Bouquets of balloons tied with bright ribbons of every color in the rainbow were affixed to the pristine stucco wall that surrounded the yard, as well as to the backs of chairs and at regular intervals along the railing of the multilevel deck.
“Well, what do you think? A bit over-the-top?” the woman standing beside him asked.
“I’ve never seen a wedding with as much color,” he said after taking a sip of the wine he’d been handed the moment he’d entered the yard. “I don’t find it garish at all. Just…festive.”
“Grace will be so happy to hear you say that. When she was describing what she had in mind, Alex and I told her it would look more like a Byzantine marketplace than a wedding. She said that was exactly what she wanted.” Her laugh sounded amazingly carefree. “I told you she was a character, didn’t I?”
He and Liz had arrived a few minutes earlier, and so far, he’d met both Alex and Grace. Alex, he knew, was the eldest of the sisters. She was also the tallest. Thin, but beautiful. Grace, who moved so fast she made the people around her appear to react in slow motion, had stopped long enough to shake his hand.
“You’re David?” she’d asked, her tone skeptical. “Really? Has anyone ever told you that your name doesn’t fit you?”
David’s advance warning system had sent a burst of panic through his veins, but, fortunately, she hadn’t waited for an answer. “I’m really glad to meet you. Liz never dates. She’s the serious one. Well, Alex is serious, too, but she was less serious before Mark broke her heart. Liz has always been serious.”
She’d flashed him a high-wattage smile then given him a quick hug before dashing off. “Gotta go check on the bride. See ya.”
The bride. Kate. He hadn’t met her yet. Which wasn’t surprising. Although this wedding seemed a bit unconventional in some aspects, he was sure certain protocols would be observed. “How come you’re not one of your sister’s attendants?”
Liz, who looked so dazzling David could barely keep his gaze off her, smiled. “She isn’t having any. Maya, her daughter, is the flower girl. That’s it. Oh, and both mothers are lighting candles. The minister is a friend of Rob’s…or rather, she’s the sister of a friend. Kate and Rob wrote their own vows. Should be interesting.”
He’d wanted to write the vows he and Kay spoke when they got married, but she’d been against the idea. She’d insisted she wasn’t eloquent enough to put her thoughts into words. In hindsight, he suspected she hadn’t wanted to look too deeply at why she was marrying.
“What’s that tent for?” he asked, nodding toward the middle-sized structure. Because it was enclosed on three sides and draped with yards of diaphanous material—gold, silver, purple and red—one almost expected to see a sheik’s harem sitting on the piles of cushions set about along the walls. A wooden platform of some kind occupied the center.
“Ah…that’s where we’ll dance.”
He looked around. “I don’t see a DJ.”
“There’s one coming. After dinner, which will be served in the main tent. But at some point, my sisters and I are going to perform a couple of traditional, and some not-so-traditional, Romani dances. We haven’t done this in ages—not for a large crowd, anyway. When we were younger, we danced at all the family parties. Our dad called us the Sisters of the Silver Dollar, because he’d toss us coins when we did well.”
“Interesting. I can’t wait to see you perform.”
She rolled her eyes. “I can.”
“You don’t enjoy dancing?”
“I love music and I love to watch dance, but I’m not a natural at it, like Alex and Grace. Kate and I usually stay in the background and let the two hams fight for the spotlight, but this time Kate won’t be with us. Maya is taking her place, and she’s only four and a half.”
He looked her over, starting at her toes. He’d never seen her wear high heels before. They accentuated the curve of her calves. She wasn’t wearing hose, not needed in the still-warm evening. Her dress, a sheath of wine-colored silk, fell just above her knees. Her perfect knees. The deep V neckline showed plenty of skin. Skin that begged to be touched.
“I bet you’re better than you think,” he said softly.
Peeking through her thick black lashes, she made a moue with her lips. “It’s been a while. I’m afraid I’ll be even worse than I remember.”
“I’m sure all the moves will come back to you.”
“I’d feel more comfortable if I’d had a chance to practice a couple of times before this.”
A tingle of sexual awareness danced through his extremities. Were they talking dance? Or something else?
“I’ll cheer for you. No matter what.”
She leaned in closer, as if drawn by his smile. Was she remembering the kiss they’d shared? Lord knew he’d been thinking of little else, despite his methodical preparations for his impending departure.
One kiss does not a relationship make, he reminded himself.
“Hi, Liz,” a voice called. “How are you?”
She jerked back sharply. A ruddy blush deepened the makeup dusting her cheekbones. Pivoting too fast—her heels apparently imbedded in the soft soil—she swayed unsteadily. David caught her elbow and stepped close enough to stabilize her.
Their bodies fit nicely together, he thought, as his hand settled casually at her waist.
“Gregor,” she exclaimed. “Hello. MaryAnn, it’s so good to see you. Come let me introduce you to David.”
Two of the many cousins she’d predicted he would meet tonight, he gathered. He hadn’t planned on trying to keep the names straight. Why bother, right?
“You look amazing, MaryAnn. I’m so happy you’re here. Are you home for good?”
The dark-haired woman, who hadn’t completely made eye contact with either of them, shook her head and looked around, uneasily.
“Not yet, but soon, according to the doctor. Right, honey?” her husband asked, putting his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “The kids are really missing their mommy.”
MaryAnn’s smile slipped and her eyes took on a haunted look. Liz handed David her wineglass and went to the couple, putting her arms around them both. She said something to them, too softly for David to hear, but he saw them both react with pleasure.
After the couple moved away, Liz explained their situation. “MaryAnn’s breakdown caught us all by surprise. That doesn’t say much for a people that puts so much stock in family, does it?” she asked, shaking her head.
“People get busy with their own lives.” That had been his excuse for neglecting Kay and the children.
“True, but my mother says things happen for a reason. What we learned from MaryAnn’s crisis was that we all need to pay more attention to those around us. Alex has been a big help with Gregor and MaryAnn’s kids. Luca, the oldest, has really had a rough time of it.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Kids are always caught in the middle when their parents’ lives blow up.”
She cocked her head as if hearing something revealing in his comment. He knew she was going to ask him to elaborate, but before she could speak, someone with a loud, commanding voice hollered, “Liz, you’re needed in the house.”
She looked at him and rolled her eyes with obvious resignation. “Yes, Grace,” she called out. To David, she said, “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Family is supposed to sit in the front couple of rows. If you get tired of standing, I draped my wrap across two chairs. It’s a lacy silver thing, remember? I’m really sorry to abandon you, but I have a feeling they want to take some pictures.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m going to check out the landscaping. Professional curiosity,” he added, keeping his tone light.
He watched her walk away—struggling with her spike heels in the thick lawn. Before she was halfway there, she stopped, kicked off the shoes then picked them up and completed the trek barefoot. David chuckled as he polished off his wine.
She was far more beautiful than she knew, although he suspected outer beauty wasn’t high on her
list of priorities. He was certain she’d put more stock in a person’s integrity than looks. And she obviously didn’t worry about social or financial status. Why else would she kiss a gardener? A man who drove a run-down truck and apparently couldn’t afford a phone.
“Hi, there. We haven’t met. I’m Rob. The groom.”
David switched his glass to his left hand so he could shake the hand of the man who’d just walked up. “Nice to meet you. Congratulations. I’m with Liz.”
“Yes. I know. The sisters have been buzzing about you for days. The mystery gardener, I believe they’re calling you.”
David chuckled. “Not so mysterious. Name’s David.”
“Glad you could come. Liz is a terrific person. She was so supportive of my mom during a recent medical scare. She helped Mom find the right doctor. Plus, her teas are amazing. If you’re ever sick or hurt, give Liz a call before you go to the pharmacy.”
David had experienced her healing hands and herbal teas and couldn’t agree more, but all he said was “I’ll do that.”
Rob, who seemed like a genuinely decent fellow—the kind of person David would have liked as a friend if they’d met in his former life, introduced David to some of the other guests. An accountant with twins. Two more male Radonovic cousins and their kids. A young guy who had the upper torso of a bodybuilder but was holding a tiny baby dressed in pink frills.
“Hey, do you play poker?” Rob asked when the group of friends had moved on.
“I don’t gamble much.” A person who’s lost everything doesn’t need to risk any more, right?
“I don’t mean for high stakes. Just a guy’s-night-out kind of thing. A few friends—those guys and a couple of others. We call ourselves the Dad’s Group, but it’s not like I have a kid…well, I’ll have Maya after the wedding, but you know what I mean. You’d be welcome to join us. No kids required.”
But he had kids. Three of them. And he missed them so much that at times he felt like someone had taken a dull shovel to his stomach and tried to mine for gold. Which is why he did his best not to think about Ariel and the twins. And why he couldn’t join a “dad’s group”—even if he weren’t leaving town.
Tomorrow. He’d already laid the groundwork with his landlady. “I’m heading into the desert to collect some new stock,” he’d told her a few minutes before Liz had arrived to pick him up.
She hadn’t appeared surprised. Probably since he’d been making regular forays into the desert for the past couple of years. He’d also taken a number of desert-survival courses and had participated in two cactus-rescue projects with a volunteer conservation group.
In the morning, he’d drive north to Beatty then cut over to Death Valley. He planned to abandon his truck in the most remote place he could find. The last thing he wanted was anyone to conduct a “missing hiker” search. Eventually, he’d work his way into California, winding up in L.A., where he had a new identity waiting.
“Thanks, but I’m not a joiner. And I’m planning on doing some cactus hunting in Mexico pretty soon.” That was the story he planned to tell Liz to explain his upcoming disappearance.
Rob took something from the inside pocket of his handsome tux. “No problem. But if you change your mind or have time when you get back, give me a call. That card has my cell number on it, too.”
David held it up to read: Robert J. Brighten, Attorney-at-Law. He smiled and made a point of tucking the card in the pocket of the new shirt he’d bought that morning. Twenty-five bucks on sale at Mervyns. His big splurge. Money that should have been squirreled away into his emergency-travel stash.
“I’ll do that.”
As he watched Rob move into the crowd, David reflected on his past two days. He’d cashed the check for his plants and paid his rent for the coming month. He’d cleared up his small bills by sending money orders for his utilities and car insurance. The rest of the time—when he wasn’t at his landscaping job—had been devoted to planning his next move. Free Internet at the library had helped.
Was he overreacting? A part of his mind said yes. The person nosing around his truck on Canto Lane could have been innocent—somebody looking for a business card, perhaps. He hadn’t noticed any strange cars in the area. Nobody had contacted his landlady asking questions. The trip wires he’d set up around the greenhouse were still intact. Nothing seemed to indicate that he was in trouble—except for a feeling that someone was watching.
But he didn’t feel that now, in the midst of a Gypsy wedding. He felt…snug. And accepted. And surprisingly safe. Which, he knew, was an illusion.
“HE’D BE GORGEOUS if it weren’t for that mustache. What’s with that?”
Liz looked at her baby sister and rolled her eyes. “I thought so, too, the first time we met, but I haven’t gotten up the nerve to ask. I guess he likes it.”
“He really doesn’t look like a gardener,” Alex said. “A college professor maybe. History? Geology? Biology? Yes, definitely one of the earth sciences.”
Alex, Grace and Liz were gathered in the second-floor master suite of what would soon be Kate’s new home. Kate was pacing—and adding the finishing touches to her makeup. “I can’t wait to meet him. Liz’s mystery man. He sounds so you, sis.”
Alex and Grace chuckled in obvious agreement. Liz didn’t bother arguing the fact. In a way, they were right. David was a hermit, nearly as prickly as the plants he cultivated. Liz had been accused of being a changeling herself—distinctly antisocial for a Rom.
A minute later, a vision in white lace emerged from the adjoining bathroom. “Ta-daa. What do you think? If I look silly, blame Grace. She bought the dress, even though I told her white was for first-time brides, not the recycled variety.”
“Oh, Katie, you look like royalty.”
“It’s a gorgeous dress, but on you, it glows.”
“I told you it was perfect. Absolutely exquisite.”
The last was from Grace, who looked so proud she could have popped a button on her chest, except her simple sapphire sheath was a halter style and didn’t have buttons.
“And I don’t think your handsome groom cares about your first marriage. He’s so head over heels in love he’s down there pacing—just like you. Isn’t that cute?”
Liz walked to the tall window where Grace was standing and looked down at the crowd below. She wobbled just a bit on her three-inch heels. Grace was the one who loved sexy shoes, but tonight all four sisters were in pumps. Walking on the grass was a nightmare—she’d be lucky if she didn’t hyperflex her Achilles tendon, but she had liked the way she’d accidentally fallen against David. They’d fit together perfectly thanks to the extra height from the shoes. She couldn’t wait to slow dance with him.
Kate joined them, dropping an arm across both sisters’ shoulders. “I love the dress, Grace, really I do. You have amazing taste—and the tents are so festive. Thank you for everything.” She kissed her on the cheek then looked at Liz. “You’ve been a big help, too, Liz. You must have blown up twelve zillion balloons today.”
“Photo op,” Alex called from behind them.
“My camera, too,” Liz said, pointing to the little digital on the dresser.
As soon as Alex lowered the camera, Liz switched places with her. “I know Rob’s hired a professional photographer who is going to burst through that door any second, but I want a couple of shots of my own.” She planned to send a group photo to Prisha so the little girl would recognize her aunts when Liz brought her home. “Let me grab somebody to take one of the four of us.”
“Not Rob,” Kate hollered after her. “I want to watch his jaw drop when I walk up the aisle.”
Liz poked her head into the hallway—and spotted a tall man in neatly pressed black slacks and a dark blue shirt. She couldn’t believe her luck. Her date was standing at the end of the hall, peering over the railing at the crowd on the first floor. “Psst,” she called. “David. Come here a minute.”
He turned around at the sound of his name and walked toward her. His
long legs cleared the distance in seconds, but watching him move gave Liz the same thrill she’d experienced when she’d picked him up that evening. His shirt was made of fine cotton and looked brand new. The burnished gold tie was simple, but of good quality. Except for the mustache, he almost looked like a different person.
“Could you take a photo for me?” she asked.
“I can try.”
She held the door open and followed him in, keeping the introductions short. “You’ve met Grace and Alex. This is Kate, the bride.”
“Obviously,” Grace added with a snort.
Liz ignored her. “Let’s put Kate in the middle. How ’bout over by the balcony?”
Since the bedroom faced east, the last rays of the setting sun had turned the hillsides in the distance tangerine and ruby. A perfect foil for Alex’s purple, Grace’s blue, Kate’s white, and her own wine-colored dresses.
David looked through the viewfinder a moment then lowered the camera and said, “Wow, you ladies are gorgeous. You don’t even have to smile and this will be a great shot, but go ahead and show me what’s in your hearts.”
Liz felt pride and pleasure warm her midsection, until Grace, who was standing at Liz’s side, whispered, “Ooh, I like him. Too bad he’s not who he says he is.”
Liz glanced at her sister. “Huh?”
“Look at me, Liz,” David called.
“He’s…not real.”
“Smile.”
Liz wanted to strangle her youngest sister, but she plastered a not-real smile on her face. Everyone trusted Grace’s ability to see beyond the obvious. And her recent experiences had added to Grace’s confidence in her gift—something Liz couldn’t claim. In Bosnia, Liz had failed to give heed to the warning voice that told her not to return to the hospital that night for a second shift. And when she was taking care of her father, Liz had pushed him harder than she should have, ignoring the voice in her head that said he was only going through the motions to give his family time to prepare themselves for the inevitable. Liz hadn’t listened either time, and both outcomes had broken her heart. She desperately needed to hear what Grace saw that she, herself, had missed where David was concerned.
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