That Unforgettable Kiss

by Tamara Ferguson

  Murphy nodded. “Sure.”

  Rolly grimaced. “There’s a rumor going around that Amanda tried to put the moves on Jason. And you know what Jason’s like – he’d never lie about something like that.”

  Murphy stilled momentarily. But after just a split-second, he rolled his eyes, and sipped on his beer. “And you’re just telling me this now?”

  Rolly hung his head sheepishly. “We might’ve eventually. Jason thought that maybe she was drunk.” He shrugged. “We all took a vote, and decided to give her another chance.”

  “Well, to tell you the truth, Rolly, I’m sure glad that I found out before we got married.”

  Rolly’s eyes met his. “You mean...?”

  Murphy nodded. “Yeah. Her true colors came out earlier today.”

  “Oh, God, man. I’m really sorry.”

  Murphy shrugged. “You know, what, Rolly?”

  “What?”

  Murphy suddenly grinned. “I’m not.”

  Startled, Rolly began to laugh, and Murphy laughed right along with him.

  * * *

  Several hours later, Murphy found himself tossing and turning in the bed in the guest room in his apartment. There’d been no sign of Amanda when he’d arrived home close to midnight. After unloading his keys, phone, and wallet on the nightstand in the master bedroom, he hadn’t even considered going to sleep in that bed.

  But when he’d attempted to get some sleep, all Murphy could think about was Kate. He sighed heavily, rolling over on the mattress. She’d be getting married in less than twelve hours.

  He jolted upright in the bed. What in the hell was he doing here in Chicago? She wasn’t married yet.

  And he was free.

  Scrambling out of the bed, he rushed through the apartment to the master suite. Pulling open the closet door, he yanked down a suitcase from the shelf. He grabbed a mishmash of clothing, hastily flinging everything into the suitcase.

  He stilled suddenly, as he considered another life-changing decision. Why not just make a clean break from everything? What did he have to lose?

  Snatching up the phone from the nightstand, he hit the recall button for his boss’s private line. “Mark. I’m leaving you a message because it’s the middle of the night on Friday. I’ve finally decided that I need to take the month off that I have coming – beginning on Monday. I’m sorry if I’m leaving you short-handed, but Amanda and I have broken up.” Murphy hesitated for only a second, and then continued hurriedly. “To be honest with you, I’m not sure if I’ll be returning to Ryland’s after my time off. Remember what I’ve tried to talk to you about before – about having more freedom with my projects? I’m in a rut, Mark, and I need a change. The job doesn’t excite me anymore. Feel free to call me on my cell. I’ll be leaving for Wisconsin as soon as I’m done packing. Bye, Mark. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

  Switching off the phone, Murphy heaved a sigh. It was done.

  And there was no going back.

  * * *

  Almost ten hours later, Murphy arrived in the town of Crystal Rock. The town was usually an eight-hour drive from Chicago. But Saturday morning had been busy on the interstate, and there’d been a series of stops and delays due to road construction, requiring an additional two hours on the road.

  For the millionth time that morning, he checked his watch. It was ten minutes until two. Grimly, he considered the worst case scenario – what if he didn’t make it in time?

  He couldn’t think like that. He sped around the curves of the access road and past the Crystal Rock Tap, driving onward toward the Dragonfly Pointe Inn.

  He pulled his car into the congested parking lot, knowing he couldn’t afford to waste more time. Squealing to a halt in line for the valet parking, Murphy hastily slipped out from his car.

  A teen wearing a uniform rushed over. “Sir, you can’t leave your car like that!”

  Murphy yanked out his wallet. Pulling out a twenty, he handed it over, along with his keys. “Take care of it for me – will you? I’m late for a wedding.”

  Murphy rushed through the entrance without looking back.

  Obviously startled, the receptionist at the desk stared at Murphy as he scrambled by. “Can I help you, sir?

  He halted in his tracks. Where was he going anyway? He turned back to the receptionist. “The Callahan wedding?”

  “It’s in the solarium, sir.”

  Already on his way through the breezeway, and holding up his hand in acknowledgment, Murphy called out over his shoulder. “That’s alright. I know my way.”

  Murphy panicked, when he finally reached the entrance of the solarium. The guests were already standing.

  Oh, God...no!

  Had Kate already made her way down the aisle?

  Murphy didn’t wait to consider his options; instead, he went barreling through the door.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-THREE

  I know I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic, Kate, about working for a woman. But you’re sure a great boss,” Luke said gruffly. “You know why I used to flirt with you all the time?”

  She gave him a rueful smile. “I had my suspicions, Luke.”

  “I knew you were safe.” Luke grinned. “I wanted Melissa to think I’d gone on with my life.”

  “Plus, I imagine that there was a lot of pressure from the other guys that you worked with?” Kate suggested dryly.

  Luke’s face turned ruddy. “Yeah. They were always trying to set me up with other women.” Luke hung his head. “I never wanted any other woman but Melissa – and I missed her so much. I never really appreciated how much she actually did for me, until after she left.”

  “You guys got married pretty young, Luke. Sometimes, I think that these things happen.”

  “Yeah. I couldn’t care less about going out with the guys after she left. Funny, how much of an issue it was before we broke up.”

  “Melissa was just overloaded with work, Luke. And she wasn’t even getting paid for it. She felt undervalued and unappreciated.”

  “Yeah.” Luke nodded. “She’s sure excited about having the new baby.”

  “I have a sneaking suspicion that you’re pretty happy about it, too.”

  He chuckled. “Melissa and I are definitely on the same page now, Kate.”

  Kate nodded. “That’s really good to hear. I sure do love that brand new house that we’ve built for the two of you.”

  “What you’ve got here is pretty impressive, too, Kate.” Luke stared appreciatively towards the contemporary home on the lake.

  After completing the finish work less than two weeks before, the interior designer that Kate had hired had come in and properly staged the lakehouse for the magazine layout.

  “I can’t believe that Murphy came up with the plans for all this.” Luke scratched his head. “I guess he must’ve been smarter than he looked.”

  Kate snorted. She’d forgotten – she’d never told Luke the truth about Murphy. Luke eyed her oddly when she suddenly began laughing

  And then a fully-equipped van turned into the driveway. Kate and Luke watched as the driver parked the van beside the garage.

  “Showtime, Luke.” Kate reached over to adjust Luke’s tie. “Be prepared to answer lots of technical questions, about the construction and energy-efficient building materials we’ve incorporated inside my home.”

  “Don’t worry, Kate. I’m ready.”

  “Just because millions of people will be reading about this in a national magazine, doesn’t mean you need to be nervous.”

  Luke’s face suddenly went pale. “Oh, God, Kate – why’d you have to go and tell me that?

  She grinned.

  * * *

  Kate held open the back door as Dylan stepped inside.

  After giving her a hard stare, he let out a long, low whistle. “Katydid! My, my, don’t you look lovely today?”

  Tight and clinging with a plunging sweetheart neckline, her full-length gown of smoky blue brought out the co
lor of her eyes – or so she’d been told.

  She laughed. “Whenever I’m forced to dress up, Dylan, I figure I’d better just go all out.” She studied Dylan from head to toe. He wore a suit of dark gray, over a lighter gray shirt. Banded in blues and grays, his shiny striped tie drew attention to the intensity in his silvery-blue eyes “You don’t look half-bad yourself.”

  Dylan frowned, as he began fumbling worriedly with his tie. “Are you sure that all of this goes together, Kate?”

  She studied him with a sharp eye. This was strange – Dylan was nervous? Reaching over, Kate moved Dylan’s hands away from his neck and adjusted his tie. “I wouldn’t have picked it out for you if it didn’t, Dylan. I can’t believe you didn’t even own a suit and tie.”

  He shrugged. “What for? I wear my uniform every day. I used to own a couple of suits, but they got a little tight when I began working out at the gym after I moved here. We don’t exactly have too many big social events to attend, here in Crystal Rock.”

  Kate grinned. “Well – you really do look handsome. I see you even got a haircut. I think I like it better shorter like this.” Brushed back on top, his wavy ash-brown hair was layered neatly over his ears.

  “Yeah.” He grinned. “It was getting to be a little long and scraggly. I used to wear it like this when I was younger.”

  “No one’s gonna recognize you out of uniform.”

  He snorted, still squirming uncomfortably while his eyes searched the room. “So, did everything go alright yesterday, with your camera crew?”

  “Yeah. The interview went really well. It’s all pretty exciting. It was great that Dan was able to use his connections to get us this magazine spread.”

  “Well, he’s a successful journalist, now. Why, not?”

  Kate laughed. “That’s exactly what he said. Although, I think he was curious as to why I was finally interested in publicity, now. I never mentioned anything about our plan.”

  “Kate.” Dylan stared at her sternly. Reaching out for her hand, he squeezed it reassuringly. “Murphy will show up after this. Trust me. I’m a guy. I know these things.”

  Kate rolled her eyes. But it was exactly what she needed to hear.

  Dylan looked at his watch. “It’s almost noon. The ceremony’s at two?

  Kate nodded. “We’ve still got plenty of time to mingle.”

  “Are we ready?”

  Kate smiled, snatching up her clutch. “All set.”

  * * *

  With a three-piece orchestra set up in the solarium, chords of a violin echoed hauntingly through the dining room where the wedding guests had gathered.

  “Ah, there she is, Sandra – if it isn’t our lovely matchmaker, Kate.”

  Sandra Ivers grinned, as she strolled through the room on the arm of her husband. “Hi, there, Kate – Dylan. How’s everything going?”

  Kate smiled. “Just fine, Sandra. I’m so glad to see you two here.”

  “We wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Jeff Ivers actually winked at her. It was hard to believe he was the same troubled man she’d met almost seven years before. Following Kate’s advice, he’d contacted his widowed ex-wife, Sandra. Turns out, they’d never fallen out of love with each other. The tragedy of their daughter’s death had split them up, yet their mutual sorrow had eventually brought them back together again.

  Everything had fallen into place – just like Christina Montgomery had predicted it would. All Kate had had to do was make the suggestion to Jeff that he contact his ex-wife. In a way, Kate felt like Christina was working some special magic from beyond.

  And using Kate to carry out her prophecies.

  Kate stilled, before shaking her head dazedly. What in the world was she thinking? Sometimes her thoughts carried her mind off into the weirdest directions.

  A lovely, smiling stranger approached Kate, and she did a double-take. “Julie? Is that really you?”

  Rolling her eyes, Julie grinned. “Yeah. It’s me. Was it just my imagination – or did you really not recognize me?”

  “Oh, Julie. You look stunning.”

  Dylan apparently agreed. He stood beside Kate with his mouth gaping.

  Kate grinned, still studying her friend with delight. “But who? When?”

  “Your mom.” Julie laughed, shaking her head. “I needed a good haircut. Your mom finally managed to talk me into having it trimmed into a new style. She’d been trying for years. After I thought about it for a while, I decided she was right and a change might be good.”

  Feathered back from her delicately-featured face, Julie’s ash-brown hair had been cut to her shoulders. While emphasizing the beauty of her doe-brown eyes, and their long lush lashes, long wispy bangs completed her look. Wearing an off the shoulder gown of lavender, which clung to her full figure like a second skin, she was even more daringly dressed than usual.

  “Oh, Julie. That dress is absolutely gorgeous on you, too!” Kate complimented.

  Julie stared sheepishly down at her gown. “Danielle Reardon finally got a hold of me, too. She was hanging out with your mom when I was getting my hair cut.”

  Dylan’s voice was hoarse, when he finally cleared his throat and spoke. “Julie, you really do look great.”

  Julie glanced away, suddenly looking embarrassed as her cheeks reddened. Kate took a closer look at Dylan before returning her gaze to Julie. They’d make a wonderful couple – wouldn’t they? Why hadn’t she ever noticed that before? The three of them had hung out a few times together in the past, when Julie had come home to visit. And looking at the two of them now, there definitely appeared to be some awareness between them.

  Hmm.

  Before Kate could consider the idea any further, it was time for the ceremony to begin. Julie, Kate and Dylan moved to be seated in the chairs that’d been set up in the solarium of the Dragonfly Pointe Inn. Kate’s sister, Lucy, who was now a wedding planner, had prepared all the flower arrangements – and they were absolutely lovely. Vases of purple and rose delphiniums, mixed in with cymbidium orchids, were set up amidst the potted greenery lining the solarium’s glass walls.

  Kate had visited with her mom earlier this morning, before the ceremony. She’d looked absolutely beautiful in the gown of ivory she’d chosen to wear for the renewal of vows with her father.

  Kate smiled to herself as she waited for the service to begin – she’d never realized her father could be so romantic.

  Glancing towards the entrance of the solarium, Kate watched as another couple came scrambling through the door right at the last minute.

  Sean and Meg Murphy.

  Kate stood up, motioning at them with her hand.

  With obvious relief, Meg grabbed her husband’s arm and rushed him down the aisle towards Kate.

  “Kate!”

  Kate smiled. “Meg, Sean. We’ve got some open seats, right here next to Dylan and me.”

  Sean hesitated. “We wouldn’t be taking up seats meant for your family?”

  “Nope. Everyone’s already here and seated. Lucy and Kelly are going to be walking down the aisle with Mom.”

  They seated themselves at the end of the row and Meg looked relieved. “We ended up having car trouble, and had to stop for a while on the way here this morning.”

  “Oh, that’s awful. How did you even manage to make it on time?”

  Sean grimaced. “Luckily, the radiator overheated right when we were driving through Eau Claire. After we had it towed to a repair shop, we were able to rent a car.”

  “Oh, that’s a relief. And Eau Claire isn’t too far away.”

  “Sean and I decided we might just as well make a week of it – while we’re here in town – waiting for the car to be repaired. We haven’t had a vacation in a while.”

  “Mom and Dad are probably thrilled to have you here.”

  “Yeah, we called your dad right away after we got held up this morning.” Sean chuckled. “The first thing your dad did was invite us to stay.”

  Kate grinned. “I think they�
�ve become lonely – since most of us have moved out. And, at sixteen, the twins are at an age where there’re never at home anymore, either.”

  The room grew silent when the violinist broke into a beautiful rendition of the wedding march and Kate settled back into her seat.

  Wearing a tuxedo, Mike Callahan was obviously nervous when he stepped into the solarium from the inn’s breezeway. Kate’s brother Dan walked closely beside her father, grinning as he guided him into position before the priest. Jeff followed behind Dan and took his place next to their father.

  Kate smiled, loving the moment – but for some reason, Meg Murphy was anxiously twisting around in her seat and studying the crowd behind them. “Is something wrong, Meg?”

  Turning to Kate, Meg offered her a rueful smile. “I was just looking for someone. Ahh...,” Meg hesitated, as she continued to search the room, “another friend I expected to be here today. It looks like he never made it.”

  Rolling his eyes, Sean Murphy remained silent.

  Kate nodded distractedly, as her attention returned to the details of the ceremony.

  Lovely in rose, Kelly smiled as she walked down the aisle carrying her bouquet of orchids and needlepoint ivy. Kate was so proud of her little sister. Not only was she absolutely gorgeous, she excelled in her studies. More than likely, she’d be offered a scholarship when she began considering colleges to attend next year.

  Following Kelly was Lucy. Also dressed in rose, she carried a bouquet that was similar to her sister’s. Six months pregnant, she was aglow with happiness. Lucy had to be the most active woman Kate had ever known. After fostering and adopting two younger children, Lucy and Gabe were finally expecting their first child together. Their daughter, Isabella, had grown into a lovely young woman who adored her younger brother and sister.

  And then Jenny Callahan appeared, looking absolutely stunning. Kate hoped that she’d be half as beautiful as her mom was when she reached her age. At first, Jenny had insisted she’d wear a simple cream suit for the ceremony. But then, adamant that the event was much too important to dress casually, Danielle Reardon had talked some sense into her mother.