by Cat Schield
Although the wedding wasn’t until four, the photographer was expecting them to be at the church, dressed in their wedding finery by one. With a hundred or more photos to smile for and because she’d skipped breakfast after oversleeping, Ming decided she’d better grab lunch before heading to the church. She ended up being the last to arrive.
Naturally her gaze went straight to Jason. Standing halfway up the aisle, model-gorgeous in his tuxedo, he looked far more stressed than the groom. Ming flashed back to their senior prom, the evening that marked the beginning of the end for her in terms of experiencing true love.
“Don’t you look handsome,” she exclaimed as he drew near. Over the years, she’d had a lot of practice pretending she wasn’t infatuated with him. That stood her in good stead as Jason pulled her into his arms for a friendly hug.
“You smell as edible as you look,” he murmured. “Whose insane idea was it to dress you in a color that made me want to devour you?”
For her fall wedding, Rachel had chosen strapless empire waist bridesmaid dresses in muted apple green. They would all be carrying bouquets of orange, yellow and fuchsia.
Ming quivered as his sexy voice rumbled through her. If he kept staring at her with hungry eyes, she might not be able to wait until after the wedding to get him alone. A deep breath helped Ming master her wayward desires. Today was about Max and Rachel.
“Susan proposed apple green, I believe.” She’d never know how she kept her tone even given the chaos of her emotions.
“Remind me to thank her later.”
Ming restrained a foolish giggle and pushed him to arm’s length so she could check him out in turn. “I like you in a tux. You should wear one more often.”
“If I’d known how much fun it would be to have you undress me with your eyes, I would have done so sooner.”
“I’m not undressing—” She stopped the flow of words as Emma waddled within earshot.
“I don’t know what you’re planning on taking off,” the very pregnant woman said as she stepped into the pew beside them, “but I’d start with what he’s wearing.”
Jason smirked at Ming, but there was no time for her to respond because the photographer’s assistant called for the wedding party to come to the front of the church.
With everyone in a festive mood, it was easy for Ming to laugh and joke with the rest of Rachel’s attendants as they posed for one photo after another. The photographer’s strict schedule allowed little time for her to dwell on how close she’d been to her own wedding six months earlier, or whether she might be in this same position months from now if things continued to progress with Lily and Evan.
But in the half-hour lull between photos and ceremony, she had more than enough quiet to contemplate what might have been for her and to ponder the future.
She kept apart from the rest of the group, not wanting her bout of melancholy to mar the bride and groom’s perfect day. Shortly before the ceremony was supposed to start, Jason approached her and squeezed her hand.
“You look pensive.”
“I was just thinking about the baby.”
“Me, too.” His expression was grave. “I want to tell everyone I’m the father.”
Ming’s heart convulsed. Last night, after discovering she was pregnant, she’d longed to stand at Jason’s side and tell everyone they were having a baby. Of course, doing it would bring up questions about whether or not they were together.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“The only reason you wanted to keep quiet was because you didn’t want to hurt Evan. But he’s moved on with your sister.”
“So you decided this because Evan and Lily are involved?”
“It isn’t about them. It’s about us. I’m going to be in the child’s life on a daily basis.” His expression was more determined than she’d ever seen it. “I think I should be there as his dad rather than as Uncle Jason.”
He’d said us.
Only it wasn’t about her and Jason. Not in the way she wanted. Ming’s heart shuddered like a damaged window battered by strong winds. At any second it could shatter into a thousand pieces. She loved the idea that he wanted to be a father, but she couldn’t ignore her yearning to have him be there for her as well.
“Come on, you two,” Missy called as the wedding party began moving into position near the church’s inner door. “We’re on.”
Jason strode to his position in line and Ming relaxed her grip on her bouquet before the delicate stems of the Gerber daisies snapped beneath the intensity of her conflicting emotions.
As maid of honor, Rachel’s sister, Hailey, was already in place behind Max and his parents. The music began signaling the trio to start down the aisle. The groom looked relaxed and ready as he accompanied his parents to their places at the front of the church.
The bright flowers in Ming’s hands quivered as she stood beside Nathan. He appeared on edge. His distress let Ming forget about her own troubles.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Lines bracketed his mouth. “I tried to convince Emma to stay home. Although she wouldn’t admit it, she’s really having a difficult time today. I’m worried about her.”
“I’m sure it’s natural to be uncomfortable when you’re past your due date,” Ming said and saw immediately that her words had little effect on the overprotective father-to-be. “She’ll let you know if anything is wrong.”
“I’m concerned that she won’t.” He glanced behind him at the bride. “She didn’t want anything to disturb your day.”
Rachel put her hand on Nathan’s arm, her expression sympathetic. “I appreciate both of you being here today, but if you think she needs to be at home, take her there right after the ceremony.”
Nathan leaned down and grazed Rachel’s cheek with his lips. “I will. Thank you.”
He seemed marginally less like an overwound spring as they took their turn walking down the aisle. It might have helped that his wife beamed at him from the second row. Ming’s stomach twisted in reaction to their happiness. Even for someone who wasn’t newly pregnant and madly in love with a man who refused to feel the same way, it was easy to get overwhelmed by emotions at a wedding. Holding herself together became easier as she watched Rachel start down the aisle.
The bride wore a long strapless dress unadorned by beading or lace. Diamond and pearl earrings were her only jewelry. Her styling was romantic and understated, allowing the bride’s beauty and her utter happiness to shine.
With her father dead and her mother out of her life since she was four, Rachel had no one to give her away. Ming’s sadness lasted only until she realized this was the last time Rachel would walk alone. At the end of the ceremony, she would be Max’s wife and part of his family.
Ming swallowed past the lump in her throat as the minister began talking. The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur. She was roused out of her thoughts by the sound of clapping. Max had swept Rachel into a passionate kiss. The music began once more and the happy couple headed back down the aisle, joined for life.
Because they’d been the last up the aisle, Nathan and Ming were the last to return down it. They didn’t get far, however. As they drew near Emma, Ming realized something was wrong. Nathan’s wife was bending forward at the waist and in obvious pain. When Nathan hastened to her side, she clutched his forearm and leaned into his strength.
“I think it might be time to get to the hospital,” she said, her brown eyes appearing darker than ever in her pale face.
“How long has this been going on?” he demanded.
“Since this morning.”
Nathan growled.
“I’m fine. I wanted both of us to be here for Rachel and Max. And now I’d like to go to the hospital and give birth to our son.”
“Stubborn woman,” Nathan muttered as he put a supporting arm around his wife and escorted her down the aisle.
“Do you want us to come with you?” Max’s mother asked, following on their heels. She reached
her hand back to her husband.
“No.” Emma shook her head. “Stay and enjoy the party. The baby probably won’t come anytime soon.” But as she said it, another contraction stopped her in her tracks.
“I’m going to get the car.” Handing his wife off to Ming, Nathan raced out of the church.
Ming and Emma continued their slow progress.
“Has he always been like this?” Ming asked, amused and ever so envious.
“It all started when my father decided to make marrying me part of a business deal Nathan was doing with Montgomery Oil. Since then he’s got this crazy idea in his head that I need to be taken care of.”
“I think it’s sweet.”
Emma’s lips moved into a fond smile. “It’s absolutely wonderful.”
By the time Ming got Emma settled into Nathan’s car and returned to the church, half the guests had made it through the reception line and had spilled onto the street. Since she wasn’t the immediate family of the bride and groom, she stood off to one side and waited until the wedding party was free so she could tell them what had happened to Nathan and Emma.
“The contractions seemed fairly close together,” Ming said in answer to Susan Case’s question regarding Emma’s labor. “She said she’d started having them this morning, so I don’t know how far along she is.”
“Hopefully Nathan will call us from the hospital and let us know,” Max’s father said.
Sebastian nodded. “I’m sure he will.”
“In the meantime,” Max said, smiling down at his glowing wife, “we have a reception to get to.”
A limo awaited them at the curb to take the group to The Corinthian, a posh venue in downtown Houston’s historical district. Ming had never attended an event there, but she’d heard nothing but raves from Missy and Emma. And they were right. The space took its name from the fluted Corinthian columns that flanked the long colonnade where round tables of ten had been placed for the reception. Once the lobby for the First National Bank, the hall’s thirty-five-foot ceilings and tall windows now made it an elegant place to hold galas, wedding receptions and lavish birthday parties.
Atop burgundy damask table cloths, gold silverware flanked gilded chargers and white china rimmed with gold. Flickering votive candles in glass holders nestled amongst flowers in Rachel’s chosen palette of gold, yellow and deep orange.
Ming had never seen anything so elegant and inviting.
“Susan really outdid herself,” Missy commented as she and her husband stopped beside Ming to admire the view. “It almost makes me wish Sebastian and I hadn’t run off to Las Vegas to get married.” She grinned up at her handsome husband. “Of course, having to wait months to become his wife wouldn’t have been worth all this.”
Sebastian lifted her hand and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. The heat that passed between them in that moment made Ming blink.
She cleared her throat. “So, you don’t regret eloping?”
Missy shook her head, her gaze still locked on her husband’s face. “Having a man as deliberate and cautious as Sebastian jump impulsively into a life-changing event as big as marriage was the most amazing, romantic, sexy thing ever.”
“He obviously knew what he wanted,” Ming murmured, her gaze straying to where Jason laughed with Max’s father.
Sebastian’s deep voice resonated with conviction as he said, “Indeed I did.”
Twelve
Keeping Ming’s green-clad form in view as she chatted with their friends, Jason dialed his brother’s cell. Evan hadn’t mentioned skipping the wedding, and it was out of character for him to just not show. When voice mail picked up, Jason left a message. Then he called his dad, but Tony hadn’t heard from Evan, either. Buzzing with concern, Jason slid the phone back into his pocket and headed for Ming.
She was standing alone, her attention on the departing Sebastian and Missy, a wistful expression on her face. Their happiness was tangible. Like a shot to his head, Jason comprehended Ming’s fascination. Despite her insistence that she wasn’t cut out for marriage, it’s what she longed for. Evan had ended their engagement and broken her heart in the process. Her decision to become a single mom was Ming’s way of coping with loneliness.
How had he not understood this before? Probably because he didn’t want it to be true. He hated to think that she’d find someone new to love and he’d lose her all over again.
Over dinner, while Rachel and Max indulged the guests by kissing at every clinking of glassware, Jason pondered his dinner companion and where the future would take them after tonight. He’d been happier in the past couple of weeks than he’d been in years. It occurred to him just how much he’d missed the closeness that had marked their relationship through high school.
He wasn’t ready to give up anything that he’d won. He wanted Ming as the best friend whom he shared his hopes and fears with. He wanted endless steamy nights with the sexy temptress who haunted his dreams. Most of all, he wanted the family that the birth of their baby would create.
All without losing the independence he was accustomed to.
Impossible.
He wasn’t foolish enough to think Ming would happily go along with what he wanted, so it was up to Jason to figure out how much he was comfortable giving up and for her to decide what she was willing to live with.
By the time the dancing started, Jason had his proposition formed. Tonight was for romance. Tomorrow morning over breakfast he would tell her his plan and they would start hashing out a strategy.
“Hmm,” she murmured as they swayed together on the dance floor. “It’s been over a decade since we danced together. I’d forgotten how good you are at this.”
“There are things I’m even better at.” He executed a spin that left her gasping with laughter. “How soon can we get out of here?”
“It’s barely nine.” She tried to look shocked, but her eyes glowed at his impatience.
“It’s the bride and groom’s party.” In the crush on the dance floor, he doubted if anyone would notice his hand venturing over her backside. “They have to stick around. We can leave anytime.”
Her body quivered, but she grabbed his hand and repositioned it on her waist. “I don’t think Max and Rachel would appreciate us ducking out early.”
Jason glanced toward the happy newlyweds. “I don’t think they’ll even notice.”
But in the end, they stayed until midnight and saw Max and Rachel off. The newlyweds were spending the night at a downtown hotel and flying on Monday to Gulf Shores, Alabama, where Max owned a house. The location had seemed an odd choice to Jason until he heard the story of how Max and Rachel met in the beach town five years earlier.
As the guests enjoyed one last dance, Jason slid his palm into the small of Ming’s back. “Did your sister say anything about Evan’s plan to miss the wedding today?”
A line appeared between Ming’s finely drawn eyebrows. “No. Did you try calling him?”
“Yes. And I spoke with my dad, too. He hadn’t heard from him. This just isn’t like Evan.”
“Let me call Lily and see if she knows what’s going on.” Ming dialed her sister’s cell and waited for her to pick up. “Evan didn’t make the wedding. Did he tell you he was planning on skipping it?” Ming met Jason’s eyes and shook her head.
“Find out when she last spoke to him.”
“Jason wants to know when you last heard from him. I’m going to put you on speaker, okay?”
“Last night.”
It was odd for his brother to go a whole day without talking to one of them. “Is something going on with him?”
“Last night he proposed.” Lily sounded miserable.
“Wow,” Ming exclaimed, her excitement sounding genuine.
“I told him I couldn’t marry him.”
Anxiety kicked Jason in the gut. “I guess I don’t need to ask how he took that.”
Twice he’d seen Evan slip into the same self-destructiveness their father had once exhibited. The first tim
e as a senior in high school when his girlfriend of three years decided to end things a week after graduation. Evan had spent the entire summer in a black funk. The second time was about a year before he and Ming had started dating. His girlfriend of two years had dumped him and married her ex-boyfriend. But Jason suspected neither of those events had upset Evan to the extent that losing Lily would.
“I don’t understand,” Ming said. “I thought you loved him.”
“I do.” Lily’s voice shook. “I just can’t do that to you.”
Ming looked to Jason for help. “I don’t blame either of you for finding each other.”
While the sisters talked, Jason dialed his brother again. When he heard Evan’s voice mail message, he hung up. He’d already left three messages tonight. No need to leave another.
“Do you mind if I stop by Evan’s before I head home?” Jason quizzed Ming as he escorted her to where she’d left her car. “I’ll feel better if I see that he’s all right.”
“Sure.”
“Just let yourself in. I shouldn’t be more than fifteen minutes behind you.”
But when he got to his brother’s house, he discovered why Evan hadn’t made it to the wedding and hadn’t called him back. His brother was lying unconscious on his living room floor while an infomercial played on the television.
An open bottle of pain pills was tipped over on the coffee table. Empty. In a flash Jason became a fifteen-year-old again, finding his father passed out in the running car, the garage filled with exhaust. With a low cry, Jason dropped to his knees beside his brother. The steady rise and fall of Evan’s chest reassured Jason that his brother wasn’t dead. Sweat broke out as he grabbed his brother’s shoulder and shook.
“Evan. Damn it. Wake up.” His throat locked up as he searched for some sign that his brother was near consciousness. Darkness closed over his vision. He was back in the shadow-filled garage, where poisonous fumes had raked his throat and filled his lungs. His chest tightened with the need to cough. His brother couldn’t die. He had to wake him. With both hands on Evan’s shoulders, Jason shook him hard. “Evan.”
