Pierced: Pierced Trilogy Boxed Set

by Lashell Collins

  She raises her eyebrows and gives me a knowing look. “Trust me, Samantha. If you were marrying the right kind of man … I would be crying tears of joy all day long.” She reaches out to pat my arm and smiles sweetly at me, as if what she’s just said makes perfect sense.

  “Yeah. That’s what I figured,” I say sadly. Rolling my eyes, I shake my head slightly as I walk out of the bedroom. I need a moment to recover from her negativity.

  I walk down the hall a little ways and I wonder where Josh is and how he’s doing. I haven’t seen him in well over an hour since we first got here. Standing on the landing of the double staircase, I’m looking down at the entryway when I hear someone come up behind me.

  “Hey, Pita. The craziness getting to you yet?”

  “Oh, Lucas, would you do me a huge favor?” I ask, so relieved to see him.

  “What’s up?”

  “Would you check on Josh for me? Make sure he’s all right. I haven’t seen him since we got here and Meg pulled me away, and I have no idea how long Mom has been lurking around, spreading her cheer,” I say with a roll of my eyes.

  He chuckles at me. “I take it you just had a run in with her?” he asks, and I give him a fake smile. “I wish you two could call a truce.”

  “Well I am never going to be what she wants me to be, Lucas. And I don’t think she will ever accept that so … I don’t see a truce happening anytime soon,” I say sadly and he sighs. “Will you just check up on Josh for me, please?”

  “Yeah, I’ll check, Sam. But you know, Josh is a big boy and from what I understand, he’s got a hell of a backbone. I’m betting he can handle our mother just fine,” he says, smiling at me.

  “I’m sure he can handle her, but he shouldn’t have to. She was so rude to him last night; it’s just so uncalled for.”

  “I know,” he nods in agreement. “Listen, I think Josh is still in the living room. Last I saw of him anyway. I’ll go get him before I head out to the backyard; he can sit with me. The guests are arriving.”

  “Thanks, Lucas.”

  “No problem, Pita.”

  *****

  My eyes locate Josh as I walk down the aisle and I can’t help but notice how uneasy he seems. He’s seated in the second row of chairs beside Dennis and Lucas, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why he’s so uncomfortable. At the end of the row, seated to Lucas’ right is my mother. Even with Dennis and Lucas there as human buffers, I’m sure that’s way too close for him.

  He turns and watches me coming down the aisle and he smiles as our eyes lock for a moment. When I get to the end of the aisle and take my place next to Karen and the other bridesmaids, I glance at Josh once more and he winks at me. I think I blush slightly.

  Suddenly, the wedding march begins and everyone stands. And there is an audible gasp as Meg and Uncle Kenny begin their slow walk down the aisle. She looks stunning, and I can’t help but venture a glance over at Scott. The look on his face is one of pure, unadulterated bliss. He looks awestruck, and so much in love. And for the second time today, I feel the unmistakable pang of jealousy at Megan’s life. What I wouldn’t give to have Josh look at me that way. Or to have my mother’s unconditional love and support. Now that would be something. What would that feel like?

  It’s a question I can’t stop asking myself. It haunts me all through the ceremony and I am suddenly very homesick for my dad. I wish he were here; I miss him so much! And all at once, I feel the tears begin to fall and I’m slightly embarrassed. Hopefully everyone will simply assume that they’re just tears of joy for Megan and no big deal. But as I glance out at the guests, I find that’s not the case. Not for Josh anyway. Everyone is watching the bride and groom, as they should. But Josh’s eyes are trained on me, and his concerned expression is difficult to miss. He can obviously sense that I’m upset. How does he do that? He knows me so well already. I give him a small reassuring smile to let him know that I’m okay but, I don’t think he buys it. He returns my smile and I turn my attention back to the happy couple. But I can feel his eyes on me throughout the rest of the ceremony. It’s strangely comforting in a way.

  Once the wedding is over and the guests all head over to the large tent where the reception will take place, the wedding party hangs back to take a few pictures. As I pose with the others, I see Josh standing with Lucas as they wait for Karen and me to be done with things, and Josh seems much more relaxed now that my mother is not around. When the pictures are over, I make a beeline over to where they stand and Josh takes me by the hand and kisses my temple as Karen joins us.

  “Well, you two looked very pretty up there,” Lucas says, wrapping his arms around Karen.

  “Hmm. Well I thought it was a lovely wedding but, it’s not what I want for ours, pookie,” Karen says, looking up at my brother adoringly.

  “Oh, no?” He looks at her with a raised eyebrow. “I’m almost afraid to ask. What do you want, my darling?”

  “Mmm … I’m thinking ‘destination wedding!’ How do you feel about the Seychelles? Or maybe romantic Turtle Island in Fiji? I’ve been there for a couple of photo shoots; it’s breathtakingly beautiful. The perfect spot for a wedding on the beach!”

  “Fiji, huh?” He looks skeptical and Karen nods her head furiously. “Hmm. We’ll talk about it.”

  I can’t help but giggle at him; I know that he’s already given in. “I’ve heard that tone before, Karen. Go ahead and start planning that wedding on the beach,” I tell her with a smile. I know Lucas would never deny her the wedding of her dreams.

  We all turn then and make our way to the tent, and as we do, Josh wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me close. “So what was with the tears back there, Sam?” he whispers to me.

  I look up at him and shrug, feeling silly now. “I was just missing my dad, that’s all.”

  “Your dad?” He looks puzzled, as if the thought is foreign to him, and I nod.

  “I don’t know why I was thinking about him during the ceremony but … I just was,” I say quietly, shrugging again. He squeezes me to him and lightly kisses my temple once more. And as he does, I see the flash of a camera in front of us. It’s a photographer from the Seattle Times, and I am immediately worried about Josh’s reaction. Glancing up at him, I see he’s wearing a very annoyed expression, but it’s nothing like the totally pissed off look he gets when his temper really flares up. This surprises me.

  “Thank you, Miss Colby,” the photographer says brightly. “And it’s Detective Joshua Pierce, correct?” The photographer looks at Josh expectantly, waiting for confirmation of his identity, and I can’t help but wonder how he already knew that. Who leaks this sort of personal information?

  “Yeah,” Josh scowls at him.

  “Thank you, Detective,” the photographer says, and rushes off to snap some other poor unsuspecting soul.

  “I’m sorry about that, Josh,” I say quietly. “I totally forgot that the press would be here.”

  “It’s all right,” he mumbles, looking down at me. “I figured this would be the weekend we got outed.”

  “You’re okay with that?”

  He shrugs at me. “I’m not okay with the thought of my face being plastered in society pages and tabloid rags, no. But your case is over and Echols is going away for a long, long time so … there’s no reason for us to hide anymore. Besides, I guess it’s not going to matter much anyway,” he mumbles cryptically. And I’m not sure what he means but, I smile shyly at him and he pulls me close as he kisses me swiftly. “Come.”

  He leads me into the huge tent then, and I marvel at how pretty everything looks. The white tent is subtly lit with soft romantic lighting, with warm purple accent lights in key places. There is an orchestra set up at the far end near a small dance floor, and I can see waiters passing around glasses of champagne as everyone mills about, mingling and chatting. The small, round bridal table sits on a raised platform at one end of the tent, and Megan and Scott are already seated, looking into one another’s eyes lovingly as
they sip champagne. There are three large round tables surrounding the bridal table just off the platform that have been designated for the members of the wedding party and their dates, as well as the parents and grandparents of the bride and groom. Josh and I find our place cards at one of those tables, and we’re seated next to Lucas and Karen.

  The wedding planner makes a subtle announcement that dinner will be served just as soon as everyone finds their seats. Once everyone is seated, the impeccable wait staff serve us our first course – an amuse-bouche of seared sea scallop, sprinkled with fresh thyme and topped with a dollop of red caviar. It is delicious and I suddenly remember that Josh and I were much too busy making love this morning to think about breakfast. I’m famished. Though the scallop is large, I eat all of my starter in record time and, when I look to my right, I see Josh smiling at me.

  “Hungry?” he whispers, and I blush.

  “Well, we didn’t exactly eat anything before we came,” I whisper back.

  “That’s not entirely true,” he says softly. Leaning in close, his lips softly brush my ear as he whispers, “I ate you, and then we both came.” Holy cow! What a completely inappropriate and naughty thing to say in public! I have turned beet red and Josh is smiling wickedly as he finishes off his caviar topped scallop. Then he takes his fork and scoops up the remaining caviar from his plate and feeds it to me, his eyes never leaving mine as I open my mouth and accept his offering. I lick my lips bashfully as I stare into his beautiful eyes and, for a moment, it is just the two of us, lost in our wicked little private joke. He is so freaking sexy! But the spell is soon broken when the waiters clear away our plates and serve our second course – a beautifully presented shrimp cocktail with four gigantic prawns served on ice.

  As we eat, we chat with Lucas and Karen, and I introduce Josh to the others sitting at our table. After the shrimp cocktail comes a salad course – Caesar salad with lump crab meat. I smile to myself and roll my eyes slightly when the waiter sets it before me. Megan’s determination to have an all-seafood themed menu appears to have won out over Aunt Jen’s objections. The only exception is the choice of lobster or filet mignon for the entree, and I notice that, at our table at least, all of the men have opted for the steak over the lobster. Men are funny!

  There is a light dessert of champagne-strawberry sorbet, which is wonderful. And afterward, Megan and Scott cut the delicious looking wedding cake and have their first dance as husband and wife. I watch as he twirls her around the dance floor and they look so in love I can’t help but smile at them. And when their dance is over and everyone claps and toasts them, Scott invites everyone to join them on the dance floor. I bite my lower lip as I watch Lucas and Karen, and a few others at our table, stand and head over. I would love to dance but I have a feeling it’s not Josh’s thing. He’s much more the badass rocker than he is the ballroom dancer, I’m sure.

  “Would you like to dance, baby?”

  His voice is soft at my ear and he is looking at me expectantly as I stare mutely at him. He stands then and holds out his hand to me. I take it timidly, still in shock, and stand up beside him. He places his fingers under my chin, lifting gently, and kisses my lips chastely. Then he takes my right hand and slowly leads me over to the dance floor. He wraps his arm around me, placing his right hand on my lower back, and pulls me close as the orchestra plays and the singer begins to belt out “Embraceable You.”

  He smiles down at me as he begins to sway slowly in time with the music, and I am completely enchanted as I stare into his sparkling blue eyes. He moves with such remarkable grace, and I am floored, both by how well he dances, and by how much he seems to enjoy it. We glide around the dance floor with ease and at one point he twirls me under his arm and I can’t help my girlish giggle. This is so much fun!

  “Well, aren’t you full of surprises, Detective?” I say as smile up at him. And his answering shy smile is so adorable. How cute is he?

  “Am I?”

  “Yes! You’re like my very own man of mystery.” It’s meant as a joke, of course. But Josh’s smile suddenly morphs into a frown.

  “What do you mean by that?” His voice is cautious and full of some unnamed emotion. Worry maybe?

  “I … I just meant … the dancing,” I stammer, unsure of his sudden mood change. “You’re very good at it. I didn’t expect you to want to dance.”

  “Oh.” He swallows somewhat nervously and his behavior puzzles me. What was that about?

  “Where did you learn to dance?” I ask, trying to recapture his lighthearted mood from only moments ago. And I am relieved when he sighs and smiles at me once more.

  “Where else?” he answers, rolling his eyes slightly. “My mother.” He tries to downplay it but, I can tell it’s a happy memory for him. “She loves to dance. It was one of the only interests they seemed to share. She and the old man. When things were good, he would take her dancing. But most times, when he was working or out … doing whatever it was that he did … she would turn on the music and dance. And she would pull me away from my cars and my homework and say, ‘Every young man needs to learn how to dance, Josh. That way you’ll never look like a clown in front of the girls.’”

  I am looking into his eyes with the most ridiculous grin on my face. I love it when he offers up these little glimpses of his childhood to me. Especially when he does it without any prompting from me. “That was really good advice she gave you.”

  He chuckles. “Yeah, I guess it’s come in handy a time or two.” The song comes to an end and we clap for the band and I think he’s going to opt to leave the dance floor, but he takes me by surprise yet again. “You want to dance some more?” he asks, and his smile is so hopeful. I swear, he is so adorable!

  “Yes, please!”

  We dance for several songs then, and I am captivated by his charm, completely caught up in the romance of it all, and so happy that his mood is lighter than it was this morning. And close to an hour later we are still on the dance floor, totally lost in our own little world. He holds me so close as we stare deeply into each other’s eyes and the band plays “The Nearness of You.” And I simply melt when we’re cheek to cheek and Josh begins to sing along with the song, serenading me softly. I am totally enchanted and bewitched by him. He leans in and kisses me tenderly, our tongues and our lips playing together sensually. Then he looks into my eyes intently for a long moment and he swallows anxiously again.

  “In my wildest dreams, I never expected to find you, Samantha,” he says softly, echoing the sentiment of the song. His voice is husky and his words are so heartfelt. And I know instantly what he’s trying to say.

  “I love you too, Joshua,” I say softly. He smiles slowly at me, and I think he looks relieved. And it’s such a wonderful change from the first time I said those words to him. He wraps both his arms around me and holds me tightly to him as we embrace for a long time. He buries his nose in my hair and inhales deeply as he holds me close, kissing the top of my head. When he finally releases me, he kisses my lips chastely and then caresses my face, looking into my eyes intently.

  “Sam … baby, there’s something I have to tell you,” he says earnestly. “But not … not here. Not with all these people. When we get home, okay? We have to talk. Tonight!”

  “Okay,” I smile at him, not sure what to make of this. He looks so serious and determined. But yet he seems oddly relieved somehow. As if our mutual declarations of love have somehow given him the solution to some much fretted over conundrum. Without another word, he takes my hand and leads me back to our table.

  “You two looked good out there,” Lucas says with a smile as we sit.

  “You two looked hot out there,” Karen interjects. “At one point, I was going to yell at you to get a room!” Josh smiles nervously and I blush slightly at her words.

  “Thank you for putting that visual into my head, cupcake,” Lucas says to her with a frown, and I blush even more.

  “I’m sorry, pookie,” she responds, giving him a pretty pout. “B
ut you do know that your sister’s a big girl and that she and Josh are having sex, right?”

  “Ahh!” He visibly winces, as if in pain. “No! In my mind, she and Josh are just friends having a platonic sleepover, that’s all,” he says with mock frustration, and even though I know he’s being playful, I am beet red right now as Josh squirms beside me. Karen is laughing almost hysterically at both men, and I just want to crawl under the table. I don’t want Lucas thinking about my sex life any more than I want to think about his! Finally he changes the subject, putting me out of my misery.

  “So, Josh. Tomorrow. The game. We still on?” He looks at Josh expectantly and I can tell that Josh is taken aback by Lucas’ invitation.

  “Oh. Um … well, I wasn’t sure you were serious about that,” Josh says somewhat awkwardly, glancing at me. “You wanted it to be both of us, right?”

  “Yeah, the four of us. Or it can just be you and me if the girls aren’t interested,” Lucas shrugs, looking from me to Karen. I can tell that Josh isn’t feeling quiet ready for a one-on-one afternoon spent alone with my brother so I speak up.

  “I wouldn’t mind going to a game tomorrow,” I say, looking at Josh and I see him visibly relax as he smiles at me.

  “Great. It’s a date then. Game starts at one, Pita, so get him there by 12:30, all right?” I salute Lucas in a very smartass kind of way because he’s acting like a dictator, barking orders at me. He makes a face at me and I stick my tongue out at him in a very mature manner. And I can see Josh chuckling at the two of us as Karen rolls her eyes.

  At the end of the evening when Megan and Scott are preparing to set off for their honeymoon, I leave Josh on the patio close to the kitchen doors, talking with Lucas and Dennis while I head inside the house with Meg to help her out of her wedding gown and into the white lace Stella McCartney dress that she’s picked out to travel in. We chat about the wedding and gossip about what’s gone on at the reception while we work, and we try not to cry as we say our goodbyes. She and Scott will be honeymooning in Europe for two weeks, and I tell her that I will probably be lost without her during that time.