliot ever thought he’d find someone that he’d feel like that about. He’d always seen women as coming and going easily from his life, never making a lasting connection. He looked at Julia, who was avidly watching Logan, smiling his ass off and waving at some people in the chairs. Her eyes were wide and attentive, like she was waiting to see what was going to happen next.

  He squeezed her hand and she turned her face to look at him.

  “He looks so happy,” she whispered. Elliot agreed.

  They watched as Jenna and then each of Beth’s sisters walked up the aisle. A guitar played quietly in the background, and they all stood when Beth appeared at the head of the aisle, her father at her side. Beth walked slowly to Logan, each of them smiling themselves silly. The ceremony was short but heartfelt. Logan had written his own vows and in true Logan fashion, they were funny but unabashedly loving. He spoke about loving Beth from the moment he laid eyes on her. On the other side of the coin, Beth’s vows were tributes to Logan’s love for her, his everlasting commitment even in the face of her fear.

  When Elliot looked down at Julia, he noted that her eyes were misty. He put an arm around her and pulled her close.

  Someday, he thought. Someday.

  That night, as the wedding party continued in the hotel’s restaurant, Julia stood from the table and leaned over to whisper in Elliot’s ear.

  “Meet me outside?” she asked.

  He did his best not to draw attention to them, making sure to leave a few minutes after she did.

  When he finally made his way out to the patio, he didn't see Julia anywhere. He searched the dark recesses but still didn't see her.

  “Hey!” Julia’s voice echoed across the sand.

  He looked down at the water and thought he saw her figure in the moonlight. He toed off his shoes and put his socks with them. When he got farther down the sand, he found her there, her dress sparkling in the moonlight, her eyes shining brilliantly.

  “Took you long enough.”

  “What are you doing down here?” He laughed and reached for her.

  She danced just out of his range and lifted the hem of her dress playfully. “I was remembering what you said a few months ago when we were on the island. About running across the beach.”

  “Running across the beach naked,” he corrected. “And I said, there would be no running across the beach naked.”

  Julia’s eyes sparkled mischievously. Her hands reached around her back and he heard the unmistakable sound of the teeth of a zipper coming apart.

  “Julia,” he warned.

  Her dress obviously parted in the back, causing it to droop in the front. “What? No one’s looking.”

  “I'm looking!” Spencer's voice floated from the patio. “But please, don’t let that stop you.”

  Julia stopped, dead still, and Elliot lifted a brow at her. She pulled a haughty face and then dropped the dress.

  Elliott heard Spencer laugh from the patio and reached for Julia, who stepped out of his reach again.

  She’d lied before. She
was wearing panties, but she didn’t have a bra on. One of her arms crossed over her chest, covering her breasts, as she got farther away from him. She held a hand out to him, walking backward.

  “Come on, El,” she teased. “You know you want to.”

  Elliot looked backward and was relieved to see Spencer’s retreating back. He made his way to her in easy strides, chuckling as she squealed when the water lapped her ankles. He stopped before he got to the water, refusing to get his feet wet.

  “I think I’ll just watch from here,” he told her. “You look beautiful in the moonlight.”

  She stood, chest high in the water, and began taking her hair out of the pins. “If you aren’t coming in, can you at least pick up my dress?” Her hair fell, floating on the water around her. “It was worth leaving my dress in the sand if I thought I got to skinny dip with you again. But if you aren't coming in, it would be a shame to ruin such a beautiful dress.”

  He took the few steps to the dress and picked it up. “Do I even want to know how much this cost?” he asked, inspecting the sequins.

  Julia dropped into the water up to her shoulders. “Not as much as the first dress I put on.”

  Intrigued, he asked, “What happened to the first one?”

  “Beth told me I couldn't wear it.” She dipped her head under the water and pushed her wet hair back.

  “Must have been some dress.”

  “You’re really not going to come in?” she asked.

  “No, but I’m really enjoying watching you.”

  “I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to go back to the wedding.”

  “I'm pretty sure Spencer has already told everyone what's going on out here. I don't think anyone is expecting us to come back anytime soon.”

  Julia sent him a contemplative look. “I'm not sure how I’m going to get back to our room,” she admitted.

  “I supposed could go get you a robe.” His tone was considering.

  “You suppose?” she asked.

  He nodded and they stared at each other for a few seconds, electricity arcing between them.

  “Well, if you’re in no hurry, I think I'll just swim for a while,” Julia said before diving into the water and disappearing.

  He waited for a few seconds, but she never surfaced.

  “Damn woman,” he ground out, stripping his clothes off and diving in after her.

  18

  “Checks are in!” Kelsey yelled, holding a handful of envelopes in the air.

  “Hot damn,” Cole said, rubbing his hands together and abandoning his job of helping Tucker install light fixtures in the kitchen.

  The remodel was almost done, the kitchen nearly finished. Elliot and his brothers already had their next job lined up, their supplies on order, ready to go the following week. Julia wasn’t sure she was ready to let them go, now used to them underfoot and in her space.

  She wasn’t sure she’d know what to do without them.

  Instead of rushing toward Kelsey like his brothers, Elliot stayed on the ladder in the kitchen finishing his work. He eyed her every few minutes, but said nothing, just worked. She liked that about him. They were similar that way. Focused and goal-oriented, though he had an easier time taking breaks or a much-needed step back.

  It had been two weeks since his cousin Logan’s wedding and everything felt different, yet somehow the same. They still spent most nights together in a nice, normal rendition of domestic bliss, but instead of feeling like she was walking a tightrope of uncertainty, Julia felt a sense of comfort in her own skin.

  Elliot did that for her. He gave her that. She finally felt like whoever she was, she was finally enough. She didn’t need to be more or different, she could just be herself.

  He didn’t let a day go by without telling her how much he cared for her or how special she was to him. And she tried to do the same for him. It was all new to her, but she knew how it felt when he said the words to her, and she wanted to make sure that he felt that too.

  “El!” Cole shouted from the entryway where he and Tucker stood with Kelsey. “Come get your money!”

  Elliot did nothing but roll his eyes and send Julia a look that conveyed his annoyance.

  Julia liked that he wasn’t rushing for the check. Money wasn’t the most important thing to him. She was. But she already knew that.

  Cole hurried in, envelope in hand and stood at the bottom of the ladder his oldest brother was on. “You want this?”

  “You can toss it on Julia’s desk,” Elliot told him.

  “You want me to toss around a couple million bucks?” Cole asked incredulously. “Like, just toss it?”

  “It’s just paper,” Elliot said with a shrug. “It doesn’t have feelings, Cole.”

  Tucker swaggered in, looking impressed with himself. “I’d say we could take the rest of the day off. Celebrate a little.”

  Kelsey hurried into the office, planting her butt on the edge of Julia’s desk as they watched the Williams brothers talk about their plans.

  “Celebrate, huh?” Elliot said, going back to concentrating on the light fixture, his face screwing up to the side as he tightened a nut determinedly. “I’ve got just the thing.”

  Tucker and Cole both raised their eyebrows, skeptical. Even Kelsey chuckled under her breath in a near scoff.

  “Babe?” Elliot called. “Can you come here a second?”

  Curious, Julia stood from her desk and went into the kitchen, wondering what he needed or what he had in mind that constituted a celebration.

  “Hi.” He smiled at her when she came in the room and the simple gesture held a world of knowledge. It was kind and understanding, patient and warm. But there was heat there too, a deep-seated heat that burned through whenever they were together.

  Julia felt her cheeks heat at the sudden flare of longing that lit inside her chest at the look he sent her.

  “Hi,” she responded in a near whisper.

  “Remember that thing we talked about?” he asked, taking a step down from the ladder. “The thing about what would happen when we got married?” He took another step down.

  Julia’s eyes widened at the memory, a frisson of embarrassment running through her, as well as nervousness.

  She shook her head. “Which thing?” Her voice was almost soundless now, just a rush of breath falling from her mouth.

  He took the last step down off the ladder and then stood in front of her. His hands didn’t reach for her, instead, hanging by his sides balled into fists.

  “The thing where I’m going to ask you to marry me and you’re going to say yes. The part where I’m going to make sure your family is there to see everything, to see you through every step?”

  Yes, she remembered. Every word, every ounce of steadfast determination was etched into her heart. She nodded.

  Elliot held out a hand, gesturing around the room and when she looked, Kelsey, Cole, and Tucker all stood by her side, smiling. They were in on it, part of Elliot’s plan to make her see that she wasn’t alone. That even if her own blood relatives weren’t behind her, the family she’d made for herself was.

  “Your family is here, Julia,” Elliot told her, his voice gruff. His face was hard but not with anger or frustration, with emotion. His gray eyes pierced her as he spoke, conveying how very serious he was.

  She needed that. She’d have never wanted a big spectacle or a joke of some kind if he was going to make a grand declaration. She needed tangible love, something she could see and feel with her own hands. Things like her best friend and the Williams brothers, strong and steady, at her back.

  “We’re all here,” Kelsey said, her voice wobbling through her smile. “And we always will be.”

  “I wanted you to see,” Elliot said, finally reaching out and engulfing her hand in his own, his heat warming her with more than just his body heat. “You need to see that you aren’t alone. I want to marry you, Julia, and be yours forever. You’ll always have me and if you have me, then you have them.” He nodded at his
brothers.

  “Package deal,” Tucker agreed.

  Cole’s hands came to rest on her shoulders. “I’ve always wanted a sister and it looks like you’re it, Jules.”

  Overwhelmed, Julia just shook her head. Not to say no, but because she’d never had such a loving display directed at her. She didn’t know what to do with people that loved her.

  “This is the part where you ask your question, mate.” Julia’s head spun to see her father on the screen of Kelsey’s tablet in her hands. He smiled at her. “And this is the part where you say yes, love.”

  Her eyes swung back to Elliot, who was holding out a little velvet box, his heart in his eyes, but he surprised her by looking at Cole. “This is the part where I tell my little brother how forever indebted I’ll be to him for finding the love of my life for me in a grocery store and forcing me to take a job I didn’t want to take. Without him, I’d have never have figured out that not wanting to fall in love wasn’t the same thing as not actually falling in love.” He looked back to Julia. “You didn’t give me a choice, Julia. You’re everything I didn’t even know I was looking for and I’m so thankful I found you. You make my world a brighter place, somewhere that has colors and shadows and corners and endless surprises around every bend. You bring me questions I didn’t know I needed to ask and answers to those questions I’d never find without you. You are—”

  “Please stop,” she whispered, unable to hear anymore. To hear him talk about her like that, to hear words that somehow conveyed everything that she was feeling, was staggering. Almost suffocating.

  Cole squeezed her shoulder and she took a deep breath.

  “I feel all those things too,” she admitted. “No one’s ever loved me like you love me but I don’t have the words that you do. I can’t say those things and sound half as eloquent about it.”

  “I don’t need you to say them,” Elliot told her, squeezing her hand and bringing her knuckles to his lips. “I just need you to feel them and keep showing me how you feel. Words are just that, words. I just need you, baby, open and honest as always. Nothing more.”