After the gift opening, Emily found an excuse to haul Kirsten upstairs to Leanne’s bedroom.
“So?”
Kirsten hugged her. “It’s so amazing. I’ve never known anyone like Sadhu. He believes in me. I mean, he really does. And he doesn’t let me play any of my usual games.” She giggled. “At least, not outside the bedroom.”
“So he finally, you know, put out?”
They both snorted with laughter and Kirsten said, “Oh, yeah. Last night when we got back to my place we couldn’t hold off anymore. And, honey, it was so worth the wait.”
“So are you guys going to do the long-distance thing?”
“No. I’m already pulling my résumé together. I need to get out of Elk Crossing and find a new job. I’m checking out lots of places, but as it turns out, one of the guys on the Paters works for a TV network and he’s got the connections to get me an interview at least. The rest is up to me.”
“That would be great if we lived in the same town.” She grinned at her friend. “We could double-date. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”
But she knew whatever happened, Kirsten had herself back on the right path.
They talked for a few more minutes, filling each other in and commiserating on the events of the previous evening.
“I’m going down now,” Kirsten said. “You wait a few minutes and follow me. I don’t want the guys knowing we were yapping.”
“Okay.”
She spent a few minutes looking through the wedding photos that had already been uploaded onto Leanne’s computer. She shook her head at the butt ugly bridesmaid dresses, but Leanne and Derek sure looked happy. All in all, it had been an eventful wedding, but a pretty good one.
She was about to leave the room again when she heard her mother’s voice calling to Leanne’s mother. There was a furtive quality to the low tone that made her stand still and listen.
“Yes, Margaret? What is it?” Leanne’s mom answered. They were in the hallway so she could hear every word.
“It’s about the Masonic Hall. I want to book it for next June. I know it books up fast. What was the name of the person you spoke to? And do you have their number handy?”
What on earth did her mother want with the Masonic Hall? Mostly the family only booked it for big occasions like ruby anniversaries and weddings.
“That’s a wonderful idea. When I saw the two of them together I knew.”
“Of course, nothing’s official yet, so don’t say anything, but the sooner I get on with the arrangements the sooner I can give my daughter the wedding of her dreams.”
Puzzlement turned to horror. Her mother only had one daughter. And that was Emily. Who was not—repeat not—getting married in the Masonic Hall. Wedding of her dreams? Try nightmare from hell.
Besides, nobody had asked her to marry them.
Yet.
She’d only known Jonah for a few days. They hadn’t even said “I love you” yet. Not in actual words, anyway.
She shook her head. Her mother was doing it again. Trying to manipulate her, control her life. Emily’s dream wedding was eloping. No. Too complicated. City hall at noon. In a pair of jeans and carrying a bunch of daisies from a street vendor. Much better.
Then the rotating wedding photos on Leanne’s computer screen caught her eye. Her family all together, celebrating.
For just one moment she allowed herself to imagine the bridesmaid dress she would force on every woman who’d ever made her don a bad bridesmaid gown. Her fertile imagination inventing truly hideous confections.
It was fun to imagine, but she needed to stop her mother before her crazy idea went any further.
She gave the two older women time to get back downstairs and then followed.
Jonah and Sadhu were high-fiving each other when she got down, Kirsten laughing in delight.
“What’s going on?”
Sadhu answered. “Well, you know we forfeited the trophy when we didn’t complete the championship game last night. Because Sir Galahad here had to ride off and rescue his woman.”
“Yes. I’m sorry about that.”
Jonah looked acutely uncomfortable at that view of things. “That’s not what—”
“Give it up. So at the banquet, they announced a new category. The Portland Paters won the Most Sportsmanlike Team award.”
“That’s great.”
“That’s what I figured. A team is like a family. You stick together. Minute they learned Jonah was in trouble, you should have seen the guys come running out to help.”
A shrill voice called out, “They’re leaving. Derek and Leanne are leaving.”
The just-married couple laughed and waved as they drove off in Uncle Bill’s Cadillac with the Just Married sticker in the back window and empty cans rattling behind in the road.
Not long after, Emily was also ready to say her goodbyes. “Oh, do you have to go so soon?” her mom asked.
“I’ve got a long drive ahead of me.”
Her mother hugged her long and hard. “Well, we’ll see you soon. Dad and I are planning to come down to visit for a few days later in the spring.” She turned to Jonah. “And it’s been a real pleasure getting to know you, Jonah. I’m looking forward to seeing lots more of you.”
“Mom.”
Jonah pretended he hadn’t heard her embarrassed interjection. “I’m looking forward to that, too, Mrs. Saunders.”
“Oh, please, call me Margaret.”
Emily’s clothes were creased from all the hugging by the time she got out of there.
“So, I was thinking,” he said as they drove together back to their hotel to check out and leave.
“Yes?”
“You know this fantasy of yours?”
Heat washed slowly over her body.
“Which fantasy would that be?”
He slid his hand over and wrapped his warm hand around her upper thigh. “The room service waiter?”
“Oh, that one.”
“I was thinking how flexible it is.”
“Flexible?”
“Sure. Every time the room service waiter lifts that silver thing—we’re really going to have to figure out the proper name for it, by the way—there can be different things under there. I’ve already come up with quite a few ideas I’d like to try when we get home.”
When we get home. She knew he meant Portland and yet there was something between them that was deep and special. Somehow she’d never found a minute to talk to her mom and stop her from booking Emily and Jonah’s wedding next year at the Masonic Hall.
His hand was warm on her thigh, his profile was tough and sexy; he’d disrupted her life from the moment he stepped into it wearing boxer shorts and removing a bedbug from the hysterical woman. In six short days he’d driven her crazy, surprised her, shocked her, given her some of the best sex of her life and saved her from a homicidal maniac.
A lot could happen between now and next June. Besides, who else could she possibly marry?
ISBN: 978-1-4268-4263-4
POWER PLAY
Copyright © 2009 by Nancy Warren.
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