Rumor Has It (12 page)

He sat there for a few more minutes and then started up his car. He wasn’t usually so emotional, and damn was it tiring. Having the most intense sex he’d ever had in his life probably hadn’t helped.

* * * *

The twenty-four hours she hadn’t been with Liam should have been a breather, but he was with her at all times because he stayed in her mind and, damn it, her heart.

Talia had done a wonderful job with the party favors. Raina had wanted to go over there yesterday to help out, since she’d been home and driving herself crazy, but in the end Sue had done it by herself and taken it to Talia’s for completion.

It had run around her head that she could always give him a call since he’d gotten another cell phone. A few hours after she left him looking dazed, standing by the car as she made her retreat into her home, she’d received a text.
Got another cell phone—same number. Call me if you need anything
. She wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean.

She’d never asked him for anything before, and the only thing she would’ve needed was him, so she’d not responded to the text. She fretted about it and then thought about texting later that night, but it was too late, and she thought she’d look unstable. She didn’t want him to think she’d been pondering her response for that long of a time, but she had.

Deciding she was going to have a good time at this wedding, she put her all into getting her outfit together and looking good, and who knew…maybe she’d find an interesting man to talk to. This thing with Liam had been meant to do a couple of things. It was supposed to remove the mystery of him so she could stop thinking about him, stop her from subconsciously bringing him into her relationships, cease judging men based on the Liam standard, and find out if she could actually have an orgasm with another individual present. It had given her some good information about herself, but she didn’t hold out hope that Liam wasn’t going to be in her mind. If anything, he was going to be the five-star standard she held all sexual relationships to. He was supposed to be downgraded in her mind, but she didn’t think that was going to happen.

She’d done all she planned to do with Liam. So she should be moving on, giving mere mortals a chance. He wasn’t for keeps, and she’d gotten much more than she’d thought she would, so she should be happy. Right? They were still friends; they could still hang out. What was the problem? There was probably a problem with how much she wanted to hang out with him, and she didn’t even want to think about the next girl who came up to her fresh from his bed to ask about how to keep him interested.

Think about that another day
. This day was for a beautiful wedding at a gorgeous chapel at dusk. This was about a marriage between two people who loved each other and wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. She could feel longing overtaking her and decided to view the wedding a bit more critically so she would have something to tell her friend when they talked about it later.

To occupy herself, she flipped through the program, happy that the printer had done such a great job of making it like a keepsake instead of some cheap-looking booklet. A hush descended across the chapel, and then soft murmurs replaced that. The wedding wasn’t even close to starting, so she glanced around to see what the murmurs were about.

She should have known. Liam. He looked like every woman’s fantasy. He was definitely hers, and it was even worse because she knew the reality was even better than all of their fantasies combined.

The smile on her face grew as she observed him walking toward her and tried to ignore the pride she felt looking at him with his gaze only on her. He reached her pew and stopped.

“Is this seat taken?” he asked with an amused smile on his face.

Where were her manners? She had seen him in his fire gear, casual gear, and even workout gear, but she’d never seen him in a suit. The charcoal attire fit him perfectly, and she was blown away by this new appearance.

“No,” she said as he moved by her, leaving her in the seat next to the aisle.

He sat down and studied her face. “You described all the work you’ve put into this wedding, and I had to see the chapel you love so much.” His hushed tone and gleam in his eyes made her want to leave this place and take her prize home, but this wasn’t her prize; this was her friend. Her platonic friend she’d promised she wouldn’t become a crazy, stalking sex fiend over. She might not have promised him that, but she’d definitely promised herself that.

“You should have told me you wanted to come. We could have ridden in together.” She could’ve bitten her tongue to stop the flow of stupidity that seemed to be exiting her body through her words. “But you’d probably have a better chance of getting someone home with you if you brought your own car.” She knew she was rambling, but there didn’t seem to be an off switch. “Angie brought me here, and I have arrangements for her to take me home.”
Raina, shut up
. If she’d known he was coming, she could have prepared herself and her mouth to settle down, but as it was, she was fidgety and nervous about the whole situation.

He was about to say something when the music started up. At least for a while, she would be able to focus on the wedding and not on the confusing feelings that were in a bundle thanks to the man on her left.

They stood when the bride walked in the door, and he pulled her close to him. The combination of the beauty of the room, the excitement of the people, and the smell of hot man behind her was almost overwhelming. How was she going to get through this night if he was going to be surrounding her like a lover? She was trying to keep him in the friend box, and it was hard enough to do by herself, but if he was going to keep kicking the lid off of said box, she didn’t know that she’d be able to do it. For now she could give in to her desire to be a couple, and out in public no less. That people could see them made it different than just eating dinner or watching a movie at her house.

The ceremony was beautiful, and she was floating on cloud nine by the time they went through the receiving line.

“Liam Prescott?” The groom, who was beaming as he shook hands and hugged guests, turned it up a notch when they reached the newlywed couple. The bloom of recognition and excitement had his big voice booming over the soft music that was playing in the lobby.

She turned to see what Liam thought of the reception he was being given and was happy to see a genuine smile on that handsome face.

“It was a beautiful wedding, Marc. You’re a lucky man.”

“Liam, wow, never thought I’d see you at a place like this.” He was looking at his friend like a miracle had happened in front of his eyes.

“Yeah, me either, but I wanted to see you married off, and I wanted to see the wedding my…friend Raina helped put together.”

“You came here to see her work? That’s awesome, man. I’m glad you could make it.” He looked at Raina. “You’ve pulled off an amazing feat. An awesome wedding, and you got a man who is allergic to weddings to attend. Look, he even has a smile on his face.”

“It was Angie who did most of this. I just helped, but I knew it was going to be fabulous. Thanks for allowing me to attend.”

“No problem. You’re coming to the reception right?” He turned to Liam.

“I just wanted to see the wedding. I know there is the whole seating thing and RSVPing. I’m just pleased to see this part.”

“In for a penny, bro. Come on, I’d love to tell the guys Lieutenant Prescott was at my wedding, and I have to get a picture.”

The bride was in full agreement, and although Raina was happy they were going to be together for the reception, she’d have preferred he’d had nothing to do but take her home. Sad but true.

“Well…if it’s all right with Raina, then I’ll be there.”

They moved down the line and got to the end, where there were well-wishers standing around waiting to go through the garden and into the reception next door.

He was looking at her with his “I’ve got so much to say to you but I’m trying to find a way to say it without you thinking I’m taking your head off” face.

She tried to stop him from whatever was so serious he had to consider how he was going to put this.

“I heard you got a new phone,” she offered.

His left eyebrow raised, but he went along with the conversation. “Yes, I did. I had some time free yesterday, so I replaced my phone.” It was said cautiously, like there was something he wanted her to know from the statement. She wasn’t that good at cryptic. If he wanted her to know something, he was going to have to say it out loud. Maybe with illustrations.

It was a cool night, but it felt good, especially since she was so flushed.

“Would you like to walk in the garden?” He presented his arm, and she held on to it. This memory was going to make it impossible to ever have her very own wedding here.

They walked in the large maze of rose bushes, and she was again in awe of the beauty of nature—the flower and man varieties.

“Aren’t you going to ask me what happened with the boxes I took over to Sue’s house? I was sure I was going to get a call from you asking how everything went. I even made sure you had a way to contact me.”

“Whatever you do is your business. If you wanted to stay over at Sue’s house, that is your prerogative.”

The frown was deeper this time. “You, Miss Organization, didn’t want to know if the boxes got to the calligrapher, if they were done on time…and were they done to your specifications? That’s hard to believe. Or is it you didn’t want to ask because you thought I was going over to see another woman fresh from your arms? I guess it’s better not to ask if you don’t want to hear the answer.”

“If you’d like to share…feel free.” She dropped his arm and moved away. When she stopped to look at a statue and read the inscription, she could feel him coming closer.

He used his hand to gather the hair she’d worked hard to straighten over the front of her shoulder, leaving the side and the back of her neck open to the air. She felt a shiver run down her spine as the warmth from his mouth heated her skin.

“I would like to share.”

The open-mouthed kiss to her nape shouldn’t have surprised her, but it did. Not the fact that it was happening but that it was so out in the open and he seemed so hungry. She turned in his arms just to see his face and almost moaned at his look of hot desire. He smiled and pulled her in for a kiss, and she prepared to be ravished, but it was a soft kiss. Full of questions and sweetness, she was lost in the sensation of being valued and missed. She opened her eyes and found him looking at her.

“Since I was given the shake after our hallway fun, I dropped off the materials and went looking to replace my phone.”

She didn’t want to look into eyes that were probably reading the thoughts on her face.

“Then…I’m sorry for what I insinuated. I should’ve known you wouldn’t go from me straight to her. I was just…” There was no way she was going to tell him she was jealous.

“You were just what?”

When he looked at her with that measuring gaze, like he was trying to figure out her next move, she felt stuck. She didn’t want to ruin what was going on by telling him she was getting carried away with this arrangement, but she didn’t want to lie. He took a deep breath, and she could tell that he was going to let it drop.

“Your apology is accepted. Next time, try to have a little faith in me, or at least ask about what I’m doing. Communication has always been a strong point for us. We’ve been able to talk about anything. We should make sure to keep that going.”

“You’re right.” She looked up at his face and was thrilled at the sincerity she saw there. She probably shouldn’t have been. He tended to say what he felt—usually not without tact, but what he wanted said was said.

“Let’s go in and see what you’ve put together for the reception. People seem to be moving toward the hall.” He let her go, and she found his hand wrapped around hers. She smiled to herself. This was definitely a better time than she’d expected to have.

HE LOVED SEEING her happy, and knowing that he played a part in that made him excited in a way that was more than sexual.

Her face when she’d observed him walking down the aisle toward her had been wicked and surprised. She had a habit of displaying her feelings on her face, most of the time. He was enjoying himself seeing her in her element and watching her glow under his attention.

He’d taken the day to assess his whole life situation and hadn’t come up with much besides that he wasn’t ready for this temporary thing with Raina to end. He wasn’t sure what that meant in the whole scheme of things, but that was where a basketball game, an evening with his buddies at the bar, and home in bed at a reasonable hour had gotten him. He was surprised at how many times he’d picked up the phone to call or text her something he thought she’d like or think was amusing. He wondered what she was doing, but since he’d seen Ethan at the bar, he hadn’t worried she was out with him.

The moment he saw Elaine—the woman who’d started all of this with the rumor for Raina—some of his good cheer eked out, but he had to be happy that some of the crap she’d been feeding Raina was what made them start this whole thing in the first place.

“Look who’s at a wedding and all dressed up too.” The raven-haired beauty was going to try to start trouble; he could see it in her eyes.

“Hello, Elaine,” Raina said, the cheer in her voice evident.

He knew that was going to set Elaine’s competitive spirit off. She was looking at him but then narrowed her gaze fiercely in Raina’s direction, and for some reason Liam wished Elaine couldn’t see Raina. He knew she was going to try her best to mess this up or mess with Raina’s head.

“Good to see someone could get you to come out of the shadows. Now all we have to do is keep you there,” Elaine said as she sidled up to him. Not enough that she was inappropriate but enough to invade his space.

“Let’s find our seats,” he said to Raina, wondering why he’d bothered with Elaine. She had an inquisitive look about her, but he wasn’t sure what she was up to.

She walked slowly and turned to Raina. “I hope your reign as a friend isn’t drawing to a close.” The smile looked innocent, but he knew she’d constructed that poisoned barb to do damage.