A Chance This Christmas(34)
“I’m not making trouble between friends for a second time.” She stared into the crackling flames.
“All I’m asking is that you give us one real date. One more evening together. Go to the rehearsal dinner with me and see what happens.” He would personally make certain that Luke found time to see her tomorrow. As a best man, his role was to ensure the wedding went smoothly, and he figured that gave him license to steer the groom toward decisions that would make his bride happy.
Rachel’s gaze narrowed, a dubious expression pursing her lips. “That’s it?”
“You don’t know how awesome of an evening I can make it.” He hoped. Mostly, he wanted to be with her every second until they had to leave town. Just to see what might happen.
For once, he couldn’t scavenge up the will to think about the upcoming race. All he could think about was her.
“Fine.” She nodded, unfolding herself from where she sat on the floor and getting to her feet. “I’ll go to the rehearsal party with you.”
“But if you can make peace with Luke, you’ll go to the wedding too?” he pressed, knowing that had been the bride’s hope from the beginning.
He rose as well, standing with her in front of the fireplace while the blaze flickered golden shadows over her pretty face.
“Can we just take it one day at a time for now?” she asked, her fingers resting lightly on his chest for a too-brief moment.
His heart thudded faster. Hope, almost too much, tumbled through him hard.
“I can do that.” He wanted her to touch him again. Wanted to touch her too.
“Okay.” She nodded, extending her hand to seal the bargain. “You have yourself a deal.”
He wrapped his fingers around hers and tugged the knuckles to his lips, his eyes never leaving her startled gaze.
He kissed her there because that was all he would allow himself. For tonight, at least.
*
Taking a deep breath, Rachel knocked on the front door of the Harris house, a sprawling suburban mansion set back from the main road on the outskirts of Yuletide. A detached, double garage sat on the far side of the brick driveway. Centered in the peak of the garage someone had hung the old sign that used to welcome visitors to “Harristown.”
Now, it simply welcomed their company, but she guessed that didn’t include her. Luke’s parents had never been overly warm toward her even when she and Luke had been happily dating. At the time, she’d told herself it was because her father had been instrumental in changing the town’s name, but that was only a guess.
Emma still lived with her parents, so it made sense to drop off her revamped bridesmaid dress here. And, as luck would have it, Luke’s truck sat in the driveway. Or at least, Rachel guessed it was his based on the Army bumper sticker and the wealth of other vehicles parked in the double driveway.
A moment later the door swept open to reveal Emma herself.
“Oh. Hi.” The girl’s greeting was less than enthusiastic as she glanced backward over her shoulder. With her long, tawny hair clipped back in sections around her head, she wore a leopard print plastic apron printed with the name of a local beauty salon. “I’m just getting my hair done for tonight.”
She closed the door a little behind her, as if to shield Rachel from view from anyone else who might be inside. A television blared nearby and there was a group of people talking in a room close to the front door. Rachel wished she could simply hand over the gown and leave. But her promise to herself—and her girlfriends—wouldn’t be fulfilled until she’d made peace with her ex-boyfriend.
Besides, she couldn’t deny a part of her was excited about the prospect of being Gavin’s date tonight, even if she was nervous, too. What if he was right? What if there was a connection there that they couldn’t walk away from?
“I just brought your dress over so you’d have it tomorrow.” Rachel handed her the gown, then—before she lost her nerve—she rushed to add, “But I was hoping to speak to Luke, too.”
Emma’s gaze darted from the garment to Rachel. “Seriously?” She lowered her voice and stepped closer to the threshold. “Now?”
“Is it a bad time?” Memories of the way Kiersten’s father greeted her at the karaoke party returned. Would the Harrises be as adamant that she stay away?
Emma’s expression turned pained. “It’s just the whole family is here. And—”
“You’re letting cold air in the house, Emma,” a familiar male voice said from inside the house, just as the door flung open the rest of the way. “Who’s here?”
The groom stood beside his sister, tall and imposing. His expression shifted from curious to cool as he saw Rachel. No matter what Kiersten and Gavin tried to tell her about Luke wanting to heal the old rift between them, Rachel knew for certain that he’d clung to some facet of the grudge for reasons she didn’t understand.
But that’s precisely why she’d come back home this week.
“Hi.” Rachel acknowledged him with a nod, aware of the room behind him going quiet. Watching. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
The crowd behind him shifted. His family and some guests seemed to be watching a sporting event on television in the family room while, in the kitchen beyond that, Emma’s hair stylist held a paintbrush in one hand and a pot in the other. Now, Luke’s mother stood from her spot on the couch and headed toward the door.