Sweet but Sexy Boxed Set

by Maddie James

  “Well, yeah, I’m ecstatic. My bro hooking up with my best friend but putting Monnie Dearest into the mix so soon could put a damper on the honeymoon.” When Geoff glared at her, she replied, “I was speaking metaphorically, of course, about the honeymoon and not saying that anyone in this room might have cause to take one.”

  “Well, no wonder she’s suspicious if you’ve been making statements like that.”

  Cheris grasped Geoff’s hand, caressing his fingers with her thumb. “I’m so thirsty. Please won’t you get me something?”

  He glanced down at their joined hands and nodded. Cheris broke the physical connection decidedly ignoring the warmth presently spreading from her arm to the rest of her body. Geoff pivoted and walked through a throng of people in search of drinks.

  Janie raised an eyebrow. “He won’t be gone long, you know.”

  “I know. I wish you had warned me about this.” Cheris raised a hand indicating all of it—the house, the party, the family.

  They walked over to the buffet table, and Janie handed Cheris a plate. “I think you would have been spared, but Mom caught Geoff trying to make a getaway. Big dope.” They walked down the table side by side filling their plates. “Everybody knows when you’re sneaking out, you use the back door.”

  Cheris studied her friend. “Janie, don’t take this the wrong way, but are you sure you’re not adopted?”

  Janie chuckled. “You wouldn’t know it to look at my dad, but my mom swears I’m Chip made over.”

  With brimming plates, they found a vacant corner of the room. Janie pinned Cheris with serious consideration. “What are you going to do?”

  She didn’t have to be more specific. Cheris knew exactly what she was talking about.

  “Go see a lawyer Monday morning and begin divorce proceedings though I can’t seem to pin down Geoff about it.” Cheris paused as she picked up a cucumber sandwich and examined it. “I can’t believe that he would…that I would…” She dropped the food onto the plate and shook her head. All of the sudden the food didn’t look so appealing. When Janie didn’t reply, Cheris glanced at her, and the other woman held her gaze.

  “You’re perfect for each other. I don’t know how in the world either one of you could have done something so impetuous, but I’m telling you, it’s a match made in heaven.”

  Cheris lowered her gaze. “Please don’t, Janie. I know he’s your brother, but I don’t know him. I didn’t realize I would ever be capable of doing something like last night. I can’t…I just can’t…” What she wanted to say, she couldn’t express. She set her plate on a nearby window sill, and sucked in some air from the stifling room. “I’m sorry.” She touched her fingers to her aching temple and began to walk toward the door.

  Air. She needed some fresh air, cool air.

  “Oh, Cheris. Don’t leave,” Janie said following her.

  Cheris spied Monnie and Chip near the front door and turned in the opposite direction.

  She had to get out. She had to get out of here.

  “Give me a minute. I just need a few minutes alone.” Without waiting for a reply, she squeezed through several people and hurried through another door. Where was that back door Janie had talked about?

  She entered a formal dining room which had a huge white cake sitting in the middle of the table. She stepped by several people, nodding politely as she did so.

  Was there no secluded place?

  Continuing on, she exited the room through a dark cherry doorway.

  Another room with another table? How many tables did one house need?

  This one had a plethora of beverages—both with and without alcohol. The bartender smiled at her expectantly. So, how come she hadn’t passed Geoff on the way back?

  Cheris shook her head and kept walking until she stood in front of another door, this one closed. She pushed it open and found a spacious kitchen with counters laden with food waiting to be taken to refill serving trays obviously. Only the light over the stove illuminated the room, and was void of any person, though Cheris knew that wouldn’t last long. She spied another door—this one with a window lined with café curtains.

  Ah, it must be an outside door.

  Cheris strode across the room and opened it breathing deeply the night air through the screened partition. She pushed it open and stepped onto the bricked porch letting the screen door shut softly behind her. Crickets sang from bushes lining the porch. Cheris closed her eyes and breathed deeply for a few moments trying to empty her mind of all of the whirling emotions.

  After a few minutes, the quiet calm of the evening soothed her soul, and she looked around with interest at the Arrowood backyard. A rectangular pool was just beyond the porch. Beside it sat a very small aged wooden structure. Cheris wondered if once upon a time it had been the servants’ quarters. It looked so out of place next to the neat lines of the swimming pool. But then having seen the house, Cheris knew it was really the pool which was out of place. The rest of the surroundings had an old southern quality to it—a far cry from the cramped apartment she had grown up in over the restaurant.

  Just another red flag as to why this marriage wouldn’t work. Not that Cheris had any plans to try. The right thing to do was to shake hands and part ways. Marriages weren’t built on one night in a hotel room but on mutual love and respect developed over time.

  Settling on a wooden bench, Cheris inhaled and recognized the strong scent of wisteria. She noticed the lavender-colored bush lit by the bright light of the moon.

  Why hadn’t they had the party outside?

  It was so gorgeous out here.

  The weather—though spring, still was warm enough for an outdoor party when as many people were in attendance as were here tonight. This backyard was made for people to enjoy it.

  Cheris had always envisioned herself getting married in a church, but this backyard would be perfect for the reception afterwards. Never in any of her dreams had Cheris imagined her wedding in a courthouse in a tourist trap like Serenity. Never had she anticipated that she wouldn’t even remember the event because of spiked punch and cake.

  “Penny for your thoughts.” Geoff’s voice came to her from the other side of the screen door.

  “They’re not worth even that.”

  “Tell me. I can afford to be overcharged.”

  A flicker of interest lit within Cheris. She’d quoted from Casablanca and so had he. Did he like old movies too?

  “I was just thinking how perfect this backyard would be for a wedding reception.”

  Geoff opened the door and walked outside, leaning against the frame after it closed. He handed her one of the drinks he held. She sniffed then tasted it and, thankfully, found it alcohol-free.

  “I guess a quickie courthouse wedding isn’t what most little girls dream of when they’re growing up, is it?”

  Cheris arched an eyebrow at him. He obviously didn’t need a penny to read her thoughts. “No. It isn’t.”

  “I did us a great disservice, didn’t I? By not being level-headed enough to realize how crazy it was for us to get married without even knowing each other.”

  “I believe you did it because you are certifiably insane.” She sighed and sipped her Coke. “I should have you committed. I can do that, you know, since I’m your wife. Just lock you up for thirty days. And while they do a mental evaluation on you, I could abscond with all your earthly goods.”

  “Ah, Cheris, everything I have is yours already. I believe it went something like with this ring I thee wed, with this body I thee worship, with all my worldly goods I thee endow.” Geoff pushed off the door and knelt down before her. He set his glass down on the bench beside her and reached up to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.

  “Get up from your knees,” she growled. “I hate your common jokes.”

  “You don’t have to be nervous with me.” Geoff rose, walked over to the poolside, grabbed the arm of a lounge chair and dragged it until it was a few feet from the bench.

  “I don�
�t know what you mean.”

  Geoff straddled the chair then reclined on it. He closed his eyes and sighed contentedly. “Yes, you do, you big fake. Mom made us watch Gone with the Wind every January on her birthday for years so don’t you sit there and quote that movie to me, then deny it.”

  “I didn’t deny it. Not exactly.” If he knew the line, then he knew it’s what Scarlet had said the Rhett when he proposed to her.

  Oops.

  “You told me you revert to movie quotations when you’re nervous. After last night you don’t have to—”

  “I asked you not to bring up last night.”

  “So you did, Scarlet. I apologize.”

  They sat in silence for a few moments. Cheris watched him in the darkness, his relaxed pose, the curly dark hair a little too long on his collar, the strong chin, and handsome profile.

  With this ring I thee wed, with this body I thee worship, with all my worldly goods I thee endow.

  Had they really said that to each other last night?

  Attraction pulled at her, motivated her to lessen the distance between them, to seek out the heat of his body in the cool of the evening. The intensity of the feeling surprised Cheris.

  Was this her body remembering last night what her mind couldn’t?

  “I have a picture,” Geoff spoke, opening his eyes and bracing his feet on either side of the lounger.

  “What?”

  “Come here.” He gestured to the empty place on the chair in front of him.

  Cheris shook her head. He’s crazy if he thinks I’m sharing a seat with him.

  “Don’t be bashful.” He held up his right hand for emphasis. “I swear I will give you a full thirty seconds before I ravish you. You can be halfway across the yard by then.”

  Cheris studied him indecisively.

  “Don’t I get any credit for behaving myself when you were naked from the waist down in bed this morning?”

  “You were asleep.”

  “Not the whole time. As a matter of fact, when you slung your panties—”

  “I don’t want to hear what happened between us in that hotel room!”

  “That is unfortunate as you would realize it wasn’t as horrendous as you imagine.”

  Cheris snorted. “You’re so conceited. I’m sure my enthusiasm was due to my inebriated state.”

  “I concur.” He patted the space in front of him. “Now come over here. You’re much more level-headed now. I’m sure you’ll behave yourself even if you sit with me. I want to tell you about this vision I have for the backyard.”

  She perched on the edge of the lounger. “And you behave yourself.”

  “A thirty second warning is all I guarantee,” he whispered from behind her. Cheris sat ramrod straight ready to bolt. She refused to turn her head to look at him. Clearing his throat, he spoke in a normal tone. “Now then. You’ve got me thinking about this as a setting for a wedding reception. I always thought a wedding would be better in church, but you’re right. To have the reception here would be perfect.”

  Startled, Cheris glanced at him.

  Did I tell him that?

  No, I did not.

  How did he know?

  Stop it. You’re conversing with yourself again.

  I know. Disturbing, isn’t it?

  He placed his hands on her head, and she jumped. “Sorry. I just wanted you to look at the pool.” He withdrew from her. “We could put a fountain there, and some lights that shine up through the water. Colored lights. Wouldn’t that be lovely?”

  Geoff’s hands again, one on her shoulder, the other on her scalp.

  What was he…?

  The clasp of her barrette opened, and her hair spilled down over her shoulders. She turned to catch a glimpse of him, but his hands directed her face toward the bushes lining the porch and the yard beyond. “Little lights in the bushes, I think. The reception would begin at twilight, and as the sun sets their prominence would add much ambiance to the setting.”

  With his fingers he combed through the tresses of her hair. Her body relaxed with the strokes and the soothing tone of his voice.

  “We could run wide ribbon through the porch rails of the pool house. Maybe some magnolia leaves and blossoms tied at the top of the rails. We could have a bar on the porch—soft drinks or tea. No alcohol, of course. We wouldn’t want to be the indirect cause of some poor woman getting carried off to Serenity because she’s had too much to drink, would we?”

  “Certainly not,” Cheris murmured. She moved her head as Geoff brushed her hair to one shoulder exposing the curve of her neck.

  “Let’s see here. Ah, yes. The refreshment tables over there under the big oak tree. You know how many times I climbed that tree growing up? Scared my poor mom to death.”

  With heavy eyelids, Cheris glanced at the tall tree as Geoff kneaded her skin. “Naughty boy.”

  “We’ll have cake and punch—the regular kind, not any of that Wonderland brew—on a table next to the wisterias.” His breath warmed her skin, his body closer now, thighs cradling her hips, chest against her back.

  When had he moved forward?

  “Have you ever had hummingbird cake? I don’t know why they call it that. It isn’t made of hummingbirds, but it has fruit and pecans in it. My Aunt Nancy makes a killer hummingbird cake. I’ll have to introduce you to her later. She’s staying in my room which is why I was demoted to the Days Inn. I don’t mind though. She’s a sweetheart.”

  He tugged her jacket from her shoulders, the sleeves sliding down to rest at her elbows. “Is this okay? You feel a little warm.”

  Oh, yes, she did.

  Sizzling.

  “We need some tables, of course, so people will have a place to sit and eat. Round ones with ivory cloths and a candle in the middle in a hurricane globe so the breeze won’t blow out the flame. Maybe some flowers around the outside of the glass. Azaleas, I think. Mom has a ton of those in the front yard. My cousin Paul can arrange them. He’s good at that sort of thing.” His fingers rubbed and worked the muscles of her neck and shoulders turning her to Jell-O.

  “What else? What kind of food should there be?” Geoff drummed his fingers briefly on her shoulders. “There’s this mix called trash, and it’s cereal and nuts with white chocolate dribbled on it. Ever had it?”

  “No.”

  “It’s tasty. I had it at something I went to…what was it? Oh. A stupid faculty party. Man, I hate those things. Everybody wants to fix me up.”

  “A stupid faculty party?” Cheris leaned away as she pivoted to face him. “What are you, a teacher?”

  “A professor. I teach at the Newbie River Institute. Science and Astronomy.”

  She stood and glared down at Geoff. “Newbie River? Isn’t that in Georgia?”

  “Just across the Tennessee line, yes,” he said as he, too, stood up.

  “What were you thinking? You married me, and you don’t even live in the same state?”

  “Well, nobody knows this yet, but I’ve accepted a teaching position at Pitching High School with some didactic work at the science museum and observatory owned by Smithson College. It’s a pretty sweet deal.”

  “But you’ll be in Georgia until, what, at least the end of May?” Cheris grabbed her jacket and shrugged into it. “I knew it! I knew you married me just for the sex.”

  “I would hope not. That’s a terrible reason to get married, although, I have to admit, a great fringe benefit.”

  “Stop making jokes about it.”

  “I’m sorry, Honey. The semester is over May twenty-sixth, and commencement is the twenty-ninth. But I can come up here every weekend if you don’t think you can live without me until June.”

  “If I don’t think I can live without you? Here’s a news flash, Geoff. I’m not planning on living with you ever. In case I haven’t made myself clear, I’m going to a lawyer first thing—”

  The porch light came on.

  Chip Arrowood stood inside the screened door. “Aha. I heard the two o
f you were out here. Come on inside now. Monnie is chomping at the bit.”

  Geoff didn’t move immediately. Instead he studied Cheris, though she couldn’t read his expression because of the porch light reflecting on his glasses. The door opened as the older man held it as an invitation to enter. Cheris walked into the kitchen and followed Chip as he led them into an adjoining room and down a hallway that led to the front foyer. From behind her, Geoff’s footsteps followed her before the noise was swallowed up with the noise of people in conversation. Men and women crowded the room their faces tilted toward the stairs where Monnie Arrowood stood a third of the way up with a glass of champagne in her hand. She smiled radiantly at them, and a sense of unease overcame Cheris. Geoff must have felt it as well because he grasped her arm to detain her. When she glanced behind her, the troubled expression on his face caught and held her gaze.

  “Listen,” he whispered. “I think we’re in trouble here.”

  “What?”

  “You see that embarrassed looking woman over there?” He indicated a young woman in a cream linen suit. “That’s the principal of Pitching, and I think she may have disclosed my newly employed status here in town. For whatever is about to happen, I apologize.”

  “Why would you need to—?”

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” Monnie declared from her perch on the staircase. “Geoff, you and Cheris come up here with me. Chip, don’t you let them escape. Come on, now. Everybody’s waiting.”

  With uneasy steps Cheris moved toward the staircase and Monnie. When she stopped at the foot of the stairs, the older woman held her hand out for Cheris to take which she did so obediently. “Chip, you and Janie come up here as well. I want to make a toast. But first, what brought us to this moment.”

  Janie appeared out of the crowd with three glasses of champagne balanced precariously in her hands. She refused to make eye contact with Cheris, a worrisome indicator. She gave a flute to Geoff and Cheris as she took her place next to them. Monnie positioned each of them in an appropriate group pose.

  The photo op.

  And Cheris was in it.

  Oh, this was bad. Very bad.

  “You all know my son Geoff who teaches astrology…”