Reesa tore her gaze from Jessica to look at Will, who was being restrained by his best man from walking to meet his bride. Reesa bit her lip to hold in the sigh at how obvious it was he wanted to go to her. The look on Will’s face was unmistakable. Pride. Ownership. Desire.
She recognized the look and knew what it meant because she saw it on Shane’s face all the time. It had been there when they had kissed in her kitchen. It had been there last night while he lay on top of her.
While it made her uncomfortable to see it mirrored on Will’s face, she to admit that possessive macho attitude only complemented his James Bond-esque suit and mostly confident demeanor. It was a fact that the groom looked both ultra masculine and incredibly in love as he waited for his bride, but Reesa completely understood why even a strong woman like Jessica had been cautious about taking on a man who wanted her that much.
But at the same time, Reesa had to admit that Will was a man any woman would be crazy not to say “I do” to if given the chance. Men like him were rare, and Reesa had dated enough to know.
“Wow,” Sara said, breathing out the word in awe as Jessica glided by their pew. She turned a gaze as sparkly as the bridal gown on Reesa, eyes dancing with all the wedding drama. “Her princess dress looks just like your princess dress, Aunt Teresa.”
Reesa winced as Ellen’s startled gaze swung from the bride and groom to her. “You have a wedding dress?”
Not able to just baldly lie to Shane’s mother, but also unable to explain anything in that moment, Reesa merely nodded and kept her lips compressed. Shane’s hand holding hers tightened painfully, but she didn’t complain or dare look up to meet his gaze. She knew what she would see. After the conversation they’d had several nights ago, Shane probably thought now that she had lied.
Damn. She should never have dragged the dress out of the closet until she was ready to get rid of it, Reesa thought. But it was too late now to handle disposing of it discreetly. Sara had informed the Larson world of its existence.
Putting her attention firmly back on the bride and groom, Reesa noticed Will had indeed morphed into the calmest, most serene groom she had ever witnessed as he repeated his vows. He carefully slipped the shiny band on Jessica’s finger, looking so profoundly affected by the moment that Reesa’s heart did a twist in her chest.
She bit her lip hard to keep from sighing again when Will took both of Jessica’s hands in his while he promised in a husky voice full of emotion to love her forever. With such an intense look of love on his face, no one could possibly question the sincerity of his vows.
However, the bride looked like she was going to keel over, Reesa thought, growing slightly concerned at the hazy expression in eyes that usually bore into people. Was she on drugs? Jessica’s normally confident gaze was replaced with demure acceptance, which totally didn’t seem right. In fact, Jessica was looking less sure than Reesa had ever seen the outrageous woman be.
Over the past few weeks, Reesa had witnessed Jessica handling people and situations regarding questions about her art that would have made a bordello madam blush. It never fazed the confident woman to talk endlessly about breasts or vaginas when she needed to speak her truth. In fact, Reesa had come to think that Drake Barrymore’s nude portraits of his wife seemed rather tame in comparison to Jessica’s flagrant art.
Yet now, that same gutsy woman, that gutsy artist was trembling hard as she struggled to slide the gold band onto Will’s finger. Rather than looking dewy and bride-like, Jessica looked ill and frightened. Reesa gave her mega brave points for continuing to face Will, who was still looking at his bride like she was the only woman on earth.
Reesa watched Jessica absent-mindedly chewing her lip and was reminded of her own ceremony, where she felt like a robot doing what she was told just to get it over with. She had been in so much shock about agreeing to actually make it legal, that the marriage ceremony itself had seemed surreal. Most of it was still a blur.
And the migraine that followed all that stress hadn’t helped soften the memories at all. Lost in her empathy for Jessica’s fears, the minister’s voice finally brought Reesa’s attention back to the bride again.
“Jessica Elaine Daniels, do you take William Everett Larson to be your wedded husband? To love, honor, and cherish him, in sickness and in health, so long as you both shall live?” the minister demanded with all sincerity.
There was almost a full minute of silence while Jessica stoically held Will’s gaze with a totally bemused look on her face that made Reesa almost want to laugh.
“I do love you,” Jessica said finally, her distinctive voice ringing out in the small chapel where everyone was silent now because they were all holding their breaths.
She was not exactly answering the minister, Reesa decided, but Jessica certainly seemed sincere in what she was saying. Reesa listened to her tell him again, clearing her throat to say it more clearly. She wondered if the only answer the poor woman seemed able to make could be counted as her vows.
She heard Carrie, Michael, and Shane all snickering. Their lack of sympathy made her frown.
Meanwhile, Will smiled, sighed loudly, and nervously rubbed Jessica’s fingers, making the entire audience laugh softly in the background.
“What kind of medicine did you take today, honey?” he asked, voice soft and full of understanding.
“Just some kind of pill the doctor gave me—I’m not sure. But I definitely think it’s working now,” Jessica said, pulling one of her hands free from his to tug at the lace across her breasts. She held it out and blew down her front. “Boy, it’s getting really hot in here. Don’t you think?”
The congregation laughed at her words and actions, and many people leaned forward in their seats to better hear. Will’s eyes merely crinkled in amusement watching his bride, and suddenly Reesa couldn’t help grinning herself.
Shane was right. His father was indeed the captain of cool.
Beside her Ellen groaned softly behind the hand she clapped over her mouth to keep from openly protesting the bride’s meltdown. Reesa wanted to laugh at her mother-in-law’s reaction, but what rational ex-wife would want to attend the wedding of her former husband to someone new anyway—much less arrange it? She figured Ellen had brought most of her discomfort on herself. In fact, Shane’s entire family was bizarre at times. It definitely made Reesa wonder what she’d gotten herself into marrying into the Larsons.
Will’s calm voice interrupted her thoughts again to catch her attention.
“I’m really sorry you’re uncomfortable honey, but you sure look incredible in that amazing dress,” Will said sincerely, smiling into her eyes. “Are you okay enough to finish the ceremony?”
“Of course I am,” Jessica retorted, her irritation at the question showing in her tone. “Why do you even ask, Will?”
When the congregation laughed at her question, Jessica’s confused gaze turned and took them all in. Then seeming more confused than ever, she looked back at Will, brows lifted as she waited for him to explain. “Did I miss something?”
“Honey—I believe the minister is still waiting for the answer to his question,” Will said. “You were in the middle of your wedding vows when you decided you were—hot.”
The wicked grin the groom gave his bride made Reesa squirm in her seat. The husky masculine laugh in her ear just added to her squirming as Shane chuckled along with rest of the onlookers. The parallels between Will and Shane were too obvious to be comfortable for her, but Reesa managed not to flinch when Shane’s arm slid more tightly around her along the back of the pew. She let his fingers idly stroke her shoulder even though she had the odd urge to push it away.
After another silent minute passed, Jessica laughed loudly, the sexy, husky sound of her distinctive voice again carrying throughout the church. Then when her laughter subsided, she spoke.
“Oh God, I’m blowing this, aren’t I? You Larson grooms are intimidating as hell. Do you realize that? I was so scared of that look in your eye when you sai
d your vows that I didn’t hear anything said after that. My heart was beating too loud in my ears.”
Reesa heard Ellen groan loudly at Jessica saying the word “hell”, but the congregation only snickered. Even the minister looked down, obviously trying to keep a straight face himself. Reesa gave the man high marks for trying retain his dignity, but she didn’t see any way to salvage the sacredness of the ceremony after what Jessica had did and said.
Reesa looked at Ellen, who was pale and biting her lip. Maybe she needed one of Jessica’s pills, she thought bizarrely, fighting the insane urge to giggle. She watched Jessica finally turn to the minister, weaving but still gripping Will, who held her hands firmly in his.
“Can you run that last question by me one more time, please?” Jessica asked politely. “I promise to pay attention this time.”
The minister nodded, laughing his way through a repeat of his prompting Jessica for her vows.
“Yes I will,” Jessica stated firmly, then burst out laughing, convulsing and snorting at the gut-busting humor she suddenly saw in it all. “That’s so funny. I will marry Will. That’s hysterical. What in the world was in that pill? Oh did you hear that—I made a rhyme too.”
The bride in her beautiful lace gown doubled over in laughter, flashing the congregation her ample cleavage which was spilling out of decorative lace meant to adorn her breasts rather than restrain them. Both the maid of honor and the best man widened their eyes in shock, but finally disintegrated into loud laughter too. Tears streamed as they wiped at their eyes, trying to regain control.
The other two younger attendants—another couple Reesa assumed—rolled their eyes and smiled at each other, for the most part trying to ignore the older couples. They managed to remain mostly in control throughout, and now were both looking like they felt sorry for Will.
“I’m so sorry,” Jessica apologized, straightening at last and squeezing Will’s hands. “I do want to marry you. I promise. I’m just—it’s just really hard to think of myself as a wife, and it still scares me. I thought I had worked all this out. I guess I hadn’t quite hit a Zen point with it yet.”
“Hang in there, baby,” Will told her calmly, and then he looked directly at the minister.
“How close to wrapping this up are we?” he demanded in that all-business voice of his, pulling the riveted attention of everyone in the church to Will instantly.
The minister shrugged, closed his Bible with a snap, and raised his hand in the air.
“In front of all the witnesses of this union today, and in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I now pronounce you man and wife,” the minister said boldly, blatantly skipping the rest.
“Thanks for the shortcut,” Will said sincerely to him, then he tugged Jessica forward into his arms where he knew she’d be safe and not fall in her drugged stupor. “Too late for doubts now, Mrs. Larson.”
“Oh God,” Jessica said loudly on a groan.
“Yes, I’m sure God is happy to have this over with as well,” Will answered sharply, letting himself laugh with relief. “Kiss me now. We’re married.”
But he didn’t wait for her to obey or even agree. Reesa watched Will put his sure mouth on Jessica’s quivering one. It stopped the nervousness in the woman, but was the kind of intimate kiss that silenced the entire congregation for a full ten seconds before everyone erupted in laughter and applause. Then the entire congregation surged to their feet clapping furiously when the groom laughed and lifted his new wife from the floor in a fierce hug.
“Just so you know, I thought that kiss deserved a standing ovation too,” Jessica said to him loudly, arms wrapped around him. She started giggling when he finally let her feet touch the floor again. Laughing, she let her newly acquired husband drag her from the altar and back down the aisle.
As the bride and groom disappeared, Reesa turned to see Carrie lifting Michael’s hand to her mouth for a reverent kiss. Michael mirrored the same action as she smiled.
“I’m seriously glad it wasn’t just me,” Carrie said to her husband. “In fact, I feel vindicated knowing it was you all along. Jessica’s right about the intimidating thing. I feel so much better now about how scared I was.”
Reesa watched Michael give Carrie a considering look, but his only retaliation was a smile that threatened more than it acquiesced. She felt glad that she wasn’t going to be spending time alone with the two of them today.
Then suddenly the church was emptying of everyone, and the family all stood to leave as well. Looking at a clock on the wall, Reesa noted the entire ceremony had barely lasted ten minutes, even though it had painfully seemed to her to last much longer. She was emotionally worn out just from watching it.
Ellen’s loud sigh next to her echoed Reesa’s sense of weariness.
“Can you imagine the kind of pictures the photographers got of this farce? And it was being taped too. Talk about wedding bloopers,” she said mournfully as her children and their spouses poured out into the now empty aisle. “I should have known Jessica was going to have a meltdown. If only Will hadn’t looked so caveman-like, I’m sure she’d have held it together longer.”
Reesa laughed at that, couldn’t help it because she completely agreed, even if she would never say so. But she was still shocked Ellen had.
“Jessica was nervous. We knew that. Will was probably just being himself,” Reesa offered, figuring she could say that with confidence since she’d likely married his clone.
“You’re right. Dad was being himself,” Shane agreed, stepping close to his wife and giving her what he figured was a close approximation of the same look his father had for Jessica. “Reesa, why didn’t you tell me you had a wedding dress?”
Reesa sighed. “Because it’s just a dress I’ve had for years. It’s no big deal. Next week I’m posting it online to sell. I only pulled it out of the closet to make room for your clothes. I’d forgotten all about it until then.”
“I don’t want you to sell it,” Shane said firmly, noticing Sara froze in her spinning when she heard his serious tone. “I’d like to think I’m the guy you kept the dress for, so why don’t you wear it and marry me again? This time we’ll do it right.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Why would we do that? We’re already married,” Reesa declared.
“We’re not this kind of married,” Shane insisted, one arm sweeping the nearly empty church in an encompassing gesture. “Marry me, Teresa. In a church, not a courtroom this time. Make it more real with me.”
Reesa sighed and glared, angry that he had brought up such a private matter in front of what was mostly his whole family.
“Shane, be reasonable. A wedding is a lot of work and a lot of money. All that trouble is definitely not worth it for a dress that is over ten years old and probably won’t even fit now. Can we please argue about this later at home?”
“Sure we can argue about it all you want,” Shane said reasonably, keeping his tone even. “Mom, are you up for planning one more crazy Larson wedding?”
Ellen darted a worried glance at Reesa, who was still fuming, and another at Michael and Carrie, who were staring at Shane as if he had lost his mind. The last guests in the congregation had stopped at the door of the church to listen to the family debate.
She cringed as Shane lifted his chin and set his jaw in a gesture she knew all too well. Damn it, she thought, wishing she could swear out loud to make her point more clear. Her youngest could be the most stubborn creature in the world when he made up his mind about something. It took a blasted miracle to dissuade him.
“If Reesa wants a wedding, I’d be more than happy to do another wedding,” Ellen said, narrowing her gaze at Shane’s quick glee. “BUT,” she cautioned loudly, lifting a hand to stop, or at least slow, Shane’s gloating. “Reesa has to want a wedding, not just go along to appease your stubbornness. I know how you are. You get that stubbornness from your father.”
Reesa lifted her chin and glared up at her husband. “I definitely agree with the s
tubborn part. No deal—we’re not having another wedding,” she said succinctly.
“We never had a first one,” Shane said sharply, snapping his fingers for Sara who skipped over to hold his hand as they began walking out. “We had a civil ceremony, which is way different. That’s why we need to have a real wedding.”
“If you and Aunt Teresa have a wedding, can I wear a princess dress?” Sara asked, fluttering her eyelashes at Shane.
“Absolutely,” he said, looking only at Reesa. “You can even wear your dancing shoes.”
“Yay—another wedding!” Sara said, skipping along beside Shane.
“If I end up yelling at Sara for a month over this, it will be your fault,” Reesa said sharply, her green gaze flashing at Shane in irritation.
“What if I admit that I think I want a real wedding now even more than I want a baby?” Shane confessed, listening to shocked gasps from everyone within hearing distance, including Sara.
“We’re having a baby too?” Sara asked, the question a high pitch squeal of disbelief.
“No!” Reesa said firmly, her face going white with shock at his words. “Shane Larson, stop this nonsense immediately! No baby. No wedding. Don’t make me murder you in a church.”
Shane smiled wickedly at his tiny wife’s public rebellion, but snuck a glance at his brother, who was gesturing madly even while letting his sick wife lean on him. “You are crazy,” Michael mouthed silently, twirling a finger beside his temple.
He agreed with Michael’s assessment, but it only made Shane grin harder. His instincts were singing. He knew he was right to press this. All he had to do now was find the right way to convince Reesa.
***
“Shane, please,” Reesa called, unable to shift beneath his weight as he held both her wrists in his hands and had his knees pinning her legs while he was inside her. “Stop trying to blackmail me with sex. I’m dying for relief here.”
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