Same Time, Next Year

by Debbie Macomber

“Don’t look so concerned. We can pick something out later. A plain gold band is perfect for now. In April we can exchange those for a diamond if you want.”

  “I’d like you to have my mother’s ring.”

  “I’d be honored to wear it,” she said quietly.

  He kissed her, and Summer blinked in surprise. It was the first time he’d ever initiated a kiss in public.

  Since the waiter had mentioned the wedding chapel at this particular hotel, they tried there first. Summer hadn’t expected it to be so easy, but booking their wedding took only a few minutes. The hotel would see to everything, from obtaining the license to the music and flowers. They’d be getting married at seven the next night.

  “If I’d known it was this simple,” James said as they walked back to the Four Queens, “I might have suggested it sooner.”

  Summer pressed her head against his shoulder. They stopped at a crosswalk and waited for the red light.

  “I wish you’d kiss me again,” she breathed close to his ear.

  His gaze found her lips, and he cleared his throat. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” she murmured, but disappointment underscored her words.

  “You can call your family from my room.”

  “Okay,” she said, but her mind wasn’t on making the dreaded phone call as much as it was on being alone with James.

  His thoughts must have been the same because their pace quickened as they hurried across the street and into the hotel.

  The elevator ride seemed to take an eternity. As if James couldn’t keep himself from touching her in some way, he reached out and brushed a stray curl from her cheek. His knuckle grazed her skin.

  “I can’t believe you’re willing to marry me,” he said.

  “I feel like the luckiest woman alive.”

  “You?” He held his hand to his brow. “I want you so much I think I’m running a fever.”

  “I’ve got a fever, too. Oh, James, we’re going to be so good for each other.”

  “Don’t,” he growled.

  “Don’t?”

  “Don’t look at me like that, Summer. I’m weak enough where you’re concerned. Much more of this, and I’m going to make love to you right in this elevator.”

  Summer smiled and moved against the back wall. “You’re so romantic, James—and I mean that.”

  “You’re doing it again.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Looking at me like you know exactly what I want. Your eyes are telling me you want it as much as I do.”

  The elevator eased to a stop, and the doors slid open. Summer’s heart pounded fast as neither of them made the slightest effort to leave.

  “We were going to call our families,” she reminded him just as the doors started to close.

  James swallowed hard. “Yes, of course.”

  With precise movements he led the way out of the elevator and down the hallway to his room. She noticed that when he inserted the key his hand trembled slightly, and she loved him all the more for it.

  “The phone’s over by the—”

  “Bed.” She completed his sentence, and the word seemed to stick in her throat. She walked across the room and sat on the edge of the mattres, then picked up the phone to dial the familiar number.

  It might’ve helped if she’d taken the time to figure out what to tell her parents. But she was afraid she’d lose her nerve.

  She couldn’t put into words what she felt for James. She’d never loved anyone this way, this much, and she believed he hadn’t, either. They’d each been in love with someone else, and that other person had caused deep pain. This time was different.

  She knew, even before they answered the phone, what her mother and father were going to say.

  “James,” she said, in a panic, banging down the telephone receiver and holding out her arms. “Please, could you kiss me first?”

  She glanced over at the man she’d marry in less than twenty-four hours, and his face was a study in raw sexual need. He walked across the room. The bed dipped as his weight joined hers. With loving care he gathered her in his arms and claimed her mouth. The kiss was slow and sensual.

  He broke away, and his breath was hard and labored. Eager for the taste of him, the touch and feel of him, she brushed her lips over the curve of his jaw, then brought her mouth back to his.

  “Maybe you should call your father first,” she whispered when she pulled away.

  “All right,” he agreed. Reluctantly he sat up and reached for the bedside phone. Summer knelt behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her head against his shoulder.

  “Dad, it’s James,” she heard him say.

  “Fine…yes, Vegas is just fine.” Summer could hear a voice on the other end of the line, but she couldn’t make out what was being said.

  “I’m calling to let you know I’m getting married.”

  The voice went silent.

  “Dad? Are you still there?”

  The faraway voice returned, this time speaking very fast.

  “Dad…Dad…Dad.” Each time James tried to cut in, he was prevented from saying anything.

  In frustration, he held the phone away from his ear. “I think you’d better talk to him.”

  “Me?” Summer cried. “What do you want me to say?”

  “Anything.”

  Summer took the receiver and covered it with her hand. “Just remember this when we talk to my parents.”

  “I will.” He kissed her briefly.

  “Mr. Wilkens,” Summer said. It sounded as if the line had suddenly gone dead. “My name’s Summer Lawton. James and I have known each other a year. I love him very, very much.”

  “If you’ve known my son for a year, how is it we’ve never met?”

  “I live in California.”

  “California?”

  “Anaheim. I’m an actress.” She might as well give him all the bad news at once. She didn’t dare look at James.

  “An actress?”

  “That’s correct.”

  “You’re sure you’ve got the right James Wilkens? My son’s the superior court judge.”

  “Yes, I know. James and I are going to be married tomorrow evening at seven but we’re planning a larger ceremony in April. We felt it was only right to tell you about our plans.” Convinced she’d done a miserable job, Summer handed the telephone back to James.

  Father and son talked a few moments more, and the conversation ended with James abruptly replacing the receiver. He looked at Summer, but she had the strangest feeling he wasn’t seeing her.

  “James?”

  “He’s decided to fly in for the ceremony.”

  “That’s great. I’ll look forward to meeting him.”

  “He’s anxious to meet you, as well. He hasn’t set eyes on you and already he thinks you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  Summer laughed and slipped her arms around James’s neck. “He could be right.”

  James grinned up at her. “I know he is.”

  “I love you, James.”

  “I know. I love you, too. Now it’s time to make that call.”

  Summer had been delaying the inevitable and knew it. She stared at the phone, expelled a heavy sigh and said, “All right, I’ll call my parents. Be prepared, James. They’re going to have a lot of questions.”

  “They couldn’t be any worse than my father,” he muttered.

  “Wanna bet?” Summer punched out the number to the family home a second time and waited. It was the decent thing to do, call her family with the news of her marriage, but if they just happened to be away, out of town themselves, no one would blame her and James for going ahead with the ceremony.

  Four rings. Summer was about to hang up.

  “Hello,” her mother answered cheerfully.

  “Mom,” Summer said. “It’s me.”

  “I thought you were in Vegas this week with Julie.”

 
; “Julie couldn’t come.”

  “You went alone?” Summer could hear the disapproval in her mother’s voice.

  “I met a friend here. That’s the reason I’m calling.”

  “Your friend is the reason? What’s the matter? You don’t sound right. You’re gambling and you’ve lost everything? Is that it?”

  “Mom, it’s nothing like that.”

  “I never did understand why you’d go back to Vegas after what happened there last year.”

  “Mom, can I explain?”

  “All right, all right.”

  “I’m calling to tell you—”

  “Don’t beat around the bush. Just say it.”

  Summer rolled her eyes. She knew where her flair for drama had come from. “I’m getting married.”

  Her mother screamed, and the next thing Summer heard was the phone hitting the floor. Her father’s voice could be heard in the background, followed by moaning and crying.

  “What the hell’s going on?” It was her father on the line.

  “Hi, Dad,” Summer said casually, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. “I called to tell you and Mom that I’m getting married tomorrow evening.”

  Summer’s father said nothing for several seconds. “Do we know this young man?”

  “No. But he’s wonderful, Dad, really wonderful.”

  “Like Brett was wonderful?” her mother shouted into the extension.

  “Helen, get off the phone. You’re too emotional to talk any sense.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do, Hank Lawton. This is our little girl who’s marrying some stranger.”

  “His name’s James Wilkens. He’s from Seattle and, Daddy, I’m crazy about him.”

  “He’s an actor, isn’t he?” her mother demanded. “What did I tell you over and over again? Stay away from actors. But do you listen to me?”

  “Mom, James is a judge.”

  Silence.

  “Mom, Dad, did you hear me?”

  “What kind of judge? Beauty pageants?” This came from her mother.

  Summer almost groaned out loud. “No. Superior court. He was recently appointed to the bench and he’ll run for election to his first full term this November.”

  “A judge, Hank,” Helen said softly. “Abby’s daughter married that attorney, and we never heard the end of it. Summer’s got herself a judge.”

  “Would you like to talk to James?” Summer offered. It only seemed fair that he talk to her family, since he’d put her on the phone with his father.

  “No,” her father surprised her by saying. “When I talk to him, it’ll be face-to-face. Pack our bags, Helen. We’re headed for Vegas.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “Summer,” James said patiently when he saw her distress, “what did you expect your family to do?”

  “I didn’t think they’d insist on coming here,” Summer answered. “I wanted it to be just you and me. We can involve our families later, in April. I felt obliged to let my parents know what we were doing—but I didn’t expect anything like this.”

  “You don’t want them to come?”

  “No,” she said quickly.

  In some ways James could understand her regret. If truth be known, he would’ve preferred his father to stay in Seattle. As it was, James’s time with Summer was already limited, and he didn’t want to share with family the precious few days they had left.

  “I’m afraid once you meet my mother, you’ll change your mind about marrying me,” she moaned.

  “Honey, it isn’t possible.”

  “My mother—she sometimes doesn’t think before she speaks.”

  “I see.” James felt he was being diplomatic by not mentioning that Summer possessed the same trait.

  “My dad’s really great…You’ll like him, but probably not at first.” She gazed at James with large, imploring eyes. “Oh, James, he’s going to give you the third degree. I’ll bet he’s having a background check done on you this very minute.”

  “I don’t have anything to hide.”

  “See, Dad’s been working with the seamy side of life for so many years, he suspects everyone.”

  “He’s a policeman?”

  Summer nodded. “I don’t think he trusts anyone.”

  “Summer, if twenty-odd years down the road our daughter phones to tell us she’s marrying a man neither of us has ever met before, you can bet I’ll have a background check done, too.”

  “You know what this means, don’t you?” she said, biting her lip. “We aren’t going to have much of a honeymoon.”

  James chuckled. “Wanna bet?”

  Summer grinned.

  If this woman’s smile could be bottled, James thought, it would be the most potent aphrodisiac ever made. He couldn’t look at Summer and not want to make love to her.

  “What about Julie?” James said in an effort to get Summer’s mind off her parents’ imminent arrival.

  “Oh—I nearly forgot my best friend.” She reached for the phone and called Julie’s cell.

  Since there were a number of things to do before the actual ceremony, James walked over to the desk and sat down to write out a list, not wanting to forget anything.

  He was only half listening to the conversation between Summer and her roommate when he heard Summer’s soft gasp and the mention of Brett, the man she’d once loved. James’s ears perked up, and his fingers tightened around the pen.

  “What did you tell him?” Summer asked in low tones. This was followed by “Good. Then you’re coming? Great. You might want to talk to my parents and see if you can fly in with them. I’m sure they’ll be eager to pump you for whatever you can tell them about James.” After a few words of farewell, Summer replaced the receiver.

  James turned around in his chair, wondering if she’d volunteer the information about Brett.

  “Julie’s flying in, too. I suggested she catch the same flight as my parents.” She seemed self-conscious all at once.

  Her eyes avoided his.

  “So I heard.” James waited, not wanting to approach the subject of her ex-fiancé, hoping she’d save him the trouble.

  After an awkward moment, she blurted out, “Julie…Julie said Brett phoned.”

  James relaxed, grateful she chose not to hide it from him. “Did she find out what he wanted?”

  “No. She hung up on him before he got a chance to say.”

  James had the distinct feeling he was going to like Summer’s roommate.

  Summer’s shoulders moved in an expressive sigh. “I don’t think either of us is going to be nearly as happy once our families arrive.”

  “How bad can it be?” he asked. All he cared about, all that was important, was marrying the woman he loved.

  “My mother’s going to insist we follow tradition and not see each other all day.”

  James frowned. He wasn’t keen on that idea.

  “My dad will keep you occupied with a whole bunch of questions. If you’ve got the slightest blemish on your record, he’ll find it.”

  “I don’t. Trust me, sweetheart, my background’s been scrutinized by the very best. Your father isn’t going to find anything.”

  She laughed softly. “In which case, Dad will probably thank you repeatedly for taking me off his hands.”

  James laughed, too. “Never mind. By this time tomorrow, we’ll be husband and wife.”

  * * *

  Summer’s parents arrived early the following morning with Julie in tow. By chance Summer met them in the lobby on her way down for breakfast. James had called her room an hour earlier, before she was dressed, to tell her he was headed for the coffee shop. Summer had been too nervous to eat then, but had developed a healthy appetite since. She’d need fortification in order to deal with her parents.

  “Mom! Dad! Julie!”

  They threw their arms around her as if the separation had been ten years instead of a few days.

  “I called Adam and told him his little sister’s getting married,” were the first word
s out of her mother’s mouth. “He’s taking time off work and he and Denise are driving in for the wedding.”

  “Mom,” Summer protested, “James and I are having another ceremony later.”

  “Fine,” Helen Lawton said briskly, “Adam will be there, too. Now stop fussing. It isn’t like I held a gun to his head and told him he had to come. Your brother wants to be here.”

  “Daddy.” Summer hugged her father. Stepping back, she placed her hands on her hips. “James is squeaky-clean, right?”

  “How’d you know I had him checked out?”

  “You’re my father, aren’t you?” She slipped her arm around his waist.

  “How’d you ever meet a man like this?” Hank Lawton wanted to know. “He’s as good as gold.”

  “Yes, I know. He’s wonderful.”

  James appeared then, coming from the direction of the coffee shop, a newspaper under his arm.

  Summer made the introductions, and while Julie and her family checked in to their rooms, Summer and James reserved a table at the coffee shop. They sat next to each other, holding hands.

  “Are you ready for all this?” he asked her.

  “I don’t know.” She sighed. “My brother’s taking the day off and driving in for the ceremony. I thought we’d have a small, intimate wedding.”

  “It is small and intimate.”

  “My brother and his wife have three little kids, who’ll probably cry through the entire ceremony.”

  “I don’t mind if you don’t,” James said and gently squeezed her hand. “I suspect folks will talk about us the same way when we drag our children to family get-togethers.”

  “Our children,” Summer repeated. She felt weak with pleasure at the thought of having a family with James. “I know I’ve said it before, but I’m looking forward to being a mother.”

  “Not nearly as much as I am to making you one,” he said in a low voice. The teasing light left his eyes. “If you have no objections, I’d like a large family. Maybe four kids?”

  “Four.” She nodded. “I’d love to have four children. We’re going to have a good life, James. I can feel it in my heart. We’re going to be so happy.”

  “I feel that way, too. Being an only child, I was always drawn to large families. I suspect that’s why I’ve been such good friends with the Mannings over the years.”