His Wicked Ways

by Lorraine Beaumont

  “Yes, you can.” Peggy grabbed her shoulders and shook her slightly. Her hands were clammy too. Molly instantly felt bad. She was ruining her friend’s big day. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. It’ll be fine. Okay.”

  “Okay.” Molly took another breath, trying to keep it together. “Here,” she said. “Turn around so I can fix your veil.”

  Peggy dutifully turned around.

  Molly lifted the long trailing gossamer veil to the back of her hair, and fastened it with a faux emerald and rhinestone comb. Once she was satisfied with her handiwork, she placed her hands on her friend’s bare shoulders, and spun her back around.

  “You look beautiful.” And she did. The strapless ivory gown had an emerald sash fastened around her waist with a sprinkling of crystals over the bodice and the full skirt. Peggy’s bright red hair was pulled up with a mass of curls crowning the back of her head. And her veil fastened underneath.

  “Promise?” Peggy gave her a worried look.

  “Yes, I promise.” Molly squashed down her own nerves. Today was about her friend, she repeated in her mind, and she wasn’t going to ruin her day by having a meltdown.

  “You look beautiful, too,” Peggy assured her.

  Molly doubted that she did but refrained from saying anything else.

  Peggy peeked out of the curtain and then pulled her head back inside. “I think it’s time.”

  Molly gave her friend a quick hug and then she picked up both bouquets and handed the largest one to her friend. “Okay,” she said. She adjusted her skirt.

  “Here I go.” Taking a bracing breath and with one last reassuring smile at Peggy, she left the sanctuary of the room.

  ♣

  For all the preparation and time that went into the planning of a wedding, the actual ceremony seemed to take no time at all. In fact, it was more of a blur and felt a bit surreal. Molly didn’t even notice Dan standing behind Marshall. Instead, her eyes kept darting back to Lucian, hoping he hadn’t decided to leave. But he didn’t. He was still in the back row, all by his handsome lonesome.

  “And now you may kiss the bride,” the Minister bellowed.

  A round of applause exploded, echoing throughout the cavernous room. Molly gave Peggy a quick hug and handed her back her bouquet. She adjusted the train and then Peggy and Marshall made their way down the aisle through thunderous applause and catcalls from the guests.

  Dan stepped up to her side and extended his arm.

  She ignored him.

  “Don’t you want to hold my arm?”

  “No.”

  “You look nice.” His blonde hair was jelled into a tousled messy look that she always thought looked so adorable on him. Now it looked sticky and molded.

  “Stop talking to me.”

  “Grow up.”

  “Screw you.” Molly plastered on a big fake smile and followed the newlyweds out of the cave, leaving a stunned Dan trailing behind.

  ♣

  After they were outside again, Molly dutifully stood beside Peggy and Marshall until they started making their rounds to greet their guests. Once they were preoccupied, Molly broke away and made a beeline for Lucian.

  “Hi there,” she said a bit breathlessly, arriving at his side.

  “Hey there,” he said, smiling down at her flushed face. It occurred to him that she was prettier than he originally thought. “That was nice.”

  “Yeah, it was,” she agreed.

  He tucked his hair behind his ears. “So…” he hedged, rocking back on his heels. “ What do we do now?”

  “It will be a bit before Peggy and Marshall cut the cake, so, if you want, I can grab us some drinks.”

  “That sounds perfect.” The wind blew his hair forward.

  Molly thought he was perfect but refrained from telling him that. “What would you like?”

  “I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

  “Two Irish whiskeys coming right up,” Molly said cheerily.

  “A girl after my own heart,” he said.

  Molly’s stomach made an involuntary flutter at the mention of his heart. “I’ll be right back.”

  “I’ll be here.”

  “Okay.” She gave him what she hoped was a sexy smile and then made her way through the throngs of guests to the bar. She smiled at some familiar faces and tossed out a few, “I’ll be back” when someone tried to stop her.

  The line to the bar was longer than she would have liked. There were at least ten people standing in the way of the drinks she needed to get.

  “Oh, come on!” She wanted to cut the line but couldn’t think of a good enough of an excuse to do that. So, instead, she waited, wishing the bartender moved his ass a little faster.

  ♣

  Lucian waited near one of the rusted pieces of equipment, trying to keep a low profile. He already spoke to Tracy, the girl he spent the night with, in the cave. What were the odds? She was with a date, thank God. But she kept looking over at him.

  Ducking further out of her view, he couldn’t help but wonder if Karma had decided to bite him in his ass as well.

  ♣

  By the time Molly got to the bar, the cover band Peggy hired started to play their rendition of Billy Idol’s, Hot in the City. She bobbed her head to the music and nonchalantly looked over her shoulder to make sure Lucian didn’t leave before she got back, or worse, found someone else to hang out with. It was impossible not to notice that there were a lot of single girls here who were already zeroing in on Lucian.

  Twenty minutes later, she was finally able to get their drinks. “Two Irish whiskey’s please,” she called out to the bartender over the bands rendition of Blondie’s, Call Me.”

  The bartender, who was pretty cute, gave her a raised eyebrow look as he poured her drinks.

  Molly ignored him and grabbed her drinks once he set them on the bar. “Thanks.”

  “No problem,” he said.

  She turned and made her way through the crowd back towards Lucian.

  ♣

  Three girls were edging their way towards Lucian by the time she got back. “Coming through,” Molly called out and elbowed her way through the middle of the girls. “Here you go.” She handed one of the drinks to Lucian.

  His lips twitched. “Thanks.” He took a sip.

  Feeling nervous, she took a big sip of her own drink.

  It was too big and her eyes immediately teared up. Pressing the back of her hand over her mouth, she stifled a cough.

  “When’s dinner?” He patted his flat stomach.

  “Um…” Molly swallowed back her cough. “There isn’t going to be a dinner.”

  “There isn’t going to be any dinner?” He looked appalled.

  Molly’s face reddened. “Well, no, not a sit-down dinner.”

  Lucian normally wouldn’t have cared but he hadn’t eaten anything that wasn’t out of a paper bag from some a fast food restaurant for a while and was hoping to get something decent for a change. “Is there going to be any food?”

  “There’s finger food.”

  “Oh.”

  “If you’re really hungry I can hold up one of the waiters,” she joked, making a pistol with her fingers.

  Ignoring her joke, he slammed back his drink. “Do you need another?”

  “Um…sure…” Molly followed Lucian back to the bar she had just left, transfixed with the way his muscles strained against the fabric of his borrowed suit jacket. What I would give to see him without that jacket and run my fingers over his broad shoulders, she thought.

  Lucian passed over the strip of land that separated them from the cave where the wedding was held. A large piece of rusted equipment was a backdrop to the bar.

  Fast walking, Molly tried to keep up with his long strides.

  “What’s that?” He stopped at the back of the line and pointed to a piece of equipment that looked like a small-scale train.

  “It’s an Eclipse.”

  “A what?”

  “Sorry, t
hat’s just the name of the model. It’s a steam engine.”

  “What was that used for?”

  “It provided the steam to run hoists, drills, pumps and belt driven equipment for the mine.”

  “It looks pretty old.”

  “It is. It was made around the 1890’s.”

  “Does it work?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Lucian couldn’t quite fathom that. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he rocked back on his heels and looked around. A few of the women were blatantly staring at him—they looked hungry and he didn’t think it had anything to do with food. He would have laughed if it wasn’t so damn unsettling.

  Molly nonchalantly glanced over her shoulder. She spotted Dan. He caught her looking at him and smirked.

  Acting oblivious, she stepped closer to Lucian and claimed her space beside him while Tracy, aka, “the Tramp,” sauntered over to a waiter and grabbed a glass of champagne. With little finesse, she slammed the drink back. Giggling stupidly, she lowered her glass and promptly teetered sideways. Dan grabbed hold of her arm and steadied her before she took out one of the guests.

  Molly gritted her teeth.

  Dan was making a spectacle of himself salivating over Tracy like a dog in heat. Granted, she could see why. Tracy was wearing a black clingy dress with a V cut down to her navel, which did a fine job of showcasing her giant boobs. Like moths to a flame, the men ambled closer to her. And it didn’t go unnoticed to Molly that the women also seemed to be creeping closer to Lucian.

  “So,” Molly hedged. “Are you having a good time?”

  Lucian dropped his gaze to her upturned face. “Yeah, I am,” he said, surprised it was actually the truth. Molly was not his type in the least, at least not the type of woman he usually found attractive but there was something wholesome and sweet about her, in a homegrown sort of way.

  Cecily, on the other hand, was worldly; she’d been around the block a few times by the time he met her which is why he found her so attractive. She wasn’t shy or nervous about their lovemaking. She usually initiated it and damn, it was good. His chest tightened at the thought. Shaking his head, he pushed her from his mind. The last person he wanted to think about right now was Cecily. “Bitch,” he muttered to himself.

  Molly spluttered her drink. “What?”

  “Sorry,” he said, apologetically. “I wasn’t talking about you.

  “Oh.” Molly couldn’t help wondering who he was referring to but was afraid to ask.

  “You know that guy?” Lucian titled his head.

  Molly looked over to where Lucian had indicated. “Unfortunately, yes,” she muttered.

  A look of surprise crossed his face. “Were you two involved?” He didn’t know why he was asking.

  “Were, is the operative word.”

  “What happened?”

  “I’ll tell you if you tell me who you called that name.”

  “Is that so?” His brow lifted.

  “Yep.” She nodded enthusiastically.

  “I was talking about my ex. She’s a bitch.”

  “What did she do to you?”

  “What didn’t she do?” A disgusted look crossed his face.

  “That bad?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “Not really.” He swiped his hand through his hair.

  “Okay.” Even though Molly was dying to know what happened she didn’t want to pry.

  “Can we change the subject?”

  “Sure. What would you like to talk about?”

  “What else do you know about Rebecca?”

  Molly blinked stupidly. The last person she thought he would be asking her about was Rebecca. “Um, she was about my age when that picture was taken and she liked to play the piano for the miners.”

  His brows creased. “How’d you know that?”

  “Her piano is up in the museum.”

  “Really?” His eyes brightened.

  “Yeah,” she said. “It’s behind a glass wall.”

  “Why is it behind glass?”

  “I guess they want to make sure no one touches it.”

  “That makes sense.” He took another long pull of his drink.

  “Where will you go from here?” she asked, trying to change the subject from Rebecca.

  He shrugged. “Not sure.”

  “Are you interested in staying here for a while?” she asked, hoping he would.

  “I haven’t given it much thought.” That wasn’t true, exactly. He didn’t really have any money to go anywhere else. He was down to his last twenty. And if Peggy hadn’t invited him to the wedding, he would have probably been sleeping at one of the rest areas scattered throughout the scenic parkway. Hell, he was tempted to take up Tracy on her offer to stay with her a while, but he didn’t want to do that. He didn’t want her getting any ideas about the two of them.

  “Well,” she said. “If you decide to stay, I can show you around.”

  “Can you show me the museum and the rest of the mine?”

  “Um, I guess, sure.” Her brow creased.

  “Are there any cheap places to stay around here, I mean, if I decide to stay?”

  “I know a place. You can stay there for free if you like.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Sure. It’s just a little apartment over a boathouse. It’s nothing spectacular or anything.”

  “Sounds great.” He wouldn’t have cared if it was a shack so long as he had someplace to crash for a bit, until he could figure out what he was going to do.

  “Are you looking for work?”

  “I guess at some point.”

  “Can you do carpentry?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Good. Then I may know someone who has some work for you as well.” She didn’t mention it was for her father.

  “I don’t want to impose.”

  “Nonsense. I know they have been looking for some help for a while now. You’d be doing me and, erhm, them a favor.”

  “Well, in that case, I can’t very well refuse after you have so generously given me a place to stay, now can I?” He nudged her shoulder with his own.

  Molly nudged him back, smiling.

  “So,” he hedged. “What else is there to see around here?”

  “Gosh, there are so many places. It’s hard to pick one.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, there is Chimney Rock…”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s a state park, but it has some cool trails and falls if you are into hiking and nature, that kind of stuff.”

  “That sounds…fascinating.” He rolled his eyes.

  Molly smacked his arm playfully. “It’s not that bad and I bet once you climb it you’ll be glad you did. The views are pretty spectacular.”

  “Well, if you think I will like it, I’m game if you are.”

  Molly smiled. “Great. I’ll put that on our to do list.”

  Lucian was getting a strange feeling. He wasn’t sure what it was exactly…. excitement maybe? Not sexually excited, although, he had to admit the more he hung out with Molly, the more attractive she was getting. He didn’t know if it was the booze or … something else, something he didn’t want to ponder overmuch.

  “There is Biltmore Estate too. It’s not too far away but since you pretty much grew up in a castle I guess it wouldn’t be at the top of your list.”

  “Hey, just because I grew up in a castle, or what I like to call: a gothic monstrosity doesn’t mean I might not want to check out this ah, house.”

  “Mansion.”

  “Yeah, mansion.” He got a squeamish look.

  Molly laughed at the look on his face. “I promise it’s worth checking out. And besides there’s a winery…they give tours and we can get a free tasting of their latest wines.”

  “Well, why didn’t you say so,” he joked. “Free wine, what’s there not to like about that.”

  “Okay. I’ll put that on the list,
too.” Molly was having the best time. Maybe it was better to just be friends first with a guy. She never tried that out before.

  “What else?”

  “There’s always the lake. We can take a boat out, my friend, err, has one we can borrow.” She didn’t mention it was her fathers.

  “Sounds great.” He moved forward in line.

  “I can show you the million-dollar view.”

  “How can I pass that up?”

  She nudged him.

  “Okay, okay,” he laughed.

  “Oh, and if you like gambling, the reservation in Cherokee has a casino.”

  Lucian shrugged noncommittally to that one. He wanted nothing to do with gambling; he was swearing that off—at least for a while. “Let’s try the rock first and go from there.”

  “Okie Dokie.” Molly grinned, excited about the prospect of showing Lucian around.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  After they both got two more drinks and grabbed a few hors d’oeuvres, they made their way to a little patch of grass near the twenty-five-foot, Bon Ami waterfall.

  Molly looked upward, noticing the gray low hanging fat bellied clouds.

  “Is it supposed to rain?” Lucian asked.

  “I hope not.” On cue, a large drop of water splattered down on Molly’s head, followed by another.

  “We better find some cover,” Lucian suggested.

  “Yeah, I think…” Molly didn’t even finish her sentence before the skies opened up and buckets of rain dropped down on them.

  A flurry the guest ran for cover toward the cave where the wedding was held.

  Molly started to run in the same direction.

  Lucian grabbed her arm and pulled her up short. “Let’s go this way.”

  Molly didn’t need to be told twice. She would happily follow him wherever he wanted to go.

  “Head over there,” he yelled over the pounding rain, pointing toward a small cave across from the waterfall.

  “Okay.” Molly gathered her skirts in her hand and ran until she was just inside the mouth of one of the caves. This one was small and very dark in the back. She hadn’t been in it before. When she worked here, it was flooded by water.

  It wasn’t long before Lucian was back at her side with the bottle in his hand. The winds picked up and slashing rain hit them. “Let’s get further inside.”