Inside Out (12 page)

Brody went up and swooped Rennie high into his arms and kissed her cheek. He spoke to her softly, and she giggled, hugging him tight. Ella dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief Adrian handed her.

Elise took the microphone, and Ella stepped back. “Thank you everyone for coming. You’re all incredibly special to us, and having you here to share tonight with us makes it all the more special. I expect to see each and every one of you in two months in this very backyard for the wedding, you hear me? Thank you to the Browns and Copelands, who’ve extended their family and affection to me and Rennie. Thank you to Ella, who does more for people than she’d ever admit. Any girl who’d put on deodorant for her bestie because her bestie had forgotten and the dress was too awkward for me to do it myself is aces. And she makes peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches for my kid. What’s not to love?”

She turned to Brody. “And thank you to Brody, who made room in his heart and life for not only me but our daughter. I never expected you, Brody, but every day I thank God that I found you. I love you. Thank you for making my dreams come true.”

Brody waved it off, moving to Elise to kiss her while still holding Rennie. “I’m the lucky one. Elise, you fill all my empty spaces. You and Rennie are the reason I wake up smiling every day.”

“Enough! You guys stop it, or I’m going to cry.” Adrian took the microphone back, hugging Elise quickly. “Let’s get the music started again.”

Ella hugged Rennie and handed her off to her grandparents, who delivered hugs, kisses and good-byes before leaving.

Cope moved in to swoop on Ella, but Raven and her friend stepped into his path. He sighed inwardly. Unlike his brother, he saw the good in Raven. She was an odd duck, but beneath her blunt, socially maladjusted manner, she cared about her friends. Didn’t mean he always liked her or wanted to be around her for more than a few minutes here and there, but he understood why Brody still cared about her.

She’d come on to him a number of times over the years, but he’d turned her down, not wanting to get anywhere near the nexus of the drama she often created. Didn’t mean he hadn’t flirted with her; she was a beautiful woman after all. But he wasn’t interested in what she was offering.

The one he wanted to look at most wasn’t there, though; she was just past them, holding Elise’s hands and talking, both women smiling. Erin joined them with Mary, another friend, and he couldn’t help but notice he wasn’t the only man staring at the four of them.

“Hey, ladies, nice to see you.” He kept it casual as he skirted Raven and her friend to get to Ella, only taking his gaze from her to keep from walking into someone.

“Where you off to? We’re going to head back to Raven’s place after this. You want to join us?” Raven’s friend grinned his way.

“Not tonight, ladies, though thank you for the invitation. I’m here with Ella.” He’d never really felt the need to make such a thing clear. But he did now.

“Good.” Raven shrugged at his confused look. “She’s a nice person. I like her.”

Raven kept surprising him, even after all the years he’d known her. “Yeah, she is. You two have a good night.” He nodded and moved on his way.

Damn. He caught her staring. Ella knew she blushed furiously, but the slow, sexy smile he sent her took the edge off her embarrassment, warming it into pleasure. She was emotional enough after Rennie’s speech, and she’d not-so-casually looked for him, only to find him with Raven and her friend again.

She watched, her insides warming up as he shook his head to whatever they offered and looked to her, at first with surprise and then, when he’d caught her looking, sly pleasure.

“I say this because I love you. You need to bang that drum, Ella. Bang it like there’s no tomorrow,” Elise whispered into her ear.

“So romantic,” she murmured back, trying not to laugh.

“Don’t judge, El. Don’t judge. I’m gonna play rock band on my soon-to-be-husband’s body all night long.”

At this, she lost her battle and giggled, right as Cope reached her, taking her hand.

“What’s this all about?” He kissed her knuckles again, casually but sparking heat.

“Elise is giving me her secret recipe for biscuits.” She smiled widely, and he raised his brows at her.

“Must be some kind of biscuits then, by the look on your face.”

“Biscuits are serious business, Andrew. They’re irresistible, and you can never have only one.”

He drew her away from the crowd, back toward the house where it was quieter. “I really must try these biscuits. You’re clearly eating different ones than me, and while I’ve enjoyed them, I’m apparently missing out on something.”

Oh, how she wanted to be bold and say something suggestive just then. She didn’t really know how. It wasn’t that she was ashamed or anything, but she didn’t have much experience with this stuff.

“I have to tell you, the blush you’re working right now really makes me curious.”

She nearly choked; instead, she tried to smile serenely, but she probably ended up looking like she was drunk.

“What made you want to be a social worker?” he asked.

“I thought about being a doctor like my brother. But I totally suck at math and science. It’s sort of a requirement and all, so that was out by the time I needed to choose my classes for second quarter of my freshman year at the UW. I volunteered on a crisis line, and that’s sort of how it started. I thought it was a great direction. I just got . . . sidetracked for a while.”

“Would you like to go for some coffee?” Cope asked suddenly. “Looks like things are winding down here.”

Oh,
that
feeling was one she hadn’t felt in years. She gave herself a long moment to simply luxuriate in it, that giddy joy at being asked to coffee by a handsome man. Didn’t matter if he only meant it as a friend; it still felt awesome.

“I really would, yes. But I promised to help wrap things up here. There are little gift boxes, and I need to check those, actually right now.” She looked toward the table they were meant to be on and motioned, beginning to hurry over.

“I can help. Just point me, and I’ll do your bidding.”

“All right then.” God, he made her fluttery. “Um, come with me.” She waved at Adrian and pointed to the empty table, indicating she was going to put the little gift boxes out. He nodded.

“They’re in Adrian’s bedroom. Through here.”

“I know where it is.” He laughed. “How do you?”

She turned as she opened Adrian’s door. “How do
you
? Is there something you haven’t told me?”

“I don’t like that type of dude.”

Nearly choking, she turned to him. “What type of dude do you like?” He could
not
be gay! She’d seen him making out with women and he had been sort of romantic with her and, oh man, what if she’d misunderstood the whole thing?

He slid his thumb over her bottom lip, sending shivers through her. “I’m just teasing you. I like women. One in particular.”

She blushed and damned her skin for showing it so easily. “Oh. Well, all right, because I was wondering if all those women hanging all over you every two feet you move were overcompensation or what.”

He chuckled. “It’s not that bad.”

She turned and motioned toward the bed. “Ha! In any case, I see the platters are here.” She put the pretty boxes she and the rest of their friends had tied countless ribbons and bows to, on two large platters. “This way when people leave they can take one with a cake box.”

“Cake box?” He helped her stack and then made sure it wasn’t too heavy before taking his platter out first to clear a path. “You okay with that?”

“They’re not heavy. And cake boxes are self-explanatory. They have little slices of cake in them. The caterer will be bringing them out soon. These other boxes have a picture frame in it with a save-the-date card for the wedding. You know those cameras at all the tables? We’ll have the pictures developed and available at the wedding for people to grab and put in these frames.”

They put the platters out, and Ella watched carefully as the caterers added their boxes.

“Wow. That’s amazing and thoughtful.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just read about it in a magazine and thought it would be fun. I may have talked Elise into having a photo booth at the wedding. Everyone loves pictures.”

“Ella, you rocked with this whole thing.” Adrian came over and hugged her tight. “If the social work gig falls through, you should look into event planning.”

“
Pfft
.” Ella arranged several tea light candles on the centerpiece towers. “I didn’t do very much. Heck, you did more than I did.”

“Yeah, yeah, I had
people
do that.” Adrian caught a glimpse of Cope, and Ella didn’t miss the raised brow.

“I think your brother is trying to get your attention,” Cope said to Adrian as he moved closer to Ella.

Adrian just laughed and kissed Ella’s cheek one last time before strolling off again.

What the heck was that all about?

“There’s going to be a rush over here.” Ella handed him two cake boxes and a gift box. “That should be a nice snack for tomorrow morning.”

He put his arm around her waist, keeping her at his side as they stepped away from the table. She wouldn’t have moved for anything.

7

It had been another week after the engagement party before they could both adjust their schedules to begin the lessons. She’d received word just an hour prior that she’d gotten the job at the nonprofit dealing with family violence. She’d start full time in January, but begin shifting her schedule that following week, slashing her job at the café in half and spending the extra hours at her new job. Being the kind of person she was, she’d prepared for this eventuality. She’d prepped the new manager who’d taken over for her, doing a very good job in her stead. The new part-timers would be trained well enough to be totally up to speed by the time she left the café behind totally in late December. A new year, a new job, a new step in her life.

She hadn’t been this silly and nervous over a man in years. She’d met Bill in her sophomore year of college. He’d taken over her life slowly. She hadn’t noticed until it was too late and he’d entrenched himself into her life so deeply she hadn’t quite known how to get him out.

The past was past. And this was her life now. Andrew Copeland was not even from the same universe Bill vomited out of. Cope had called her several times and had come into the café nearly every day. Their first training session had been thick with romantic tension. He hadn’t even tried to kiss her. He’d remained all business, despite all the chemistry zinging around. But afterward, he’d touched her cheek, just lightly, and it had felt as intimate as a tongue kiss.

Still, she’d finally allowed herself to accept Cope just might be sending romantic signals her way. On the elevator up she made herself focus and tried to calm the fluttery bits.

He’d be up there waiting for her, Andrew Copeland of the sexy blue eyes and the just-too-long black hair. Working out with him was a big test, she told herself. A test of will, because, boy, did she want to touch his belly, slide herself against him. And she could under the guise of this class. She learned a lot too, even from just one class. Felt more confident as she’d practiced the moves he’d shown her the lesson before.

As she got off the elevator, he pushed from the wall where he’d been standing and moved to her, his gaze lazily sliding up her body until it reached her face. His smile was easy and no small amount of sexy. “Hey there.”

She let the attraction wash through her like a drug. He made her all tingly, just from a hello and a look. All that pseudo calm she’d talked herself into believing she had, washed away.

“Hey yourself.” She had rushed over, getting dressed in the bathroom at work to save time. Of course, that meant she didn’t have a damned bit of makeup on. Still, he’d seen her without it more than he had with it, and he still flirted with her, so maybe he had a freckle fetish. Ha.

The practice mats were in a side room, which made her rest a bit easier, as no one could see her in there. She wasn’t graceful or muscular. She could barely walk without tripping or looking generally dorky.

“Tonight let’s work on some basic defensive moves. Okay?”

He took it slow with her, building trust, helping her overcome any residual nervousness or fear she may have had. She appreciated that he did it but didn’t make a big deal of it. He just kept a pace that worked for her.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked when she managed to block his blows three times in a row. “You get this fierce look on your face. Good job.”

“No, it’s too embarrassing. You’ll laugh.”

“Well, of course I will. But you should tell me anyway.”

Gah! He was so . . . He just said everything right and they had this rhythm and she’d never had rhythm before and it set her all off kilter.

“I just think of a song.”

“You know I’m only going to pester you until you answer the question all the way.”

He showed her in slow movements how to break a grip on her wrist. He’d introduced it a few days before at their first lesson, and she’d practiced every day. He nodded proudly, and she wanted to flutter her lashes at him.