The Wedding Season

by Samantha Chase

  “You’re being stupid,” he mumbled to himself. “Who cares where your luggage is?” Then he turned toward his room only to stop and look over his shoulder at the Tricia’s closed door. Indecision warred within him for all of five seconds before he turned around and walked toward it. Maybe he was crossing a line, maybe he wasn’t but there was only one way to find out.

  Refusing to overanalyze it anymore, Ryan reached for the door handle and pushed the door open.

  And found Tricia lying across the bed, draped only in a white sheet, waiting for him.

  All thoughts of luggage were forgotten.

  “What took you so long?” she asked, a sexy smile on her lips.

  And in that moment, he had to wonder the exact same thing.

  Seven

  They lay facing one another a bit later on, Ryan’s fingers trailing up and down Tricia’s arm. “I was hoping to surprise you,” she said.

  “That had been my plan too,” he said with a low chuckle and then looked up into her eyes. “One mind.”

  “Mm-hmm,” she purred and sighed. Closing her eyes, Tricia could easily picture the look on Ryan’s face when he’d come through her bedroom door earlier. Shock and then heat. She loved that look. Reaching up, she traced a finger along his stubbled jaw and was content for them to just stay like this. She was just about to say that when he moved and pushed the sheet off of them. “What are you doing?”

  Ryan stood and then took one of her hands in his and pulled her to her feet. With a wicked look in his eyes, he gently tugged her along – out of the bedroom, down the hall and into the bathroom. He turned the water on in the shower and then turned to face her. “I want to take you to dinner tonight and right now, neither of us is fit to go anywhere.”

  With a tilt of her head she gave him a wry look. “And you think having us shower together will help that?”

  “It certainly can’t hurt, sweetheart.”

  Who was she to argue?

  They stepped under the steamy spray and it wasn’t long before Tricia found out she had seriously underestimated the appeal of a shared shower.

  Ryan’s hands were felt like they were everywhere at once and she found he was extremely creative in how he used them. It didn’t matter how much soap they used, she felt a little dirtier – and naughtier – than she had after their romp in her bed!

  The water was turning cool when he turned it off and reached for a towel for her, wrapping her in it. He placed a kiss on her forehead and wrapped his arms around her. “Where should we go for dinner?”

  Dinner? He could think about food right now? Her knees were weak and her heart was still racing. “I’d be happy with a pizza out on the deck.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll admit right now that does sound good, but I really wanted to take you out someplace.”

  Tricia pulled back and looked up at him. “You don’t have to do that. We went out the last two times you were here. I really don’t mind staying in.”

  Leaning down, he kissed her thoroughly. “I don’t either,” he murmured against her lips, “but if we stay in, I don’t think we’ll ever get to dinner.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?” Tricia took a step back and grabbed a towel and handed it to him.

  “Woman, I’m starving already. We’ll at least need a snack,” he teased, wrapping the towel around his waist as he followed her out of the bathroom and back to her room.

  Tricia noticed a blinking light on her phone. “I must have missed a call while we were in there,” she murmured, picking it up and connecting to her voicemail. After a minute, she went, “Uh-oh…”

  “What? What’s the matter?”

  She held up a finger to stop him and finished listening. When she hung up, she looked at him, slightly dismayed.

  “Who was on the phone? Is everything all right?” he asked.

  “That was your mom,” she began. “She’s on her way here.” Tricia looked over at her clock. “Actually, she should be here in about twenty minutes.”

  And there went their romantic dinner plans.

  ****

  Ryan put the wine glasses away and put the vase of flowers on the dining room table and sighed, best laid plans and all.

  He couldn’t believe his mother was on her way here, but that was the kind of woman she was. She pretty much did what she wanted, when she wanted and didn’t bother to check and see if it was convenient for anyone else.

  Disappointment swamped him. Not that he didn’t want to see his mother – it had been months since he had – it’s just he would have preferred to see her at another time.

  Like any time other than tonight.

  As soon as Tricia had told him the news, they sprang into action. He had quickly gotten dressed and come downstairs while Tricia dried her hair and got herself dressed. It wasn’t the way he envisioned them getting ready but it couldn’t be helped.

  He heard the slam of a car door and knew his mother had arrived. The smile came easily as he walked to the door, pulled it open and waited for her.

  “Ryan!” she said with delight. “I had no idea you’d be here this weekend! What a wonderful surprise!”

  “Hey, Mom,” he said, kissing her on the cheek. He held the door open for her and then followed her into the house and into the living room.

  “Where’s Tricia?” she asked, looking around the room and smiling.

  “She’s getting changed. Your call took her by surprise and she just wanted to freshen up.”

  “Oh, she didn’t have to go through any trouble for me,” Steph said. “Look at how wonderful the house looks. I can’t believe how she’s kept so much of it the same. I would have thought she would want to get rid of some of this old stuff. I know I did!”

  Ryan laughed. “She claims she loves it all.”

  “She’s just being sweet.”

  Ryan couldn’t help but agree, but he had to be careful about how he acted right now. He and Tricia hadn’t really talked about where they saw their relationship going, and Ryan had a feeling if his mother caught wind of what was going on, she’d butt in and start pushing them toward things they might not be ready for.

  “Tricia!” Steph cried boisterously as Tricia entered the living room. The two women embraced as Ryan stood back and observed. “Look at you! You get prettier and prettier every time I see you!” She gave Tricia another hug and then looked over her shoulder. “Don’t you agree, Ryan?”

  Rather than answer, Ryan walked toward the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink, Mom?”

  “That would be lovely,” she said, taking Tricia by the hand and following him. “Everything looks wonderful, Tricia. It’s always such a good feeling when I walk through that door. I know I didn’t want to live here anymore but there is something very comforting in being able to come back every once in a while. So thank you.”

  Tricia blushed. “You don’t need to thank me. I’ve told you about a hundred times how much I love this house. It’s comforting to me too.” She reached out and took the glass of wine from Ryan’s hand, giving him a curious look.

  “Oh that’s good,” Steph said after taking a sip. “You have excellent taste in wine.” It was directed toward Tricia and neither she nor Ryan corrected her. Looking at her son, she relaxed against the kitchen counter. “So what brings you here, Ryan? Working in the area?”

  Ryan looked at Tricia and she shrugged and gave him the go-ahead. “Actually, I’m subbing for Sean.”

  Steph looked at him and then Tricia and then back again. “Excuse me?”

  “Why don’t we go sit down and explain it to you?” Tricia suggested and led Steph back to the living room where they sat down on the sofa. For the next few minutes, she described to Steph the wedding season plan.

  “So…you and Sean were supposed to go together as a fake couple?” she asked and Tricia nodded. “But because of the accident, Ryan’s going with you?”

  Tricia nodded again.

  “Interesting,” Steph said and took a sip of her wine. “So
how believable are you?”

  “We seem to be doing okay,” Tricia answered. “No one has doubted us for a moment. It was kind of funny watching their expressions at that first wedding when we made our announcement, but for the most part, no one’s the wiser.” Tricia paused, waiting for Ryan to add something to the conversation. When he didn’t, she continued. “Anyway, we have another wedding tomorrow and then one early in July, one at the end, and one in August. For all I know, more invitations can be on the way.”

  “Wow, that’s a lot of weddings,” Steph said, smiling at her son. “Good for you for stepping in and helping out. I know how much you hate these kinds of social events.”

  Ryan rolled his eyes. “I don’t hate them, Mom. I just choose not to go to them.”

  “And why is that?” she prompted.

  He frowned at her. “Because I don’t overly enjoy them.”

  “That’s just a nicer way of saying you hate them,” she said with a knowing grin. She patted him on the knee. “Like I said, it was nice of you to step in and help out. Not that I think our girl here couldn’t handle herself on her own, but my goodness…all those weddings in one summer. You could have said no to some of them,” she said to Tricia.

  “I had thought the same thing at first, but the more Sean and I talked about it, we couldn’t figure out whose we would skip.”

  “I would imagine it would have been tough,” Steph said, taking another sip of her wine. “And if I know Sean, he waxed poetic about who he was friends with in high school and for how long and how it wouldn’t be right for him not to be there.”

  “Exactly!” Tricia laughed. “And so far, I’ve had a great time with everyone we’ve seen and I hate that Sean’s missing it.”

  “I know he is too, sweetie,” Steph sighed. “I hate not being with him and it’s even worse not knowing exactly when he’s going to come home.” She paused. “Which reminds me, has anyone talked to him about where he’s going to stay when that happens?”

  Tricia ducked her head shyly and then raised her hand. “I did,” she said. “I told him he could stay here if he needed to.” She looked at Steph apologetically. “I know I probably should have talked to you first but…I don’t know. I know you travel a lot and I have all this space here so…”

  Steph took one of Tricia’s hands in hers and squeezed. “Don’t be silly. It does make the most sense. I could easily rearrange my schedule so he could stay with me but my place is really just a studio. He’d have no privacy. This makes the most sense.” She looked over at Ryan. “Unless you’d like him to stay with you?”

  Ryan shook his head. “I travel too much. Tricia’s right. Here he can use the guest room and with her work schedule, she could be here to help him if he needs it.”

  Steph nodded and leaned over to kiss her son on the cheek. “Plus, if she really needed your help, I know you’d be here.”

  He nodded.

  “So what did the two of you have planned for tonight? Anything? Because I’d love to take you both out to dinner!” Steph smiled at them both. “I had planned on having some girl time with Tricia but finding Ryan here was such a wonderful surprise! I feel like we need to go out and celebrate a bit.”

  “Celebrate? Celebrate what?” Ryan asked.

  “Whatever we feel like!” Steph answered. “Come on. Give me five minutes to freshen up and we can go into town for something to eat.”

  “You’re going to stay the night aren’t you, Steph?” Tricia asked.

  “Oh, heavens no. You were actually just a bit of a pit stop for me. Sorry,” she said with a sincere smile. “I’m actually driving out to the Hamptons tonight and meeting up with some friends.”

  “Tonight?” Ryan asked. “You’ll be getting there kind of late. Why don’t you just stay here and drive out in the morning?”

  “Because traffic will be a beast then. Trust me. I’ve done this dozens of times before. We’ll grab some dinner, visit and catch up with one another and then I’ll be on my way.”

  “I wish you’d reconsider,” Tricia added.

  “That’s sweet of the both of you but I’ll be fine. Give me five minutes. In the meantime, think of where you’d like to go to eat.”

  When she was out of the room, Ryan stood and looked at Tricia. “Not the evening I had planned for us.”

  She stood as well. “It’s okay, we have all weekend. It will be nice to visit with her for a little while.”

  He leaned in and kissed her – although kiss was too mild a word. Devoured was more like it. It left her weak and achy and needy. When he released her, she almost lost her balance. “No fair.”

  He smirked. “What? What’s no fair?”

  “How am I supposed to focus on dinner after that?”

  “You’re not. You’re supposed to focus on what comes later on.”

  As if she’d be able to think of anything else.

  ****

  Once at the restaurant – a local Irish pub – they ordered food, ate and talked almost non-stop. There never seemed to be a lull in the conversation and the only thing missing was Sean. Tricia had always enjoyed spending time with the Petersons. They offered her the kind of relaxed family atmosphere that had been missing in her own life.

  Meeting Sean on her first day of school here had been the burst of fresh air she had needed. And now, sitting here with Ryan and Steph – and Sean in spirit – filled her heart with love.

  Her gaze lingered on Ryan. He looked so relaxed as he talked about the new office complex he was designing. He was very expressive when he spoke of his work and she knew how much he loved his work. She’d always known what he did, but it wasn’t until recently she realized just how much he did and how talented he was. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Steph watching her and quickly turned her focus to her food.

  When their dinner plates were cleared, Steph ordered dessert for them to share. “I know we all say we’re full, but there’s always room for dessert,” she said.

  Tricia leaned back in her seat, her hand over her belly. “I don’t know about that. It’s like that at the weddings, too. Between the cocktail hour and all the food at the reception, by the time the cake comes out and all the assorted desserts, it’s almost painful.”

  “Nonsense,” Steph said. “There’s nothing wrong with indulging once in a while.” She clapped her hands with glee when the plates came out – cheesecake, pecan pie and death-by-chocolate.

  Any time she had ever gone out to eat with Steph, it had been with Sean. They all shared their desserts and it was all done in good fun – feeding one another and critiquing their choices. But when Steph suggested Tricia feed Ryan a piece of her chocolate cake, Tricia wasn’t so sure she’d be able to do it and have it look all that platonic.

  “She doesn’t have to feed me, Mom,” Ryan said, clearly thinking the same thing. He reached across the table with his fork to get a piece but Steph smacked his hand away.

  “That’s not how we do it. We have a thing we do – of course, it’s when Sean is with us – but you’ll just have to go with the flow.”

  Tricia looked at him apologetically as she lifted a forkful of the decadent dessert and held it to his lips. He slowly took it into his mouth and she almost groaned, unable to look away. Ryan’s eyes held hers and she could feel the flush creeping up her body and every inch of her body tingled in anticipation – as if he was actually touching her.

  Suddenly remembering Steph was sitting there watching them, she quickly pulled the fork away and cleared her throat.

  “I know you’re not a huge fan of cheesecake, Trish,” Steph said, “but you really need to try Ryan’s. The pub is famous for it.”

  “No, that’s okay…”

  “Oh, come on!” Steph said with a grin, “You know the rules. Everyone has to taste.”

  It was normally a fun tradition but right now it was beginning to feel like torture. As much as Tricia loved spending time with Stephanie Peterson, right now she wouldn’t mind if she wanted to get on the roa
d to the Hamptons.

  With another apologetic look, Tricia waited for Ryan to feed her a piece of his dessert. As much as she told herself to act natural and not focus on his face, she couldn’t. It was as if she was completely incapable of looking anyplace else. She took the forkful of the creamy dessert and when Ryan slowly pulled the fork away, she caught his heated grin.

  “Both of those must be spectacular, judging by your faces!” Steph said with a chuckle and then reached over and took a taste of each on her own.

  “Hey!” both Tricia and Ryan said in unison.

  “What?”

  “You broke the rules!” Tricia laughed. “Why did we have to feed each other and you got to just swoop in and taste on your own?”

  “Because I’m the mom and therefore I get to do what I want!” They all laughed and finished their desserts. Once the check was paid, Steph stood and stretched. “I really hate to eat and run, but it is getting late. I hope you don’t mind me cutting the night short.”

  Tricia had never been more thankful for anything in her life and by the look on Ryan’s face, it was mutual.

  “Not a problem,” Ryan said as they made their way back out to the car.

  Back at the house, they said their goodbyes out in the driveway with Steph promising to text them when she arrived at her friend’s house. Tricia stood next to Ryan as they watched his mother drive away, keenly aware of his hand resting on the small of her back.

  “Well that was a nice surprise,” she said as Steph’s car disappeared down the road.

  “Absolutely. But in typical mom-fashion, she’s here and gone in a flash and somehow never really manages to tell you what’s going on in her life or what she’s up to.”

  “No, that’s not true,” Trish began to argue and then stopped and thought about it. “Actually…”

  Ryan nodded. “You know I’m right. She had both of us talking about work and the weddings and then we talked about Sean but through it all, she said very little about her own life. She makes me crazy.”