A Timeless Romance Anthology: Summer Wedding Collection
Page 16
Other works by Rachael Anderson
Click the covers to visit the author’s page on Amazon.
Chapter One
The cab stopped at yet another red light in the snarled Las Vegas traffic. Natalie checked the time on her cell phone for at least the hundredth time since she’d boarded the plane at LaGuardia. Assuming Sierra was keeping to the schedule—and she always did—the wedding rehearsal started five minutes ago.
Without me. Natalie was the maid of honor. She crossed her ankles, hating that in the blistering Nevada heat, her legs were sticking together. The air conditioning in the cab apparently didn’t reach past the driver. He looked perfectly comfortable, while Natalie dripped with sweat and stressed out over missing her best friend’s rehearsal.
She loved Sierra, but really, what had she been thinking planning a wedding in Vegas—at the hottest time of the year? Vegas was out of the way for everyone attending the wedding, and most would be traveling significant distances. No way would Natalie have ever made such a trip for anyone but her best friend. She and Sierra had been tight since junior high, and during high school, they’d dated a pair of best friends. The four of them—the Quartet, as they called themselves, had been nearly inseparable.
Nearly, but not quite. Sierra and Jason were about to marry all these years later, while Natalie was very much single; she and Adam had parted ways after graduation. Natalie had asked Sierra whether Adam would be at the wedding. It would make sense, but she had no idea whether the male half of the Quartet was still close.
What if she did see Adam again? His crooked smile, the way he laughed with his head thrown back, the warmth and safety she felt in his arms, the silly quirk of one eyebrow whenever he was surprised or amused.
Natalie shifted in her seat. It was time to think of something—someone—else. Except that her foot had kicked some trash on the floor of the cab, including pieces of stale popcorn. The sight triggered a memory about the night the Quartet had hung out at Sierra’s house, watching an old movie Adam was assigned to write a paper on. The film was boring beyond belief. They’d watched it in silence for a good half hour, and then out of the blue, Natalie found herself being pelted with pieces of popcorn by Adam, who sat beside her on the floor.
Three pieces hit her straight in the face, one after the other. She laughed and brushed off her shirt then jabbed Adam in the ribs with her elbow. “You eat popcorn,” she told him, grabbing some from the bowl he held in his lap then lobbing the pieces at his face one at a time. Her aim wasn’t as good as his, and the pieces stuck in his hair instead. She covered her mouth and stifled a laugh.
Adam brushed his hair out with his fingers. “This is cold popcorn. It’s basically salty Styrofoam. The only thing it’s good for is ammunition.”
“Oh, really?” Natalie said with a challenging tone and a grin. She snatched the bowl and ran off with it. She and Sierra hid behind the couch, throwing popcorn missiles over the couch then dodging popcorn coming from the boys, who were using the other bowl of popcorn, which Sierra and Jason had been eating from. Fortunately, Sierra and Jason had eaten most of their popcorn, so the boys ran out of ammo much earlier than the girls did, and started throwing whole kernels until their bowl was completely empty.
The end result was a total mess. Natalie still had no idea what movie they’d been watching, except that it was black and white. To this day, she had a hard time eating cold popcorn. Not because it tasted bad, but because it brought back many memories she’d rather keep buried.
She sighed. Why was she thinking about all of that now? It was ancient history. Besides, Adam was almost certainly not going to the wedding. For years, Sierra did the duty of a best friend, going out of her way to avoid talking about Adam to Natalie, and it had worked, except for the pictures of the three of them from their five-year class reunion, with Natalie noticeably absent. She hadn’t gone because the symphony was getting ready for a tour. Not that she’d needed much of an excuse to avoid the reunion. And she’d appreciated Sierra keeping any mention of Adam out of their relationship, it had meant that Natalie hadn’t known until recently whether Jason and Adam had stayed in touch. But when Natalie agreed to be maid of honor, she had to ask the big question for the sake of preparing for anything awkward: would Adam be best man?
Turned out that while he and Jason were still tight, six month ago, Adam had committed to fly out that same weekend to Brussels to meet with a software company for a potential merger. If he could get out of the trip, he’d come to the wedding, but last Sierra heard, the chances of that were slim to none.
Which was just as well. Seeing Adam again would have been uncomfortable. Not that she couldn’t handle it. What was done was done—long ago.
Adam was surely married and off doing his technology stuff. He’d gone to Cal Tech to study computer science, and she had no idea where he’d settled after that. All she knew was that a few months before high-school graduation, she’d been accepted to Juilliard, and he’d been accepted to Cal Tech. They went off to study on opposite sides of the continent.
After the graduation ceremony, the Quartet spent the night playing goofy games, eating pizza, and laughing themselves silly. They stayed up all night to watch the sun rise on their new lives. The four of them walked from Jason’s house to a nearby hill. They climbed up a steep road to a park at the base of the foothills, and stood there looking east at the Rocky Mountains of their hometown. Jason had his arm around Sierra’s shoulders. Natalie stood in front of Adam and leaned back against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
The sun never really came up that morning. Night ended, and the day lightened. But the sky was overcast, so they never saw the sun peer over the mountain peak.
“Well, now, that’s ominous,” Jason said as a joke. Only Sierra laughed. Natalie smiled wanly, trying to appreciate the humor, but a seed of dread had settled into her middle, and she didn’t know why. Sierra kissed Jason, took his hand, and together the two of them headed down the hill.
Natalie and Adam stayed at the top, unmoving. She hardly dared breathe. Jason’s comment about a bad omen continued to ring in her ears. What did the future hold for her? For them? If only they could stand right there on that grassy hill, forever, and not worry about heading to opposite coasts for the next four years, but instead, jump over those years and land in the future, still together.
She’d be leaving in a couple of days for an early summer program. He wouldn’t go to Cal Tech until later, but the next day, his family was headed out for a final trip before he went off to college. This was their last day together.
Adam sighed and whispered, “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too.” Natalie swallowed and soldiered, broaching the subject they’d both been avoiding. “But we can stay in touch with email and texts, and we can Skype…” Her voice trailed off, expecting Adam to chime in with agreement, adding more things they’d use to stay close across the miles. Maybe a phone call every night. But he stayed eerily silent. With her back against him, she leaned to the side and looked up at his face. His jaw had tightened, and sadness seemed to circle his eyes. She wanted to ask what was wrong, but the words caught in her throat. She turned back to the mountain range with its gloomy gray clouds and again wished for the moment to hang on a bit longer. Forever would be just fine.
Eventually, Adam spoke. “Nat… I don’t think this will work.”
There it was. She held her breath until she had to swallow, and then she took in a gulp of air and held it, waiting for the shoe to drop. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—ask what he meant. Even though she knew.
“We both have a lot of intense schoolwork ahead of us, and we’ll be three time zones apart.” He said it as if they would be in different solar systems. She closed her eyes and braced herself as he went on. “How often will we get to actually see each other? Once a year? Twice? Even with texting and all that, it isn’t enough to maintain a relationship. We’ll probably meet other peopl
e and change, and…”
She didn’t want to meet someone else. They could make it work.
Unless he wanted his freedom to date whomever he wanted to in California. Who was she to stop him? They were only eighteen, and while she loved him with all her heart, a part of her knew that they were still young. She probably didn’t know what love was, although she couldn’t fathom that it could mean something deeper than what she felt for Adam—what she was sure he felt for her, too.
But maybe in a year or two, all of that would change. She couldn’t imagine ever loving someone like she loved Adam.
“We don’t have a chance of making it. We’re too young.” He swallowed hard. “You’ll meet some guy out there, you know,” he said. “Probably several.”
She turned around, shaking her head. “No, I won’t. I—”
“You can’t know that,” Adam insisted.
“And do you have a crystal ball that says you’ll meet some other girl?”
He closed his eyes and breathed out, not saying anything for a while. What did that mean? If he didn’t want to break up with her, maybe she could convince him not to do. But before she could be sure of anything, he went on.
“I can’t do this.” His eyebrows drew together, and his brown eyes looked glassy, like maple syrup. Oh, how she loved those eyes. “It’s over, Nat. It’s been great, but it’s over.”
Before she could protest, he pulled her close into a long, tight embrace. Then he pulled back, lifted her chin, and kissed her. It was much briefer than many of their kisses, barely more than a peck. If he hadn’t kept it brief, she would have used it to try to change his mind. But then he’d pulled back, leaving her lips tingling and her heart racing—with love, anxiety, and fear all jumbled up inside her.
He squeezed her hands, released them, and walked away. Natalie wanted to call out, to make him come back, but the pit in her chest told her that he was serious, and that it was over between them. With her chest feeling hollow, she waited for him to turn around, to come back. But at the bottom of the road, she saw his car pull out of Jason’s street and drive away.
He’d really broken up with her.
All of these years later, Natalie couldn’t hate him for it. They were really young. It was probably the right thing for him to do. If he didn’t want a long-distance relationship, it wouldn’t have lasted.
That morning, after he’d left her on the hill, she’d sat on the dewy grass, intensely aware of being alone, something she wasn’t used to after spending most of her free time with Adam for the better part of the last two years. They’d practically grown into adults together. She stared at the mountains, where a beautiful pink and orange dawn should have broken over them, and she cried hot tears. Jason was right; the overcast morning had been a bad omen.
The cab pulled up to the hotel and stopped with a jerk, pulling Natalie out of her memories. “Here we are. Let me get your bags.”
“Thanks,” she said as she got out. She waited by the trunk for the driver to get her suitcase and carry-on. She checked her watch again. She was already fifteen minutes late for the wedding rehearsal. When she’d booked her flight, she thought she’d timed everything perfectly. She’d bring her luggage to symphony practice, which would end in time to catch a cab to the airport. Barring traffic, she’d get there with enough time to get through security and catch her flight, which would then land in Vegas with thirty minutes to spare. She was supposed to use that extra half hour to check in at the hotel and freshen up. But then the plane was delayed by an hour, and to top it off, the Vegas traffic was a beast. Instead of showing up fresh and relaxed, she was late, travel worn, and looked entirely wilted.
“Here you go, miss.” The driver handed over her bags and closed the trunk as Natalie handed over enough bills to cover her tab and a tip.
With a quick thanks, she was off racing into the hotel, her carry-on slung over one shoulder as she ran, rolling her suitcase behind her. No time to get her room key now; she had to head straight to the wedding salon for the rehearsal. With luck, she hadn’t missed much—or maybe Sierra had waited for her, so Natalie wouldn’t miss any of the rehearsal after all.
No big deal. I can freshen up before dinner.
She raced down the hall, which was lined with crown molding, lush carpets, expensive furniture, and sparkling chandeliers. To the right was one of many wedding salons in the Wynn. She stopped short at the door, hearing sounds of an organ and people talking. They’d started. Of course they had, but that didn’t keep her from feeling disappointed. She peered in so she wouldn’t interrupt. Jason stood in position at the end of the aisle, looking much as he had in high school, only his hair was lighter, and his face was tan.
Beside him, stood the best man—taller than the groom, with broader shoulders. He noticed her peeking in the door, and his eyebrow quirked when he looked up at the door. Natalie’s heart stopped cold; her jaw went slack.
Adam. He wasn’t supposed to be here.
He looked different. Better, even, with cut cheekbones and jaw; she hadn’t realized that his teenage face had a boyish softness to it until she saw the grown man at the end of the room. Her insides buzzed, and her stomach flipped over itself.
Why, oh why, hadn’t Sierra told her that Adam was coming after all? She swallowed against a parched throat.
Adam nodded toward the back of the room and smiled broadly. “Guys, she’s here.” He turned to the bride, who wore a short black dress and pearls. “Hey, Sierra, want me to walk down the aisle again, this time with your maid of honor?”
Wait, what? Natalie had thought she’d be walking down the aisle alone, with the best man—who was supposed to be Jason’s little brother—already standing beside the groom. She’d seen weddings done this way, but it wasn’t what she was used to.
And it was Adam she’d be walking down the aisle with.
Her carry-on slipped from her shoulder, and she put it on the floor inside the door as Adam walked toward her. As he approached, she could tell that he’d left any shred of boyhood behind him. He was all man now—and so much better looking than she remembered. She had to force herself not to stare.
He was just an old friend, and this was nothing more than a friendly reunion.
Adam took the handle of her suitcase and rolled it to the side beside her carry-on then took his place at the head of the aisle and put out his arm expectantly, his eyebrow quirked again, this time in expectation. Oh, that eyebrow. The last time he’d stood like that—arm out, waiting for her—had been right before the promenade on their senior prom.
“Ready?” He looked over, still smiling casually, as if there hadn’t been seven years of silence. Seven years since he’d broken her heart on the top of the hill.
Natalie shook away the thoughts as so many mental cobwebs and mustered a smile. “Ready. Sorry I’m late.” She stepped forward and slipped her arm through his, terrified that he’d feel her trembling.
The music began, and they walked down the aisle. Everyone around them was dressed well—not in wedding finery, but in dresses and slacks, while she wore capris, sandals, and a sweaty fitted tee—comfortable flying attire—with a ponytail that drooped and probably had wisps of hair flying around it.
She kept a fake smile plastered to her face, wishing she could hide under a rock from the gazes of all of these people. She prayed that she was, at the very least, hiding her real emotions.
No way could she let anyone know that right then, she felt as if she was the same vulnerable eighteen-year-old she’d been so long ago.
Chapter Two
Judging by the look on Natalie’s face—jaw slack, eyes wide—she was shocked at seeing Adam. He just couldn’t decide if it was good shocked or bad shocked as he stood at the top of the aisle with her. He hadn’t known until yesterday that he’d be here—after walking out on his job at Web Works in Seattle, where’d he’d been a senior software architect. He was lucky he found a seat on a flight at all.
Someone started the music again. As he wrapped Natalie’s arm through his and walked between the rows of seats, he tried to keep his eyes forward, but he couldn’t help taking a peek at her. She looked travel worn and a bit flushed, but she was still the same beautiful woman he’d loved and sent away, only more mature. Maybe more elegant, too. Over the years, he’d periodically clicked over to her Facebook to see what she was up to, but he’d never dared friend her. He waited for her to click the friend button, if and when she decided to.
He checked her page with increasing frequency of late. She didn’t have a relationship status listed, or pictures of anyone who might be a boyfriend, only fellow symphony members. That might not mean anything, though; she’d always been the private type. Maybe she simply didn’t post personal stuff.
A few months ago when Sierra and Jason had come to visit, they’d walked in on him checking her page. Jason proceeded to razz Adam about it, but after dinner, Sierra found him alone in the kitchen and dropped a little fact Adam hadn’t considered.
“She’ll never friend you, you know,” Sierra had whispered, glancing over her shoulder as if Jason might hear. She dropped an ice-cream bar wrapper into the garbage.