by Leger, Lori
Annie lay at a ninety degree angle to him with her head on his chest. She gave him a sweet smile before shaking her head. “No.”
“You said you loved me.” With his head supported by two pillows, he stared at the woman he adored.
She smiled again. “I do love you.”
He tightened his arm around her. “Then marry me. I love you.”
“No Drake. This is all so new to both of us. Let’s just be happy that we’re together for now. There’s no rush, is there? Let’s make sure we’re right for each other and enjoy this time, for however long it lasts.”
Determined to end this night with a resounding ‘yes’, Drake rolled her to her back and leaned over, his face mere inches from hers. “From the moment I met you, I knew you were the one for me. I took one look at you and my heart knew it. I want to grow old with you, Annie Girl.”
“Is that an old pick-up line?” she asked, one eyebrow arched playfully.
Drake shook his head and laughed. “I’ve never needed pick-up lines. You’re the only one who’s ever been this obstinate.”
“So, how do you know it’s not just ‘the chase’ you find so appealing? How do you know now that you’ve had me, the wanting won’t make a run for the border?
He played with her hair, letting the silky, auburn tresses loop and curl around his fingers, loving the feel of it. “Because, Ms. McAllister. That ‘chase’ you’re talking about usually ended in bed, not with me imagining what our children would look like.”
“You do that?”
“Absolutely. When I picture my children, I see them with this gorgeous red hair and your crystal-blue eyes.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “And when I see myself as an older man, I see you beside me, also older, but still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.” He placed his hand gently along the side of her face and hovered over her.
“There’s no one else for me. I’ll never leave you, I’ll never break your heart, and I’ll never stop asking. I love you, Annie Nicole McAllister. Will you please put me out of my miserable bachelor existence? Please make me the happiest man alive, and marry me?”
“Oh.” She released a long slow breath. “Oh, Drake … ” She blinked back tears.
“Yes?” His eyebrow lifted in question.
“Yes.”
“What are we waiting for?” Drake pulled at the collar of his black designer tux. He stood, lined-up with the rest of the wedding party just outside the door of Red’s Club. The day had dawned with gorgeous spring weather, clear as fine crystal and cool, despite the warming rays of the sun. Drake groaned. “I’m dying to get out of this thing.”
Tiffany clucked her tongue. “Poor baby brother, you want some cheese with that whine?”
Drake regarded his sister, well into her fifth month of pregnancy. “I’m taking under consideration the fact that you’re hormonal and two months away from looking like a beached whale, and I’ll let that one slide.”
Annie slapped playfully at the hand still tugging at his collar. “Leave that alone and stop picking on your pregnant sister.”
“She started it!” He froze as Annie’s right eye brow arched dangerously. “Okay, but why are we waiting out here when everyone else is inside?”
“We’re waiting for the traditional Cajun wedding march to begin. We had this discussion with Mom, remember?”
“Yeah, something about walking in a circle to somebody playing a Cajun song, and then everyone pins money on us?” His face lit up, suddenly.
Annie laughed. “You and I walk the circle alone first while the march is being played, then the wedding party joins in. The ‘money dances’ come in a little later when the D.J. announces it, but you’ve got the gist of it.”
Red slapped his brother-in-law on the back and laughed. “We’ll make a Cajun out of you yet, boy.”
Drake gave Red a thumbs-up. “Any tradition that has people pinning money on me and my bride is one I want to be a part of. Besides, Tiff and I have Cajun roots already, remember?”
“Yeah,” Tiffany offered. “They’ve just been buried pretty deep for four decades, that’s all. And I lost my Texas accent years ago. You will too, eventually, little brother.”
“Oh, I hope not.” Annie gazed up at her new husband. “I like having my big, strong cowboy with his east Texas twang. It’s kind of hot.”
Drake gave his new wife a pained expression. “For God’s sake, Annie. Don’t say that when I’ve been without it for two long months.”
“You mean hot?” She giggled at his strained expression.
“Keep it up, Annie,” he groaned. “We’ll see how funny you think it is when I drag you into the nearest storeroom in this place and have my way with you. In my condition, all I need is a sturdy wall, about six square feet of floor space, and two minutes … tops.”
“Don’t you dare! You’ll mess up this masterpiece.” She touched her hair up-do with its artfully arranged curls.
Drake gave her a dangerous look. “Annie, I can get in and out of there without touching a hair on your head. You’ve been warned.”
Red snorted with laughter as the doors opened and they entered the club to the sound of an accordion playing Cajun music.
Annie and Drake entered first to applause then walked slowly in a large circle on the dance floor, as required by the old Cajun tradition. The rest of the wedding party joined in until all four couples, along with the miniature bride and groom, circled the dance floor three more times by the end of the song.
Vivienne McAllister approached them with hugs. “I want to thank you both for including that in the reception. Lots of younger couples don’t care to include that in their ceremonies. We’re losing our culture.” She grabbed each of their hands and beamed, “It mean a lot to me that you did. Thank you again.”
“It’s a family tradition, Mom. Of course I’d want to include it in my wedding. Drake understands.” Annie nodded at her new husband.
“Sure do, Ms. Vivi,” Drake added. “It was kinda fun; like being the grand marshal in our own little parade or something.”
Vivi laughed. “I guess it would feel a little like that, except it’s over a lot sooner. Are you going to include the money dances too?”
Drake’s face lit up like a kid with his first bike. “Absolutely! First we get to lead our very own parade, and then we get paid to dance with people. This day’s gettin’ better all the time.”
Annie braced herself as the DJ called for the father-daughter dance, fully prepared to shed a few tears. Her dad joined her for the band’s beautiful rendition of Stealing Cinderella.
Pete McAllister led his youngest daughter, hand in hand, to the dance floor and gave her a hug. “Are you happy, baby girl?”
Annie hand to lean far back to smile up at the gentle giant of a man she called her father. “I am, Dad.” She glanced over at her husband, who stood watching from the sidelines. “I found a good one, didn’t I?”
“I believe you did, honey.” He glanced over to where Drake stood next to Red and Tiffany, who were providing him with another grandchild in four months. “We got two great in-laws out of your marriages, as well as two wonderful new friends in Daniel and Leah. I wish we could see them more often.”
“We will. The property down the road from Red’s ranch came up for sale and Mr. Daniel snatched it up. They have some updating to do to the house on the spot but they should be moved in before their first grandchild is born at the end of August. It’ll be nice to have them around here.”
“Well, hell that is good news! They’re going to love being close to their kids and grandchildren,” the big man said. “And speaking of grandchildren, when do you two plan on starting a family?”
“We’d discussed waiting a couple of years, but you never know.” She caught her breath when her dad’s eyes misted over suddenly. If he was about to have a meltdown in the middle of their father-daughter dance, she wouldn’t be far behind him. “You okay, Dad?”
He nodded, blinking rapidly. “Annie, if
I haven’t told you this recently, it needs to be said. You have been an absolute joy to your mother and me.”
Annie sniffed and nodded. “Thanks, but you don’t have to sugar coat it. I know I was a royal pain in the butt for you and Mom.”
He shook his head. “No more than any of the others and less than most of them.”
“Except that I was home longer,” she added.
“You want to hear a secret? I didn’t mind for the most part. I wasn’t ready to see our baby leave the nest.”
“Speaking of secrets—” She paused, wondering how to approach the subject of what happened twelve years earlier. “I know you and Mom found the letter.”
Her father gave his head a quick shake. “We don’t have to talk about that, baby girl.”
“I do. I’m sorry Mom had to find it like she did. I kept the letter to remind myself how weak I’d been. It ended up being more of a reminder of how strong I was, instead. It kept me from letting anyone get too close.”
Her dad gave her an indulgent smile. “And did it work?”
Annie glanced over at her new husband, standing with some members of her family. “Long enough for the right guy to come along.” She watched as Drake reached out for her five month old niece and seemed to struggle for a comfortable hold on the infant. The slightly awkward, but totally adorable “daddy look” worked for him.
She found herself wondering how he’d feel about ditching the plans to start a family later, rather than sooner. He looked up unexpectedly to meet her gaze, lifted the child in his arms and nodded. Then he gave her a sexy smile and a wink. She laughed, suspecting she wouldn’t hear much resistance on his part if she broached the subject.
Several songs later, Drake tugged Annie onto the dance floor for a belly rubbing oldie. She kissed him once, and a second time, suddenly felt the need to nibble on his lower lip, then his ear lobe, then his neck.
Drake pulled away with a groan and craned his neck as though searching for something.
“What are you looking for, Babe?”
“Six square feet of unoccupied space,” he growled. “You were warned.”
She smiled mischievously at him. “I know the last two months of abstinence have been difficult, but I think Father Mitch was right when he said it would strengthen our relationship. It’s proven to both of us that our feelings for each other are about more than just sex.”
He leaned in and nipped her on the neck. “Yep, it’s about having someone to share the rest of my life with. But damn, I’m ready for the honeymoon to start.”
“We need to show our faces around here for another hour or so, at the very least. Besides—” She lifted Drake’s watch to check the time. “The band should be making an announcement any minute now.”
Within seconds of ending their dance, the house band’s guitarist announced that their drummer, a standin for the night, had written a song for his wife and wanted to sing it for her.
Annie’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “This is about to get interesting. Let’s get closer.”
On the way to the area edging the bandstand, she spotted Julia speaking to her parents. Annie grabbed her hand and pulled her along with them to the front of the crowd, where Tiffany and Red already stood.
Julia arrived at the area in front of the bandstand, feeling a distinct undercurrent of excitement rippling through her in-laws. She turned to Annie. “What’s going on?”
“Some guy in the band is about to sing a song he wrote for his wife.”
“Oh, how utterly romantic.” Julia began to search the crowd. “Is she here? Where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Annie said. “He’s about to start…shh…”
Julia searched the shadows of the bandstand. The area around the drummer seemed to be darker than the rest of the stage. The man cleared his throat nervously.
“I apologize for interrupting the reception, folks, but the bride and groom have graciously allowed me to use this moment as a chance to get my life back.”
Julia strained to see into the darkness. The drummer sounded kind of like Chad, although slightly muffled by the microphone. But for some reason, Chad wasn’t here. He was supposed to be, but nobody seemed to know where he was. She couldn’t believe he’d choose to miss his sister’s wedding. One more reason to be disappointed in her husband.
“Annie and Drake,” the man continued. “I’ll always be grateful for this opportunity to tell my beautiful wife how much she means to me. Tiffany and Red, I want to thank you for helping me put to music, the words I wrote for her. I only pray that it works. It’s called Heaven in Your Eyes, and this is for you, Jules.”
The words had Julia’s breath rushing out in a shocked gasp. Frozen in place, she felt herself being nudged gently forward as the spotlight fell upon the drummer. “Oh my God,” she murmured softly, as the band began to play a hauntingly beautiful melody. A few bars later, her husband’s beautiful tenor voice began singing the lyrics he claimed to have written … for her.
When I look into—those vivid eyes of blue,
I can’t imagine life without your love.
Hold me in your arms—keep me safe and warm
You’re it for me, fit me like a glove.
Each day I see heaven in your eyes…
Our love will stand the test the time.
You see it too, it’s no surprise.
When I saw you, the love I saw was mine.
Her heart melted as her husband sang for her for the first time in years.
I can’t forget the day—can’t forget the way,
I failed you, the love I held true.
Your love betrayed—I should have stayed.
Instead I walked away from you.
I caused you pain—I put a strain
On our love. The good Lord above
Helped me to see through the rain.
The only thing important is our love.
I’d done my part, to break your heart
I let you go—but now I know
I’ll do my part, for a brand new start.
Now I know, I can’t let your love go.
He’d quit the band he loved because he’d begun to panic singing in front of crowds, even if it was just his family. Knowing this must be torture for her husband, she took a step closer so she could watch as he sang to her of love. Everlasting, ever growing, ever faithful, temporarily betraying but ever forgiving, resounding love.
I can’t go on without heaven in your eyes …
I want our love to stand the test the time.
You see it too, it’s no surprise.
When I saw you, the love I saw was mine.
I’ll follow you to heaven and above.
You’re my home, wherever you roam
You’re my heart—take me back my love.
Wherever you are is where I’ll call my home.
Where my sweet love is …
that’s where I’ll call my home.
The last haunting notes reverberated then drifted off into silence as Chad stood and walked to the edge of the band stand. “I’ve been a fool, Julia, and I’m so sorry. If you’ll have me back, I’ll follow you anywhere. I understand now what I didn’t fifteen months ago. It makes no difference which continent I call home, as long as I lay my head next to the woman I love.” Chad climbed off the stage and walked over to his wife.
Julia wiped the tears she’d cried throughout her husband’s performance, as well as his speech.
“Please, please forgive me Julia. I promise I will spend the rest of my life making up for the time we lost. I love you, Babe.”
The crowd had dissipated around them until the two of them stood alone.
“Chad, you sang for me …” Tears clogged her whispered reply.
“I tried Jules. I tried my best.”
“It used to terrify you.”
He picked up his shaking, sweaty palms to show her. “It still does, but not nearly as much as the thought of losing you.”
Julia tried
to stem the tears, unsuccessfully. “How—when did you do all this?”
“I wrote the song after I left you in London and begged Red to compose the melody for me. I didn’t know how I’d get you to hear it, but another wedding in the family was the perfect way to get you over to play it for you.” He placed his hands gently on her face and stepped closer. “Julia, tell me it worked. Please tell me it’s not too late.”
“You … wrote that song … for me?”
He nodded. “It’s far from perfect, I know. But it’s from the heart.”
Julia covered her face, sobbing quietly into both hands as she shook her head from side to side.
“Julia …” The word came out in a brokenhearted whisper. He released a single, drawn-out sigh as he released her, one filled with regrets and missed opportunities. “I’ll always love you, Babe. Always, no matter what.” He turned slowly, began to walk away.
“Chad.”
He stopped and turned, a glimmer of hope touching his eyes.
“It’s not.”
“Not what?”
“Too late,” she said. “It’s not too late. Loving you has never been the problem. I’ve always loved you.”
He retraced his steps until he stood before her. “Are you giving me another chance?”
“Come back with us to England, Chad. Just nine more months, and then we can all come home for good.”
He cupped her face in both hands, touched his forehead to hers. “For longer than that, if you need to be there. And thank you, Baby. You won’t regret it, I promise.” He kissed her softly, then wrapped her in his arms, rocking her gently.
Julia released a long, luxurious sigh, knowing this was where she belonged, in her husband’s arms, no matter the geographic location.
A throat cleared loudly behind them.
Chad released her and the two of them turned to see Red standing there, his face covered in a satisfied grin. He gave her a quick hug, then extended his hand to Chad, who grasped it immediately. When Red pulled back his hand, Chad stared at the key his brother had left in his palm.
“My office is at the end of that hallway if you two want to, you know, talk things over. Nobody will bother you, just lock the door.” He turned, paused, and turned back to face them. “Oh … it’s sound proof. Just in case you were wondering.” He winked.