The Wedding Season

by Samantha Chase

  Slowly, Ryan’s hand lifted and cupped one breast and she couldn’t help but moan. “Don’t stop.”

  Then, carefully, he maneuvered them until they were back down on the sofa – Tricia on her back, Ryan beside her. “Say it again,” he said, placing tiny kisses along her arm, her shoulder, her collar bone.

  She didn’t need to ask for clarification. “Don’t stop.”

  And he didn’t.

  Not for a very long time.

  ****

  The room was dark now, only a sliver of moonlight shining through the blinds. Ryan’s heart was racing. He felt like he’d run a marathon. And in a way, he had.

  Good lord. Tricia had worn him out.

  She was tucked in beside him on the massive couch, her head on his shoulder, her hand over his heart. And if he wasn’t mistaken, she had dozed off. He envied that. His mind was racing right now and he’d give anything to be able to just turn it off and relax and regroup.

  No such luck.

  It was bound to happen, he supposed. But it certainly had the potential to complicate things, especially where Sean was concerned. As close as he and his brother were, Ryan was sure that Tricia was going to be an issue between them. He’d always known how protective Sean was of her and obviously still was, and Ryan had a feeling Sean wasn’t going to take too kindly to this turn of events. In his mind, no one was going to be good enough for Tricia.

  Not even Ryan.

  Beside him, Tricia shifted and snuggled closer, her thigh wrapping around his. God, she felt good. In a perfect world he’d scoop her up in his arms and carry her upstairs to bed and spend the rest of the night making love to her. But he should have been on the road over a couple of hours ago. Hell, he should be home by now. As if sensing his thoughts, Tricia raised her head and looked at him. With her hair tousled and the sleepy expression on her face, it just made him ache for her more.

  “Hey,” she said softly.

  “Hey, yourself.” Unable to help himself, he skimmed a finger across her cheek before gently combing her hair away from her face. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

  Nodding, she gave him a weak smile. “Sorry I fell asleep.”

  Was she kidding? A few minutes ago he was envious of her ability to sleep and – the purely masculine side of him – actually felt proud of himself for exhausting her. “It’s all right.” They stayed like that – in the dark, neither of them speaking – for a few minutes. Finally, Ryan cleared his throat. “I’m going to get something to drink. Can I get you something?”

  She smiled again. “That should be my line.”

  Kissing the top of her head, he moved to sit up. Before he stood, he reached along the back of the sofa and took the soft throw blanket she kept there and covered her. She was beyond temptation and if she stayed sprawled out and naked like that much longer, he definitely wasn’t going to leave.

  With her covered, he reached for his boxers and pulled them on before leaving the room. She technically hadn’t answered him about wanting something to drink, but he’d bring her one anyway.

  Once in the kitchen he paused and gave himself a moment to breathe and get his thoughts together. How was he supposed to get up and leave now? What did this mean for the two of them? While it may have seemed like he was just reacting to an emotionally-charged situation, the fact was he had wanted Tricia and didn’t need any provocation. But what about her?

  “Okay, don’t overthink this,” he murmured to himself as he pulled open the refrigerator door and grabbed a bottle of juice. He poured them each a glass and took a long drink of his and then poured himself a second glass.

  Shit. He didn’t want things to be awkward, not between him and Tricia and not between him and Sean. But he had no idea how to go about making sure that didn’t happen. Placing the juice container back in the fridge, he sighed. Maybe it would be best if he got dressed and left. He was still coming back next weekend for the wedding and he’d certainly make the effort to talk to Trish during the week, but maybe a little distance was what he needed right now.

  With that decided, he reached for the glasses, turned and froze. Tricia was standing in the doorway wrapped in the thin blanket he’d placed on her moments ago. Her shoulders were bare, her long, red hair doing little to cover any of her creamy skin. Ryan swallowed hard.

  “You were gone a long time,” she said softly. “I thought maybe you needed a hand.”

  A hand? Hell, he needed more than a hand; he needed all of her. And then the decision was made. He put the glasses back down on the counter and walked toward her and with very little effort, tugged the blanket from her grasp and watched it fall to the floor.

  Tricia naked in the moonlight was quite possibly the most erotic sight he’d ever seen. He gently raked his hands through her hair and then let them skim down her arms until their fingers were twined. “Do you want some juice?”

  She shook her head.

  “Are you sure? I poured it, but…I got distracted.”

  She shook her head again. “It’s not juice I want.” And then she gave him a seductive grin and he said a quick prayer of thanks before scooping her up in his arms. He started toward the stairs when she stopped him. “I…I thought you needed to head home tonight.” Her query was spoken softly, almost shyly.

  “Sweetheart, I’m not going anywhere except up these stairs.”

  Her grin grew. “Thank God.”

  He took the stairs two at a time and didn’t go back down until almost noon the next day.

  ****

  When the phone rang early Wednesday morning, Tricia knew without even looking that it was Sean. And for the first time since they met, she was hesitant to answer.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to him – not really – but he just knew her so well she didn’t think she’d be able to keep it from him that she’d slept with Ryan.

  And just the thought of Ryan made her smile and blush and go hot all over.

  Their night together had been amazing. Hot, steamy and wild one minute, sweet, slow and passionate the next. There had been very little sleeping and by the time Ryan had left, Tricia was lucky she could remember her own name. She’d worried about him driving all the way home on such little sleep, but he assured her he was fine.

  He even called her when he’d gotten home to let her know he was all right. And they’d spoken every day – several times a day – since.

  She sighed. It didn’t seem possible. For all the years they’d known one another, she never imagined they would…fit quite like this. The upside was that because they’d known one another for so long, it did away with a lot of that new relationship awkwardness. They still didn’t know each other very well – not like the way she knew Sean – so there was enough mystery about each other that they had so much to talk about and never seemed to run out of things to say.

  She had fallen hard. Fast.

  And it scared the hell out of her.

  The phone was still ringing and she finally reached over and answered it. “Hey! How’s my favorite patient doing today?”

  “Grumpy.”

  “Oh, no,” she cooed, knowing how much Sean loved sympathy. “What’s going on? Who’s not treating you right? Do I need to come and kick some nurse’s ass?”

  Sean chuckled. “As great as that would be – especially if you were both dressed in those short nurse’s uniforms – no. I’m just antsy to get out of here and back home.”

  “I know, Sean. I wish they’d let you travel sooner. Your room is here waiting for you.”

  “Are you sure? I think Ryan’s got it booked through the summer,” he said with a laugh.

  Tricia’s heart began to race. Sean didn’t know about her and Ryan, did he? Ryan hadn’t mentioned telling him and Tricia knew she hadn’t had the opportunity to bring it up. She cleared her throat. “What…what do you mean?” she asked nervously.

  “The weddings,” he said. “With him taking my place, I’m sure he’s going to be there most weekends.”

&n
bsp; Oh, right. The weddings. She almost sagged to the floor with relief. “There aren’t that many of them and he does have a place of his own so…”

  “So you’re saying my room is still available?”

  She laughed. “You may have to share like the old days for a weekend of two, but otherwise you’re fine.”

  “Can’t you make him stay in the guest room?” he whined but Tricia knew he was just being cute.

  “Actually, I think you should stay in the guest room so you don’t have to maneuver the stairs. But we’ll deal with that at a later date, like when we know you’re coming home. Any word on that?”

  “Nothing definitive.” He paused. “So I haven’t talked to you in a few days. How did the weekend go? Was it weird going with Ryan?”

  “Not as weird as I thought it would be,” she began evasively, then gave him almost all of the details of each wedding and got him caught up with all the people she saw and what was going on in their lives. “It was so good to see everyone again! Honestly, we laughed so much I almost hated to leave.”

  “That’s great. And Ryan was okay? He didn’t give you any grief about being there?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know how he is…he’s not big on socializing. He’s a workaholic. I’m thankful these things are on the weekend otherwise he probably would have turned me down flat when I asked him to go with you.”

  Here was her opening to address some things. “I appreciate you wanting to help me out, Sean, but…I kind of wish you would have talked to me first about this.”

  “Why? He was a jerk, wasn’t he? What did he say – or do – to upset you? I’ll call him and…”

  “No!” she interrupted. “That’s not it at all. It’s just…dammit…I don’t need a babysitter, Sean. And that’s what I feel like you have him doing, watching over me and making sure I’m all right. Well, I am. I may not like it when people do the pity thing, but I get through it. And running into people I don’t want to see? That’s just a part of life.”

  He was silent for a moment. “So Steve was there.”

  Of course he would know what she was referring to. They’d known each other for so long that there wasn’t anything they could get by one another. “Sunday. He was there and it was awkward and terrible at first, but then…”

  “Please tell me you finally told him to get lost!”

  “Actually, no.”

  “Tricia!” he snapped. “What is it going to take for you to realize what a jackass that guy is? How many more times…”

  “I didn’t get to tell him anything because Ryan took care of it,” she said tartly.

  “Oh,” he said, sounding a bit sheepish. “Oh, okay. So…what did he say?” Tricia recounted the story to him and left it at their leaving the wedding – and not what happened once they got home. “Good. Maybe now Steve will finally get the hint and stop trying to get in touch with you.”

  “Well, if we’re being honest, I probably should have been a little more firm with him from the beginning. If I had responded to his voicemails and texts telling him to back off, chances are we wouldn’t have had any issues this weekend.”

  “Somehow I doubt that, but whatever.”

  “Anyway, the next wedding is this weekend and I told Ryan he didn’t have to go with me.” Actually, they had discussed it at great length but they both knew – especially after Sunday night – that he was coming back.

  “I hope he told you it doesn’t matter and he’s going with you anyway.”

  She smiled. “Yeah. Something like that.”

  “Good.” He sounded pleased. “I know it’s not the same as us going together, but…I’m glad he’s there with you.”

  “I told you. I don’t need a babysitter,” she said wearily.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don’t look at it like that. As much as it may seem like he’s doing me a favor, the truth is, I’m kind of doing him one.”

  She frowned. “Meaning what, exactly?”

  “Like I said, Ryan’s a bit antisocial. The only time he really goes out and meets with people is when it’s business related – dinners, drinks and whatnot. By going to the weddings with you, I feel good knowing he’s out and about and mingling with people and he’s not spending the night talking about architecture.”

  “Are you sure about that? For all you know that’s all he talks about around the table. Maybe he’s regaling everyone with talks about homes and buildings he’s designed.” She was teasing but did her best to keep her tone neutral.

  “Please tell me you’re kidding,” Sean pleaded. “I will die of embarrassment if he’s boring everyone to tears with talks of building materials and use of natural lighting.”

  Tricia burst out laughing. “Dammit! I wish I could have pulled that off a little bit longer!”

  “You almost had me there for a minute,” he said, laughing with her. “Not funny, Patterson!”

  “You totally deserved that, Peterson,” she replied. “Anyway, things are going fine. Ryan’s going to be here this weekend.”

  “I have access to a computer,” Sean said. “I’m going to try to Skype with you guys while he’s there.”

  “That would be great! I can’t wait to see your face!”

  “Yeah, well, don’t get too excited. It’s still kind of bruised from the accident.”

  “Oh…Sean…”

  “No worries. I’ll be back to my adorable self by the time I come home.”

  She smiled and relaxed a bit. “I can’t wait.”

  ****

  Late Friday afternoon, Ryan was pulling off the expressway and onto the exit that would lead him toward Tricia’s house. He couldn’t believe how anxious he was to get there. Not only had he essentially blown off work on Monday so he could stay in bed with her, but he’d left work early today in order to get back to her.

  They’d talked on the phone every day and he found he simply enjoyed hearing her voice and learning more about her. The work she did as a speech pathologist was fascinating and the fact that she loved her job came through in everything she said. To think back and remember her as the shy girl Sean had brought home all those years ago was almost impossible. All he could see now was the beautiful and intelligent woman she’d become.

  Technically, he didn’t have to get to Tricia’s until tomorrow since the wedding wasn’t until Saturday night, but he didn’t want to wait. He couldn’t wait, actually. Even now, the drive itself was nearly killing him. As he drove through town, he thought about taking Tricia out to dinner and out on a proper date – just the two of them. Granted, they’d gone out to eat in the last couple of weeks, but that was more as friends or acquaintances. But now? Now it was different. He wanted to take her someplace romantic – maybe a little dancing afterwards.

  Without a DJ and a hundred people dancing with them like at the weddings.

  A smile crossed his face. Yes. That sounded like a great way to start the weekend. They’d go out and he’d show her a little romance – show her he was interested in her as more than something casual – and then they could go back to the house and have some ice cream out on the deck. He chuckled as he thought about how much she loved her favorite dessert. And then…then they could spend the night making love.

  Maybe even start out on the deck.

  The idea had merit.

  He hit some traffic and couldn’t help but curse. He was so close to Tricia’s house that any delay was just flat-out annoying. The clock read four-thirty. She had mentioned she wouldn’t be home until maybe a little after five and in his mind, Ryan had hoped to get to the house before her and surprise her, maybe have a couple of glasses of wine poured and waiting for her out on the deck. Looking over at the passenger seat, he looked at the bouquet of flowers he’d picked up for her and the bottle of his favorite wine he’d chosen, too.

  His head shook. This was all new territory. He’d dated plenty of women in his life so that wasn’t the new part. But he’d never had this kind of a history with one. They’d known
each other for years and there was her relationship with not just Sean but his entire family. But even more than that, Ryan felt a deeper connection with Tricia than he ever had with a woman. It was hard to believe they hadn’t gotten together sooner.

  When?

  Okay, yeah, there was that. Back when Sean first started bringing Tricia around, she was basically a child. She was in high school but compared to him, she was still a child. Plus, he went away for college and was only home occasionally and then moved to Jersey. So really, when had he actually had an opportunity to get to know her? The few times he’d seen her over the years was more in passing or in group settings. He had no idea that she was so…everything.

  He cursed the slow-moving cars in front of him as he finally rolled through the intersection. Her neighborhood was only two blocks up and once he was off this main road, it would be smooth sailing.

  His heart began to race as anticipation built. If it were possible for him to feel any more than what he was feeling at this moment, he couldn’t comprehend it. Need. Want. It all warred within him. When her house was finally in sight, his foot pressed down harder on the gas pedal and he took the turn into the driveway almost on two wheels.

  Tricia’s car was nowhere in sight and he was thrilled that his plan was falling into place. Maybe once he got all his stuff inside, he’d put the car in the garage so she wouldn’t have any idea he was inside waiting.

  A slow smile crossed his face at the thought of the look on hers when she saw him.

  With hands that were slightly trembling, he climbed out of the car and made quick work of collecting his things. He used his key to get in, felt only marginally guilty about doing so, and first went to the kitchen, dropping his suitcase next to the stairs. He found a vase for the flowers and got them set up with water. Then he searched her cabinets for wine glasses and put them on the counter next to the wine.

  Striding back out to the foyer, he quickly scooped up his luggage and started up the stairs. In his mind he knew the right thing to do was to put his things in his old room, but part of him really just wanted to unpack in Tricia’s and share the space with her for the weekend. Once he hit the landing, he paused.