by Lucy Gage
Face free of makeup, she wore a yellow, sleeveless, button-down shirt, tied at the waist so that it showed a strip of her flat stomach. On her hips, low-waist, denim shorts hugged her perfect ass, which he saw as she turned. She didn’t wear flip flops like he did. No, she wore sexy, flat, leather sandals. And those legs, they went on for miles.
What he wouldn’t give to have those around his hips.
For the first time in his life, he stood next to her and actually looked down. Only three inches separated them, but at least now he wasn’t shorter than the woman of his dreams.
And she was still the woman of his dreams. No doubt.
“You looked like you could use a hand,” Meghan said, smiling as she held the garment bag aloft.
“Thanks,” Neil croaked. He cleared his throat as he pushed open the door. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
She hung the bag on the rod in the closet. “No problem. You here for the wedding?” she asked, looking him up and down. His outfit – a gray t-shirt that said ARMY across the front, a pair of black basketball shorts and his flip flops – left a lot to be desired, but her gaze implied he’d make a nice lunch.
Neil swallowed hard and nodded, his voice gone again.
“I’ll see you there, then,” she said with a smile, and then she left.
Neil backed up to the bed and flopped down. Oh, my God. It had been a few years, but he hadn’t thought he’d forgotten how sexy she was. Apparently, he had. Memory served incorrectly, because Meghan’s beauty surpassed what he’d recalled from the last time he’d seen her, at Danny’s graduation party.
Focus, Murphy. Jesus, he could handle combat training like play time, but he couldn’t function like a normal person, let alone like a trained soldier, when in the presence of Meghan Miles. How did she do that to him? When all she did was smile and act nice?
He set down his bag and dialed Danny’s cell.
“Neil! You here?” Danny asked excitedly.
“Just got in. Where are you?”
“Room 328. Come down and get ready with us. Put on your big boy undies, we’re doing shots.”
“Jesus, Danny, I thought you wanted to marry Charlie?”
“Oh, stop being a baby. We’re not drinking a bottle of tequila. We’re doing a shot before the wedding. You owe me. You missed my bachelor party. The strippers were really sad you didn’t make it.”
“I’m sure. I’ll be down in a couple minutes.”
He hung up and shook his head. Better grab the breath mints Charlie had asked him to bring. Which probably meant that Charlie knew Danny planned to do shots with his groomsmen before the wedding. That made Neil feel a little better about it.
He heard the ruckus in the hallway before he arrived at Peter’s door, as if a party awaited on the other side. At least midday increased the chances that other non-wedding hotel guests were out.
Danny opened the door and said, “Neil!” and threw his arms around his best friend, clapping him on the back. “I’m so glad you’re here, man. I was worried you’d get pulled at the last minute.”
“Nope. Here for a week. Last chance for leave for a year. Lucky you, the timing was good. If you’d gotten married over Labor Day to make it a year since your engagement, I’d have been gone already.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you’re not. These clowns are never going to get me ready on time or looking presentable. You have presentable down to a science.”
“Yeah, Uncle Sam expects perfection and uniformity. Let’s get those shots out of the way so you don’t get married smelling like Jose Cuervo.”
“Right you are,” Danny said, pouring shots for the six of them. Danny’s brother, Peter, was best man in Neil’s place, and his two closest friends from Cornell, as well as Emily’s boyfriend, Josh, were in the wedding party.
“Neil, you have an Irish toast for us?” Danny asked, shot poised to be consumed.
“Uh, okay. ‘May the best day of your past be the worst day of your future.’ Slàinte.” They all raised their shot glasses and downed them, grimacing when the alcohol burned its way down. No lemons and salt for them, Straight up is the manly way, they’d joked when they visited each other in college. Neil handed them all Altoids.
“Compliments of Charlie,” he teased.
“What, she doesn’t want to kiss me with tequila on my breath?” Danny said with an elbow to Neil’s ribs. It confirmed that Charlie not only knew but approved. This wasn’t a sign of a man who was getting cold feet. Good.
Neil dressed quickly, then helped Danny perfectly tie his tie and slip his cufflinks into the buttonholes. Instead of a tuxedo, Charlie had chosen a black suit and white tie for her groom, with the guys wearing similar suits and pale yellow ties. Most of them at least wore suits for work some of the time, but suits weren’t required in park ranger Josh’s wardrobe. Neil had brought his shoe shine kit, just in case, and all of the guys needed it, Josh more than the others. Apparently, shiny shoes were also not a part of his job.
While he helped Danny, the other guys used his kit. For Josh, Neil knew doing it himself would be easier; he was a pro, like Danny said.
Neil removed his jacket and hung it in the closet, then rolled his cuffs a couple times and sat at the desk chair across from the bed.
“Have a seat,” Neil said to Josh. “Give me them one at a time.”
“Thanks,” Josh said humbly. “This isn’t really my usual thing.”
“No problem. I’m not sure it would be mine if I wasn’t forced into it regularly. Charlie would have my head if I let you wear scuffed shoes.” Neil laughed.
“Yeah, she’s a spitfire and she has a thing about shoes,” Josh agreed. They switched shoes.
“You’re Emily’s boyfriend, right?” Neil asked.
Josh turned crimson. “Uh, no. I mean, not anymore. She uh, dumped me last Christmas.”
“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t know that. You two were together for a long time, weren’t you? I think the last time I was home you were moving in together.”
“Yeah. We lived together for three years. She broke up with me for some movie actor.”
“Didn’t I tell you about that, Neil?” Danny asked. “That was the drama last winter, remember? With Charlie’s mom all mad at Emily about the wedding. She told Emily she couldn’t bring her boyfriend and Em threatened not to come.”
“Right. Now I remember. Didn’t she dump him, too?”
“Yeah. Long story, I guess. Suffice to say, he’s not coming to the wedding.”
Neil handed Josh the other shoe and repacked his kit. “You didn’t try to win her back?” he asked Josh.
Josh was red as a lobster again. “No. She didn’t want me back, believe me. It would have been wasted effort.”
“Okay, stop torturing the poor guy. Wait until you see Meg, Neil. She’s in ass-kicking mode because she dumped her loser boyfriend a couple months ago.”
“She’s single?” he asked. He tried not to sound too hopeful and failed miserably.
Josh was the one who laughed. “What Dan means is that she’s in palate-cleansing mode.”
Neil looked at Danny. “What does that mean?”
“Like when you swish between wines at a tasting. Meg thinks that the best way to get a guy out of her head is to sleep with someone else. She doesn’t do rebound relationships,” Danny replied.
Josh added, “In other words, she’s looking to get laid. You’ve had a thing for her for a while, haven’t you? Here’s your chance.”
“How’d you know that?” Neil asked, giving Josh a shifty look.
“Dan mentioned it once when Meg was in palate-cleanser mode. Said you were the perfect kind of guy for her in that situation.”
“Why is that?” Neil didn’t like the idea of being used for sex in general, but he might not mind being used by Meghan, given that he’d leave for a war zone in two weeks and might never get another shot.
Josh replied, “You’re not sticking around. She likes her palate cleansers to be obvious non-boyfri
end material. You live across the country. That makes you the perfect candidate. Justin was supposed to be a palate cleanser, but he kept coming around. She gave him a few chances because he was persistent.”
“Why did they break up, then?” Neil asked Josh.
“Because he was married,” Danny answered. Neil knew his eyes had bugged out of his head. Danny raised his hands. “She didn’t know. The guy is lucky he still has his testicles. Charlie was with her when she found out and dumped his sorry ass. Meg threatened him with bodily harm. I guess he was happily married, living at home with his wife and kids, and sleeping with Meg on the side. She had no clue. She’s not the kind of girl you mess with like that. Frankly, I’m surprised he’s not a eunuch.”
Shocked and mortified on her behalf, Neil imagined she must have been horrified and disgusted. They all thought of her as a badass, but he knew she was really sweet; he’d seen it firsthand before.
“What an asshole.”
“That’s an understatement. Anyway, when she’s in palate-cleanser mode, she steps things up a notch,” Danny said with a wink.
“I saw her. She helped me bring my stuff into my room,” Neil admitted.
“Ohhh!” five male voices chorused.
Neil blushed. “It wasn’t like that. She just took my bag for me and brought it inside.”
There was another round of male stupidity. You’d think he would be used to this by now, living on an Army base, but Neil was still the shy kid when these things were lobbed at him. When he wasn’t the victim, he usually just kept as quiet as possible.
“Yeah, okay. Make jokes. She didn’t look to me like she was tramping it up or anything. She was just wearing summer clothes and no makeup.”
“Wait until you see her at the wedding. And it’s not tramping it up; Meg doesn’t do tramp. She does vixen. Watch out, my friend. She has you in her sights if she helped you already.”
“Oh, stop. She does not. She was just being nice.”
“She’s on the prowl. There’s no such thing as being nice when she’s looking for someone to take her mind off her man trouble.”
Neil just shook his head. They all thought they knew her so well, but he didn’t believe any of that for a second. Oh, sure, it might be true, but that didn’t mean they were being accurate.
**********
“You look like the cat who ate the canary,” Em said. “What did you do?”
Meg smiled wider. “Absolutely nothing.”
“Lie. I know you better than that, Meggie.”
“Just looking forward to the wedding.”
“Did you see someone?” Em asked, hope in her voice. The girl harbored unrealistic dreams of being rescued by her white night. She’d pined for Rob almost since the moment she’d left him last winter.
Meg’s heart ached for her best friend. She tempered her smile. “No, sweetie. I didn’t see anyone in particular.”
“Oh. Well. I mean, of course not. So, why the big grin?”
She couldn’t help but smile again. How was it possible that the guy from LAX in December stood in a hotel room two floors down? Meg believed in fate, and this was the universe telling her to go for it this time. She didn’t see the female soldier with him. Guys brought their girlfriends to weddings if they were attached. They came alone if they were single. Right? Charlie must know him, so she’d have to ask if he had a girlfriend. Because if the guy wasn’t attached, Meg would go for it. He’d be a perfect fling.
“I’m just ready to get Justin out of my head for good.”
Emily smiled broadly. “On the prowl, are we?”
“No prowl. I don’t prowl.”
“Okay, in palate-cleanser mode?”
“I’m not looking for a guy to sleep with, if that’s what you mean.”
“I know that, Meggie.”
“Good.”
“What’s with you two?” Nina asked. “You look like you’re ready to throw down.”
“What? No. We don’t do that. Sheesh,” Emily said. “Meggie was just saying that she’s looking forward to the wedding so she can get Justin out of her head for good this time.”
“Excellent. You need to be rid of that jerk,” Nina said. “Tell me if you see a guy you like, okay? I don’t want to get in your way.”
“What the hell? I’m not that bad!” Meg said, affronted.
“No one said you were, honey,” Em said.
Nina added, “No, that’s not what I meant. I just don’t want to step on your toes if you find a guy you like. Not that we usually go for the same guys. Besides, I know most of the guys who will be here. Some of the single ones are single for a reason.”
Meg relaxed. “Make sure you warn me about those ones. But only if they’re really bad. Anyone who’s fine for dancing and a little kissing, I don’t need to know the rest. I’m not looking for a long-term man, just someone to help me over the Justin hump.”
“Will do,” Nina said. “Hey, the Wicked Witch wants us starting hair and makeup in five.”
Rolling her eyes, Meg said, “I am so glad I can avoid the brunch because of the conference.” The fact that she only needed to be in Portland and not until late in the week mattered very little. Telling Gail that she had a work obligation excused her from the day-after stuff, which Meg abhorred as over-the-top, Bridezilla behavior, but Charlie’s mother had insisted.
Nina sighed. “Lucky you. I cleared my work calendar.”
“Oh, you two, stop. It’s not that bad,” Em said.
“Ha! You’re only saying that because you don’t have a choice.”
Emily nodded and the three of them laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Annie asked as she and Charlie walked into the sitting room of the honeymoon suite.
“Oh, nothing,” Meg said. “I hear we need to get started?”
“That’s right,” Charlie said. “Can you believe it? It’s officially here! I’m getting married in a couple hours!”
Meg smiled at her friend, the little sister of her heart. Few people she knew deserved to be happy the way Charlie did. She winked at the bride. “Let’s get moving so we can get to the good part.”
“What’s that?” Charlie asked.
“The honeymoon, of course!” Meg said, and the girls all laughed as they piled into the bedroom for their turn with the hair stylist and Emily’s makeup artist friend, Reggie.
“Gail says you’re first,” Reggie said to Annie.
And so it began.
Chapter 8
They met the photographer outside for photos, and after, the guys removed their stuff from Peter’s room, then headed downstairs to the chapel next door. Neil stopped at his room to drop off his shoeshine kit and when he stepped out the door, he saw her again.
The floor-length, strapless, pale-yellow gown, with its slit up the leg to her thigh, invoked the image of a goddess. Her long hair flowed just past her shoulders in a cascade of sexy waves. She wore minimal jewelry and a pair of what can only be described by any red-blooded man as fuck-me heels: five-inch, strappy, black stilettos, which made her long legs look even longer. He grew hard imagining them wrapped around his hips.
Bet she doesn’t date guys under six feet, Neil thought.
Focus, Murphy. No use going to the chapel with a hard-on.
He took a few deep breaths and shook himself out of it, trying to employ the techniques he used to concentrate for work. Nope. But if he inserted a little space between them…no. They’d share an elevator.
He gestured for Meghan to go first and she smiled. He stepped in after her and while he thought they might be in there alone, at the last minute, another wedding guest stopped the door and stepped into the elevator. He and Meghan both moved to the back and exchanged sideways glances.
When the other guest stepped out, Meghan looked at him and said, “You clean up nice.” She gave him a sexy grin and hurried off, apparently to be with the other girls.
His heart did a flip.
When he arrived where Danny and the other
guys waited, he must have looked shell-shocked. The sound of ordinance exploding didn’t break his concentration, but he was stupefied by Meghan Miles. He shook his head.
“You okay?” Danny asked.
“Yeah. Fine. Why?”
Danny laughed. “Did you see Meg again?”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
Danny just grinned. “You look like a kid in a candy store. Talk to her, Neil. You’ll have plenty of chances. You’re sitting at her table.”
That shook him out of his stupor. “What?”
“Didn’t Charlie tell you?”
Neil shook his head. “No way.”
Danny nodded. “She split up Emily and Meg on purpose and then put you and Meg at the same table. She made an excuse about keeping her sisters apart and not wanting Em and Meg to monopolize each other at dinner, but she’s trying to play matchmaker.”
“Great. Now I’ll be tongue-tied all during dinner.”
Danny clapped him on the shoulder really hard. “Suck it up. Talk to the woman, Neil. What have you got to lose? You’re headed to Afghanistan in two weeks. What if this is your last shot? The timing couldn’t be better for a quick fling.”
Neil nodded, but that was never what he wanted from Meghan. He didn’t really know her, yet he wanted more than anything to be something other than casual sex and her latest palate cleanser. But Danny was right, it might be the only thing he ever had. And that was better than nothing, right?
Hell, even a few stolen kisses or a dance would be better than nothing. More than that would fulfill a lot of his teenage fantasies. And maybe a few adult ones, too. It would sure as hell get him through a lot of cold, lonely nights in the mountains on the other side of the world.
**********
All during the wedding, Neil tried his damnedest to look at Danny and Charlie instead of staring at Meghan. It was near impossible, with her standing there, looking like a supermodel. Jealousy reared its ugly head when Derek, Danny’s friend from Cornell, took her arm and walked her out of the chapel. He thought, That should be me. Then again, if he had been best man, he’d have walked Emily down the aisle instead, since she was the unofficial maid of honor.
