The Wedding She Always Wanted

by Stacy Connelly

  Javy rolled his eyes toward Alex. Earlier the two of them had agreed they wouldn’t want to paint the restaurant—or anything else, for that matter—any color Anna had chosen.

  “We’re going out on a limb this time and painting the walls exactly the colors they already are,” Alex said.

  Anna huffed a sigh. “Honestly, the two of you are pathetically afraid of change.”

  Alex voiced an immediate protest, but Anna’s words mirrored Javy’s earlier thoughts too closely for him to offer a defense. Instead, he asked Anna, “So what’s going on? Or did you just stop by to check up on us?”

  Javy expected some kind of comeback and was surprised when his cousin frowned. “Actually, I need to talk to you, if you’ve got a minute.”

  “Yeah, I guess I could take a break,” Javy told her.

  “He needs one. He’s been at this since dawn. If I didn’t know better—” Alex laughed “—I’d think he had woman troubles. But we know that can’t be it. The only trouble Javy’s ever had with women is not having enough hours in the day to date them all.”

  Javy frowned. It was an old joke, one he’d made himself. Yet, somehow, hearing it now sounded…wrong. Especially when Emily’s face flashed through his mind.

  Leading the way into the kitchen, he grabbed a water from the stainless-steel fridge. After downing half the bottle in one swallow, he asked Anna, “What’s up?”

  “It’s about your friend Emily,” she began.

  “Did she make an offer on the town house?” he asked, purposely keeping his voice casual. Annoyed he had to ask a question he should already know the answer to.

  “No.”

  That answer wasn’t the one he’d expected to hear, not from Anna or from Emily. “What the hell happened?” He set the plastic bottle down on the stainless-steel countertop with a watery thunk. “She was ready to pull out her checkbook the minute we saw the place!”

  “She seemed pretty excited until her parents showed up. They really did a number on her, telling her she was rushing the decision and not thinking things through. She said she wanted to take a few days to think it over, but I’ve heard from the agent representing the seller. She’s showing the house to a couple this afternoon. I don’t want to push, but I’d hate for Emily to miss out if she really wants this house.”

  “Emily wants it.” He had seen the excitement shining in her turquoise eyes and knew she had her heart set on the small town house. A slow anger started burning inside him when he thought of her parents crushing that desire. “Let me talk to her and—”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Anna asked, her forehead creasing in a worried frown.

  “She needs to know someone else is looking at the house. I’m surprised you haven’t called already.”

  “I promised her a few days to think about it,” Anna said defensively. “Besides, what I meant was, are you sure it’s a good idea for you to call her?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You’ve done this whole ‘rescue the damsel in distress’ thing before, Javy,” his cousin said softly. “I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

  Javy tensed at the reminder of his past. “You are not comparing Emily to Stephanie,” he said, his voice flat with denial.

  Thanks to ten years’ worth of wisdom and hindsight, Javy now knew that his ex-girlfriend had likely suffered from depression. From moment to moment, she had alternated between anger over the past, despair over the present and impossibly high hopes for the future—their future.

  After her troubled home life, Javy couldn’t blame her for her desperation to escape. Stephanie’s parents had spent her childhood in and out of court, fighting each other and fighting over her. And he had promised her he would take her away from all that, promised her they would have a life together. In return, she’d sworn she would wait.

  In the end, Javy supposed neither of them had kept their word.

  But that decade-old history had nothing to do with here and now. Nothing to do with Emily.

  “So you don’t think Emily is trying to escape her parents’ control by buying a house?” Anna asked.

  “Even if she is,” he said, “she doesn’t need me for that.”

  Emily didn’t need him, period. And that was fine. He’d made a habit of not needing or being needed by anyone. He’d learned that lesson the day Stephanie had ran off with another guy, one who could give her all Javy had promised and more.

  “Oh, really?” Anna challenged. “Then why were you going to call her?”

  His mind went completely blank. He was unable to explain—or deny—his urge to call Emily. Fortunately, Anna’s phone rang before he had a chance to respond…or admit he had nothing to say in his defense.

  His cousin immediately flipped her phone open. “Hello? Oh, I see. Yes, I’ll let my client know.”

  She talked for a moment more before disconnecting the call and taking her sweet time putting her cell away. “That was the seller’s agent.” Disappointment filled Anna’s expression. “The couple has made an offer.”

  When Emily had promised her parents she would take a day or two to think about the town house before making a final decision, she hadn’t realized how those days would crawl by.

  Sitting in the living room, she flipped through a magazine, which couldn’t keep her attention from wandering. If she didn’t take this chance now, where would she be one, two, ten years from now? Emily had the sinking feeling she’d still be where she was right then, living with her parents and watching her life tick by.

  When the doorbell rang, Emily jumped to her feet, the magazine falling to the floor. She scooped it up and tossed it onto the couch before rushing down the hall. She’d welcome any excuse to break the monotony, but as she neared the carved wooden door, Javy’s face flashed in front of her eyes. Which was crazy. He hadn’t even called; there was no reason to think he’d suddenly show up at the house.

  But when she turned the door handle, her heart refused to listen to her head. Her heartbeat quickening in anticipation, she met the gaze of a young woman in a delivery uniform. Thinking the disappointment her due for setting her hopes far too high, Emily signed for the package and closed the door. She glanced at the return address and felt her stomach sink even further.

  As part of the wedding reception, Kelsey had taken old photos of Emily and Todd to an audiovisual specialist to create a program meant to play throughout the night. Kelsey’s friend had promised to return the photos, and that must be what was inside the envelope printed with the words “Do Not Bend.”

  Forget bending—she would have liked to burn the whole thing, but she might as well return her childhood photos to the albums her parents kept in the study. She’d decide later what to do with the few pictures Todd had provided.

  After tossing those aside, Emily arranged her own photos in chronological order. As she slid stolen moments of her life back into place, she recalled when the photographs were taken. A dinner party at the governor’s mansion. A family ski trip. A ballet recital. She remembered the events, but looking at the photos was like seeing paper-doll versions of herself, each new outfit representing a different aspect of her life. Social Life Emily…Sporty Emily…Dancer Emily…

  But who was beneath the interchangeable wardrobes? Who was she inside?

  She turned over another picture and gave a surprised laugh. “Aileen,” she murmured. Undoubtedly, her sister had slipped the photo of Emily as a naked, diaper-waving toddler into the bunch.

  “Well, there we have it. My true calling. I’m meant to be a stripper,” Emily said wryly. “My parents will be so proud.” She flipped the album page to slide the photo back in place but stopped short when she saw a picture of her aunt Olivia.

  Kelsey’s mother had left home when Emily was only three. She had no memories of her father’s rebellious younger sister, but she’d heard the whispers all her life of how much she looked like her aunt. As she scrutinized Olivia’s picture, Emily could certainly see the r
esemblance in the blond hair, blue eyes and similar features.

  But beyond superficial details, Emily couldn’t imagine someone more different. Olivia had defied her father, choosing the man she loved over the family fortune. Unfortunately for Olivia, the man she loved hadn’t done the same. Donnie Mardell, Kelsey’s father, had taken the money Olivia’s father offered and had left town. Olivia could have come home, tail tucked between her legs, but she hadn’t. Instead, she’d struck out on her own, making a life for herself and Kelsey.

  Tracing a finger over her aunt’s image, Emily could only think for all their outward similarities, inside…

  “We’re so different,” she whispered. Like the cicadas that shed their skins along the fence that lined her family’s property, outwardly the shell looked exactly the same, but inside it was hollow and empty. She felt hollow and empty.

  A feeling that would only get worse if she didn’t at least try…

  After putting away the albums, Emily raced down the hall. Once she reached her bedroom, she pulled her cell phone and Anna’s card from her purse. Dialing the number, she waited impatiently for the other woman to answer. Anna barely had the chance to say hello before Emily said, “Anna, it’s Emily Wilson.”

  “Emily! We were just getting ready to call you.”

  “We?”

  “I’m at the restaurant with Javy.”

  “Oh.” Emily fought the temptation to ask to speak with him. Just hearing his voice would go a long way toward bolstering her confidence, but this decision couldn’t be about Javy any more than it could be about her parents. Exchanging one crutch for another wouldn’t help her to stand on her own. “Well, I’m calling to make an offer on the house.”

  Emily was expecting an excited response from the other woman, and Anna’s hesitation had her hopes dropping to the pit of her stomach. “Emily, someone else has made an offer.”

  Sinking onto her bed, Emily said, “So, that’s it. I’ve lost my chance.”

  She’d let her fears and insecurities rob her of her dream. There were other houses, but she would always be left to wonder what if? And the similarities between the house and her possible relationship with Javy certainly weren’t lost on Emily.

  So sure she’d already missed out, Anna’s next words didn’t immediately register. “No, no, it’s not too late. Or at least, it might not be. The seller hasn’t accepted the offer yet. Their agent knows you are interested, and I think they’re hoping you’ll make a better offer.”

  It was on the tip of Emily’s tongue to ask Anna what she should do, but instead she stayed silent. Certainly, she had the means to offer above the seller’s asking price, pretty much guaranteeing the house would be hers. But no one needed to tell her that wasn’t good business sense.

  Taking a deep breath, she said, “I want to make an offer of ten percent less than the asking price, like we originally discussed.”

  After making plans to meet Anna at the restaurant to finalize the paperwork for the offer, Emily snapped her phone shut and grabbed her purse. Her heart pounding in anticipation, she only hoped she wasn’t too late to have the house she wanted…or to have the man she was wanting more and more.

  Chapter Eight

  Javy knew the instant Emily walked into the restaurant. The noise level of work around him gradually dropped off. Conversations trailed away, the scrape of the shovel against concrete as Tommy scooped up and dumped the broken tile into a trash barrel faded, and finally the pounding of Alex’s hammer ceased. For a split second, Javy’s ears rang with the silence. After hours of chipping away at the tile, a cacophony reminiscent of dozens of plates shattering over and over again, quiet was a blessed relief.

  Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Emily standing amid the chaos and destruction. One look, and he could certainly understand why all work in the restaurant had come to a stop. One look, and it felt like everything had come to a stop inside him: his heart, his breath, his capacity for rational thought.

  Alex recovered first, jumping to his feet and pushing the safety glasses to the top of his head. “Morning. The restaurant’s closed right now, but we’re having a grand reopening next Saturday if you’d like to come back—”

  Emily’s gaze shifted to Javy. “It’s okay,” he said as he slowly stood. “Emily’s here to see Anna.”

  It had been his cousin’s idea for Emily to come to the restaurant. Anna had given a long-winded excuse about saving herself a trip, since she wanted to stop by an open house not far away. Javy hadn’t bought it at the time, and the story had lost all credibility when Anna suddenly realized she didn’t have all the necessary paperwork and had to run back to her office, anyway.

  Oh, but no need to call Emily, since she was already on her way.

  His cousin was about as subtle as her paint swatches.

  “So, where is Anna?” Emily asked, her smile a little too bright, but not enough to blind him from seeing the flicker of hurt in her eyes from the way he’d brushed off her arrival.

  Biting back a curse, he explained his cousin’s absence. “She’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Time, Anna clearly thought, he should use to talk to Emily, but for the first time since they’d met, an uncomfortable silence fell between them. He didn’t want to consider that Emily could be anything like Stephanie, but the lightning speed of her flip-flopping decisions was reminiscent of his ex. Stephanie had sworn she wanted him and would wait for him—right up to the day she didn’t.

  “You must be happy with all the progress you’ve made,” Emily said finally. “And you’re having the reopening next weekend?”

  Gradually becoming aware that work around them had started up again, Javy led her away from the dining room and around the corner to the bar area.

  “I’m thinking Saturday night. That’ll give us an extra day in case Alex’s timetable is off a little.”

  “You’ll get it done,” Emily said. The confidence she showed in him was almost as tempting as the attraction he’d felt from the start. But could he really trust any of it?

  “You know, I really thought you’d make an offer on the house when you met with Anna yesterday,” he said bluntly.

  Emily’s hands tightened on her purse strap. “I know. And I wanted to. I really did. But it’s like I told you the night of Connor and Kelsey’s wedding…world’s biggest coward.”

  Disappointment clouded Emily’s expression, instantly dousing his distrust. Anna was wrong. So was he for listening to his cousin and letting doubts get the best of him. Emily was nothing like his ex-girlfriend. Yes, she’d suffered a moment’s uncertainty, but she hadn’t completely changed her mind, hadn’t thrown all her plans away the minute she ran into a challenge.

  “And like I told you,” he reminded her, “I think you’re the bravest woman I’ve ever met.”

  “And I still think you’re wrong.”

  “But you’re making an offer on the house, right?”

  “Right.”

  “So whatever happened yesterday doesn’t matter. Today matters, and today you’re taking a big step. I’m proud of you.”

  Emily blinked, and her smile trembled slightly, perfection giving way to genuine emotion. “Thank you. I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

  “Now who’s being nice? A woman as beautiful as you are must hear compliments every day of her life.”

  Emily shrugged. “I suppose. But that’s just the outside. It doesn’t have anything to do with the real me, who I am inside. Even from the start, though, you saw more than that. You see the person I want to be—a woman who is brave enough to go after what she wants.”

  Javy shook his head, uncomfortable with the credit. “That had nothing to do with me. It’s all about you, Emily. All about who you are inside.”

  “Think so?”

  “Know so,” he answered, watching her step closer, the confident, sexy spark in her turquoise eyes making her so much more than beautiful on the outside. And if he hadn’t been turned on before,
there was no question that his pulse started pounding out a salsa beat when she stopped a breath away.

  He reached up to urge her closer but stopped when he caught sight of the grimy sweatband on his forearm and the streaks of dirt marking his hand. How could he have forgotten that he’d spent the morning doing backbreaking labor? He’d never been afraid of hard work or of getting dirty, but he took pride in looking his best and doing his best to impress the woman he was interested in. He enjoyed the pursuit and all the trappings that went along with a seduction—flowers, wine, romance….

  Nothing about the restaurant, with its haze of dust, dank-smelling air, and symphony of destruction coming from the other room, held even a hint of romance. And neither did he. “I’m a mess,” he argued, taking a quick step back.

  Emily immediately countered. “I don’t care.”

  “I do,” he insisted. He knew she was accustomed to only the best. And while he had enough of an ego to handle dating a woman as beautiful and elegant as Emily, he also had enough class to refrain from touching her when he was dirty, sweaty and…

  “I don’t care,” Emily repeated, her eyes steady on his as she leaned closer.

  At the first brush of her lips against his, Javy’s hands clenched into fists. Every muscle in his body screamed to reach out, drag Emily into his arms and crush her soft curves against him, but he fought back the urge.

  This was her dance and her chance to lead, even if it killed him to be the one to follow. And as she kissed him again and again, he thought it just might.

  The only point of contact was still the catch and release of her lips against his, but Emily pulled him deeper and deeper until he wasn’t sure what turned him on more—everything her kiss gave…or everything it held back.

  The sound of a voice clearing loudly a few feet away broke the moment, which would have gone on forever if Javy had had his way, and he pulled his gaze from Emily’s passion-filled eyes and damp lips to meet Anna’s smug smile.