by Marie Force
Maddie and Thomas had spent the night at Janey's, and Mac couldn't wait to see them later. He'd grown used to his mornings with Thomas and had missed waking up to baby chatter. Mac had arranged for a horse-drawn carriage to pick them up for the wedding. He looked forward to hearing about Thomas's reaction to that.
A hand landed on Mac's shoulder, and he turned to find Joe holding a mug.
"Hey, did you sleep okay?" Mac asked.
"Like a dead man. The boys are still out cold." Joe referred to Mac's brothers.
Mac studied his good friend and saw none of the agitation and despair that had marked his features earlier in the week, before Mac had cued him into Janey's news. Today he saw nothing but serenity and determination on Joe's face.
"Ready for all this?" Joe asked, gesturing to the tent and the arrangement of chairs to the right of the tent where the exchange of vows would take place at two o'clock.
"Absolutely. How about you?"
"Operation Janey is ready to roll."
Mac smiled. "You've thrown her all off kilter with four days of total silence, you know."
"That's the very least of what she deserves after what she's put me through—for years. Yeah, a few days of suffering is just what she needed."
"You two are well matched," Mac said, laughing. "Very well matched indeed."
"You really think so?" Joe asked, showing a hint of vulnerability that tugged at Mac's heart. Hell, everything tugged at his heart these days.
"You know I do." Mac took a long swig of coffee. "So what's the plan?"
"You'll just have to wait and see," Joe said with a smug grin.
"Come on! You can tell me. I won't say anything."
"Nope."
"Oh, this is going to be good," Mac said, chuckling.
"You bet it is."
Janey had no doubt that she was far more nervous than the bride. While Maddie had been calm and cool all day, Janey felt like she was coming out of her own skin while she waited to see Joe. She knew for a fact that Mac had told him her news days ago, and yet she hadn't heard a word from Joe since then. If he was trying to punish her, he was doing a damned good job of it.
Night after night she had lain awake wondering where he was, what he was thinking, why he didn't call, why he didn't come over, why he didn't do something. The tension had turned her into a basket case as she tried her best to provide steady support to the bride.
The guys had cleared out of Mac and Maddie's house hours ago so the women could finish getting ready, but now Janey heard their voices out on the lawn. She glanced out the window, and her breath caught at the sight of Mac and Joe standing together in black tuxedos. Mac held Thomas, who wore a tiny tux for the occasion. Her other brothers, dressed in dark suits, talked and laughed and joked with them. What a handsome bunch of guys, Janey thought with a smile.
She checked her watch. Ten minutes to show time. Gathering the skirt of her periwinkle gown, she rushed upstairs and knocked on the bedroom door.
"Come in," Maddie called. She had requested a half an hour alone to finish getting ready.
Janey opened the door and stopped short. "Wow." The dress was simple, elegant and utterly perfect. "Seriously. Wow."
Maddie released a nervous laugh. "Really?"
"Mac won't be able to remember his own name when he sees you."
Maddie flashed a saucy smile. "That was kind of the goal." She reached for Janey's hand. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm a mess." She rested her free hand over her churning belly. "I have no idea if Joe will even speak to me."
"Of course he will."
"I wouldn't blame him if he didn't." Janey shook off that unpleasant thought. "Anyway, it's not about me today. This is your day. My dad should be here any minute to give away the bride. Are you ready?"
"I'm so ready." Maddie's caramel-colored eyes glowed. "I've never been happier in my life. I kept waiting for something to happen to mess it up…"
"I told you nothing would happen." Janey hugged her. "Don't start or we'll both be bawling like babies."
"Only happy tears today." Maddie extended her hand. "Deal?"
Janey shook on it, hoping she could hold up her end of the bargain.
Chapter 24
Following Maddie's sister Tiffany down the stairs to the lawn, Janey looked everywhere but at Joe. She was too afraid of what she might see if she made contact with those hot hazel eyes of his. Instead, she watched her brother's mouth fall open at the first glimpse of Maddie on his father's arm. Janey held Maddie's bouquet during the emotional exchange of vows and took the arm Joe silently offered so they could follow the newly married couple down the aisle.
And still she hadn't dared to look directly at him.
Her stomach twisted and turned, her heart raced and she couldn't seem to get enough air to her lungs. Despite being riddled with tension, she managed to smile for the photographer before they moved into the tent. Luckily, she was seated next to Maddie and Joe was next to Mac during dinner, which Janey only picked at.
Joe gave a beautiful toast about Mac finding the exact perfect partner that brought tears to Janey's eyes. While Mac and Maddie were cutting their cake, Janey finally ventured a glance at Joe's handsome face and found him staring right back at her. Her heart soared with hope at the heated look he sent her, and she couldn't seem to tear her eyes off him. The DJ ended the moment when he announced the bride and groom's first dance as Mr. and Mrs. Mac McCarthy.
Janey startled a few minutes later when Joe's warm hand landed on her bare shoulder, setting off a reaction that rippled through her body like a live wire.
"Our turn," he said.
Looking up at him, she took the hand he offered and let him lead her to the dance floor. As he took her into his arms, Janey breathed him in, flooded with relief at being close to him again. Suddenly, all the tension she'd carried for days faded away, and she relaxed into his embrace.
He didn't say anything, but his fingers lightly skimmed her back as they moved to the music. Later, Janey wouldn't remember the song or the soft summer breeze that drifted through the open sides of the tent. She wouldn't remember her parents dabbing at tears as they watched the four of them from the edge of the dance floor. She wouldn't remember Maddie's mother play-dancing with a giggling Thomas on the sideline or her other brothers watching her and Joe with thinly veiled interest.
Janey would, however, remember the sense of absolute rightness that came over her as Joe held her close to him. She'd remember the distinctive scent of the sea and cloves, the heat of his hand branding her sensitive skin and the brush of his lips over her hair. And she would remember the moment, the exact moment when she realized he was holding her the way a man holds the woman he loves. Right then she knew somehow, some way, this was going to be okay. They were going to be okay.
"Have you done everything you need to do for Maddie?" he asked as the song came to an end.
Janey looked over at her brother and his new wife, who were totally absorbed in each other. "I doubt she'll be needing me for anything."
"Great," Joe said.
The next thing Janey knew, she had been tossed over his shoulder and was looking at the floor rushing by as he carried her out of the tent.
"What are you doing? Put me down!"
"Be quiet or I might be tempted to paddle your ass while I have you right where I want you."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Wanna try me?"
Janey bit back another retort because she was afraid he would, in fact, spank her with everyone in the tent no doubt watching as they crossed the lawn and headed for the driveway. Over the blood rushing to her head, Janey was certain she heard her brothers hooting and hollering. She'd take care of them later.
"Joe, come on, I'm going to throw up!"
"Throw up what? You didn't eat a bite of your dinner."
She should've known he'd be watching her every move the way he always had.
"Please put me down?" she asked, affecting the sweetest tone
she owned, since being a shrew had gotten her nowhere.
"And risk you running away from me again? No way."
She'd resigned herself to hanging upside down for a while, so it came as a shock to her when he suddenly stopped walking and put her down. As the blood rushed from her head, his hands on her shoulders steadied her.
Janey twisted out of his grasp. "You're a Neanderthal."
That seemed to please him. "Whatever it takes." He gestured to the horse and carriage Mac had sent for Maddie earlier. "Madame?"
Reaching up, she attempted to bring order to hair that had broken loose from the pins she'd used to hold it up for the wedding. She didn't want to think about how scary she must look with a red face and crazy hair. "What if I don't want to go with you?" she asked, giving him some of his own medicine.
"I can still spank your ass, so you'd better stop talking and get in the carriage." His brows narrowed over those amazing eyes. "Now." The last word was uttered with such uncharacteristic menace that Janey did as she was told, even though she'd much rather keep fighting with him.
"This whole caveman act is highly unattractive," she huffed. While that was true, Joe in a tuxedo was among the most attractive sights she'd ever beheld.
He got in behind her and signaled to the driver. "You know what's unattractive? You. Lying to me, blowing me off, making decisions for me. That's really unattractive."
"I did what I thought was best for you!"
"Who are you to decide that?"
Janey stared at him, shocked by the outburst. "So you're mad."
"Seriously pissed is more like it."
"Joe—"
"Don't talk to me right now, Janey. I don't know if I can trust myself to not give you that spanking you so richly deserve."
While she didn't think for a minute he'd do any such thing, she'd never seen him quite so furious. She was appalled, in fact, to realize she was rather turned on at the moment.
Sitting as far apart as they could get on the wide bench, they rolled along in the carriage with only the horses' hooves clomping on pavement to break the silence. The driver took the long way around the island before pulling up in front of Janey's house.
"Thanks very much," Joe said, slipping the driver a fifty as he jumped down from the carriage.
"My pleasure, Captain Joe. You folks enjoy the rest of your day now."
"Oh, we will." Joe reached for Janey's hips and swung her down as if she weighed twenty pounds rather than a hundred and twenty. Okay, maybe the caveman act was a little bit attractive, not that she'd ever tell him that.
Janey went in ahead of him and took a moment to greet her pets. Then she turned to let him know what she thought of him pushing her around this way. Before she could say a word, however, his mouth was feasting on hers, and he'd sucked the breath from her lungs. His strong arms came around her, lifting her right off her feet as his tongue engaged in a fierce dual with hers.
He kissed her straight into submission. At that moment she was so grateful to be with him again that she would've given him anything he wanted if it meant he would never stop kissing her. Her fingers sifted into his hair, anchoring him to her.
Many heated minutes later, he tore his lips free, set her back down and went to work on her neck. "Let's go back to the other night," he said, dropping hot open-mouth kisses on her collarbone. "When I asked what had happened to upset you."
"I got into vet school for this year," she said without hesitation. "I freaked out about what it would mean for us."
"And you thought it would be easier on both of us if you ended it now rather than later."
"Yes," she said, moaning when his clever fingers molded her breasts through the silk of her dress.
"And was it? Easier?"
"No, it was horrible. I missed you so much, and it was only four days. Oh, Joe, how will we ever be apart for four years?" The idea alone was enough to reduce her to tears.
He raised his head and found her eyes. "Who said anything about being apart?"
"But you live here. Your business, your whole life is here."
Staring down at her, he shook his head, his eyes filled with what looked an awful lot like regret. "I guess I haven't done a good enough job."
"Of what?" she asked, confused.
"I thought you'd know by now that everything I want, everything I need, is right here in my arms. The rest is just details, Janey."
She melted into his tight embrace. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I never meant to hurt you."
"That's okay. I knew you didn't mean it."
"How did you know?"
"I figured if you really didn't want me, you wouldn't have been bawling your head off."
Janey smiled. He knew her so well, and there was such comfort in that, even if he had a shocking bit of caveman hidden beneath a usually cool exterior.
With his arms tight around her, he lifted her again and walked them through the house to the bedroom. By now, her obedient pets had the routine down and headed for their own beds, knowing they'd be locked out of her bedroom for a while. Joe put her down next to the bed and started with her hair, tugging each pin free while never taking his eyes off her face.
As she reached up to release his bowtie, Janey's heart hammered at the intense expression on his face. "I need to tell you something else," she said.
"What's that?" He unzipped the gown, pushed it off her shoulders and let it fall into a puddle at her feet. His eyes went wide when he got a look at the sexy teddy she'd worn under the dress.
With both hands on his face, she directed his eyes up to meet hers. "I love you love you."
He sucked in a sharp deep breath. "Really?"
She nodded.
"Since when?"
"Since the second I thought I had to give you up."
"You don't have to give me up, Janey."
"But what about—"
His mouth came down on hers, a frantic meeting of lips and tongues and teeth. His hands were everywhere, pulling at buttons and hooks and vests and pants. "Goddamned tuxedos," he moaned against her lips. "Too many pieces."
Janey laughed and helped him get rid of the last of his clothes. The second they were both naked, he lifted her and slid into her.
"Oh!" she cried, her arms wrapped tight around his neck. "Joe."
"You really thought you could live without me?"
She shook her head. "I knew I couldn't, but I wasn't about to ask you to give up everything for me."
Without losing their connection, he brought her down to the bed and hovered over her, moving his hips slowly, just enough to make her crazy. "Yesterday, I hired someone to run the business in my absence, and I made two of my part-time captains full-time."
Janey stared at him, trying to comprehend what he was telling her. And then he pushed hard into her, and she ceased to think at all.
"Nothing," he whispered against her neck, "means anything to me without you. I would go anywhere in the world if it meant I got to be with you."
"It's four years, Joe. You can't be gone that long."
"Yes, I can." He withdrew from her, leaving her bereft and wanting. His lips laid a trail from her neck to her breasts. "I can do any damned thing I want to. I own the freaking company, Janey." His tongue circled her nipple, and she tried to direct him, but he wouldn't be rushed. "That freaking company makes a lot of freaking money, which gives me the freedom to do any freaking thing I want to." He tugged hard on her nipple, making her cry out from the sensations that darted through her. "And what I want, what I really want, is to go to Ohio with you."
His lips shifted to her belly, his tongue flirting with her belly button as his broad shoulders pushed her legs apart. He had her so ready, so primed, that just a few strokes of his tongue over her most sensitive area sent her flying higher than she'd ever gone before. A cry that sounded more like a sob erupted from her throat, and then he was back inside her, riding her hard and fast.
Janey had no choice but to hold on tight and go with him to the p
lace that only he could take her.
"Tell me again," he said, breathing hard as he looked down at her. "Tell me."
"I love you love you, Joe, and I always will."
"I love you love you, too, Janey McCarthy. More than anything in this whole damned world, and I always will." He pushed into her one last time and threw his head back as he came. His powerful released triggered another for her.
For a long time afterward, he rested on top of her, still joined with her.
"You're really going to come with me?" she asked, her hands caressing his back.
"I really am. Someone has to take care of you and the menagerie while you're studying."
"And you're sure that'll be enough for you?"
"I figure we can come back here in the summer so I can get my fix on the boats, and I'll have the rest of the year to paint and help you study."
"You can't help me. You'll be too much of a distraction."
"We can fight about that later. In fact, I'll look forward to it."
Janey let out a little squeal.
"Jeez, you gotta do that right in my ear?"
"I'm just so happy! I get to have vet school and you, too. I never imagined I'd get both."
He raised his head to press a soft kiss to her lips. "I never imagined I'd get you." One kiss became a second and then a third. "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"That dream wedding you planned for next summer—how much of that was you and how much was him?"
"One hundred percent me."
Joe rested his forehead on hers. "Don't cancel it."
Her eyes widened. "What are you saying?"
He withdrew from her and shifted onto his belly to reach for his suit jacket on the floor. When he came back up, he held out his hand. A diamond ring sat on his palm. It was easily twice the size of the one David had given her. This one came with everything that mattered most to her—things that had been woefully lacking last time.
Janey covered her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes.
"I think Dr. Janey Cantrell has an awesome ring to it." He reached for her hand, slid the ring onto her finger and kissed the back of her hand. "Don't you?"
