Peggy nudged her and whispered, “I do think that boy is in love with you.”
Her eyes darted back to Dex and their eyes met again. His smile widened and her heart swelled. In his expression, she found hope. It radiated out and soothed the wounds talking about Connor had left jagged. It left her optimistic that the future would be bright.
“Relationships take love and they take work. Tommy, Jill, you’ve vowed to always love each other before all these witnesses, but it will also take commitment to stay dedicated to each other and to uphold what is best for your marriage.” The pastor paused to allow the impact of the moment to build. “With that said, this is the moment where I have to ask those who have joined us here today for this momentous occasion to also make a promise—a promise to stand by this couple, to remind them of their vows if necessary, and to set the example of what love is and what family is. If you agree to this promise, please now confirm with your own ‘I do.’”
The entire crowd yelled out, “I do.”
Holding up a hand, the pastor waited for the sanctuary to grow quiet again. Finally, the last of the stragglers stopped chorusing their agreements and silence filled the church.
“Tommy and Jill, this room is filled with people who have pledged their support to you. You will be starting your marriage strong and—”
He was interrupted by the sound of the sanctuary doors slamming open.
“Oh, I’m so sorry to interrupt! Don’t mind me. I’ll just find a seat.” In walked a tall woman in a dress that was more appropriate for a night out at a club than a church wedding. Her long hair was styled in big curls that bounced around her as she strode forward on stiletto heels. She walked up the aisle like she owned the place, her steps sure and confident. Instead of taking a seat, though, she stepped up to Jill and hugged her tight. “Sorry, Jilly! I didn’t mean to interrupt, really.”
Lena knew without anyone saying that this was Jessie—the runaway bride, Dex’s ex-fiancée. That thought was confirmed when the other woman blew a kiss to Dex.
“Hey, Dex. Maybe we can catch up after?” Jessie sashayed down to sit next to her parents, exaggerating her movements and keeping her eyes on Dex.
Dex had this totally gobsmacked expression on his face that Lena couldn’t quite decipher. His gaze kept drifting over to where Jessie sat, the hem of her bright red dress creeping higher on her thighs.
Maybe it had been inevitable, but Lena had really hoped they could avoid Jessie. The way the other woman had looked at Dex, though, the desire and want shining brightly in her eyes, oh, her intentions were crystal clear. Jessie had realized what she’d lost and planned to rectify that mistake, no matter who she trampled in the process. A trickle of fear shimmied down Lena’s spine.
Her heart hurt at the realization that once Jessie walked in, Dex had hardly spared her a glance. As Dex’s first love, Jessie had a power over him that Lena did not. With their relationship being so very new, Lena wasn’t sure that what they had was strong enough to withstand Jessie wanting him back.
The pastor came out of his shocked stupor and finished the ceremony, finally pronouncing Tommy and Jill as man and wife.
After the ceremony, Dex had to walk the bridesmaid out and stand for pictures. It looked like it might be some time before Lena would be able to reconnect with him. A little while longer before she found out once and for all where things stood between them. He sent her a quick wave and mouthed an apology.
When Jill grabbed Jessie and pulled her in for pictures, it sent another jab of panic running down Lena’s spine. Jessie laid her head over on Dex’s shoulder for one of the photos and they looked like a couple. Knowing that continuing to watch Jessie make a play for Dex was only torturing herself, Lena sighed and stepped away.
She made her way over to the reception alone.
* * *
“I finally escaped from that photographer. I think Tommy and Jill will grow old together getting their wedding photos taken.” He kissed his aunt Peggy on the cheek. “Have you seen Lena?”
He needed to reassure her that seeing Jessie changed nothing for him. The stricken look on Lena’s face when she had realized just who had made such a dramatic entrance to the wedding was seared into his brain. He had to make sure she knew how he felt before Jessie somehow made things worse.
For a horrible moment, Dex could imagine just what Lena had looked like when the truth about Connor had surfaced. Lost and vulnerable, she’d looked like she was seeing her world implode before her very eyes. He’d wanted to pull her into his arms, close that physical distance, and kiss her until they had to break for air or suffocate. The desire to do just that had been palpable, but he’d had to dismiss it. Jessie had already interrupted Tommy and Jill’s wedding enough. He’d had to avoid looking at her for the remainder of the ceremony because if he’d seen even a hint of tears, he couldn’t have remained standing next to his brother.
“Dexter, that young woman of yours is remarkable,” his aunt Peggy said. “I do hope you know that you’ve found a keeper this time and don’t let that painted-up tart ruin this for you like she nearly did Tommy’s wedding.”
“I hear you, Aunt Peggy. But first I need to find Lena.”
Blowing kisses at him in front of an entire church full of people? Jessie couldn’t have been more obvious if she’d hung a sign around her neck that said Property of Dexter Henry. After all this time, just when he was finally happy again, Jessie had to pull this crap. Why now? Was it just another way of torturing him?
“They are going to start dancing soon. You should go find your girl, because you two lovebirds don’t want to miss out on that.” Peggy jabbed his arm. “I hear rumors that destination weddings are what’s going to be in style for next year. White dress, white sand, sounds like what’s right to me, don’t you?”
“Hint heard and noted.”
“This one’s worth fighting for. Don’t you let her walk away.” She winked at him before disappearing into the crowd. She wobbled slightly before righting herself. He considered that before continuing his search for Lena.
When his little brother entered the room with his new bride, Dex paused his search for Lena momentarily and joined in the applause that spread throughout the room. Tommy and Jill held hands, both smiling like lunatics, as they made their way to the head table. When Tommy kissed her before they sat down, someone cheered.
“We want to thank you all for being here to share this day with us. It means the world to us,” Jill said. “Now let’s dance!”
He scanned the crowd, looking for Lena. Their eyes met from across the room. He took one step toward her and someone screamed.
“Dexter!” his dad shouted.
Moving away from Lena with regret, he headed in the direction his dad’s voice had come from. The crowd on the dance floor parted to let him through. His aunt Peggy lay sprawled out next to a chair along the edge of the room.
“What happened?” he asked, already reaching for her throat to take her pulse. Her heart rate was rapid and felt irregular under his fingers.
His dad looked on anxiously. “We were walking toward the dance floor and she said ‘Oh, I think my blood sugar’s crashing.’ She walked away and fell before she got to the table.”
“I should have followed up when I realized she was unsteady on her feet,” Dexter said. “I should have read the signs.”
Lena had hurried over from the opposite direction. She pulled a glucose monitor out of Peggy’s purse and was checking her numbers already. The machine beeped and flashed a number that was far too low.
“She’s had a hypoglycemic crash.” Lena pulled an autoinjector syringe out of the purse. “Glucagon. She must be prone to this sort of thing.”
“She’s never passed out before that I know of.” Dex’s dad paced around next to them. The entire crowd was focused on them.
“You can’t give her that. We don’t know
she needs it.”
“This wasn’t in her purse for no reason,” Lena argued. “She needs it, and I’m giving it to her now.” She pulled Peggy’s sleeve up and pushed the autoinjector against her skin. Dex watched as she pushed the button and the clear liquid in the pen was dispensed into his aunt’s arm. “We should roll her onto her side. This can sometimes cause vomiting.”
“Has anyone called 911?” Dex asked as he rolled his aunt over.
“She also has glucose tablets and hard candies in her purse. I’m guessing her glucose plummets frequently.” Lena put the purse down next to him. “She should wake up within a few minutes once this kicks in. I’m going to get her some food. Keep an eye on her.”
Lena disappeared from his sight.
He brushed Peggy’s hair away from her face and checked her pulse again. It was stronger and not quite as fast as earlier.
Swallowing hard, he couldn’t help but be grateful that Lena was with him. He’d done rotations in general medicine, of course, but his knowledge of hypoglycemia was limited to it being a potential postsurgical complication that the nurses dealt with. Lena would have vastly more experience with this condition than he did.
Peggy started to stir. She muttered something incoherent and tried to sit up.
“Shh. We got you, Aunt Peggy.” Reassurances slipped from his tongue. He helped ease her into a seated position. “Try not to move too much.”
Lena came back with a small plate and a cup of soda. “Hey, Peggy. You think you could sip at this soda for me? I’ve got some of those tiny sandwiches for you too once you feel up to that.”
Peggy’s hand was shaky as she reached for the soda, but she managed to get it to her lips without spilling. After a few sips, she set it down and took one of the little sandwiches.
Paramedics came in then.
“Oh, you didn’t have to call them. I’m fine,” Peggy argued in a weak voice.
“You were unconscious. Yes, we did,” Dex countered. Stubbornness ran in his family. She was not going to give in easily, that’s for sure. He took a step back to give the paramedics a little breathing room.
Just as he turned to look for Lena, Jessie ran into his chest. Her arms snaked up around his neck.
“Oh, Dexter, I was so scared. You saved her. You actually saved her!” Jessie gushed. “My hero!”
Opening his mouth to argue that actually Lena deserved that credit, he froze when Jessie’s mouth pressed against his and her tongue slipped past his parted lips. He struggled to comprehend exactly what was happening.
He put his hands on her hips and pushed her back away from him.
“Jessie, please don’t do that again.” Extracting himself from her clutches felt like trying to get away from the world’s clingiest octopus. “What were you thinking?”
“I screwed up before, baby. You are my past, my present and my future.”
Jessie really hadn’t changed, though. After the time and the distance between them, he could see what a self-centered person she was. She still needed to be the center of attention, no matter who she hurt in the process. She’d never been anyone that he could have had a real marriage and a real future with. That was a lesson that had been driven home like a hammer pounding a nail into his thick skull. He’d left their wedding alone, his heart hollow and empty. And it wasn’t until Lena came into his life, pelting him with shiny balls of ribbon, that he’d even realized how much he’d isolated his heart.
The carefree playboy persona he’d adopted after Jessie’s betrayal had been scattered into the crisp winter wind after that mind-altering kiss he shared with Lena at the rest stop. Or maybe even before then. He couldn’t be sure.
A few things he was sure of. One was that he’d never go back to Jessie. Two, quick hookups with no feelings would never be enough for him again. And most important, if he couldn’t be with Lena, then he’d rather be alone.
He stepped back and she followed.
“Jessie, stop. You and I...never going to happen. Not again. I’m with Lena now.”
Jessie flipped her hair over her shoulder, a sign he recognized as her doubling down on her efforts. He’d seen that exact motion many times during the years they were together. “I refuse to accept that.”
“You’d better learn to accept it. Jessie, you are my past. And, honestly, you leaving me at the altar was the best thing that you’ve ever done for me. If it hadn’t been for that, I’d have never ended up where I did, and I’d have never found Lena—the woman I intend to spend my future with.”
Smirking at him, Jessie waved a hand. “You mean the girl who ran off when I kissed you. Some future.”
Ran off?
He scanned the room. No sign of Lena.
His heart started racing. Jessie had ruined him in this very church once. Had she done it again? He had to find Lena, fast, before it was too late.
* * *
Lena watched as Jessie threw herself into Dex’s arms. As they kissed, her heart shattered into a million pieces. When Dex’s hands moved to Jessie’s waist, she couldn’t bear to watch.
She left the reception and found herself in the sanctuary. In a town like Westfield, she couldn’t just call an Uber. Especially not on Christmas Eve.
Maybe Wade could be persuaded to get her out of town.
She sank down behind the Christmas tree, wanting a little privacy for the breakdown that seemed inevitable at the moment. Tears lurked just behind her lashes, waiting impatiently for her to lower her guard and allow them the freedom to roll down her cheeks.
Dex had chosen Jessie. Just like Connor had chosen his wife. What was it about her that made men only want her when she had something to offer them?
For Connor, a promotion.
For Dex, a way to avoid matchmaking and potentially a way to make his ex-fiancée jealous.
She swallowed hard and wrapped her arms around her knees. She’d trusted Dex too. Let him in, like she’d sworn she’d never do again. Little by little, he’d broken through the layers of ice around her heart and warmed her clear down to her soul.
And while she’d cared about Connor, and the end of their relationship had destroyed her, it never hurt this much. Seeing Dex kiss Jessie had felt like her heart and lungs had been ripped violently from her chest.
Gasping for air, she tried to remember how to breathe. This was what true heartbreak felt like.
“Lena?” Dex called from somewhere at the back of the sanctuary.
Sinking lower, she made herself small, hoping to avoid seeing him. How could she face him now? Knowing he had just been kissing Jessie after claiming to be all in with her?
She couldn’t bear to look at him.
“Lena?” He called again from much closer. “Where are you?”
The door to the sanctuary banged open again, the sound of music growing louder until the door swung back closed. Lena breathed a sigh of relief.
“Dex, why are you in here alone when we could be dancing?”
Lena stiffened. She wasn’t alone after all.
“Go away, Jessie.” Agitation made Dex’s voice rougher than usual. “I’m looking for my girlfriend.”
“I’m standing right here, baby.”
“Not you.”
Lena peered through the tree at the hostility she heard from Dex. He was standing a few feet away, glaring at Jessie.
“But—”
“No buts. No ifs. No us. Jessie, you left me standing at that altar in a tux. You disappeared without a word and didn’t resurface for years. Surely you didn’t think you could just come back and we’d pick up like nothing had ever happened?”
Lena watched as Jessie shrank back from his vehement tone.
“I hoped—”
“No.” Dex ran his hands through his hair. “I love her. Don’t you see? I am in love with Lena. And you might have screwed that up. Can’t yo
u just let me be happy?”
Lena’s heart raced. Dex loves me?
A wisp of hope hummed through her, rising and thickening as she watched Dex crush Jessie’s reconciliation plans. She choked back a sob, stuffing her fist to her mouth to muffle the sound.
But it was too late. Dex had heard.
He came around the tree, sank down next to her, and pulled her into his arms. “Lena, you have to know, you are the only woman I want. Getting back with Jessie has never once been a consideration for me.”
“I’m standing right here,” Jessie whined from the other side of the tree.
“And you can feel free to leave any time unless you want to hear me professing my love to another woman.” Dex looked at Lena and rolled his eyes. “She never has been good at taking a hint.”
Jessie huffed loudly and stomped out of the sanctuary.
When the door closed behind her, Dex sighed. “Okay, so, elephant in the room. I know you saw her kiss me. I didn’t kiss her back. Admittedly, I didn’t stop her immediately, but I panicked. My brain couldn’t seem to process what was happening or how to make it stop.”
“I saw tongue.”
“Hers!” he insisted. “I swear. Honestly, that was what seemed to jar me back into action. It was only once I’d managed to detach her—have I mentioned she’s a major clinger?—that I could see you had left.”
Her heart wanted to believe him.
“I won’t be the other woman again.”
“You’ve been the only woman I’ve looked at for months. Don’t you know that?” Snorting, Dex squeezed her tight. “Since the day I asked you out and you shot me down so hard, you have been making me crazy.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Believe it.” He captured her lips in a fiery kiss. Cupping the back of her head with one large hand, he held her as his lips roamed over hers and his tongue coaxed her lips to open. When it dawned on her that they were in a church, she pushed him back.
“Dex...” she started.
A Nurse, a Surgeon, a Christmas Engagement Page 15