Waking Up Wed
Page 8
“Me?” he asked. “God, no. I hate to dance. I’m terrible at it.”
And when he took her into his strong arms, she realized he wasn’t lying. Drew really was a terrible dancer. The best he could manage was a reenactment of an awkward junior high slow-dance version of locked arms and feet shuffling side to side. After he’d stepped on her toes for the third time, she finally pulled him in closer to her, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Here, just hold me close and sway to the beat.”
She’d been a cheerleader in high school and college and adored dancing. How could she have married someone with two left feet? Wouldn’t she have at least danced with him that night in Reno before they’d had too much to drink and headed off to the Silver Rush Wedding Chapel?
The wool of his dress uniform was coarse under her fingers, and she was tempted to move her hands toward the tan smoothness of the back of his neck. To touch the soft skin she remembered feeling in that hotel bed.
Side to side. She needed to keep swaying, to keep moving, before she did something stupid.
She’d danced with plenty of guys before, but never one who matched her so well in size. Or who smelled so great. Her nose was centimeters away from his upper jaw, and she inhaled his scent of lemongrass and fresh pine. His arms were like steel bands around her waist, and if she closed her eyes, she could almost pretend she and Drew were alone.
Almost.
She made the mistake of glancing around the room before looking back at Drew’s face.
Kylie moved her body closer to his so he wouldn’t be able to penetrate her with that all-knowing blue gaze like a microscope looking deep into her.
She could feel his pulse beating against the neckline of her dress, and warmth spread through her. Maybe she’d been too hasty, because his stare might’ve been the lesser of two evils.
“I was just wondering who could’ve set up this little song request.” She was having difficulty drawing an even breath; her voice came out as barely a whisper.
“I have no idea,” he answered, his cheek pressing against her temple as he spoke into her ear. “Besides the wedding party, I don’t really know many of the guests.”
“I thought your family had a cabin here. Didn’t you grow up in Sugar Falls?”
“No. I’m from Boise originally. But we spent a lot of summers up here when I was a kid.”
“Ah, so you’re one of the bankrollers,” Kylie said, referring to the wealthy tourists who provided a brisk business for many of the locals.
“Hardly. Before they retired, my dad was a minister and my mom was a teacher. Her grandparents owned the cabin, and she inherited it when they passed. So we definitely aren’t part of the elite visiting class.”
“Oh, wow. That really explains a lot.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She heard the offended tone in his question and cursed herself. She hadn’t meant to insult his family’s financial status.
“I meant about you having a preacher for a father. It must be why you’re such a Goody Two-shoes.” Ugh, that probably didn’t sound like any less of an insult.
“Trust me. My father’s profession was no guarantee for the way I turned out.”
At that point, Kylie did lean back to look at his eyes. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Okay, so I really wasn’t all that bad. But my twin brother, Luke, was the proverbial preacher’s kid. He was always in trouble. Kind of like my nephews over there.” He looked toward the chocolate fountain and the kids, who were using the treat-covered skewers to do their best impression of bloodthirsty pirates. “So you’d think I’d know how to handle them better. I should probably get over there before they stab someone’s eye out.”
“Nah, they have marshmallows blunting the ends of their swords. The worst damage they could do is knock the fountain over. Right onto Elaine and Marcia, if we’re lucky.”
Drew’s lips angled upward before he recovered his perfect countenance. But the small glimpse of him letting down his guard showed her he did have a sense of humor.
The song drew to a close and the booming beats for the next one started up. Several shrieking women ran toward the parquet floor. Normally, Kylie would’ve loved to stay put and shake her stuff with the other dancers. But after witnessing Drew’s lack of rhythm to a slow song, she didn’t want to be an accomplice to what he might be capable of with a fast tempo.
“Your dad is staring this way. I think he’s trying to get your attention,” Drew said.
She loved and respected her parents, and they deserved the truth. But not tonight. She would see them tomorrow before they left for Seattle and explain things to them then—without Drew there. Kylie saw her mother talking to the manager of the Snow Creek Lodge, her smile bright and her hands gesturing wildly toward centerpieces and the outside terrace.
Uh-oh. She knew that determined look on her mother’s happy face. How had she let things get this far? Lacey Chatterson obviously had it in her head that Kylie and Drew were actually willing to go through with their wedding again, just so the mother of the bride could plan a dream reception for her daughter.
A daughter who had run off and married a stranger in secret, then stood there in front of her adoring parents and pretended to be madly in love. She gave a little finger wave toward her dad as her insides twisted up in guilt.
“Maybe we should grab something to drink and make our way over there,” Drew said, reminding her they were just standing there in the center of the room.
“Oh, they’re fine. I can see them tomorrow and clear everything up then.”
His palm remained on the small of her back as he leaned toward her ear so she could hear him over the loud lyrics of the Commodores. “You don’t have to face your parents, or the rest of the town, alone. Remember when I said we’d be in this together? I really meant it.”
She’d thought he’d meant they’d be in it together only if there was a baby involved. So why was he sticking around now that he’d been cleared of official daddy status? She wouldn’t blame him if he made a run for the nearest creek. But he remained right beside her, a blue-uniformed wall of muscle that, judging by the sincere look in his eyes, left no doubt that he wasn’t going anywhere. For tonight, at least.
“Of course,” he said as he guided her off the dance floor and toward the open bar set up in the corner, “if having me there would just make things more awkward or embarrassing for you, say the word.”
She jerked her head so that she could face him. What was he saying? Would he want to explain their marriage to his parents without her there? She looked down at her cleavage and decided that with a minister for a father, he probably would. She tried not to feel insulted, but what did she expect? He was Saint Drew. And she was...
Well, she was Kylie Chatterson. She was known to be a little brassy at times and not too conservative in her fashion choices, which usually showed off her curves to great advantage. Although she was smart and successful and came from a loving family, she probably wasn’t Drew’s first choice of a woman to take home to meet the folks.
And if it weren’t for her impulsiveness and hot temper, he probably wouldn’t have had to meet hers, either. Even though neither of them knew who was to blame for their predicament in the first place, she was definitely the only one who could mitigate the current awkwardness.
“Listen, that’s very thoughtful of you to offer to come with me to talk to them. I know my dad can be a lot to take, and he isn’t in the warmest of moods right this second. Why don’t we just drop it for tonight and try to act as normal as possible?”
“Define normal. Because frankly, I’m having a hard time keeping up with what’s normal nowadays,” he said as they approached the bar.
Was he talking about her love-at-first-sight pretense?
“Sorry for the whole lovey-dovey routine earlier. I truly don’t make a habit out of lying to anyone, least of all my parents. But I was trying to avoid a big I-told-you-so moment. My dad is always telling me that I’m t
oo impulsive. I guess I just wanted to prove that I had a good reason for what we did and that I had everything under control. I’m sure you thought I was off my rocker for implying that the marriage was anything more than a drunken mistake.”
Drew cringed at her statement. What had she said wrong?
“So just so that we’re on the same page,” he said carefully, “you want me to go along with this charade until tomorrow, when you start announcing to the world that I was a big mistake?”
Ooh. That was why he had cringed. “No, you’re not the mistake. Getting drunk and getting married was the mistake. Come on, you couldn’t possibly think that any woman in her right mind wouldn’t jump at the chance to be married to someone as perfect as you?”
Clearly, she was not in her right mind. As soon as she saw his lips curve upward, another rush of heat stole up her skin. Why in the world had she just said that out loud? She must be as red as the jar of maraschino cherries at the bar.
“A champagne for the lady, and I’ll take a Coke,” he said to the bartender, his warm fingers still splayed against her back. Apparently he wasn’t taking any chances on drinking alcohol in her presence again. He probably figured that someone needed to be sober to make sure she didn’t do or say anything else outlandish tonight.
It was just as well. The twins ran up to them as Drew handed her a crystal flute. “Uncle Drew, Aunt...uh...what’s her name?” Caden stage-whispered to his brother, whose face was smeared with chocolate from ear to ear.
“It’s Kyle,” Aiden whispered back.
“Are we s’pose to call her Aunt Kyle?” Caden asked.
“How about you just call me Kylie?” she said, correcting their pronunciation by putting emphasis on the e sound at the end of her name. The boys really were too cute for words. She suspected Drew and his own brother had been just as spunky and just as mischievous as these two when they were kids.
“But Kyle is a boy’s name,” Caden said. “And you’re not a boy.”
“Kylieeeee,” she repeated, then pointed at her dad. “You can talk to that big redheaded man over there at that table. He’s the one who gave me such a confusing name.”
The twins looked at her father, a lumberjack of a man who, at one time or another, had intimidated some of the best batters in professional baseball.
“Nah, that’s okay.” Aiden shook his head. “Anyway, they’re building a bonfire outside and me and Caden wanted to go out with the other kids and watch.”
Drew looked at her, lifting his shoulders up as if to ask her opinion. The man gave off the most capable and competent vibe 90 percent of the time, but he really was lost when it came to his nephews.
She didn’t know the boys well enough to trust them around fire without adult supervision. But then she saw Scooter and Jonesy, a couple of retired volunteer firefighters, leading a line of kids outside like the Pied Pipers of Sugar Falls, and told Drew she thought it would be a safe enough activity.
The kids scampered off, and she and her new husband wove their way through chairs and tables until they reached the empty head table—where her parents made a beeline for them.
“So let’s cut to the chase,” Bobby Chatterson said before pulling out the chairs reserved for the bride and groom. “Did you knock my daughter up, or what?”
“Dad,” Kylie pleaded, although it wasn’t until this morning that she’d been able to rule that possibility out.
“No, sir.” Drew didn’t bat an eye. “It really happened quite suddenly. And please believe me when I say that I would never have eloped with Kylie if I’d thought it would cause her any problems with her family.”
That was mostly true. Her husband was likely well trained in phrasing things just the right way in order to calm people down. Of course, what he’d left unsaid was that he probably would never have married Kylie ever. Period.
“That’s good to know,” her dad said. “Because Kylie not having a proper wedding would really be a big disappointment to her mom and me. So I put a call into my buddy who runs the stadium club back home. He owes me a pretty big favor and thinks he can get your reception on the books for October.”
Oh, no.
Drew, who had been taking a healthy chug of his soda, choked a bit.
Kylie sighed. “Dad, seriously. We’re not going to have a wedding reception back in Seattle.”
“Fine, then.” Her father threw his hands up in the air. “Have it here. Your mom already spoke to the manager, and he’ll give us a pretty good rate if we put down the deposit tomorrow.”
Thankfully she was sitting beside Drew, because she couldn’t even imagine seeing the mortified look crossing his face right that second. “Slow down, Dad. There’s no need to rush into any of this.”
“You’re really not one to preach about rushing into anything, Jellybean.”
“I have a suggestion.” Drew’s voice was calm and his fingers were soothing as he lightly stroked her bare shoulders. When had he put his arm around her? “Why don’t we all sleep on it tonight, and then we can get together tomorrow and throw some ideas around for the big reception. Maybe come up with a game plan that everyone will be happy with.”
Kylie took a drink of champagne to keep her jaw from dropping. What was he thinking?
“I like a good game plan,” her dad said. “You good with that, Lace?”
Her mom stood up. “I’m good with anything that gets your mouth to stop jabbering and your feet to start moving. Get your dancing shoes on, Bobby. It’s time to show these kids how to shake it.”
“All right, we’ll see you two tomorrow, then,” her father said. “Wait, we’re gonna need directions to your place.”
“You don’t remember how to get to my condo?” Kylie asked at the exact same time Drew responded, “The cabin’s a little ways out of town, off Sweetwater Bend.”
Her husband was looking at something outside on the terrace and must not have been paying attention when he’d made the slip.
“What cabin?” Her mom lifted a brown eyebrow. Her parents had seized on the discrepancy immediately. How was she going to extricate herself from this one?
“Well, it’s only been a week, so we’re still sorting out the...uh...living arrangements,” she said.
“Hmm.” Her father stroked his well-groomed beard. “It’s probably better you don’t live together just yet anyway. I can’t really see you sharing your shoe closet with a couple of little boys. Plus, there’s no way could you rough it out in some cabin in the woods.”
“What do you mean, Dad? I could live in a cabin anywhere.” The trapped feeling she’d been experiencing just seconds ago was now building up into defensiveness. She felt like a grenade—and her father was about to pull the pin.
“Sure you could.” Her dad winked at her mom, and Kylie exploded.
“Dad, I’m thirty years old. I can live wherever I want and with whomever I want. And if I decide to move in with my husband and our nephews into our cabin, then that’s what I’ll do, because I’m an adult, and I can make my own decisions.”
“Fine. I’m sure you know what’s best, Jellybean. By the way, your brother Kane is still recovering from his shoulder surgery and has been eager to get out of Chicago and recuperate somewhere in private. I’ll let him know he can stay at your condo since you won’t be using it.”
“Perfect. That settles everything,” Lacey Chatterson said, pulling her husband toward the dance floor. “We’ll see you two lovebirds tomorrow at the cabin.”
Ugh! She’d just done it again. Kylie’d let her temper get the best of her, and now she couldn’t backpedal without making her parents suspect something was up.
And as if the hole she’d dug for herself couldn’t get any bigger, Drew wouldn’t—or couldn’t—even look at her.
Chapter Five
Drew would’ve tried to stop the words before they came out of Kylie’s mouth if he hadn’t been staring so intently at the raging fire looming bigger and closer outside. Where were the twins—and why weren’t
the smoke alarms going off?
While he couldn’t very well have a stranger move in with him and the boys, especially one who didn’t know how to keep her hotheaded responses in check, dealing with that issue wasn’t topping his list of priorities at that exact moment. He needed to get out there and make sure his nephews weren’t in danger of setting the Snow Creek Lodge ablaze.
More guests were trickling outside to enjoy the brisk evening air along with the robust flames in the circular stone pit. Drew was relieved to see the fire did in fact look well contained, but he couldn’t say the same about his nephews.
They were nowhere to be seen.
“What’s wrong?” Kylie asked as she walked up behind him. He didn’t know if she’d followed him so she could explain her outburst about moving into the cabin with him, or if she could instinctively tell that he was worried about something.
But either way, he was glad she was by his side.
“I don’t see the boys.” He looked back and forth, taking in every person in the dim firelight. But none of them were identical four-foot troublemakers with impish faces and springy blond curls.
“Okay. Let’s think about this logically.” Sure, now Miss Hothead could be logical. Where was her rational thinking just a few moments ago?
“It’s only been fifteen minutes since they came out here,” she continued. “About five minutes ago, I looked out the glass doors and saw them helping the bigger boys bring more wood over. So they couldn’t have gotten far in that amount of time.”
He appreciated her awareness of the twins while he’d been focused on calming her father down, but she apparently didn’t realize just exactly what kind of chaos Caden and Aiden were capable of wreaking in that short amount of time.
He started yelling their names, but Kylie grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. “Let’s not start a full-fledged panic. You go toward the ski lift and search for them there. I’ll ask if anyone has seen them.”
Drew nodded before running toward the motorized benches that hauled adventure enthusiasts up to the top of the mountain. He was really going to let the boys have it if he found them messing around on the lifts after he’d expressly told them not to get close to that area.