The Wedding Wish (Summer Grooms Series) (5 page)

Isabel appreciated that her friend was being so kind, but if
it
wasn’t
her, then what was it? Only
one explanation remained. Okay, maybe two.

Cindy widened her eyes. “He’s not…? I mean, could it be he’s
simply not into women?”

Isabel sighed. “I don’t get that vibe from him at all. In
fact, the vibe I get is that he
is
into
me. Only he never wants to act on it.”

“Hmm.”

“Yeah. It’s strange.”

“Well, this can’t go on forever,” Cindy told her. “You know
how relationships are. They either move forward, or they blow apart.”

“Unless he thinks of us as just friends.”

“You just said you didn’t get that vibe.”

“No.”

“Maybe there
is
someone else.”

“Yeah.”

“I think you should come right out and ask him.”

Isabel felt a twisting inside her telling her that if she
did, she might not like the answer. The more time she spent with Robert, the more
she realized she liked him.
Liked
maybe
even wasn’t the right word. Robert was smart, generous and fun to be around,
and, goodness knew, unbearably handsome. The hard fact was Isabel was becoming
desperately attracted—and way too attached to the idea of forming an
involvement with him for more than just the short term.

When she’d been a young girl, spending her life with Robert
was all she could dream of. Someday they’d no longer be kids. They’d be
grown-ups, with real jobs and big plans. Plans that concerned them settling
down and building a family together. Each time her mom had dragged her to
another neighborhood wedding, little Isabel had come home with a piece of
wedding cake to tuck under her pillow. Superstition said that the man you
dreamed of was the man you would marry. But Isabel only ever dreamed of one
boy. She’d forgotten all about those dreams and early feelings until she’d
started getting to know Robert again. And now that those old emotions had
returned, they’d arrived in full force. Isabel could no more stop her heart
from falling for Robert than she could halt a runaway train. “But what…?” Her
lips trembled. She pressed them together to steady them. “What if he says that
there is? That there is someone else?”

Cindy laid a hand on her arm to comfort her. “Then, it’s
better to know now. Don’t you think?”

Isabel met her best friend’s eyes, knowing Cindy was right. “It
really stinks being a grown-up sometimes.”

“I know it does,” Cindy said, leaning forward. “But at least
we can be grown-ups together.” Her face was etched with sympathy. “And if he
gives you bad news, I don’t want you to think your world has ended. Because,
let’s face it, Isabel, you’re a great girl. Plus, you’ve got your whole life
ahead of you… A career. A future. And someday, yes, someday, you’re going to
find a way to share it with the perfect guy.”

Isabel felt like she’d already found the perfect guy.
Perfect for her in so many ways. The only question was, did Robert feel the
same way about her?

Early the following Sunday morning, Isabel found herself at
the shore with Robert. They’d spent a wonderful evening having a picnic in the
park before an outdoor movie screen. They hadn’t watched an action film or a
chick flick this time, but rather a classic oldie instead. It had been a fun
and refreshing story, one of those old wartime love stories from long ago. As
the last scene faded, closing on a couple kissing on a beach, Robert had taken
her hand. “Let’s go somewhere,” he’d said. “Do you want to?”

“What do you have in mind?” she’d asked him. And when he’d
said the beach, Isabel had found it impossible to say no. She loved the majesty
and romance of the seashore and always had since she was a kid. It was a four-hour
drive, but she didn’t mind, as long as she was taking it with him. They’d
driven mostly in silence, listening to funky jazz tunes on the radio that
caused her heart to pulse in rhythm just at the thought that he was still
holding her hand. She had to brave the question, and she knew it. As soon as
they got to the shore, she was prepared to ask him. But then they’d gotten
there, and everything had been so beautiful as he led her across the dunes and
down to an empty stretch of sand.

“You know what I like about being here?” he asked her. “I
like the fact that’s it’s just me and you.”

And it was. Not even the gulls were awake at this hour, and
all the sand crabs had long since been tucked in. “I like that too,” she
answered.

He spread his car blanket on the ground and offered her a
seat beside him, tucking her under his arm to shield her from the early chill. “Robert,”
she said as the waves crashed and roared before them, “I’ve got something to
ask you.”

“You can ask anything you want. But first, I need to do
this…”

When he brought his mouth to hers, Isabel thrilled at the
moment. She’d wanted him for so long, and his slow, languorous kiss was like warm
molasses on a sultry afternoon. Isabel sighed against him as she kissed him
back and he threaded his fingers through her hair.

“You’re even prettier than I remembered,” he said, gazing
down at her. He lightly brushed his lips to hers. “And you’re a helluva a lot
better kisser too.”

“You’ve improved yourself.”

His brow rose in mock offense. “You mean I wasn’t good then?”

“You were fine then,” she said with a smile, “but you’re
rocking now.”

He growled lightly and pulled her to him. “You don’t know
how much I want you.”

“I want you too,” she breathed, even sensing it was wrong
with her not fully knowing the truth.

“I think I’ve always wanted you,” he said. “But somehow,
with time and space…and life moving on…it’s almost like I’d forgotten.”

“Yeah.”

He kissed her again, then spoke in a husky whisper. “I want
to make this work. You and I… We have something, Isabel. Something worth
fighting for. I believe that.”

“I do too.” She met his eyes as the sky streaked purple with
the dawn. “But, Robert, I’ve got to know… Is there somebody else?”

Robert broke their embrace.

“Robert?” she asked, her voice tinged with pain.

He rested his elbows on his knees and hung his head.

“You’re the only woman in my heart.”

Isabel felt as if a blade had sliced straight through her. “In
your heart?”

He took her hand.

“I need you to do something for me. I need you to trust me.”

“But what about—?”

“Sometimes life is complicated. More complicated than you
know.”

“But until tonight, you never… You didn’t try to—”

“It wasn’t because I didn’t want to.” He set his eyes on
hers. “I’ve been working on something. A way to make things right. And I’m
getting very close. I swear.”

“I don’t understand.”

He looked at her with sad understanding. “I wouldn’t expect
you to.”

She bit her lip and turned away.

“Izzy, please. Look at me.”

She slowly turned her gaze to his. “You haven’t called me
that in a long time.”

“I know. But I remember. Remember very clearly what our
being together was like.”

“What was it like?”

“It was like…magic.”

Isabel couldn’t argue. What they’d had together as kids had
been truly special. Even if their parents had thought of it as puppy love, it
had certainly felt like more than that to her and Robert. And now, being here
with him, Isabel understood how easy it was for Robert to still exert his power
over her. She’d all but forgotten him. Or that was what her head said, anyway.
But the truth was, her heart remembered. She recalled the longing in his eyes
and the way he used to hold her for hours on end when neither of their parents was
home. Her dad had worried about them getting into trouble, and they had. But
not in any sort of way nearly as risqué as he might have imagined. They never
did much more than kiss and hold each other tight. During a couple of those
close-together sessions, Isabel had gotten the idea Robert’s body was ready for
something more. Though he’d never said so and had never pressed her. Just being
with her the way they were seemed good enough. It certainly had been for
Isabel. In truth, it had been more than good. It had been wonderful. Theirs was
like a storybook love from another realm. Unique and mystical… And yes, it had appeared
at the time, most especially
magical.

“Yeah,” she said softly. “It was.”

He wrapped her in his arms and tugged her close, his mouth
hovering over hers. “I want us to find that magic again,” he whispered. “But
this time…we need to hold on to it.”

Isabel nodded in numb understanding, knowing that she could
never fight her feelings for Robert now. Whatever his worries, he was working
on a way to sort them out. Isabel had to believe that his feelings for her were
sincere and that he’d never intentionally do anything to hurt her. At least,
she hoped with her whole heart he wouldn’t. Because, at the moment, that heart
was brimming with longing and affection for the one guy she now felt she had
loved forever.

Robert brought his lips to hers and kissed her sweetly. Then
he deepened his passion in a skilled way he’d never known as a boy. Isabel felt
herself melting away, losing herself in Robert’s embrace and surrendering to
his ardor. He pulled her toward him, then gently laid her down, covering her
body with his. How she wished they could stay here forever, with ocean breezes
rippling and the first morning gulls just starting to call, as he kissed her
over and over and her heart lost sight of what was…and could only dream of
things to come.

Chapter Five

The next few weeks passed like a dream for Isabel. Though
before they’d been seeing each other regularly, since that night on the beach
she and Robert had become practically inseparable. She loved everything about
him, and being near him was where she wanted to be. It didn’t matter if they
were out for a fancy dinner or sharing burgers at a drive-through, just being
together felt right. Both their academic schedules kept them busy, but they did
their best to dovetail their efforts so Isabel’s late nights at the studio
corresponded with Robert’s moonlighting at the lab. One way or another, they’d
been able to work things out so they spent nearly every moment of free time
each of them had together. For together was where both of them wanted to be.

“
Nooo!
” Isabel
yelped as her bowling ball zigzagged across the lane and bounced once more into
the alley. “Not again!”

Robert handed her a cold draft beer. “You’ll get better with
time.”

“That’s what you said three weeks ago.”

He sipped from his own beer and smiled. “I wouldn’t worry
too much about the bowling. You have other strengths.”

“You do too, Doctor,” she said, poking him in the ribs.

“I’m not a doctor yet.”

She shot him a sexy grin. “No, but you’re working on it.”

He studied her a long while, emotion filling his eyes. “What
do you say we wrap up this game and get out of here?”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Someplace quiet.”

A little while later, they sat on a bench in a downtown
park, each sipping from decaf coffee. “I can’t believe how great it’s been
seeing you again,” she told him.

There was agreement in his eyes. “It’s been a pretty special
summer.”

“And summer’s almost over,” she said with a sigh.

“Lucky for us we’re both enrolled here in the fall.”

“Yeah.”

“Isabel. I want you to know that, even if we weren’t going
to be…” He took her hand between them on the bench and turned to face her. “What
I mean is, I would have wanted to keep seeing you regardless.”

“I would have wanted to keep seeing you too,” she said,
barely breathing the words.

He set down his cup and brought his palm to her cheek. “I’ve
known this for a long time, but it’s taken me a while to get my nerve up to say
it. And that’s despite the fact I spent…oh, about a million years rehearsing.”

“What?”

His face warmed in a smile. “When I was thirteen, I mean. I
knew it then. Knew it with my whole heart, but I never told you.” He studied
her a prolonged beat, his eyes lingering on hers.“I love you, Isabel. Madly and
deeply. The truth of the matter is, I don’t believe I’ve ever loved anybody
more.”

Her heart thumped in response as she felt her face flame.
Everything he’d said, she felt as well. She’d adored him long ago, but somehow
now—after so much time—she was crazy for him all the more. In a grown-up
way, the sort of way that sometimes meant forever.

“Oh, Robert,” she said, gazing up at him. “I love you too.”

He brought his lips to hers. “That’s precisely what I’ve
waited years to hear.” Then he kissed her again with the sweetness and passion that
had been bottled up from long ago, and Isabel held fast, basking in its glory.
While she’d imagined lots of things as a kid, she never could have envisioned
being with Robert would be so wonderful. But it was. Wonderful and
unforgettable too. Just having him hold her close made everyday cares fade away
and her whole world bloom in Technicolor. It was more than special. More than
unique. It really
was
like magic.

A few days later, Isabel and Cindy stood beside the punch
table, waiting for the server to pour them each another glass. “Another day,
another department wedding,” Cindy said with a sigh.

“I know,” Isabel retorted under her breath. “You wouldn’t
think there were so many starving artists bent on tying the knot.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Cindy said. “Though in practical
terms, I believe you’ve got the right idea.”

Isabel lifted her brow.

“A doctor? Just think of all the art supplies his salary
could buy!”