Wedding Dreams: 20 Delicious Nuptial Romances

by Maggie Way

  Spooning the last of the stew into his mouth, Carl licked the spoon before dropping it back into the bowl and meeting her gaze. “If I promise not to bring up Coma Guy, will you watch a movie with me? I noticed you had a few new ones on your DVR.”

  “You were going through my DVR?”

  “I got bored waiting for you,” he said with a shrug. “You know I made the posole at my place, so I didn’t really have anything to do while I waited.”

  Gretchen didn’t doubt that for a minute. Her kitchen was rarely used for more than toast and microwaving leftovers. The ingredients for posole would have been nonexistent in her kitchen. Shaking her head, she pushed her bowl away and eyed him. “Which movie?”

  “The courtroom one looked good.” He pinned her with a look that said he’d go if she wanted, but that wasn’t what he wanted.

  Telling him no was never easy. Sending him packing when she was emotionally spent and on the verge of tears every time she thought about what might happen to John, there was no way she could push him out the door, even if that was probably the best option. After having spent the last week completely focused on her nameless friend, Gretchen needed just one night to think about herself, to indulge in the warmth of a friend who might have been biased, but definitely had her best interests at heart.

  Heat spread through her body when she met Carl’s gaze and saw the worry and compassion in his eyes. He didn’t agree with her continued involvement with John, but it didn’t stop him from being there for her. “Courtroom drama it is then,” she said with a smile that was almost entirely genuine.

  He didn’t question her willingness to let him stay. After clearing both their bowls from the table, he grabbed her hand and tugged her up to standing. She didn’t have the heart to pull away from him when he didn’t let go of her hand. By the time they made it to the couch, the posole, and the fact that he had made it for her, eased away her usual distance from him. He took advantage and pulled her close, but Gretchen found she didn’t mind so much that night.

  “If I fall asleep, I’m sorry,” she warned him as he started the show. “It’s been a long week.”

  Carl smirked. “You always fall asleep during movies. I’d be amazed if you didn’t.”

  Grimacing, Gretchen considered her plans to be back at the hospital as soon as visiting hours resumed. “But…if I do…”

  Misunderstanding her worry, Carl rested his chin on the top of her head. “I’ll watch over you if you do,” he said quietly.

  Tears threatened to break her calm. Relief that he wouldn’t leave her alone to face the uncertainty she was facing combatted with guilt she felt over her desire to be back at John’s side. Ideas, thoughts, plans…were forming in her mind every time John entered her thoughts. What she was considering felt like a betrayal to Carl, but doing nothing felt as though she were abandoning John. Turmoil raged under her skin, the skin Carl’s fingers were trailing absently over.

  Helping John could very well mean the end of her friendship with Carl. Walking out on John might be the end of something else. Indecision plagued her. Carl meant everything to her, but a gut-deep feeling said she couldn’t take the easy way, the safe route. She had done that once before and barely survived. But…if she couldn’t handle the easy way, what hope did she have of not breaking to pieces when the more difficult path proved too much to bear?

  Chapter Nine

  Bone Structure

  Carl had kept his word and not left her side, even when she fell asleep halfway through the movie. Massive guilt bore down on her when she brushed off his invitation to go to breakfast and instead spent the morning cleaning and rearranging. She kept checking the time, judging how much she still had to do against when visiting hours opened at the hospital. Time was running short while the boxes seemed to multiply.

  As Gretchen pushed long-ignored boxes and books out of the way, she told herself Dr. Sanchez’s supposition the day before that she would be around to help John during his recovery was closer to the truth than Lynn’s teasing that Gretchen was just as interested in dating John as she was helping him. Her friendship with Carl argued that her interest in John was purely altruistic. Yet, every time she looked down at her right hand she felt John’s hand on hers again. He was saying thank you, that was all, but that touch hinted at more than just a desire to see him well.

  She found excuses to touch him again that day. There were so few places she could even manage such a thing without hurting him, but she’d found herself searching for those few uninjured spots as she sat next to him. All the time spent talking with Dr. Sanchez, her hands were itching to take his in hers. When he fell asleep it was even harder for her not to reach out to him. Dr. Sanchez’s seemingly casual comment about how physical contact was good for patients recovering from a traumatic experience made Gretchen blush furiously and fold her arms across her chest. The doctor had smiled sweetly and kept talking about how Gretchen would need to be patient with John while he struggled with the emotional trials of losing his memories.

  Those were the things she should be focusing on, how difficult it would be for John to adjust to life when he left the hospital. His joke about not having any job skills was unfortunately much too true. What was he going to do? Although, that would only come after recovering from his broken bones and struggling through the total lack of identity he would soon face. Gretchen reprimanded herself for considering anything more than that. She needed to get her emotions under control if she had any chance of helping him.

  Shoving a box into the closet, Gretchen chided herself for not having the many boxes unpacked already. Her house still looked like it was in the first stages of moving in some places. She had been busy, yes, but that was a poor excuse…one she was paying for now. It would take a couple more days to really get the room cleaned out, especially the closet she was currently piling everything into. That made her want to groan out loud. Why didn’t I do this months ago?

  Gretchen stacked a couple of unhung picture frames on top of the box and stared at the first picture. The faces of her college friends stared up at her, her supposed friends anyway. She missed them, but the way they had all treated her in the end blocked out any of the good times they’d had together. Seeing the photo again brought all those unpleasant memories back. The pain of remembrance doubled when she saw Steve’s face. His easy grin and arms wrapped around her waist was the main reason the picture was still sitting in the spare room. Turning the frame upside down, she put it at the bottom of the stack. Those were memories she would love to lose.

  At least her interest in John wasn’t based on physical appearance as it had been with Steve. Gretchen took comfort in John’s kindhearted personality, but his swollen face looked like someone had spilled a palette of watercolors on him. It was impossible to tell what he would look like when healed. Smoothing out the blankets on the bed, Gretchen smiled to herself, glad she couldn’t say whether John was attractive or not. Appearance had nothing to do with why she was so anxious to get back to the hospital. Even Carl couldn’t argue with that.

  The room didn’t look great. There were still more boxes than furnishings, but it would do for the time being. Grabbing her backpack, Gretchen hurried out the door.

  Gretchen rushed out of the elevator and headed for John’s room. He’d handled things pretty well the day before, but she wasn't sure how he would be doing on his own. She didn’t intend to stop at the nurse’s station, but Lynn jumped out from behind the desk and grabbed her arm as she passed.

  “Hey, Gretch, wait a minute. I wanted to talk to you about something real quick,” Lynn said. Maria stepped up behind her and the other nurses were obviously listening in as they worked.

  Gretchen glanced down the hall to John’s door. Anxiety and guilt had her itching to get back to him. “Can this wait?” she asked. “I’m worried about him being on his own for so long.”

  “Ann just checked on him a minute ago. He’s asleep,” Lynn said. “And no, this can’t wait.”

  Gretchen
pulled her backpack onto her shoulder a little tighter, and said, “Okay, what is it?”

  “On Dr. Sanchez’s recommendation, Dr. Marshall just signed John’s release order. He’s going to be released tomorrow afternoon after the physical therapist talks to him.”

  “Tomorrow? That’s so soon.” Gretchen thought she would have a little more time.

  “You know Dr. Marshall. He likes to get patients out of here as quickly as possible so he doesn’t have to deal with them anymore,” Maria said.

  “But medically, they’re right,” Lynn said. “His wounds are healing fine. There’s nothing else we can do for him here. He just needs time to heal. So he goes home tomorrow.”

  “That’s what we wanted to talk to you about,” Maria said.

  Gretchen nodded. None of the nurses were quite as attached to John as she was, but they were all fond of him and worried about his future. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that too,” Gretchen said. She wasn’t expecting to have to bring this up quite so soon, but maybe testing out her idea on Lynn and Maria would help her prepare to make the real offer to John. And tell Carl.

  “Would you guys think I was nuts if I offered to let John stay in my spare room? Just until he’s ready to take care of himself, of course,” Gretchen said quickly.

  Maria and Lynn grinned. “I told you she was already planning on taking him home,” Lynn said to Maria.

  “Thank goodness,” Maria said, “because I don’t think my husband would have appreciated me offering up the guest bedroom.”

  “My son would have loved a roommate, but I think John might be a little old for bunk beds. I knew the moment I met Gretchen that she’d be dying to take that poor boy home,” Lynn said. Her pleased cackled instantly annoyed Gretchen.

  “What do you mean by that?” she asked, pulling her bag even tighter.

  Maria laughed wholeheartedly. “You should see the way you look at him, honey. I’ve never seen anybody so happy to be visiting the hospital.”

  “I…that’s not why I’m offering to take him in,” Gretchen spluttered. “I’m worried about him. He doesn’t have anybody else!”

  Lynn and Maria laughed all the harder.

  “Don’t get so upset, Gretch,” Lynn said through her giggling. “We’re not making fun. We know you want to help him too, but you have to admit it’s more than that.”

  “That man is going to be a real handsome heartbreaker when he finally heals up,” Maria added. “Don’t tell my husband I said that, though.”

  “How can you tell what he’s going to look like,” Gretchen asked. “He’s still more swollen bruises than anything else.”

  Maria drew a finger across her cheekbone. “He has excellent bone structure. Just like me.” She put on her best self-absorbed modeling face to prove it. Lynn rolled her eyes and shook her head, but Gretchen laughed a little.

  “We’re glad you’re taking him in,” Lynn said more seriously. “He’s going to need a lot of help for the next couple of months and I couldn’t think of anyone better to take care of him than you. We’ll be there to help if you need us. We know you have to be at school all day, so if he needs help we can swing by on our days off if he has any trouble on his own.”

  Maria nodded at the offer.

  They didn’t think Gretchen was insane. That was a good sign, wasn't it? They were a couple of romantic, sentimental women like Gretchen, though. Would John feel the same way? She knew Carl wouldn’t. Would John rather go it alone? There was no way to guess what his response would be. At the risk of him being scared away, Gretchen said goodbye to Lynn and Maria and walked down the hall, her nerves drawing closer to their breaking point at the thought of seeing John again.

  Did he really have good bone structure? She shook her head at the errant thought and powered on. Carl thought helping John was dangerous. Lynn and Maria thought it hopelessly romantic. Gretchen wasn’t looking for adventure or romance. At least, that was what she kept telling herself.

  Chapter Ten

  Give In

  John didn’t remember falling asleep. His eyes stayed peacefully shut as he wondered how he could still be tired. He had been asleep for days already. John felt like he should have had enough energy to run from the one coast to the other. Energy was elusive. Instead, he felt drained. Emotional storms were sucking away all his strength. One minute he was basking in Gretchen’s warmth, and then next he was ready to tear into a sweet old grandmother because she didn’t know how to fix him. Guilt spiked between those two frequently, as did confusion, frustration, self-pity, and every other unpleasant emotion a human was capable of feeling.

  The worst was loneliness. John opened his eyes, looking for Gretchen, only to find himself alone. Gretchen was gone.

  His eyes rolled all the way open to find her chair empty. He lost all control over his reaction. Tightness in his chest made it hard to breathe and the tremor that ran through his uninjured hand wouldn’t go away. He searched the room for her, listening to see if she was outside the door, but heard and saw only emptiness. Panic ran through him. His mind kept telling him how ridiculous he was being, but what did his mind know? It was broken.

  He didn’t care that he barely knew this woman. She was all he had. The threat of losing that one small piece of his life gave him an anxiety attack. He was on the verge of hyperventilating when Gretchen slipped into the room. She stopped dead as soon as she saw him. Concern burned in her eyes as she rushed forward.

  “John, are you okay? Do you need me to get a nurse?” she asked.

  Unable to answer her, John grabbed her hand and held it to his chest. Closing his eyes in shame, he concentrated on her touch. Her weight settling on the side of the bed calmed him even more, but it was her fingers caressing his cheek and her whispered words of comfort that finally reached deep enough to steady him.

  John felt like a child for his reaction, but he didn’t care.

  It hurt to move his injured hand. It hurt to press it against Gretchen’s shoulders and pull her to him. But the pain faded as she laid her cheek against his. The cold of tears pressing between their skin surprised John, and he thought Gretchen was crying for him until her free hand reached up to brush away the tears on his bare cheek.

  He held her even tighter then.

  As the minutes slipped by, Gretchen stayed in his arms, letting him borrow from her strength. She didn’t tell him everything would be okay, or that he didn’t need to worry—she seemed too pragmatic for that—but she was there when he needed her, and that made him believe in all of those things she didn’t say.

  Live a normal life. Dr. Sanchez talked about it. That honestly seemed out of the question, but just living? John might be able to do that. As long as he had Gretchen to keep him from falling apart. He could do it with her help.

  “Thank you,” John said as he finally relinquished his grip on her.

  Smiling softly, she pressed her hand against his cheek. “Whatever you need,” she said. “I’m not going anywhere, John.”

  He didn’t know if he would really ever understand why she was doing this for him, but John would never forget it. Taking her hand, he pulled it away from his cheek and brought it up to his lips. The kiss barely touched her fingers, but something about the act felt right to John, like he had done it before. The faint blush in Gretchen’s cheeks drove away that passing thought.

  He wanted to kiss her again and see her silky skin flare up, but he wasn't sure what had caused the blush. Did he embarrass her, or was it something else? John told himself he hadn’t meant the kiss to mean anything more than his thanks, but if that had been true, why couldn’t let go of her hand? Why hadn’t he looked away from her stormy grey eyes?

  Rebelling against thoughts like that, John looked away and relaxed his hold on Gretchen’s hand, letting her pull it free from his grasp. She didn’t take it far. Dropping her hand down to his shoulder, she left it there as she reached into the book bag John hadn’t noticed she’d brought with her.

  “I'm sorry I wasn’
t able to stay last night,” she said.

  Did she know he’d been freaking out about her not being there?

  “Lynn kicked me out to get some rest and I needed to get a few things ready.” Gretchen shook her head. “Next time, I’ll be sure to tell you I’m going before I take off.”

  John groaned silently. She did know. Did she think him pathetic? He was already so lacking, he hated to make her think even less of him. Watching as she took a notebook out of her bag, John saw no criticism in her expression. She knew, but it didn’t make her think less of him. He had no hope of ever repaying Gretchen.

  “So, I know Dr. Sanchez said there’s no way to treat amnesia, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t at least try,” Gretchen said. Handing him a notebook and pen, she watched him excitedly. John didn’t understand.

  “What am I supposed to do with this?” he asked.

  “Writing therapy.”

  “What?”

  “You just write in it. Write whatever you want. Write about how you feel about things, anything you might remember, or new things you figure out, or what you want to do when you get out of here,” Gretchen said. “It’s something one of my professors had us do in college. I really enjoyed it, and I think it might help you.”

  John thought it was an interesting idea.

  “Thank you, Gretchen.”

  She just shrugged as silence fell between them. Still sitting on the edge of the bed, she held her hands in her lap. Her middle finger kept rubbing the fingers of her other hand. It was the hand John had kissed. Was that why it held her attention? he wondered. Was she remembering his touch, or trying to rub it off? Maybe she was nervous.