“Smile. Smile. Smile.” Her cheeks had been twisted and tugged so often she felt as if her face had run an ultra-marathon. If only smiling burned more calories.
“OK, lovely ladies. You’re through. Now just the bride and her father. Go. Go. Go.” He shooed them like pigeons out of his path.
The bridesmaids, two flower girls, various mothers, and a few bridal party dates scurried from Jackson Square and up the steps into the church to wait for Lily Mae.
“Oh, I am always overcome when I enter this sacred place.” Ella fanned her face as she slowly spun on her ballet flats. The ornate sanctuary overwhelmed as it welcomed one into the presence of the One Who was the ultimate Comforter.
Ella was in awe, but Tessa was strangely at home.
The famous cathedral—a hallmark of her adopted hometown—was the unequivocal opposite of her father’s minute clapboard church, but there was a familiarity in the space. The Holy Spirit dwelt here.
“Hey, sisters,” Bobbi Ann’s high pitch bounced off the walls and scratched the back of Tessa’s spine.
Tessa greeted her with a wide compulsive hug.
Between her four inch heels and her piles of hair, Bobbi Ann nearly towered over Tessa in her Ella-matching flats.
“Can you all believe how many pictures Lily Mae demanded? I know she’s particular but I only had a few dozen shots taken prior to my wedding.” Barely flicking her wrist, she popped open her compact and patted imperceptible shine on her nose.
“I don’t think it was too many.” Ella offered. “Today’s Lily Mae’s special day. She’ll only have one wedding. She wants it to be perfection—top to bottom. I can understand why she’d want to capture the moments.”
“And I seem to remember your wedding starting forty-five minutes late due to some malfunction or other.” Tessa cringed. Why did she allow this woman to yank her down to a level on par with snakes and lizards?
Snapping her compact closed, Bobbi Ann pivoted and scurried to a gaggle of unsuspecting cousins of Lily May.
“Why do you let her bother you so, Tessa?” Ella asked.
“I don’t know. How could she pick on Lils when she was generous enough to invite her to be in the wedding? I really don’t know how Lily Mae puts up with her.”
“Didn’t she tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“I really shouldn’t say. Lily Mae pinky swore me to secrecy.”
Ella admitting she’d been pinky-sworn to secrecy was tantamount to her spilling the story, chapter and verse.
Ella bit off the minimalist soft pink lipstick from her bottom lip. “Well…I imagine she’ll tell you after the wedding. But you must act shocked, surprised, and utterly amazed when she does.”
“OK…”
“Bobbi Ann threatened to have her father revoke all of our leases and raise the rent to market value if she wasn’t a bridesmaid. Starting with yours. She insisted Billy was one of Beau’s dearest friends—which we all know isn’t near the truth—but she placed Lily in quite the quandary. Once she’s married she doesn’t need her apartment anymore, but both of us do. And with all of your difficulties, she knows it could be months before you’re able to pay the steep rents Mr. Risdy could demand.”
That woman! Fingers of flaming fury curled and stretched from the pit of Tessa’s belly to flash hot white in her vision. “Of course she used the one bit of leverage she had to make Lily Mae’s day about her. I wish Lil would’ve said something to me. I’d have told her to tell Bobbi Ann to stuff her leases. I could find another place to live. Lily only gets one wedding.”
Ella’s lips lifted to a soft grin shining through her eyes. “She knew what you would say. She also saw you only hours after the terrible, awful day and heard your panic when you called her from the road on your way to Ohio to take care of your Dad. She refused to pile on to your worries. Having Bobbi Ann in the mix for a few hours is worth a bit of suffering to know you could return to New Orleans when you’re ready.”
Tugging Ella into fierce hug, a quick tear slipped down Tessa’s cheek. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Like an angel appearing to give comfort, Lily stretched her diminutive arms around Tessa and Ella. “We feel the same.” Her normal over the top southern was a choked murmur.
“Now I’m really soggy.” Ella said, stepping out of the sister hug.
Swiping at her falling tears, Tessa smiled. “I love you both. You didn’t need to make the sacrifice for me. I would’ve figured a way back to the city. Back to my life. I wouldn’t have been stuck in Gibson’s Run forever—no matter how hard Bobbi Ann Risdy-Jones tried.”
“Ahem.”
Tessa turned at the rich baritone and drank in Ryland’s presence. “Hey, when did you get here?” She stepped forward to give him a hug, but he quickly folded his arms across his middle.
“A few minutes ago. Where should I go and wait?” He glanced over his shoulder.
“Ryland, are you OK? Did something happen with Joey?”
“Haven’t heard anything. Is there some place special you want me to sit or am I supposed to stand in the corner until you need a glass of water or your purse held?”
“Umm, you can sit anywhere on this side.” He nodded, walking in the direction she pointed, sitting in the third to last pew of the mammoth sanctuary.
“Everything OK between you two, cher?” Lily asked.
“I don’t know.” Tessa turned. “But that doesn’t matter. We need to get you hidden before anymore guests arrive.” Swatting the air near Lily’s wide dress, she led the bride’s party to her special room. She was not a multi-tasker. She could only deal with one drama at a time. Ryland’s cool greeting would need to be put on hold until the wedding party was sauntering back up the aisle.
~*~
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Ryland allowed the haunted melodies wafting above the din of the cocktail hour to flow through his spirit. He’d left the rambunctious post-ceremony photo shoot as the Delta Alpha Psis and Chi Delta Taus waded knee deep into the fountain at Jackson Square. The joyous splashing sliced his worn patience.
Beginning with the taxi ride to his hotel, the arguments for why he shouldn’t capitalize on Tessa’s decision to break-up with Joe ran a loop in his mind. They began and ended with her life in New Orleans. Around two in the morning, the thousand mile commute lost its heavyweight battle against twenty years of unrequited love and the cycle of “why-nots” transformed into “why-yes’s”.
By the time he walked into the ornate church, he’d practiced his “can I take you to dinner…for the rest of our lives speech” roughly fifty times. Four little words from Tessa’s lips snuffed his hope: “Back to my life.”
How could he have allowed his heart to be oblivious? He’d suffered from don’t-ask-don’t-tell syndrome for the nearly four years of marriage to Macy. Without even a blinking an eye, he’d been infected once again.
He’d ignored all the clear warning signs: Tessa’s struggles with writing. How she’d talked about her friends as if they were family. Her freak-out with the potential rejection by Terrell. Even her decision to stop seeing JT pointed to her goal of returning to New Orleans. Ryland had mistakenly allowed his hope to be fueled by Tessa’s relationship with Emma, her desire to care for Tom—even the connection he’d seen evolve with her students. If she stayed through the spring, maybe Gibson’s Run would once again feel like home. Then he’d have the time he needed.
Time to woo her. Time to convince her that the life he offered was better than the life she once lived. But he was wrong. He never had a chance.
The squeal of the speakers drew the collective attention of party-goers. “Where y’at?” The DJ’s nasal southern twang grated against Ryland’s thoughts. “We’en fixin’ t’ave a fais-do-do to wake d’em all! Laissez les bon temps roulet!”
Whoops and hollers rolled through the room at the brash announcement to let the good times roll. Raised hands popped skyward, waving white napkins and swaying to the rhythm o
f a trumpeter’s warble who led a tiny parade—with the help of a half a dozen band members rounding out his sound—through the cramped cocktail party quarters. The French doors to his left flung open revealing the wedding party led by Lily Mae and her new husband, who danced the street band and the napkin-wavers through to the dance floor.
Ryland lingered in the anteroom while streams of guests bopped and twirled through to the main dining room. He caught a glimpse of Tessa pirouetting through the throngs of partyers, her head tilted back in delighted laughter. She was in her element—with her truest family. If he loved her how could he ever think about dragging her from where she was happiest?
Lifting his soda to his lips, he stepped out onto the balcony running the length of the building. The cool air hugged him in a damp embrace. Why was he sulking about Tessa? He should be focused on trying to track down Joe. His friend needed him.
Joe was dangerously hovering on the edge of a slimy pit and he required a hand to hold.
Ryland wanted to be the hand to help drag him to safety and point him toward salvation.
The muted sounds of the city twisted with the excitement seeping through the doorway leading to the party. He leaned against the wide concrete ledge and soaked in the mix of horse drawn carriages, taxis, and Saturday revelers swarming the city street. Shutting his eyes against the moving painting, he lifted his thoughts to heaven.
Dear Father, if You are in the midst of this, let Your will alone succeed. I’ve stepped off Your path too many times and pursued my own agenda. Lord, tonight I give myself to You. Let me see Your will as clearly as I see the street before me. In Your name. Amen.
Dampness chilled his cheeks against the cold night air. Scrubbing his face with his palm, he focused on the party in the street, trying to block the revelry behind him. How could so much excitement bubble around him while every dream he’d ever hidden was bursting?
“Penny for your thoughts?” Tessa’s soft voice flowed through him, awakening his senses with a spark.
“Why aren’t you inside? Seems like there’s some pretty significant bridesmaid duties afoot.” He shifted to face her.
“Funny thing. I was looking for my purse carrier and water fetcher, but he abandoned me in front of the church.” She shrugged. “Seems to be a grand mystery as to where he ran. But now I’m responsible for my own purse and not a single glass of water to be found. The horror. Guess I’ll have to steal your soda.” She swiped his glass and downed the watery contents in a single swallow.
“What do you want, Tessa?”
Setting the glass on the wall, she straightened her shoulders. “I don’t know what’s up with you today, but I’d like to see the friend I thought I knew, not this surly version.”
“I’m sorry I’m not exactly who you want me to be.” He turned from her, focusing on the moon hiding behind a cotton-pulled cloud. “I shouldn’t have come for the meeting yesterday. I certainly shouldn’t have jumped through hoops to get a suit to stand in a corner and watch you from a distance at a wedding for someone who barely tolerates me.”
“Lil likes you just fine.” She softly punched his shoulder. “She even told me you looked mighty fine in your brand new suit. High praise indeed from her southern highness.”
“Regardless, I knew what I was in for. I’ve been standing in a corner watching you for the better part of twenty years. Why should tonight be any different?”
“What’s up? You’ve been moody since you got to the church today. I thought I’d give you some space, but that clearly hasn’t worked.”
“What’s up?” He swallowed the space between them with one step. Annoyance twisted to something he couldn’t identify. “What’s up? How about the fact I’m a stand-in date for my best friend who’s doing only-God-knows-what as we speak? Or that I left my daughter with my mother to come traipsing after you on the whim you might need my help. Or the fact I’ve been in stupid love with you since I was six years old only to hear today you’ll do everything you can to get back home—to get to New Orleans—never giving Gibson’s Run or anyone there, including me and Emma, a second thought. How’s that for a start to what’s up?”
“What?” she whispered. Her brows tightened to a V.
“Forget it.” He stepped around her and stalked toward the door.
“Wait!” Her arms locked around his waist, plastering her body against his back. “Don’t go. Please, Ryland.” Her breath was warm through his suit jacket.
The sparks sizzled, flowing molten heat under his skin zipping from his core through to his fingers. With aching determination, he turned in her embrace, cupping her cheeks in his hands.
Tears streamed as her bright eyes glistened with untold stories. “Please don’t go. I want you here with me. Stay. Stay with me.”
“Why?”
“Because,” her voice broke. Her eyes shuttered.
His heart plucked like a standing bass. With a slow breath, a tremor ran through her and flowed into him. Her fingers traced his jaw. She opened her eyes. “Because I’m in stupid love with you, too.”
Her confession was a whisper, but the words sang through Ryland’s veins. “You love me? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Of course it doesn’t make sense. But love never does. I started falling for you when you shared your story with me. You were so open and transparent. The naked honesty reached inside my heart and unlocked the gate. For the first time in my life I saw you. Not the you I created—my enemy. But the you I know in my heart that you are. And every day since…I don’t know? As hard as I tried not to love you, I just couldn’t stop. You’re pretty hard not to love.”
“What about JT?”
“Joey was the dream of a teenage girl no one noticed. He erased a childish dream. And he was a good decoy—even for me. The longer I allowed him to pursue me, the longer I could avoid the feelings ready to consume me.”
“What about New Orleans? Your friends? Your career?”
“I don’t know about any of it, Ryland. I don’t know about where I’ll live or what I’ll do beyond teaching on Monday. What I know—what’s irrefutable—is I’m in stupid love with you, too. And stupid love always wins. Ryland I didn’t want to fall in love with you. But the heart wants what the heart wants.”
“And what does your heart want, Tessa?”
Resting her palm against his cheek, she swallowed. “You…my heart wants you. My heart wants you so desperately.”
With a yank, he lifted her to meet his eye level. Consuming her in his embrace, he brushed his lips to hers as light as mist. He breathed her in, blending the years of longing to one single sweet memory.
The fear of waking to the misery of knowing he was only dreaming closed his arms around her, deepening the kiss. She shoved her hands through his short hair, driving desire through him. A low murmur hummed through her and he commanded his arms to loosen their hold. Breaking his lips from hers, he pressed his mouth to her forehead.
Sliding down to standing, she trailed her hand over his chest to rest against his heart. “Wow.”
“I’ve been waiting twenty years to hear you say you love me. The declaration deserves an epic kiss.”
“Maybe the next one will be even better?” She raised to tip-toe, grazing her lips across his. The tender touch rolled through him buckling his knees and tightening his embrace. With the kiss threatening to cross a line his discipline wouldn’t be able to recover, he tore his mouth from hers. Tucking her under his chin, he held her tight. He rested his back against the balcony ledge, allowing the chaos of sound to create a precious cocoon. Only moments before, the music had salted his open wounds.
Tessa’s hand traced the outline of his bicep. Her warm breath heated his chest and oozed into his heart. He knew he couldn’t hold her much longer. He would honor God and Tessa. Even if stepping out of her arms would be near torture.
She lifted her chin to rest against his chest; a slow tug of her lips to a grin. “Hey…”
“Hey.”
�
��What do you want to do now?” Her focus fell to his lips.
“I’m guessing there are a few people wondering where you are.” He stood tall, gently pressing her away from him.
She nodded, sliding a step back. Wrapping her arms tight around her waist, her shoulders rolled forward. A shiver ran through her.
“Come here.” He pulled off his jacket, dropping it on her shoulders. “Better?”
“Yep. I’m surprised I’m this cold. It’s been so warm all day.” Resting her elbows on the balustrade, she chewed on her bottom lip, staring into the murky night.
“Tessa, please look at me.”
She twisted to face him.
“I had to slow down. I respect God and you too much to put either of us in a situation we aren’t prepared to face.”
A soft smile dawned in her eyes. “Oh. I thought I did something wrong. I haven’t done this much.” She circled her hands between them.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, you were a little too right.”
“Oh…”
“Oh, is right.” He gave her a slight hip check.
Metal scraping against metal caused them both to turn. Ella toddled over the threshold, balancing two tall glasses of ice water. Her cheeks flashing a gentle flush. “I’m sorry. I hope I’m not interrupting. I finally found glasses that could hold more than four ounces.”
“You’re not interrupting. How’s the reception going?” Tessa reached for the second glass.
“Beautiful. Nothing short of spectacular.”
“Exactly how Lily demanded it to be.”
“Rightly so.” Ella downed half her water in one swallow. “Whew. I believe it’s warmer than Houston in July in the ballroom.”
Ryland was captivated by the two as they fell into their own universe chattering about the various friends and frenemies in attendance, the lovely day and the extravagance. He was so intoxicated by the moment that he barely registered the vibration in his pocket.
Taking a few steps away from the sisters, he answered the phone with a swipe.
“Ryland, its Sean. Sprout needs your help.”
In a breath, his world somersaulted.
Life on the Porcelain Edge Page 19
