“You can’t hide from him all day.” Ella looked toward the entrance as casually as she could. She hadn’t seen Drew in person in a long time.
“He’s going to find you today,” Cat said from the other side of Kelsey.
Kelsey ignored them both and kept the book open until the music began.
Kelsey watched a little girl and boy maybe around five years old walk down the aisle first. Or perhaps sprint down was more appropriate. Halfway to the altar the little boy dropped the pillow he carried, but kept going. When he realized, he dashed back, picked it up, and sprinted off again. She assumed the flower girl and ring bearer were either related to Mia, or were her friends’ children. Sean didn’t have any family member with children that age. Sean’s much younger half sister, Taylor, followed. It didn’t surprise Kelsey to see Taylor in the wedding. Although Sean had only met his half sister a year and a half ago, Kelsey often saw Taylor in town visiting Sean. She didn’t recognize the young man walking with Taylor, but she guessed it was another of Mia’s relatives. From what she’d heard, Mia had numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins. Charlie, Sean’s sister, and her husband, Jake Sherbrooke, she recognized. Charlie had grown up in North Salem. And Jake Sherbrooke, once referred to as Prince Charming by the media, had been appearing on magazine covers forever. Not to mention his father was the current President of the United States. Despite his celebrity status, everyone in town assured her he was a nice guy. She’d never spoken directly to him herself.
As Angelina Troy, Mia’s younger sister, walked toward the altar, Kelsey looked around again. Where is he? She’d seen Drew come in, but hadn’t watched to see where he’d ended up. She inched up a little and added his parents and brothers to her search. She assumed they were there, too. It looked like the entire town had shown up. If Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie were there, Drew had probably sat with them.
Instead of finding Drew, she spotted Selena Cruise, another Hollywood beauty, now sitting with Anderson Brady. According to the media, the two had split. Since they were sitting together, Kelsey guessed the media had either gotten it wrong or they’d patched things up. Didn’t celebrities break up and get back together all the time? Next to Selena was Nikki Reese, Selena’s BFF. Behind them sat Milan Novak, a well-known fashion model. But still no Drew.
He must be behind me. Trying to act as if she watched Avery Troy, Mia’s older sister and her maid of honor, come down the aisle, Kelsey glanced over her shoulder at the pews behind her.
Kelsey’s eyes locked on him. Sure enough, he sat with his parents and his two brothers. Look away. She repeated the command again but her eyes failed to listen. Even with all the other celebrities and handsome men in the church, he commanded her attention. Made her breathless and anxious at the same time. And reminded her heart of the silly childhood decision she’d made at ten to marry him.
The music changed, an indication the bride would start down the aisle. Around her, everyone stood and focused their attention on the door. Drew turned his attention toward her instead.
Their eyes locked and her stomach joined her feet on the floor. Crap. She should watch the bride. Heck, watching the sunlight filtering through the stained-glass windows would be better than staring at him. But she couldn’t do it. Her eyes refused to look away.
Someone tugged on her hand, either Cat or Ella, and she noticed Mia and her dad had reached Sean at the altar. Able to think again, she sat while Father Perkins began the ceremony.
Tension snuck into her shoulders and her neck burned. He was staring at her. She didn’t have to turn around to know it. This morning she’d considered skipping the wedding and reception. She should’ve. Maybe Striker could drive her home before he and Ella went to the reception. It wouldn’t take them long. Other than her closest friends and maybe Drew, no one would notice her absence, especially not with so many people there anyway.
Kelsey blew out a breath, frustration weighing down on her. The reception promised to be like none other she’d been to. It was being held at the Harbor House in Boston. She’d never been there, but had read about it. And Gage Larson’s band was scheduled to play. She’d been looking forward to a fun evening with people she enjoyed spending time with. She got so few of them. Plus, she liked Mia and Sean. Wanted to be part of the celebration along with the rest of the town. Is dealing with Drew worth a night out?
“You’re coming,” Ella whispered in her ear.
“What?”
“You’re thinking about skipping the reception. I’m not letting you. You’re coming with us.”
Wow. “Did you learn mind reading in Paris?” Kelsey asked.
“We just know you well,” Cat said, adding her two cents to the whispered conversation. “Ella’s right. You’re coming with us tonight. Even if Tony needs to throw you over his shoulder and carry you in.”
Regardless of the scene it’d make, Kelsey could picture Cat’s husband doing it if Cat asked him to.
Kelsey huffed. “For your information, I was thinking about how beautiful Mia’s gown is.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “And Sean looks great, too. I’m not used to seeing him so dressed up.”
“Sure you were,” Ella said, a sarcastic tinge to her voice. “Don’t bother asking. I won’t let Striker drive you home after the wedding. You’re coming with us.”
Sometimes having such close friends was a real pain in the butt. “I don’t want to miss Tony’s best man speech,” Kelsey said, still trying to convince her friends they were wrong. And it wasn’t a complete lie. Cat had shared how Tony had struggled with his best man’s speech for weeks.
“He was tweaking it again this morning. You’d think he was addressing the entire country or something,” Cat said.
Kelsey doubted she’d changed either Cat’s or Ella’s minds, but at least they both fell silent while Father Perkins continued the ceremony.
Chapter 13
As promised, after the ceremony Striker, Ella, and Kelsey stopped at Mack’s house so Grace could show them the new tricks she’d taught Socks. The kid had a knack for teaching the dog to do anything. Either that, or the dog wanted to please his owner so much he’d do anything for her. Whatever the case, Grace had taught the dog over twenty different commands since she got him.
Once Grace ran through not only the dog’s new tricks but also all the other ones Socks knew, Mack managed to get Grace to leave the house again. Although he’d seemed a bit frustrated, Striker’s best friend never raised his voice. When Mack had first found out his now ex-wife was pregnant, Striker had thought his friend was crazy to want kids. Kids were noisy, expensive, and messy. They forced you to rearrange your whole life. Once you had kids, your life was over. Striker remembered telling Mack he’d rather be an uncle someday instead.
After Grace’s birth, and later after Mack’s divorce from his first wife, Striker’s opinion had only solidified. Often, he’d invite Mack over to watch a game or go for a drink and Mack would decline because of Grace.
Watching Mack and Jessie with Grace this summer changed something inside him. He no longer wanted to just be the cool uncle to whatever kids his sister and Tony had. He wanted a family. And he wanted it with Ella.
Striker’s thirty days were slipping by. His instincts said he’d proven himself to her. She spent time with him. Took his calls. Made love to him. Yeah, in every way she acted as if they’d still be together once the month ended.
Don’t get too confident. He hated when his brain weighed in on the matter. You didn’t have to love someone to have sex with them. He knew it firsthand. Except for Ella, he hadn’t loved any of the women he’d slept with in the past. Cared about some, sure. Liked some, yeah. But not loved. And just because she’d spent the night didn’t mean she wouldn’t kick his sorry ass aside in another week.
Even if she kept seeing him after the month ended, she might be gone come January anyway. Having her live on the other side of the Atlantic for a year would be torture. He couldn’t tell her not to accept the position. As much as he’d
love to, it wasn’t his decision to make. The fact that she was considering it wouldn’t sting so bad if she told him she loved him. He kept insisting to himself that her silence didn’t mean anything, that she was waiting for some reason. A bizarre reason only she knew. His gut kept telling him something else. Each time it did, he considered confronting her, asking her straight out how she felt, but then he’d think rationally again, and remember she wouldn’t have even given him an hour if she didn’t care, never mind an entire month.
“I thought you’d be here sooner,” Cat said when he sat down next to her. Since Tony was the best man and still busy taking pictures with the wedding party, she was alone. “You didn’t take Kelsey home, did you?”
“No, we stopped at Mack’s for a bit. Grace wanted to show us some new tricks she taught Socks. Seriously, I should hire her to teach Elvis a few things.” Striker checked out the surroundings. He’d never been inside the Harbor House, an elegant establishment in Boston, but he’d driven by it.
“Where are Kelsey and Ella? Did you lose them?”
Where did she think they were? In his back pocket? “Restroom. Never understood why you women can’t handle it alone. Maybe if you did, you wouldn’t take so long.”
Cat didn’t answer. Instead, she checked over her shoulder before pulling her chair closer to his. “So, how it’d go last night after the game? Ella is still talking to you. I’m guessing you didn’t do anything stupid. Did she spend the night?”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Trina.” He folded his hands together on the table and waited for his sister’s next comment.
“Knock it off. I’m giving you a hard time and you know it. You look comfortable together. Like before. Does it mean things are back to the way they were?”
Striker shrugged. “Maybe.”
“You’re not very helpful.”
How could he be helpful when he didn’t know for sure? “Ask Ella. She’s your friend, remember?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“And I’m not sharing what she said on the matter.”
His sister wouldn’t share that, but maybe she’d share something else. “Trina, has Ella talked to you about the position she got offered?”
“At the dance studio when Maryann leaves?”
“No.” He’d forgotten about Maryann’s offer. “The one in France. Teaching over there for a year.”
Cat shook her head and pulled her chair back to its original spot. “No clue what you’re talking about. She never told me about the possibility. The only position she mentioned was the one at Prism.”
Ella and Kelsey, as well as Jessie, Mack, and Grace arrived at the table before he managed any other questions. But he thought them. Cat and Ella shared everything with each other. Or at least it had always appeared that way. Why hadn’t she told Cat about the offer? Did she not want her friends pressuring her into a certain decision? He didn’t see his sister or Kelsey pressuring her, but he’d been wrong about stuff before. He could be wrong now.
“On our way through the lobby, I saw two limos pull up. I think it’s the wedding party,” Ella said, taking the seat next to him.
Turned out Ella was right. Soon Tony’s voice filled the room as he introduced Sean and Mia O’Brien to the guests. Applause and a few whistles filled the room and continued until Sean and Mia took their seats. He’d known Sean his entire life. Although a couple grades behind Sean, he’d gone to school with him and played sports with him. He’d never seen the guy look happier. And Striker understood why. He’d married the woman he loved.
With the happy couple in attendance, the wait staff began serving each table, and hundreds of conversations started up. Around Striker’s table it was no different, except for Kelsey. Unlike everyone else, she remained quiet. And he noticed she seemed to be looking for someone.
“Are they leaving for their honeymoon tonight or in the morning?” Ella asked.
No one answered until the waiter setting out salads walked away. “They’re not going until after Christmas,” Tony answered. “Mia doesn’t want to miss any classes.”
“Classes? She’s in school?” Ella asked.
Tony nodded. “She decided to finish the degree she started and went back to Harvard.”
Striker remembered Ella telling him Mia had gone to Harvard for two years before leaving and going back to acting full-time.
“I didn’t know she went back. Is she studying history again?” Kelsey asked, finally joining the conversation, although her attention seemed more focused on the guests around them.
“Yeah, and comparative literature.” Tony answered. “I’m not sure what that is. You’ll have to ask her.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Kelsey whisper to Ella.
“No, not yet,” Ella answered, her voice barely reaching him.
He guessed they were talking about Drew. It wasn’t his business, but he wondered what Kelsey’s problem was with him. Ella had said Kelsey didn’t want to come alone today because he’d be here. He hadn’t seen the guy himself, but with so many at the church and now here he wasn’t surprised. He hadn’t even seen his parents since leaving the church. If Drew were here, he’d have to search hard to find her.
***
Drew had started looking for her the moment he walked inside St. Mark’s church. However, he hadn’t seen her until she’d turned around and looked his way. She’d been sandwiched between her friends Ella Bridge and Catrina, Striker’s younger sister. The only guy with them had been Striker. She hadn’t smiled or waved. If she hadn’t maintained eye contact for so long, he would’ve thought she hadn’t even seen him. After the ceremony, he’d followed everyone outside, hoping to catch her before she left for the reception. Instead, people surrounded him. Some wanted to catch up, while others wanted photos with him. Most days he didn’t mind people asking, but, damn, today it’d sucked. While he’d been getting slaps on the back from old friends and photos snapped, she’d snuck away.
By the time he made it to the Harbor House, the room was full. Judging by the scene around him, not everyone at the reception had made the church. Probably a good thing, since he didn’t think St. Mark’s could fit all the guests present tonight.
He continued his visual search throughout much of dinner. Over four hundred guests made it a pointless endeavor. Eventually, he gave up and got involved with the conversations around him. But dinner was over, Sean and Mia had shared their first dance, and now Mia and her father were almost done with their father/daughter dance. Once Sean and his mom had their special moment on the dance floor, the guests would start to move around more. Then he could get up and continue his search. He wouldn’t limit it to only Kelsey this time. She’d been with friends at the wedding. He’d look for Cat, Ella, and their companions, too. If he found them, he might find Kelsey. And finding Tony or Striker, who’d be with the two women, would be easier than locating Kelsey. Both were about his height; Striker might even be an inch or so taller.
“How ya feeling about tomorrow’s game?” John, his younger brother, asked after he ended a conversation with their father.
The team played its season home opener the following night. “Don’t expect it to be a problem.” The previous season they’d crushed the team they were playing tomorrow both times they’d faced them. While past wins didn’t guarantee them another on Sunday, he and the rest of the team were confident they’d kill ’em again.
John asked him a few more questions about the upcoming game before his date started giving him a hard time. She complained she heard enough about football from the guys at work and didn’t want to hear about it now. Honestly, Drew didn’t mind. With football off the table, town politics took over instead. Not living in North Salem, he had nothing to add.
When Sean and his mom’s dance ended, Drew excused himself and left the table. He found Tony and Cat first. They’d joined several other guests on the dance floor. Striker had told him they’d married, but he’d thought the dude was joking around.
Even after Striker insisted it was true he’d remained skeptical. He’d asked his mom about it. She’d confirmed it for him, before hinting at when he might get married and start giving her grandchildren, a topic she brought up every few months.
With Tony and Cat located, Drew checked out the other couples on the dance floor. Many he recognized. A few surprised him. Obviously, he’d missed a lot by staying away from town so much.
His eyes fell on Jessie and Mack next. Although not as close to Jessie as Ella and Cat, Kelsey and Jessie were good friends. Or at least they had been back in high school. At the moment, Jessie was another dead end, because she and Mack stood talking to Sean’s sister Charlie and her husband.
Drew walked past the bar, careful to avoid Nikki Reese’s table. They’d met once before at some charity event, and today after the ceremony she’d stopped him outside the church. During their short conversation, some magazine reporter had asked them to pose for a picture. After the cameraman and reporter left, Nikki pinched his ass and told him to find her later. She might be smokin’ hot, but he’d heard enough about her through a teammate who’d dated her to know to keep his distance.
Mrs. Mitchell waved him over as he approached her table. About to stop and say hello, he spotted Kelsey several tables away. Ella and Striker sat next to her. And, like in the church, she appeared to be alone despite telling him she had boyfriend. He hadn’t fully believed her at the restaurant. There’d been something in her tone, and she hadn’t looked at him when she said it. What he’d seen today only further made him think she’d lied to him.
“Hi, Mrs. Mitchell. I just saw someone I need to talk to. I’ll swing back by later.” He hated being rude to the old widow, but with Kelsey spotted he didn’t want to lose her in the crowd again.
“Make sure you do, Drew,” Mrs. Mitchell answered. “You’ve been away too long.”
He’d almost reached her table when a man he didn’t recognize stopped and spoke to her. A moment later she stood, and Drew got the wind knocked out of him. He’d forgotten what a knockout she’d become. The day at Masterson’s she’d been wearing black pants and loose-fitting Masterson’s polo shirt, the standard uniform for everyone at the restaurant. Tonight, she had on some clingy cocktail dress that reminded him quite well she was no longer the eleven-year-old girl he’d helped with her jump shot.
In His Kiss (Love On The North Shore Book 4) Page 14