Kiss the Bride

by Deirdre Martin

  Last night, he’d met up with Eduardo at some new salsa club that his friend had been raving about. Josh was well aware he couldn’t dance worth a damn, but some of the women there didn’t seem to care. Seeing an attractive man, they were more than willing to try to teach him.

  Josh was fascinated watching all those gorgeous, curvy women, so secure in their bodies and the power they exerted over men. He could have had his pick of any of them. He usually did. But for some reason, the uptight germ-o-phobe Dana Fine kept creeping into his head, a much-unwanted nuisance. He’d spent the last half hour of the night watching these women strut their stuff, betting there was no way Dana Fine could move like that.

  Occasionally his mind would veer over to the image of her shaking her hips, but he was able to put it aright by thinking about her face, and the intelligence he’d seen there. She held a powerful position at work. Josh knew she couldn’t have gotten where she was without busting her ass, the same way he did. She had to be smart and ambitious—two traits often used to describe him. Interesting.

  The story his aunt had given him about why she needed him to accompany her to the wedding was so transparent, Josh couldn’t resist teasing her. “You really expected me to believe you wanted me to come with you because Mr. Owalu from your reading group has the flu?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Aunt Molly insisted as Josh opened the car door for her. She was always late, which meant they’d missed the ceremony. Josh was glad: he was tired, and the last thing he wanted was to sit through a wedding ceremony at a retirement complex.

  “Don’t bullshit a bullshitter,” Josh continued, as his aunt gripped his forearm to pull herself up out of the car. “Knowing you, there’s no book group, and there’s no Mr. Owalu, either. The only reason I’m here is because Dana Fine is here with her grandparents.”

  His aunt peered off into the sunset. “I have no idea if she’s here.”

  “Don’t insult my intelligence, Aunt Molly. C’mon.”

  His aunt’s shoulders sank. “All right, she’s here. Adele told me things didn’t go very well between you two.”

  “Dana doesn’t seem to like dirt.”

  “That’s why Adele and I thought it was important she see you all cleaned up.”

  Josh laughed. “Because God knows that’s something I would never think of myself.”

  His aunt stared at him down the length of her beaky nose. “We don’t have to stay long.”

  “Just long enough for Dana to check behind my ears for mold?” Aunt Molly gave him a dirty look as they began their slow march toward the clubhouse. “You owe me for this.”

  “If you like her, you’re going to owe me,” his aunt pointed out. “So there.”

  Josh looked out at the sun, a bright orange fireball in the sky that was slowly setting. He felt lucky being able to witness something so beautiful every night. His aunt was right, of course: if Dana Fine liked him, he’d be the one doing the owing. But he doubted it would matter.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Dana really didn’t like being rude to other people, but if Lois’s grandson, Jay, didn’t stop talking at her about how he’d built his company up with his own two hands, and how incredible his new luxury apartment on Williams Island was, she might be forced to abruptly say “Excuse me” and flee to the ladies’ room. Dana might have given him more of a chance if he’d asked a single question about her, but he hadn’t. Maybe it’s a sign, Dana thought. The universe is trying to tell me to forget all this old-fashioned love and marriage stuff and just go to Paris.

  Jay had started droning about the yacht he was thinking of buying when her aunt Molly entered the room on the arm of Josh Green. So that’s why she’d been invited to the wedding. She sighed heavily with resignation.

  “I’m sorry,” Jay said, looking offended. “Am I boring you?”

  Dana blinked. “What—no. Why would you say that?”

  “Your sigh?”

  “I’m worried,” Dana lied. “My aunt just walked in and she doesn’t look well. I really need to see what’s going on. Excuse me.”

  Crossing the room, Dana wondered if her decision to use Molly as an excuse for flight was a wise one. Josh might think she was making a beeline for him. Now that he wasn’t encrusted in dried mud, there was no mistaking how handsome he was. Classic features, as her mother would say. Hot, Aunt Molly would say. The deep tan didn’t hurt; it made his green eyes really stand out.

  Molly broke into a big smile at Dana’s approach. “Dana! What are you doing here?”

  Josh and Dana looked at each other with amused disbelief.

  “I’m here for the same reason Josh is,” Dana said good-naturedly. “I was duped.”

  Josh pointed out the table where Dana’s grandparents sat to his aunt. “Why don’t you go sit with Mr. and Mrs. Fine and I’ll bring you something to drink?”

  “Don’t spend the money. Water is fine.”

  She winked at Dana and began moving slowly toward the table, where Dana’s grandfather was snapping at the pruny face of another man, who was snapping back. The dreaded Ben Barry. Little did the poor man know that if he kept challenging her grandfather on facts about World War II, he was going to find himself flattened like a tank.

  Dana looked at Josh. “I just want you to know I had nothing to do with this.”

  “Well, I did.”

  Dana was caught off guard.

  “I figured that if you got a good look at me when I wasn’t caked in dirt, maybe a quick drink would be possible,” he said dryly. He loosened his tie so she could see his neck.

  “See? No dirt.”

  “Josh.” Dana was mortified. “I’m so sorry about that. But you didn’t help things when you offered to wash your hands a second time.”

  “Did that rankle you? Good. It should have after you recoiled from me.”

  “I didn’t recoil from you! I hesitated.” Admitting it made her feel ashamed.

  “Well, as you can see, I clean up real good. So, would you care to join me for a drink?”

  “Sure.” Dana knew she sounded smooth and confident, but that wasn’t how she felt. Thankfully, she was used to faking it with clients.

  “Great.” Josh looked pleased. “I vote we sit at the bar.”

  “I don’t know. If we do that, a lot of casually walking by is going to happen.”

  Josh rolled his eyes. “True. I guess we’d better sit at the table.” He frowned. “Too bad we can’t just leave and go for a drink somewhere else, you know? It would save us having to choke down the rubber chicken.”

  Dana laughed. “I know. But that would be bad manners.”

  “Well, I’m just one step away from a grave digger, so I know all about bad manners.” Dana stared at him frostily, and Josh backed off. “All right, I’ll stop goofing on you. We’re here. I guess we might as well try to enjoy it. I just ask one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “If my aunt calls me ‘Joshie,’ tell her you’ll never speak with her again.”

  Dana extended her hand for a shake. “Deal.”

  “Good. Let’s go.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “They think we’re eloping.”

  Dana nodded avidly. “Oh, no bets, it’s a given.”

  Her smile matched Josh’s as they drove toward Delray Beach. They’d been eager to escape the reception, not just because the food was god-awful as predicted, but because it was hard to carry on a conversation when two old women were straining to listen to every word they exchanged, hope flashing in their eyes like blinding beacons.

  She and Josh had laughed the moment they sat down at the table. Somehow, they’d been seated right next to each other. Go figure. When Molly and her grandmother weren’t watching them with eagle eyes, they were lobbing what they believed to be vital information across the table at Dana and Josh like hand grenades.

  “Dana, Josh designed the landscaping for the Fortnum Estate in Palm Beach,” Molly boasted. “But he’s not just a
n architect. He runs his own landscape contracting business too, called Green Thumb. Because his last name is Green.”

  “Josh, did you know Dana invented the corporate ladder for women at La Belle Femme?”

  Other gems included: “Josh might get his pilot’s license,” “Dana wants a family one day,” and “The Palm Beach Post called Josh the hottest landscape architect in town.”

  As dinner wore on, Dana was surprised to find her frustration growing. She didn’t want random facts about Josh thrown at her by Molly: she wanted to hear about Josh from Josh. Josh appeared to share the same frustration: a few times over the course of the meal, Dana caught the glint of annoyance in his eyes when her grandmother started in on another spiel about Dana’s stellar qualities. Josh must have wanted to know about her, too.

  It was as if they’d made some unspoken agreement. As soon as dessert was over, Josh politely rose from the table, pulling Dana’s chair out for her.

  “Aunt Molly, do you think you can catch a ride home with the Westons? I thought it might be nice to show Dana around Delray.”

  Molly and Dana’s grandmother shared a not-so-secret smile. “Of course I can get a ride from someone else,” she assured him breezily. “It’s silly for you two to be stuck in a room full of old people when you could be out on the town.” She shooed them away. “Go, go. Have fun.”

  Dana kissed her grandparents, telling them she wouldn’t be late. That was when her grandmother grabbed her hand and stage-whispered, “I’ll be praying.”

  “You do that, Grandma,” Dana whispered back. Amusement had replaced mortification. Maybe that was a good sign.

  Their relief as they drove past Huerto de Naranja’s gates was tangible. Brutally hot as the Florida days could be, tonight was one of those evenings when the humidity wasn’t too awful, and there was even a whisper of a breeze. Dana stuck her hand out the passenger side window, relishing the feel of the warm wind racing through her fingertips.

  “We survived intact,” she said to Josh, turning to look at him. The sun-streaked, brown, curly hair, the deeply tanned skin ... Dana could tell he was the type who thrived in the heat, who loved the feel of the sun beating down upon him. She wished she could say the same for herself.

  “You okay with the temperature?” Josh asked as if reading her mind. “I could turn on the AC.”

  “I’m fine,” Dana assured him, though she did feel what she hoped was a last, faint trickle of sweat rolling down between her shoulder blades. Then she remembered.

  “Josh? I want you to know something.”

  Josh picked up speed. “This doesn’t involve you telling me we’re being tailed by your psycho ex-boyfriend, does it?”

  “No. It’s this hideous shirt I’m wearing. I didn’t pick it out. My grandmother did. I wore it tonight just to please her.”

  Josh gave her a quick glance. “I hadn’t noticed it.”

  Dana felt surprisingly insulted. “Really.”

  Josh looked her up and down. “However, I’m noticing it now. Nice epaulets, Dana.”

  Dana covered her face with her hands, steeling herself. “Go on. Let me have it. I deserve it after assuming you spend your life covered in muck.”

  “I do spend my life covered in muck, at least part of it. You thought having a drink with a guy like that was beneath you. But as you can see, I do have an intimate relationship with soap.”

  Dana uncovered her face to find Josh smiling at her playfully. He was enjoying teasing her, and she was enjoying being teased. Dana realized it had been ages since she’d felt so comfortable with a man. She worked all over the world, meeting all sorts of people. She was an expert at reading them. Josh Green was a terrific mix of confidence, intelligence, and humor. He was down-to-earth and worked as hard as she did. She flashed back on the image of her grandmother pointing a gnarly index finger in her face, upbraiding her about not giving him a chance.

  “What was that Molly was saying about you getting your pilot’s license?”

  “I mentioned it to her once, six months ago,” Josh said, undoing his tie and tossing it into the backseat. “She thinks it’s one of my selling points.”

  “Does she try to sell you a lot?”

  Josh glanced at her flirtatiously. “Why do you want to know?”

  “Curiosity. Plain and simple.”

  “No, she doesn’t try to sell me a lot. And even if she did, it would be a waste of time. I don’t need to be sold. I think the women I date are more than capable of making a decision about me without my aunt having to list my ‘selling points.’ ”

  “I feel the same way.” Dana rolled up the window a bit so her hair wasn’t whipping around her face. “I don’t need my grandmother trying to convince some guy that I’m worth spending time with.”

  “That’s true.”

  Dana blushed. It had been a long time since a man had flirted with her outright, and she’d almost forgotten how good it made her feel. She felt happy, which was nuts. She hadn’t even known Josh for twenty-four hours. And yet ... She took hold of her runaway thoughts, forcing herself to remember who she was and why she was in Florida. One drink. That was all. She couldn’t afford to let her long romantic exile go to her head.

  Dana had been looking at and listening to Josh so intently that it came as a surprise to her when the car stopped moving as Josh pulled into a parking spot at the beach.

  “This okay?”

  For the first time since they’d met, Josh looked tentative. “I just assumed you’d want to take a walk along the beach. But if you’d prefer, we can skip it and go to downtown Delray first to get that drink. There’s a lot going on.”

  “No, this is great,” Dana assured him, because it was. She had promised herself that while in Florida, she would carve out some time to go to the beach. Her grandparents never went, preferring the swimming pool at Huerto de Naranja. “With a pool, you don’t have to worry about sand creeping into every nook and cranny of your house, not to mention every nook and cranny of your body,” her grandmother had opined. Dana didn’t agree.

  “I like coming here at night. It’s really relaxing.”

  “I can imagine.” Dana looked up at the sky. “It’s a beautiful moon.”

  “It’s a beautiful moon every night in Florida.”

  Dana regarded him with suspicion. “Are you sure you don’t work for the tourist board?”

  Josh laughed, bending to untie his shoes.

  Dana followed, momentarily fretting over when her last pedicure had been. But her feet looked fine, her skin smooth, her toenails buffed and painted. Her vanity remained intact.

  Meanwhile, Josh carelessly threw his shoes and socks in the back of the car.

  He’s rough on his clothing, Dana thought. First he’d tossed his tie over his shoulder, and now he was chucking what looked like an expensive pair of shoes into the back. She wondered if it came from years of throwing landscaping tools in the back of his truck. Casually tossing clothing didn’t seem in character with being an architect. Weren’t they known for being meticulous? Once again she was forced to remind herself that she really didn’t know Josh at all.

  Stepping gingerly onto the sand, Dana had assumed it would be cool now that the sun had gone down, but it still held the heat of the day. She and Josh weren’t the only ones on the beach: it was by no means packed, but there were a lot of other couples out strolling. Not that they were a couple.

  Dana reveled in the caress of the wind on her face, swearing she could taste the salt of the sea on her tongue. Though walking, she felt as though she were being gently rocked. For the first time in a long time, she felt completely relaxed.

  Josh was eying her with interest. “You look hypnotized.”

  “I feel hypnotized.”

  “When’s the last time you walked along the ocean, Miss Dana Fine?” There was the mildest hint of scolding in his voice.

  Dana smiled sadly. “It’s been years.”

  “I’d lose it if I didn’t live here.”

&n
bsp; “Why’s that?”

  “I love being outside as much as I can. I love the water. One of the great things about Florida is that it’s warm all the time. So not only do I have the beach at my disposal all year-round, I can also work all year-round at something I love. I feel pretty lucky.”

  He pointed to a bank of lights far ahead. “I live in one of the buildings up there.”

  “On the beach?”

  Josh nodded.

  “I don’t want to hear any more,” Dana informed him. “You’re making me envious.”

  “It’s pretty sweet. But I busted my ass for it.”

  “I understand ass-busting all too well,” Dana murmured, now thinking about his ass, and how it was probably anything but busted.

  Silent, without a hint of awkwardness, Josh took her hand, prompting a small, sweet tingle of happiness inside her. She knew she should be leading with her head, not her heart, but she didn’t want to.

  “Tell me about your job,” Josh said. “Every time I tried to ask you about it at the wedding, your grandmother would interrupt us.”

  Dana kicked up a small spray of sand. “It’s not very exciting.” She recited the facts.

  “Sounds like a lot of travel.”

  “It is.” She looked at the ocean. The steady, unvarying lapping of the waves was reassuring. “At first, I thought it was glamorous. Now it’s just draining.”

  “But you had to know what you were getting into.”

  Dana smiled ruefully. “Actually, I had no idea at all.” A piece of the tranquility she’d been feeling slipped away. “I needed a job when I graduated from college. Any job. As it happened, my uncle was working as an accountant for La Belle Femme, except the company wasn’t called that when he started there. It was a small, family-owned clothing store called Hewitt’s on Long Island. I don’t know how, but he somehow managed to finagle a job for me as an entry-level buyer.