by Zoe York
He laughed. “Sweetheart, you naked is awesome, but it’s not new and shiny anymore. I’m not so easily distracted. Talk to me.”
Where to start. A weird ache made itself known in her chest and she sighed. “You know what my sister said? ‘Is that the kind of wedding you want to tell your grandkids about?’”
“Ahhh.” He kissed her forehead and smiled down at her. God, he undid her with his constant understanding. “Well, it’s the kind of wedding I’m happy to tell my mom about, which I think is sort of the same question. Point is, is it the kind of wedding you want?”
“Just you and me?” This was steadier ground. “Absolutely. Because that’s what it might be for us—there might not be kids and grandkids. But…” She hadn’t trailed off because the words were hard to find. She just didn’t know if she was being silly or not. He waited, just being the usual big, strong, rock of her life. “I do want a dress.”
He teased one finger under the skinny strap and tugged it down, taking her bra strap with it. He kissed her bare shoulder, sending shivers down her spine. “I like this dress.”
“I want a lacy dress and flowers. Maybe blue shoes.” He licked along her collarbone to the hollow at the base of her neck, and she sucked in a needy breath. “Can we go shopping in the morning?”
“We can do whatever you want, wife-of-mine.” He found her mouth, kissing her with abandon. Around them, the Las Vegas night faded away and she moaned, unable to hold back.
“Let me take you to bed, Laney,” he whispered, pressing their foreheads together. “I’ll show you just how perfect we are, no matter what.”
Back in their room, they quietly stripped and brushed their teeth side-by-side. There was no urgency, just a heady promise that their bed was waiting for them. And when they tumbled into it, hot with the knowledge that the next day was their wedding day, the love they made was sweet and slow and, indeed, quite perfect.
— —
Laney woke first. They hadn’t drawn the blackout blinds, so warm sun hit her face around eight and she sat up like a shot. Holy crap, we’re getting married. She looked at Kyle, flopped out on his stomach, sleeping like a baby. An overgrown, gorgeous baby with a tight butt and slightly unruly golden brown hair, now starting to fleck with silver threads. When did that happen? She pressed a gentle kiss between his shoulder blades and reached for the phone to order some breakfast.
She heard the knock as she was getting out of the shower, then the low rumble of Kyle’s voice as he tipped the waiter.
“You smell yummy,” he said as they kissed good morning.
“Special wedding moisturizer.”
“That’s a thing?”
She laughed. “It’s just something I bought in O’Hare while I was waiting for my flight. I like the idea that this scent will forever be tied to this trip in my memory.”
He lifted his brows in surprise. “Laney Calhoun, how sentimental of you!”
“I—” Yeah, she couldn’t really claim she was normally like that. “I guess it’s your good influence.”
He winked and passed her a cup of coffee. “So, shopping?”
“Will you want to buy something too?”
“I should. I didn’t pack anything really nice.”
The night before he’d worn dark blue jeans and a white dress shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. He’d looked scrumptious, but the thought of him in a suit made her tingle. “It might take a while to find stuff off the rack. We should probably head in different directions. Meet back here?”
“Sure. I need to talk to the front desk about extending this reservation anyway.”
“Already done.” She snagged a piece of bacon off his plate and munched. “You’ve got the license…I’ll leave the rings here so I’m not carting them all over town.”
He reached across the table and looped his fingers through hers. “I love that you brought them with you.”
“We should have used them sooner.” She offered a small smile.
“Nope. This feels right.”
It really did.
An hour later, she was wandering around the Grand Shoppes, sipping a chai latte and waiting for Barney’s to open. She had the store’s website open on her phone and she was hoping against hope that they’d have the pale blue Manolo Blahnik pumps she’d already fallen in love with. She’d never spent more than two hundred dollars on a pair of shoes, and those had been special clogs to wear in the operating room. But these shoes…she was in love.
She stopped in front of the women’s clothing store, Bebe, because a gorgeous tapioca coloured dress in the window caught her eye. A young woman slid the doors open. “Are you looking for something? I can open a little early.”
A wide smile slid across Laney’s face. “Do you sell white dresses?”
The other woman laughed. “Getting married today? Come on in.”
Laney tried on three lace dresses, but her attention kept slipping back to the burnished cream dress in the window.
“Do you want to try that one on as well?” The salesgirl, Chastity, wiggled her eyebrows. “This is Vegas. All rules are tossed out the window.”
“Yes. Why the heck not.”
As soon as Laney smoothed the bandage dress down over her hips, she knew it was the one. “Do you think this will go with blue shoes?”
Chastity nodded. “I think it would go with flip flops on you, honey. You look gorgeous.”
By the time she paid and made it to the shoe department at Barney’s, the department store was hopping. She found a saleslady and explained what she was looking for. Eighteen agonizing minutes later, the woman came out of the back room nervously holding a white shoe box. “We don’t have a 38. I’m hoping that because they fit small, this 38.5 will be perfect for you.”
Butterflies all abuzz in her tummy, Laney slid off her sandals and nervously slid her foot into the leather pump. Surprisingly, it was almost too snug. She could feel her face falling and tried to bravely hide her disappointment. “That’s okay, thanks for trying.”
“Oh no, that’s how it’s supposed to fit!” The woman clapped her hands together. “They’ll stretch to your foot.”
“But I’m getting married today,” Laney whispered. She didn’t have time for fancy shoes to get used to her. “Is there a bigger size?”
“They’d be too big within a few hours. These will be perfect. What are a few blisters on your wedding day, then? And you’ll wear them again and again.”
Maybe only in her bedroom. She held her breath and nodded. The dress hadn’t been that expensive. This was a once in a lifetime event. And they were ever so pretty. Blisters be damned.
The older woman leaned forward with a conspiratorial wink. “Stop at the Estée Lauder counter. Ask for Jackie. Tell her Maria says this pretty bride deserves a little pampering today.”
So that’s exactly what Laney did. Jackie tweezed her eyebrows and applied flawless makeup, and only accepted payment for the tube of lipstick Laney took with her back to the room.
Kyle wasn’t there, but a quick glance at her phone told her it was just past one and they still had plenty of time. She hung up her dress in front of the window, then gleefully arranged her shoes underneath it and snapped a few pictures. She texted one to Evie. The response was swift. Are you going to call Mom? I mean, wheeee! And are you going to call Mom?
She should. She would. They could do that together, maybe, her and Kyle.
She dug through her suitcase. Lingerie was the one thing she hadn’t needed to buy today, because she’d had the set she wanted to wear for months now. Even if I dragged my feet, it wasn’t because I didn’t want this with every fibre of my being. Pale blue lace underwear, the same shade as the shoes, and a strapless bra, satin, with touch of the same lace between the cups.
The shoes taunted her from across the room. Nervously, she stepped into them, hoping that she wasn’t going to end up limping through their planned night of dinner and dancing. Just then, the door opened and she whirled around.
Kyle loomed
in the doorway, and her entire being turned to liquid desire. “Oh, wow,” she breathed. He was wearing a black suit, fitted, with a white dress shirt and a skinny black tie. He’d gotten a haircut and a shave, and he looked slick. “You…look…oh, baby.”
He slowed to a stop and gave her a hungry once over. From the heavy eyelids and how he was biting his lower lip, she knew he liked what little she was wearing, too.
“Don’t even think of tackling me, mister. This took a lot of work.” She put an extra sway in her step as she moved toward the side table for her jewelry, relieved that the shoes worked. “Besides, you’re done. I’m still a work in progress.”
“I can’t imagine you improving on how you look right now, Lane.” He winked, then looked down at his suit. “So…you like?”
“I like how you look in a plaid shirt and jeans. This is something special.”
He blushed and that made him even hotter. “I called Liam. He talked me into flat front pants.”
“Yeah. We should buy you more of those.”
He held out his arms and she crossed the room, desperate for his touch but also aware of her careful makeup application. “The face,” she warned gently.
He nodded, stroking his hands down her arms and then back up her sides, growling ever so slightly as he cupped her breasts. Even through the satin, her nipples beaded at the ministrations of his thumbs. “I won’t touch your face,” he promised, dropping to his knees. He kissed his way down her sternum, and she held him against her for a moment before he pressed back up, leaving one last kiss at the apex of her neck and her shoulder. “I can’t wait to strip these off of you.”
“Me, too.” She licked her lips. “Help me cover them up first, though?”
He nodded.
— FOUR —
Kyle had apparently stopped at the concierge desk and arranged for a private town car for the rest of the day. Their driver, Hassan, was waiting for them outside and took them on a bit of a drive around the city on the way to the chapel. Laney had heard women talk about their wedding day passing in a blur but didn’t expect that to apply to her. The surreal feeling that they were really doing this took her completely by surprise. She wasn’t nervous, exactly. Her pulse was slow and steady, but crazy loud inside her head. Her hands were damp with perspiration and she was having trouble paying attention to the things Kyle pointed out as they whisked through the streets.
“Shouldn’t there be more traffic?” she blurted out, and the two men laughed.
“People are at work. I know the streets. You’re a bit distracted.” Hassan winked at her in the rear-view mirror.
“I am that,” she murmured.
Kyle picked up her hand and drew light circles on each of her knuckles. “I’m nervous as well.”
“It’s not nerves, exactly.”
He laughed. “Good, because I was totally lying.”
His laughter…yes, she needed more of that. “Tell me this is what you want. Me, forever.”
He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers with sweet reverence. “Forever. You and me. Buddy, and maybe another fur ball to keep him company. Kids are entirely optional. I promise you are everything I want.”
She spun her hand around and cupped his jaw. “I adore you so much, Kyle Nixon. I have since high school, and I still can’t believe that we found our way back to each other.”
“Believe it, Laney. This is really happening.”
From the front seat, Hassan cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind me interjecting, it’s five to three. It’s really happening…right now.”
Feeling more centred and ready for anything, Laney smoothed her skirt as Kyle jogged around the car to help her out.
Inside the chapel, the clerk gave her a small bouquet of red roses and a boutonniere which she pinned to Kyle’s lapel. Hassan happily took her phone and snapped a few photos before promising to record the entire service.
“We forgot the hobos,” Kyle whispered as they walked to the front of the room. Laney had resolutely refused to have Elvis walk her down the aisle.
“Boo, and here I thought it was perfect.” Another thought occurred to her, this one tinged with regret that it didn’t come up sooner, and she paused midway up the aisle.
“What?” Kyle turned and looked at her with concern.
“We should call our mothers. And put this on speaker phone.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. “If you don’t mind…”
“I don’t mind.” He closed the gap between them and kissed her gently. “Whatever you want.”
“No.” She shook her head. “Whatever you want. Do you want this to just be the two of us?”
“And Hassan and Elvis, but not our mothers? I’d never live that down.”
She turned to get her phone back from Hassan, and he already had his out. “I’ll record on mine and email you the file.”
She squeezed his hand. “Thank you.”
In front of them, Elvis cleared his throat. “We just about ready here, folks? Love waits for no man, ya hear me?”
Kyle held up his hand, completely undeterred by the six and a half foot tall impersonator. “One more thing.” They dialed at the same time. Kyle laced his fingers into hers.
Claire answered first. “Laney, I’m just about head into town, can this wait?”
She laughed. “Not really. Kyle and I have some exciting news. We’ve eloped. Well, we’re eloping. Currently. And I thought you might want to listen to the service.”
In the dead silence that followed, she heard Kyle having a very similar conversation with his mother, but her reaction was louder and made him laugh.
“Mom?”
“Delaney Calhoun, this is wonderful news.”
“Oh my god. Mom, are you crying?”
“Well of course I’m crying, you ninny! I thought you were going to be shacked up with Kyle forever!”
“Okay, well, that’s…good. Good. Okay. I’m going to put you on speaker phone now, and Elvis is going to—”
“Elvis? Goodness. Well—”
Laney hit speaker phone even as her mother continued to react and set the phone down on the front pew. Kyle did the same, then took her hands.
Elvis, who had apparently seen it all, shrugged and starting singing.
The service was short. A song, some jokes, and before she knew it, Elvis was tapping Kyle on the shoulder. “You going alone on this one, my man?”
— —
No way in hell was he using Elvis’s words to marry Laney. “I’ve got this.”
She was shaking like a leaf, and he wanted to pull her close. Fuck it, this was his wedding. He did just that. “Sweetheart, this has been such a long time coming. But the waiting makes it even sweeter, I promise. And this is how we do things. Spontaneous. Surprising. A little weird. And together.”
She slid her hands up his chest and around his neck. “I love you,” she whispered.
“I promise I’ll never get tired of hearing that.”
“I promise to say it every day.”
“I promise to make you coffee,” he said quietly, loving how she got all that meant—that he supported her early mornings and late nights, her over-night shifts and every cancelled plan.
“I promise to wash your gym clothes without complaining.”
“I promise to iron your dress shirts.”
She smiled and whispered, “I promise to wear your dress shirts.”
“I promise to always think you’re beautiful in them.”
She’d stopped shaking. She paused before her next vow, and when she spoke again, her voice was strong and clear. “I’ll support you in everything you do.”
Damn, now it was his turn to be overtaken by emotion. He cleared his throat. “I’ll be by your side in good times and bad.”
Her eyes warmed at that one. He didn’t want there to be any bad times, but if there were, they’d handle them together.
“Delaney Calhoun, I promise you forever.”
> “And I promise you forever, too, Kyle Nixon.” She lifted on her tiptoes and kissed him soundly.
Elvis hummed a bar of music, then chuckled. “That’s got me all shook up, I gotta say. What do you say we make it all official in the State of Nevada? I now pronounce you husband and wife. Go on, give the little lady another kiss.”
Laney rolled her eyes and laughed, but she stopped laughing as soon as he dipped her back and gave her a kiss that made Elvis blush. Kyle assumed Elvis was blushing, anyway. He couldn’t see anyone but his bride.
THE END
Want more Wardham? Visit my website for buy-links for all the Wardham titles, available on all major ebook retailer sites:
Between Then and Now
What Once Was Perfect (Laney and Kyle’s reuniting!)
Where Their Hearts Collide
When They Weren’t Looking
Beyond Love and Hate
No Time Like Forever
— ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS —
aka The People Who Keep Me Going
THIS time last year, I didn’t have a street team. Or a fan club. Or a Facebook reader group.
Whatever you want to call them, my Wardham Ambassadors have been the most wonderful part of transitioning to writing full-time. They are my cheerleaders and my sounding board. They named my Pine Habour series, for goodness sake! And a bunch of them proofread this book. Any remaining typos are my fault, because I got distracted by the sizzle and heat between Laney and Kyle. ;)
Marlene, Andrea, Tammy, Gwen, Shelly and Mona, among others…thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your help, your support, and your friendship.
There was a while there where my street team was myself, my sister, my friend Molly McLain and my Uncle Matt. I’m not kidding.
Then came Mona, and Shari. Two wonderful readers, and they told some of their friends. And with each new release, boxed set and big promo, more readers found the group. I cherish every single member.