“You’re not a love-’em-and-leave-’em girl, Stef,” he protested.
“What kind of girl do you think I am?”
“A forever girl,” he said softly.
“Then treat me like I’m one. Take a chance tonight, Wade. It might be your last. Then again …”
Applause from the tent seemed to roll across the lawn like thunder.
“Oh, hell. I forgot about Dallas.…” She grabbed his hand and headed toward the tent.
“We can see Dallas later,” Wade told her. “We can see Dallas tomorrow.”
“But not this …” She turned to him at the entrance to the tent and smiled. “We need to see this.” She leaned forward and whispered, “I’ll make it worth your while later.”
“In that case …” Wade followed her into the tent.
Dallas stood on the bandstand with a microphone in her hand and the crowd hushed.
“Thank you all so much for coming to celebrate my birthday with me,” she began. “I know many of you traveled quite a distance to be here tonight, and I appreciate it. I’m happy that you all got a little taste of our beautiful town, and I hope that tomorrow you’ll visit our shops and our restaurants and you’ll understand why the longer I stay in St. Dennis, the harder it is for me to leave. If you enjoyed the ice cream you had for dessert, stop in at One Scoop or Two down near the marina and sample some of Steffie Wyler’s ridiculously delicious flavors—all made right there, by Steffie, from scratch. If you like my dress”—Dallas twirled around to give everyone a good look—“you might want to stop at Bling up on Charles Street and see what other goodies Vanessa has to offer …”
Dallas went on to give shout-outs to other merchants and to invite her guests to stay through tomorrow to tour the site where she’d be building her studio.
“I know you’ve heard the rumors, and yes, they’re true. My first project will be Pretty Maids …”
Dallas introduced Victoria Seymour and the two leads, shocking everyone with her choice of Laura Fielding, an old friend of Dallas’s who hadn’t been particularly successful but who Dallas believed was the perfect Charlotte. The most enthusiastic applause was saved for the announcement confirming that Berry would be returning to the screen as Rosemarie.
Then a table holding Brooke’s cupcakes was wheeled across the floor and the candles on thirty-eight of them were lit. The birthday song was sung, the candles were blown out, but before Dallas could begin to hand out cupcakes to those closest, Grant turned her around and went down on one knee and took her hand.
“Dallas, you know that I’ve loved you since I was eleven years old. I …”
A stunned Dallas turned the mike off so that only she could hear what Grant had to say. But the entire crowd had grown hushed, and when he slipped the ring on her finger and Dallas pulled Grant up to kiss him, the whoops and hollers could have been heard across the Bay.
“Wow, he really did it,” Steffie said.
“Let’s go congratulate them.” Wade tugged her hand and they made their way to the bandstand.
“You really went down on one knee in front of all these strangers.” Steffie marveled when she finally reached her brother.
“I barely saw them,” Grant admitted. “All I could see was Dallas.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet.” Steffie kissed his cheek, then turned to Dallas and hugged her.
“You knew this was coming tonight and you never said a word.” Dallas hugged Steffie back. “And Grant said this”—she held up her left hand and wiggled her ring finger—“was your idea.”
Stef nodded.
“It’s perfect. It couldn’t be more perfect. I love it. And I thank you for thinking of it. Nothing would have meant more to me.” Dallas had tears in her eyes. “And oh! The ice cream! I can’t believe you did that for me! My own flavor!”
“That was Grant’s idea,” Steffie told her. “Well, the idea was his, the flavor was mine. He thought I should make something just for you and then throw away the recipe and never make it again …”
Dallas and Grant’s discussion about the ice-cream flavor’s exclusivity—or not—was interrupted by well-wishers, and the congratulations went on and on.
Steffie and Wade stepped farther and farther back from the crowd. When they reached the edge of the tent, Steffie asked, “Who’s watching Austin tonight?”
“Paige brought Cody and Austin out to say good night earlier, so I imagine both boys are in bed by now. We did hire an older woman, much to Paige’s annoyance, but once we explained to her that she could come to the party for a while, she was all right with it.”
“So, then, Austin is covered for the night.”
He nodded.
“Good. Then we’ve covered all the bases. We said our congrats to the happy couple, we made nice with our friends, so I suppose our work here is done.”
“I suppose it is.”
She stepped closer, her hands on his waist.
“Come home with me,” she whispered. “Stay with me.”
He took her by the hand and they walked out through the front gate, then realized that his car was in the driveway in front of the caterer’s.
“It’s okay,” she told him. “Mine’s out front.”
But when they got to her car, they found it blocked in by a news van and the driver was nowhere to be seen.
“Oh, damn,” Stef complained. “It’s a long way to walk in these shoes. Talk about a mood killer.”
“I have an idea,” Wade told her. “Wait here.”
Moments later, a stretch limo pulled up next to her car and the driver hopped out and walked around the car.
“Miss Wyler?” he asked.
“Yes …?”
Wade pushed the back door open.
“What are you doing?” She laughed and got in next to him.
“It’s ours for twenty minutes,” Wade told her as the driver closed the door. “Long enough for him to drive to your house and back again. You’ll have to give him directions.”
“Go straight to the stop sign, then on through the center of town,” Steffie said, and the car began to move. “Then make a left when you get to the third light.”
“That’s not how you get to Olive Street,” Wade noted.
“It’s how you get to my apartment,” she told him. “I haven’t moved yet.”
Steffie’s apartment was in a three-story house that had two units on each floor. There were lights on in one of the downstairs apartments and one on the third. The entire second floor was dark. The driver opened the door and helped them out, and Stef looked for her keys while Wade paid the driver. Steffie was still searching through her bag as they walked to the front door of the building.
“Here they are.” Stef pulled a long chain of keys from her bag and unlocked the door.
“How could you have missed that? How many keys are on there, anyway?” Wade followed her through the door and up the steps to the second floor.
“Well, there’s the shop, and the car, and the house, and the front door here and this door …” She reached the landing and took three steps to the door on the right. She unlocked it and stepped inside, waited for Wade before closing the door behind him and turning the lock.
She’d barely turned to him when she found herself in his arms. She dropped her bag and the keys onto the floor and raised her face for his kiss. His mouth demanded and she complied, his tongue filled her mouth and she took it in. He moved her back against the door, his hands on her waist, and he pulled her body closer until she was melting into him. Then his hands were in her hair and on her arms and her breasts and her thighs, everywhere at once and nowhere long enough. He slid his hands under the hem of her dress, pulling the soft fabric to her waist. His mouth moved along her throat, his lips trailing a hot line of kisses until her head began to swim. Her hands moved up his chest to the buttons of his shirt, which she began to undo, one by one, as quickly as her eager fingers could move. She pulled his shirttail from his khakis and pushed against him with her ent
ire body.
“Bedroom,” she gasped. “To the right.”
He took several steps backward, still kissing her, forcing her to move along with him. He lifted her from the floor, his arms around her hips, and she pushed the bedroom door aside with one foot.
“Straight back,” she whispered.
She guided him to the bed, and pushed on his shoulders till he reached the edge. She straddled him, then grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled it upward. His hands were on her breasts before she had it over her head, and she arched into him, offering more, offering everything she had. Her hands found the buckle of his belt and she undid it, tugged at the waist of his slacks until she could slide them down. She repositioned herself so that when she moved her hips she ground against him, and he groaned deep in his throat. She undid her bra and tossed it and his mouth found her breast, his tongue almost driving her over the edge. He somehow managed to shed the rest of his clothes and she eased herself onto him until he was inside her. She rocked her hips back and forth, setting the pace, and he followed her lead. Surrendering to the hot licks of sensation that flooded and filled her, Stef gave herself over to the night and the man she’d waited a lifetime for. She’d craved his touch everywhere, and tonight, he fulfilled every desire she’d ever had. She closed her eyes and whispered his name as the world around her exploded and unbearable pleasure all but broke her in two.
Wade fell back, taking her with him, his arms wrapped around her, his heart pounding so close to hers, his breathing ragged, his eyes closed as he sought to recover from what had felt like a long fall over a steep cliff. Stef felt his chest rise and fall beneath hers, and watched his face in contented silence until her own breathing returned to normal.
She nibbled on his chin and smiled to herself.
“Wade,” she whispered, “that was round one, right?”
“Huh?” His eyes partially opened, and she smiled to herself.
She pushed herself up slightly. “That was first-time sex, right?”
“Call it what you want, Stef, it was terrific.”
“We still have to have makeup sex.”
“What?” His eyes were wide-open now.
“I was really angry with you earlier, but then we talked things out and we made up. Hence, makeup sex follows.”
“Perhaps you could give me a minute to catch my breath.”
“Perhaps a minute.” She lowered her mouth to his. “Then again, perhaps not …”
“What time do you have to have to be at Scoop today?” Wade lay on his back, Stef curled in the crook of his arm and covered by a light blue blanket. Whatever response she’d made was unintelligible.
“Say that again?”
“I said Tina is opening for me today.” She yawned. “I told her I’d come in after the brunch my parents are having for Dallas and the family.” She covered a second yawn with her hand. “So I’ll see you and the little guy in about four hours or so.”
She burrowed back under the blanket. It had turned cold during the night and cool air had seeped in through the partially open window on the opposite side of the room.
Wade tried to check the time, but he couldn’t quite see the face of the clock on Stef’s bedside table. He wanted to be at Berry’s when Austin awoke. He hadn’t told anyone he was leaving or that he wasn’t coming back last night, and he didn’t want his sister’s active imagination conjuring up scenes of his body floating downriver toward the Bay.
He eased himself out of the bed, with as little disturbance to Stef as possible, and turned the clock around. It was later than he’d thought. He gathered his clothes and made his way to the bathroom. When he came back into the bedroom, ready to leave, he found Stef still all but passed out.
“You’re a lightweight, Wyler,” he whispered in her ear. “You went out cold after three rounds.”
“I’m not the one who’s dressed and ready to flee the scene,” she replied without opening her eyes.
“I’m only leaving because—” he began to explain.
“I’m teasing you.” She emerged slightly from the covers and smiled. “I know you have to get back to Austin. It’s all right. I’m all right with it. Actually, I’m surprised you stayed all night.”
His fingers caught in the tangle of her hair and he watched her eyes, still smoky with sleep. “Best night ever,” he told her.
“Really?”
He nodded. “I always knew it would be like that between us, you know?”
“You mean, damn near perfect?”
“Yeah. Damn near.”
“You know what they say about practice.” She sat up and placed a hand on either side of his face, drew him close and kissed him. “Now go take care of Austin. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Are you getting up?”
“Are you crazy?” She snuggled down onto the pillow. “I’m not the one with a child …”
He laughed and pulled the covers up to her chin, then let himself out of the apartment. It was almost a mile back to Berry’s, but the cool air felt good and the walk served not only to wake him up but to clear his head as well. He had known it would be like that with Stef, and it had been pretty damn near perfect. He wondered if that was the reason he’d avoided her for so long. Maybe somewhere deep inside he’d known that if they ever got that close, they’d fry each other to a crisp.
Moth to flame. He’d been right about that, too.
Back when he was eighteen, with all the world before him, he’d had to leave. Now he wasn’t so sure that what lay ahead was going to be worth losing what he’d be leaving behind.
He’d wanted to talk to her about the job, thought they’d spend some quiet time talking last night, but that hadn’t happened. Maybe today, he thought, there’d be time.
Or maybe tonight, if she’d let him stay again tonight. He hoped she would. Maybe another night, and he’d have her out of his system.
“Yeah,” he muttered. “Let me know how that works out for you …”
Stef heard Wade’s footfalls on the steps, listened to them descending, heard the front door open and close, his footsteps leading down the walk, then nothing. She pulled both pillows under her head—his and hers—and propped herself up. She grabbed the remote control from the table next to the bed and mindlessly began to channel surf, hoping to find something that would help her drown out the thoughts that were running through her head. On Sunday morning there were about a dozen televangelists doing their thing and about an equal number of news shows. Mostly there were infomercials for makeup—four different kinds; skin-care products—another three; exercise equipment, all guaranteed to effortlessly reduce the size of your thighs, hips, and butt—there was an endless number of those. She clicked off the TV and stared at the blank screen.
She’d finally had what she’d wanted for so long, and it had been more than she’d even dreamed of.
“So you’d think you’d be satisfied,” she said aloud. “But no. You want more. You want all of him, but you can’t have him. No surprise there. He never pretended otherwise.”
She got out of the bed and went into the bathroom for a shower.
“What part of ‘leaving tomorrow for Connecticut’ do I not understand?” she asked herself while she dried her hair. “What part of ‘job in another state’ is a foreign phrase?”
She dressed and put on makeup and tried to put on a happy face to go with it. She was happy. She wanted to be happy again, stay happy for a while. Tough to do with Wade leaving the next day.
Her bravado the night before aside, she wasn’t sure she could handle saying good-bye to him again. She’d believed it when she said it, and at the time, it had probably been true. After spending one long magical night with him, she had to reconsider.
“But this time,” she told her reflection as she put on her earrings, “if I’m sad, that’ll be on me. If I hurt—and I probably will—I can’t blame him since last night was my idea. I was the one who pushed.”
She paused. “And I’m not saying
it wasn’t a good idea. I just want more. Lord help me, I want more …”
She strapped on high heels and grabbed her bag and her keys. She got as far as the front walk when she realized her car was still parked on River Road. Unless, of course, the police towed it because of the overnight parking restriction.
Nah, Beck wouldn’t do that to her.
She strode off toward town and hoped that her feet wouldn’t be crying the blues by the time she got there. She knew she was going to be late because she hadn’t planned on having to walk from the apartment to Let’s Do Brunch, which was several doors down from Bling on Charles Street. But the walk was invigorating and she was flushed by the time she arrived. The other guests were all seated, and she tried to sneak in the side door.
Wade rose when he saw her, and he pushed back from his chair and went to her.
“I saved a seat for you.” He took her hand. When she looked into his eyes, she saw something that she hadn’t seen there before. She wasn’t sure she knew what it was, but she liked it.
“Great.” She smiled and let him lead her to the table where his family and hers were seated together.
“I hope you don’t mind that we started already, sweetie.” Her mother appeared to be ignoring the fact that Wade still held her hand. “We weren’t sure what time you’d be arriving.”
“No apologies.” Stef glanced around the room. “Lots of folks here from last night. Lots of business for the little town.” She smiled broadly. “I like it.”
They talked about the party, what big-name star had been wearing what and which up-and-comer had embarrassed himself by making a blatant—and drunken—move on a well-known director; who seemed to really enjoy St. Dennis and who was paying lip service to Dallas in the hopes of being cast in her first picture; and how Berry had been the show-stopper.
“I need to get down to Scoop,” Stef announced as the morning faded into afternoon. “I can’t leave Tina there all day by herself after I had her open this morning for me.”
“Scoop!” Austin clapped his hands.
“What do you say we walk Steffie down to the shop?” Wade lifted his son from the high chair.
The Chesapeake Diaries Series 7-Book Bundle: Coming HOme, Home Again, Almost Home, Hometown Girl, Home for the Summer, The Long Way Home, At the River's Edge Page 85