by Talia Hunter
“It’s okay, man.” Luke slapped him on the back. “It’s getting late. I can take it from here.”
“I only need to drive the machine here and set up the tent,” I assured Mason and his brothers. “There’ll be nothing for you to do. You should get some sleep.”
After some thanks, hugs, and more manly back slaps, Mason, Kade, and Asher drove away, and Luke took me to pick up my SUV and tow the snow machine into place. Together we ran the hose up to the gazebo and set up the tent to hide the machine. Then I started the engine to test it.
Gentle snowflakes drifted down through the hole in the roof and we both raced into the gazebo so we could stand under it, holding our hands out to catch the icy flakes and grinning at each other with a shared, child-like delight.
The snow was sure to be beautiful tomorrow during the wedding, but on such a still moonlit night, with the gazebo’s lights reflecting off the flakes, it was stunning.
“You were right.” Luke’s voice was soft. “Holly’s going to love this.”
“You think she’ll forgive me?”
He moved closer, resting his hands on my upper arms. “There’s nothing to forgive. You were trying to help, and what happened was an accident.”
His close proximity and the fact we were finally alone made my stomach flutter. I let out a small, nervous laugh, hoping he wanted to kiss me again even though I’d made a mess of things. “Don’t pretend it could have happened to anyone. Any sensible person would have gone to find a ladder.”
He put his hands on the side of my face. The snow was chilling my skin, but his hands felt lovely and warm. And the moonlight highlighted his cheeks, throwing sharp shadows that made him look even more gorgeous. Snowflakes glistened in his hair.
He was almost too perfect to be real. If it wasn’t for all the dirt on his previously white T-shirt, I might have wondered if I’d been knocked unconscious when I fell, and I was in a coma having a dream that was getting better by the minute. Maybe I was badly injured and the doctors were increasing my dose of hallucination-inducing drugs to keep me under. If so, I owed a big round of applause to the medical profession.
“Don’t beat yourself up,” Luke’s gaze dropped to my lips. “Your impulsiveness is part of your charm.”
“I bet that wasn’t what you thought when you tried to pick me up for prom.” As soon as the words were out, I wanted to kick myself. I shouldn’t be giving him more reasons not to kiss me. I’d only enjoyed his lips once so far, and I craved a whole lot more.
His hands dropped from my face and I cursed myself again for saying the wrong thing. His lips tugged to the side as he gave me a rueful look. “I’m not going to argue. You should have told me you were leaving town.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t tell anyone,” I spoke fast, hoping to convince him to put his big, warm hands back on me. “I just packed a bag and got on a bus. When I reached Vegas, I called Mom and told her I was going to use the money I’d earned from my after-school job to live on while I looked for work.”
His eyebrows pulled together. “Your mother must have been worried. My sister took off once, and I spent the entire night driving the streets looking for her. By the time she showed up the next day, I’d already rung every hospital and jail, and filed a missing person’s report with the police.”
“Really?” I gave an awkward kind of laugh, though remembering my mother’s lack of reaction still made me feel like there was something missing inside my chest. Like one of the valves in my heart had been surgically removed. “Mom barely noticed I was gone. She only worries if I do something that might reflect badly on her.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
I snorted. “It’s true. She didn’t even want me.”
“What?”
I rubbed the space between my breasts, feeling the hollow space grow. I could hardly believe what I’d said. Why was I blurting out my darkest secrets?
“Nothing,” I said. “Forget it.”
“Tell me.” His tone was soft, his expression non-judgemental. In spite of not having seen Luke for years, I felt like I’d known him all my life. And it was snowing. Maybe that’s why the night felt magical, like it existed outside my regular existence.
Either that, or I was still in a coma.
I let out a sigh. Suddenly, I wanted to tell him. About time I told someone, seeing as I’d let it fester for so long.
“I heard Mom talking on the phone one day. She was a little drunk and I’m not sure who she was talking to, but it was probably her sister. Anyway, she admitted the truth.” I sucked in a breath and let it out again, building up courage. “Mom said she’d only wanted one child, and when she’d discovered she was pregnant with me, she didn’t know what to do. Whether to keep me, or…” I trailed off with a shrug.
“I’m sorry.” Luke reached for my hand, enveloping it in both of his warm ones. There was so much sympathy in his face, I couldn’t look at him without wanting to cry.
“It’s okay. It doesn’t really hurt that much anymore. Hearing her admit it was a shock, but at least it explained why I could never please her. In a way, it was freeing. I don’t have to feel bad for disappointing her. It happened before I was even born.”
“Just because you were unexpected, doesn’t mean your mother doesn’t love you just as much as she loves Holly.”
“Uh-huh.” I nodded, pretending I believed him.
“Ask me who my favorite sister is,” he challenged. “Wild Willow or Humdrum Holly.”
I laughed, feeling a little better. “You’re biased.”
“But you’re an amazing person. I mean, you went to Vegas all by yourself when you were eighteen? That’s incredibly brave.”
“I didn’t feel brave.”
“You found a place to live, and a job. You struck out on your own and became a success.”
“You’re making it sound more impressive than it was. I happened to get a job working the reception desk at an events company. It was just luck.”
“How did you go from working reception to starting your own business?”
I blinked a snowflake off my eyelid. Now my T-shirt was starting to feel damp. All the hard, physical work we’d done had kept me warm until now, but I was chilling down quickly and my jacket was in the car.
“The company I worked for didn’t have a snow machine, and I was the one who fielded calls from customers wanting to hire one. I figured it was something they wanted, so why not supply it? Anyway, I borrowed a scary amount of money to buy my own equipment, and I’m lucky it was a hit. I was definitely reckless jumping into it like that.”
His gorgeous smile made me forget the growing cold. “That’s not recklessness or luck. That’s brilliance. You deserve every bit of your success.”
I couldn’t help smiling back. Now it was my turn to reach up to his face and wipe a snowflake off his cheek. “You’re the amazing one,” I whispered.
He slid his arms around me, pulling me against his body and sending my heart rate soaring. “I don’t think I’ve seen anything as beautiful as snowflakes sparkling on your face. No wonder your machine’s so popular.”
“Are you saying I give good snow jobs?”
His laugh was low and throaty, even warmer than his touch. “Best I’ve ever had.”
Then he kissed me.
Heat radiated through my body.
Luke’s kiss wasn’t as urgent as last time. His passion was restrained, as though he was holding something back. But he still kissed with authority, angling my head back to take what he wanted. Kissing me thoroughly with a command of my lips that left me gasping with need.
I clawed his back, then yanked his T-shirt out of his jeans, frantic to touch more of his skin. Needing him closer. Wanting all of him.
Getting to run my hands across the smooth planes of his back felt like heaven. But the curse of the shorter woman was a certain difficulty in undressing a taller man while he was standing.
“Off,” I demanded, tuggin
g his T-shirt up. “You should take this off.”
Instead, he broke our kiss and stepped back, the openness of his gaze suddenly shielded.
I couldn’t believe it when he shook his head. What kind of nightmare was this? If I was in a coma, the doctors had changed me to the wrong drugs.
“Taking off our clothes isn’t a good idea,” he said.
I could only gape at him. He was totally wrong. Taking off our clothes was the best idea I’d ever heard. In fact, it wasn’t just an excellent idea, it was necessary. I needed to feel his skin against mine.
“Why not?” The question came out sounding needy, and I didn’t even care.
“For a start, icy snowflakes are falling on us.”
“Is it still snowing? I hadn’t noticed.”
Even if Luke had seen Four Weddings and a Funeral, he didn’t seem to get the reference. In fact, his brow was furrowed.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” I demanded, swallowing a surge of disappointment.
“When exactly will you be leaving San Dante, Willow?”
“The morning after the wedding. Why?”
“That soon?” He sighed. “I’m going to take you home now. And not just because I’m growing fond of you, Willow Buchanan, and there’s nothing worse than having to say goodbye to the people I like best.”
“You’re taking me home?” I didn’t just want to object, my body was demanding we stage a protest march, complete with chanting and signs. “Are you sure you don’t want to kiss me some more?”
“I want to do a lot more than kiss you. But not at two in the morning in the gazebo your sister’s about to get married in.”
I opened my mouth to offer the brilliant suggestion that we go back to his place, when the ‘two o’clock in the morning’ part filtered into my brain. By six o’clock, I was expected to be fresh-faced, showered, and sitting in Holly’s living room. My sister had arranged for a hairdresser and makeup artist to come to the house and get us primped before her ten o’clock wedding.
“It’s really two in the morning?” Sudden panic rose so quickly, it even managed to dampen my overpowering urge to ride the Luke train all the way to Climax Station.
“Ten past two.”
I let out a groan and finally gave in to good sense. “You’re right, we need to go. And I really hope Holly likes her bridesmaids to have an exhausted zombie look, or she’s going to be mad with me all over again.”
Chapter Nine
Luke
Willow was stunning.
And she was so nervous, her hand was shaking. It was tucked into my elbow, and I could feel her trembling through the thick fabric of my tuxedo jacket as we wove our way along the longest wedding aisle ever created, heading slowly toward the gazebo.
It wasn’t hard to figure out why she was shaking.
The park was full of at least three hundred people, all sitting in chairs arranged around the gazebo. And as the first couple down the aisle, every pair of eyes was fixed on us.
Or more accurately, they were fixed on Willow.
I wanted our long walk to be over so Willow could relax, but I couldn’t blame anyone for staring. She wore a silver dress that floated around her. Its full skirt flared out from her waist to just below her knees, leaving her shapely calves exposed. Its tight bodice highlighted her perfect breasts. Some of her long, curly hair had been fashioned into an intricate braid around her face, and the rest fell loose around her shoulders.
I couldn’t look at her without forgetting how to breathe.
In keeping with the Christmas theme, Holly had arranged for a group of carollers to sing as we walked slowly down the long aisle. When they started singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas, it reminded me of the speakers Willow had planted around Trixie’s front porch. But even if Willow was also thinking about her prank, she certainly wasn’t smiling now.
Just before we reached the gazebo I felt Willow tense even more. Her mother was sitting in the front row.
The Mayor of San Dante was efficient at her job and very good at getting things done around town. All our public spaces were in great condition, and we had an impressive community center and library, and a beautiful park. I’d voted for her. Three times.
But she was a lot better at being a mayor than a mother.
I put my hand over Willow’s and gave it a squeeze as we went past her mother and started up the stairs to the gazebo. She turned her eyes to me and managed a grateful half-smile, though her face was pale.
At least the mayor had to be pleased with the effect of the snow, if not with the hole in the roof of a historic public building. I bet explaining to her what had happened to it had been less fun than an anal exam.
Inside the gazebo, snowflakes were falling gently, turning the structure into a giant, beautiful snow globe. Rudy was standing in the center of the snowfall, shifting nervously, waiting for his bride. When he met my eyes I gave him a nod I hoped would be reassuring, and he flashed me a tense smile back.
We took our places and waited while the other bridesmaids and groomsmen finished their walk into the gazebo, and the cute little girl who was supposed to be scattering flower petals tipped out her entire basket in a big heap and sat down to cry.
Finally, Holly made her way to the gazebo, the train of her white dress dragging behind her. She beamed at Rudy and he smiled back, some of the tension visibly dropping from his shoulders.
With Holly and Rudy standing side-by-side, the pastor stepped in to start the ceremony. As he spoke about the sanctity of marriage and the importance of the day, I tried to keep my gaze on the happy couple smiling at each other while snowflakes danced softly around them.
Instead, I found myself watching Willow.
While the pastor spoke, Willow slowly lost her nervousness. The more he talked about Holly and Rudy’s love for each other, the more intently Willow listened. Her eyes started to shine and moisture glistened in them, even as her lips curved up. Her joy for her sister was so obvious, her entire face glowed with it.
She’d never looked so beautiful.
My heart felt like it had been hooked and she was reeling it in. By the time the pastor got to the vows, all I wanted was to put my arms around Willow and kiss her cheeks where her tears were threatening to spill.
“Holly, will you take Rudy to be your husband?” asked the pastor. “Will you share your life, build your dreams together, support each other through times of trouble, and rejoice in times of happiness? Do you promise to cherish him for as long as you both shall live?”
“I will,” said Holly.
Though I knew I should look at the bride, I couldn’t tear my gaze from her sister. Willow was reckless and accident prone, and the most exciting, captivating woman I’d ever known. The man who married her would get to experience adventure. His life would never be dull.
I’d never thought about getting married, but I found myself wondering if perhaps…
But no.
Willow was going back to Vegas, and I couldn’t leave San Dante. Wondering if there were a way we could keep seeing each other was asking for heartbreak that could be even worse than when my sister left.
Wanting something impossible was the definition of stupidity. And my momma, bless her memory, hadn’t raised any stupid sons.
With an effort, I managed to drag my gaze from Willow, forcing myself to focus on the happy couple just in time to see their ceremonial kiss.
Hand-in-hand, Rudy and Holly went down the steps of the gazebo as husband and wife. The guests stood up, and some went to congratulate the newly-weds, while others mingled. I moved to escort Willow down the stairs, offering my arm. She gripped it tightly, her eyes still glistening.
“Wasn’t that beautiful?” Her voice was hoarse. “Have you ever seen a couple look so happy?”
I couldn’t answer. I was afraid I might be looking at her the way Rudy was gazing at his new bride. And if I spoke, something foolish might come out. Something crazy about how she made my heart race. How I was never s
ure what she might do next, and how mystifying it was for me to like that feeling so much.
“I was so nervous,” Willow added. “Through the entire ceremony, I wanted to pee.”
I chuckled. “Good thing you managed to hold on.”
“Not for much longer.” She released my arm. “I really need to go.”
Watching her hurry off toward the restrooms, I spotted Mason and went over to talk about my role on the surveillance team. The chief had confirmed my promotion, and I couldn’t wait to get started.
We spoke about it for a while, then I glanced around for Willow. She’d come back from the restrooms and was talking to her mother. They looked like they were arguing, and after few more tense words, Willow turned and strode back to me, her lips tight and an angry frown pulling down her brow.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yes. I just…” She huffed and shook her head. “Never mind.”
“What is it?”
“Mom’s still furious about the gazebo’s roof. She’s worried people will think we broke it on purpose so Holly could have snow for her ceremony.”
I felt my own flush of anger. Knowing the mayor as I did, I should have guessed that would be her main concern, but it still irritated me that she never cut Willow any slack.
Willow scanned the crowd. “There’s Natalie, and Gloria, and some others from school. It’s like a reunion.” Her words were clipped. “I should go and start spreading the word the gazebo’s broken roof was all my fault. Just another one of my screw-ups, and nothing to do with Mom.”
“Willow, don’t—”
“No, I think I need to do this.” She shot me an unhappy look. “I’ll get it over with and meet up with you later.”
As much as I wanted to stop her, I let her go. She walked to her old friends, and once her attention was focused on talking to them, I went to speak to her mother.
“Mayor Buchanan,” I said curtly, nodding to the people the mayor was talking to. “May I have a word in private?”
“Of course.” She let me lead her a short distance from the crowd. “What is it, Luke?”
“Why are you so hard on Willow?” I tried to keep my voice level.
