Rainshadow Road (Friday Harbor #2)(72)

“What’s that?”

Lucy made a face. “The wedding invitation.”

“Aren’t you going to open it?”

“I’m hoping that if I procrastinate and ignore it, it will somehow disappear.” She busied herself at the sink, rinsing lettuce leaves in a colander.

Sam approached her. He settled his hands at her h*ps and pulled her back against him. And he waited patiently, a steady presence behind her. Ducking his head, he brushed his lips against the edge of her ear.

Lucy turned off the water and blotted her hands on a nearby dishtowel. “I don’t know if I can go,” she said in a surly tone. “I don’t want to. But I have to. I can’t see an alternative.”

Sam turned her to face him, putting his hands on either side of the counter. “Do you expect it’s going to hurt, to see Kevin walk Alice down the aisle?”

“A little. But not because of Kevin. It’s all about my sister. I’m still furious about how she betrayed me and how they both lied to me, and now my parents have gone right back into the old pattern and they’re paying for everything, which means Alice’s never going to change, she is never going to learn—”

“Breathe,” Sam reminded her.

Lucy inhaled deeply and let out an explosive sigh. “As much as I hate the idea of going to that wedding, I can’t sit at home while it’s going on. It’ll look like I still have feelings for Kevin, or that I’m jealous or something.”

“Want me to take you somewhere?” Sam asked.

Her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “You mean … while they’re getting married?”

“I’ll take you to a nice little resort in Mexico. You can’t get too worked up about their wedding day when you’re relaxing on a white sand beach, drinking mojitos.”

She looked up at him with wide eyes. “You would do that for me?”

Sam smiled. “I’d get something out of it too. Starting with the sight of you in a bikini. Tell me where you want to go. Los Cabos? Baja? Or maybe Belize or Costa Rica—”

“Sam.” Lucy patted his chest in an anxious little flutter. “Thank you. I appreciate the offer more than I can say. But there wouldn’t be enough mojitos to blank out the fact that it’s their wedding day. I’m going to have to go. I don’t suppose you—” She broke off, unable to bring herself to ask him.

“You’ve agreed to be my plus one at Mark and Maggie’s wedding,” Sam said. “It’s only fair if I go with you to your sister’s.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“No … really,” she said earnestly. “I already feel better, knowing you’ll be with me.” As soon as the words left her lips, she wanted to take them back, fearing she had revealed too much. Any indication that she needed Sam, depended on him emotionally, would drive him away.

But he took her head in his hands and kissed her. His palm traveled along her spine before settling low on her hips, pressing her against him. Her eyes widened as she felt the pressure of his arousal thickening against her. By now Sam knew far too much about her, where she was most sensitive, what excited her. He kissed her until her eyes closed and she leaned heavily against him, her heart racing. Slow, searing kisses, draining her strength and filling her with sensation.

Lucy turned her face away just enough to breathe, “Upstairs.” And he lifted her in his arms.

* * *

The following weekend Mark and Maggie were married on the retired ferry in Seattle. The day was warm and beautiful, the waters of Lake Union a glittering shade of sapphire blue. A feeling of serenity pervaded the wedding. There were no signs of nerves or uncertainty, no tension or fuss, nothing but a wholehearted happiness that emanated from both the bride and groom.

Maggie was beautiful in a knee-length slip dress made of textured ivory silk, the V-neck and the straps edged with delicately translucent cream chiffon. She wore her hair in a simple updo adorned with a cluster of white roses. Holly was dressed in a similar cream-colored dress, the skirt puffed out with a tulle underlay. It touched Lucy when, as Mark and Maggie stood with the justice of the peace for the vows, they gestured for Holly to stand with them. After Mark kissed the bride, he bent to kiss Holly as well.

A spectacular buffet was served inside the ferry: a cornucopia of fruit, a selection of brightly colored salads and pasta and rice, fresh Pacific seafood, brioche loaded with cheese, bacon, and chutney, and rows of tarts and vegetable roulades. Instead of the traditional wedding cake, a tower of tiny individual cakes was arranged on Plexiglas tiers. A live jazz quartet played “Embraceable You.”

“I’m sorry this wedding didn’t happen after Alice’s instead of before,” Lucy told Sam.

“Why?”

“Because everyone is so happy, and Mark and Maggie are so obviously in love. It’s going to make my sister’s wedding look even worse by comparison.”

Sam laughed and gave her a glass of champagne. He was breathtakingly handsome in a dark suit and a patterned tie, although he wore the clothes with the collar-tugging impatience of a man who didn’t like to be bound up in formal clothing. “Offer of a Mexican getaway still stands,” he told her.

“Don’t tempt me.”

After the guests had loaded their plates at the buffet and the tables were filled, Sam stepped forward to make the toast. Mark stood with his arms around both Maggie and Holly.