Love in the Air: Lopez Island Series #2

by Jamie E. Matthews

  “Not so bad yourself,” Nell said, giving him the same survey. The man looked damn fine in a suit and tie and would only look better when she got him out of it later in private. “Now, get out of here before I start bawling like a baby because my mama’s getting married.”

  Paul gave her a quick hug, then left with Tom and Ben. Adrian caressed her cheek, gave her a soft kiss on the lips, then followed.

  Mildly thrown by the tender gesture, Nell shook it off, then waited until Paul had escorted Amy to the microphone to the side of the crowd. The two of them donned their guitars, Ben hustling to bring Amy a chair, since she was still limiting her activity. The crowd began to settle, sensing that the ceremony was about to begin. Paul and Amy began strumming a lively tune, and Nell took a deep breath, then started down the aisle.

  It seemed to take forever, and she was conscious of Adrian’s eyes on her the whole time. When she got to the front, she took her place next to Hannah, and turned as Paul and Amy switched tunes. Brooke and Jan waited arm in arm, having decreed they would walk each other down the aisle. Nell couldn’t stop a tear or two escaping as she watched her mom make her way down the aisle, occasionally leaning over to share a word with Brooke or laugh at something she said. She remembered all the years when it had just been the two of them, and while Jan had always seemed happy and fulfilled, Nell could only imagine the countless lonely nights that Jan had faced, rejected by her family, raising a baby on her own. Now, her mom simply glowed from the inside out, grinning ear to ear as she walked next to the woman Nell had come to think of has her second mom, a kind, steadfast and affectionate presence that had brightened their lives from the moment she’d entered it.

  Hannah opened with a few remarks about both women, then turned it over to them for their vows.

  “Jan,” said Brooke, holding both Jan’s hands in hers, eyes steady. “When I met you, I’d given up on love. I liked to tell my friends, ‘Love is for suckers.’ But underneath my cynical ways, I missed having a partner, missed waking up next to someone in the morning. Still, when I moved here, I thought the odds were slim that I’d even find another lesbian, let along someone I’d want to date. Then I walked into Bloom to buy some bulbs and there you were. Suddenly, I knew—here was my home. For now. For always.”

  Nell smiled at the sight of tears shining in the eyes of her unemotional mother, which conversely, seemed to dry up her own. Filled with warmth that her mother was so well loved, she grinned at Amy, who unabashedly used a tissue to mop up her tears.

  “Brooke,” began Jan after a moment, dabbing at her eyes. She cleared her throat. “Like you, I’d given up on love. But, unlike you, I felt I’d filled my life well enough, so full, in fact, that I didn’t think there was room for anyone else. Between my wonderful daughter, owning my own business, and my friends, I loved my life just the way it was. Then I met you, and you wound your way through the cracks in my armor and set down roots in my heart. You showed me what I was missing. You’re my home—for now. For always.”

  Nell handed the rings to Hannah, who wiped away a few tears.

  “I don’t think ministers are supposed to cry,” Hannah remarked, drawing a few laughs from the crowd. She led the women through their vows, and Nell took a mental snapshot of the moment when her mom slipped the ring on Brooke, the sun sparkling on the diamond, both their faces alight with joy. The moment that made the months of planning and headaches all worthwhile.

  “You may kiss your bride,” Hannah announced to both of them, and Brooke swooped Jan into a dramatic kiss while the crowd cheered.

  Both women boogied down the aisle as the crowd laughed and clapped, and Nell followed behind them with a few dance moves of her own, to more cheers and laughter. At the end of the aisle, she turned to see the rest of the crowd joining in, and she laughed as they danced their way over to where tables were set up by the patio area. A band waited and launched into “Here comes the bride” when Brooke and Jan drew near.

  Brooke and Jan held out their arms as Nell caught up to them, and she held them both tightly, swaying back and forth.

  “Congratulations, old married ladies,” she said.

  “I never thought I’d live to see the day when this was possible,” said Brooke, tearing up.

  “Amen,” said Jan, leaning her head on Brooke’s shoulder.

  “Ladies, no more tears,” decreed Hannah, arriving with flutes of champagne. “Bottoms up!”

  Nell left them to the throng of well wishers and wandered over to where Ben was settling Amy into a chair.

  “I’d pout about not being able to dance, but my feet hurt,” she admitted when Nell sat down next to her.

  Nell peeked under the table and winced in sympathy at her swollen feet.

  “How are you feeling otherwise?” she asked, patting her friend’s small, rounded belly.

  “Great.” Amy smiled her thanks when Ben set down a glass of sparkling water and a plate of hors d’oeuvres. “No more dizziness, no more weird symptoms. Just getting bigger. I can feel the baby fluttering around now.”

  “That’s so cool!” Nell grinned. “Now that you’re up and about a bit more, you and Hannah and I should go shopping for some maternity clothes and baby stuff.”

  Amy’s eyes lit up. “I would love that, and yes, Ben, I promise not to overdo it.” She rolled her eyes at Nell. “I’m going stir crazy for sure. It’s so wonderful to be back amongst the land of the living. And enough about me—what a beautiful ceremony.”

  “They look like they’re on cloud nine,” Ben agreed. “Hey, isn’t that Marcelo?”

  Nell craned her neck and spotted him on the far side of the lawn, dressed in sharp black pants and a short sleeved black dress shirt that showed off the ink on his muscular arms.

  “Is that Adrian’s cousin with him?” Nell asked, trying to place the petite young woman at his side, her long curly hair cascading down her back, her deep green dress setting off her green eyes.

  “Hey, man, is Marcelo dating your cousin now?” Ben greeted Adrian, who’d come up behind Nell.

  He dropped down into the chair next to Nell with a groan.

  “Yes. You know, it was just yesterday she was toddling around and playing with stuffed animals.” He aimed a mistrusting look at the pair.

  Nell laughed at him. “Marcelo is a good guy.”

  “He is. I’m glad she’s with him, rather than some stranger. Still…”

  “Isn’t she 25 or so? It’s not like this is the first time she’s dated,” Nell pointed out.

  “I don’t want to think about it.” Adrian looked pained. “She’s practically my little sister.”

  He draped his arm over her shoulders, and Nell tried to focus on the conversation as Hannah and Tom joined the table, followed by Paul. But instead, she fixated on the feel of Adrian’s fingers casually caressing her skin, which yeah, sent tingles of desire down her body but also felt so normal and comforting. She chewed on that idea, turning it over and over in her mind. Something had changed the day of her emergency landing, when he’d “made love,” as he’d termed it, to her until she could do nothing but exist in that moment of sensual bliss, where she was helpless to do anything but give herself up to his hands and mouth, where, if she was honest, she’d lost all will and control and would have done anything he’d asked of her.

  In the few weeks that followed, he’d still delighted her with inventive and hot-enough-to-singe-your-skin sex, but now he mixed it up with the slow and tender, with soft, drugging kisses that she wanted to resist but also craved at the same time, when he filled her mind and body so completely she wasn’t sure where she left off and he began.

  And then, there were the casual caresses, the tender gestures. Flowers, for god’s sake, delivered to her office. She’d hunched her shoulders in embarrassment when Anna Sue delivered them with a knowing smirk, but in private, she caught herself staring at them. Rainbows and hearts practically shooting out of her eyes, no doubt.

  Not to mention the signs he’d made and in
stalled—they made her feel soft and warm inside every time she saw them. They made her want to run fast and far in the opposite direction that he could see so well what she’d made out of her dreams, what she longed still to do—to wing off into the unknown in a flight of fancy.

  She began to fear that in getting over Paul, the man who practically invented the white picket fence, she’d just rebounded to man who was the same damn way—he just hid it better. Only unlike her past relationships, her desire wasn’t growing dimmer as he turned up the romance dial. If anything, she longed for him more than she had when she met him, which she wouldn’t have thought possible. Still, the flames were bound to die at some point. They always did. And when they did?

  She was not unlike the plane Adrian had created in her signs, the letter “s” soaring away—tethered to the earth, maybe, but at her core, ready to wing away into the skies at a moment’s notice.

  “Nell!” Marcelo’s greeting cut into her thoughts, and she got up to return his enthusiastic hug.

  “The moms are so glad you were able to come,” Nell told him with a smile.

  He smiled, his arm around Emma’s shoulders. “I’m delighted. It was a beautiful ceremony. I was already up here visiting the lovely Emma.”

  Emma grinned, a faint flush on her cheeks, her green eyes sparkling. “We’ve been enjoying exploring the Islands.”

  “Your inn is charming,” Marcelo told Amy. “We’ve been taken good care of, so don’t you worry about anything.”

  “That’s great to hear,” Amy said with a warm smile.

  “You put them in separate rooms on opposite sides of the Inn, right?” muttered Adrian.

  Marcelo laughed. “Funny guy.”

  “Aunt Agata approves,” Emma said, stroking Marcelo’s arm with a smug look.

  “Well, that’s settled then,” Nell said, amused at the exchange. “Can’t argue with Agata.”

  “She likes you, too,” Emma said, her dimple flashing as she grinned. “She thinks you picked the perfect woman to settle down with.”

  Nell waited for Adrian to laugh it off, or roll his eyes, but instead he just smiled.

  “My mama’s got good taste,” he said.

  All kinds of warning bells and whistles and red flags went off in her mind. That was not the response of a man who wanted to keep it all about sex. She searched for something to say to change the subject, breathing a sigh of relief when the DJ got on the mic to announce the first dance. She blew her mom a kiss as the happy couple made their way to the dance floor and began a slow and slinky dance to Ray LaMontagne’s “You are the Best Thing.” The women twirled and did a few fancy dips that had the crowd cheering and whistling. Nell watched as Brooke whispered something in her mom’s ear that made Jan laugh and reach out to caress her cheek. The women swayed to the music, leaning their foreheads together while the song went on.

  Unbidden, an image of her dad popped into her mind, as they sat in a cafe in Denver after a rare weekend together. “Marriage is a joke,” he’d said as he leaned back in his chair, watching a couple across the room who cuddled together, whispering and kissing. Nell, only 12 at the time, had been watching them, covertly, or so she thought.

  “Trust me,” he’d said with a twist of his mouth. “They’re happy now when it’s fresh and new but give them a few years and that shine wears right the hell off.”

  Nell shook off the memory, concentrated on her mom and Brooke, knowing deep in her bones that these two would make it. They were best friends at the heart of it all. Solid, steady and true. She let out a wistful sigh when the song ended, and the women turned to take a bow as the guests clapped.

  The DJ switched to the Beatles, “I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends.”

  “Thanks for being here today,” Jan said into the mic. “We’ve made it this far thanks to your love and support.”

  “Now, get up here and join us. Let’s party!” Brooke added.

  Jan shot her an amused look. “A few more songs, and then we’ll eat.”

  “And then, we’ll dance some more,” cheered Brooke.

  “She’s so cute when she’s had a few glasses of champagne,” Hannah commented, pulling Tom out of his seat.

  “The brides have spoken,” said Adrian, standing up and offering Nell his arm.

  Out on the dance floor, he grabbed her hand and spun her around until she was next to Jan and Brooke. Laughing, she hip bumped both of them and smiled to see most of the guests making their way to the floor. Paul brought a handheld microphone to Amy and sat down next to her, both of them singing along to the recording, gesturing for the crowd to join in. Before long, all the guests were singing joyfully, forming a loose circle around Jan and Brooke, who, beaming, danced to the music, occasionally bringing someone in to join them in the center.

  “This crowd knows how to party,” Marcelo called approvingly as Nell danced back from the center.

  Adrian grinned when Jan beckoned to him with a crooked finger. He sauntered out a few steps toward them and then bent backwards, pretending there was an imaginary limbo challenge in front of him. He limboed to the women, then pulled himself upright to applause before sauntering back to Nell, dipping her in a dramatic kiss as the song ended.

  Nell swatted him back even as her body instantly responded with heat. Did the man have to be so cute on top of being red-hot sexy? “Stop stealing the spotlight away from the brides.”

  “All right folks, now for something slow and sweet so you can catch your breath before dinner,” the DJ announced.

  Adrian wrapped his arms around her as the Indigo Girls’ “Power of Two” began playing. They swayed in silence for a moment. As the song went on, he pulled her closer, rested his cheek against hers. Nell couldn’t resist closing her eyes, breathing in his scent. She felt his chest rising and falling with his breath, the warmth of his hands on her waist.

  “I could hold you like this all night,” he murmured in her ear.

  While his words sent a thrill of desire through her core, a warm feeling spread through her that had nothing to do with lust and everything to do with a glow of contentment. Part of her was totally on board with the idea of staying just like this in his arms and didn’t that just fuck things up royally. Because the other part of her was filled with dread. As much as she hadn’t wanted to admit it, Adrian’s signals were coming through pretty loud and clear, signals that indicated he was playing for keeps.

  Nell kept her eyes closed and held on tightly as the music played on. Because she knew that pretty soon, she’d have to let him go, for good.

  Chapter 18

  Adrian slapped down a $50 bill on the table in front of Paul, who had already ordered a pint and was scrolling through messages on his phone. Paul looked up, startled.

  “You buying tonight? I thought it was my turn.”

  “I’m fucked.” Adrian slid into the seat across from him. “I’m paying up.”

  He waited while Paul drew his brows together, confused. Finally, his eyes widened.

  “The bet about you and Nell? You lost? No way.” He sat back in his chair, stared at him. “Are you serious?”

  “I’m completely in love with her, and she’s…” Adrian plowed his hands through his hair, blew out a breath. “I swear she feels something too. But, she’s running the opposite direction.”

  Paul just sat, took a large swig of his beer. “I’m going to need another,” he said to the waitress when she stopped by to take Adrian’s order. “And, onion rings.”

  After a long moment, Paul seemed to shake himself out of his shock. “I know we had the bet and everything, but I was just messing with you, man. I didn’t really think you’d fall for Nell. Really? Our Nell?”

  “She’s amazing. Just because you’re blind and can’t see a good thing in front of you…”

  “Hey, don’t get pissed at me.” Paul held up a hand. “Be glad I don’t feel the same way.”

  “Right.” Adrian closed his eyes briefly, shook his head. “Sorry. I’m wound
up.”

  He explained the near-miss plane crash. Paul shuddered.

  “So I’m watching her plane get nearer and nearer to the runway and all I can think of is, ‘I’m going to lose this woman before I ever get a chance to tell her I love her.’ Of course, when I came back to my senses, I realized she doesn’t want me to tell her I love her.”

  “You’re in love. In love,” Paul repeated. He shrugged when Adrian shot him a look. “Sorry. You’re like my brother, she’s like my sister. This is going to take a minute for me to wrap my head around.”

  “She’s strong, smart, funny, stubborn, exasperating, loyal…she lights me up.”

  “You’d never be bored.” Paul sipped his beer, considering. “You like adventure, she likes adventure. But, you both like having those roots to come home to. Yeah. I see it.”

  “Well, tell her that, would you?” muttered Adrian, nodding his thanks to the waitress when she delivered his beer. He scowled at Paul, who was grinning as he made a show of pocketing the $50. “Is this funny to you?”

  “Kind of,” Paul said, unrepentant. “Are you asking me for advice? Might this be the first time in your life you’ve had to ask for advice about a woman?”

  Adrian considered, then sighed. “Yes. And, yes.”

  Paul laughed. “I never thought I’d see the day.” He relented when Adrian shot him another glare. “Perpetually single here, so take my advice with a grain of salt.”

  “You know Nell, though.”

  “This is true. So what makes you think that she’s running in the opposite direction? Or is it general Nell-ishness?”

  Adrian sat back in his chair, feeling a bit of the weight lift from his shoulders as he studied his friend. He noted the way Paul clicked his phone to silent, slid it into his pocket, then watched him with eyes that were already losing their amusement and shifting to warm sympathy.

  “I thought I would seduce her slowly,” Adrian began.

  Paul held out a hand. “Please, no details.”

  “I don’t kiss and tell. I just thought I’d, you know, deepen the connection. Show her some more romance. I sent her flowers. What?” he asked when Paul winced.