Wildflower Wedding (16 page)

Gabby smiled. “You're right. Let's crank up the music and bust these orders out.”

“Oh, and I forgot to tell you that we just got an additional order from Lee Ann Daugherty, who just opened Tea for Two up on Main Street.”

“Oh, right, next to the toy store and candy shop?”

Joy nodded. “Lee Ann is such a lovely lady. I hope that her new shop does really well. She's wanted to do this for a long time now. I think she's also going to serve light lunches.”

“Well, we will have to go sometime soon. We'll wear dresses and big floppy hats,” Gabby added with a smile. “Speaking of lunch, Reese is bringing us some food later. I made him promise to bring salads.”

“Bless your heart! I've been doing my water aerobics class with Savannah at Whisper's Edge, but that pizza is just too doggone good to pass up when he brings it here. He's such a good boy, Gabby. I'm happy for you. Now, if his handsome devil uncle would come to his senses and go after Trish, all of our love lives will be on the upswing.” But then she put a hand on her chest. “Oh, how did Tessa take it when she got the roses from her husband?”

Gabby shook her head sadly. “It was hard for her and for Reese too. I've always been confused over why in the world he deserted them like that. I remember thinking they had such a nice family and wishing my mother would find somebody as good as Mike Parker. It blows my mind when I think of it.”

“It would be a good thing for them to get some answers.” Joy shook her head. “But I don't know how he could begin to show his face in this town after what he did. People in Cricket Creek have long memories. He's not likely to be well received if he ever did decide to come back.”

Gabby nodded, remembering the anguish on Reese's face when he came in and saw the flowers. “You're right about that,” she agreed as she went over and turned on some music. But for now she was going to think happy thoughts. Gabby smiled. She had a boyfriend. She was loved. And it felt amazing. Lunch could not come soon enough even if it was just a salad.

Beginning Again

T
ONY THUMBED THROUGH THE
COOKING LIGHT
MAGAZINE
absently, dog-earing a few recipes that he thought had promise. He wasn't much on changing authentic Italian dishes, but Tessa insisted that they should have a least a few lighter selections to offer to those trying to watch their weight and eat healthy. Tony sighed as he absently flipped through the pages. Being laid up like this threatened to bore him out of his skull. He picked up his phone and considered texting Tessa once more about how things were going, but she'd already said if he texted her one more time she was coming over to whack him in the head with a spoon.

Tony's brain kept drifting in the direction of Trish. He tried to tell himself it was because he was bored, but he knew better. God, the kiss had been amazing. He groaned, drawing a head lift from Digger, who was in as much need of exercise as he was.

“This just sucks.” Tony tossed the magazine down and picked up the remote, hoping to find something of interest. And then he heard it. A woman's scream. “Trish? What the hell?”

Digger scrambled to his feet and gave Tony a “what are you waiting for?” look before running toward the back door. When another scream split the air, Tony's heart started pounding. Like Digger, he scrambled to his feet, knocking the damned ice bag to the floor. He hobbled as fast as he could while grimacing in pain, but the scream of distress had him moving pretty damned fast.

Tony immediately spotted Trish with her back plastered to the side of the garage. Judging from the small spade she clutched in her hand, it appeared as if she'd been gardening but something had obviously scared the daylights out of her. When she pointed the spade in a threatening manner, Tony ran toward her, ignoring the stab of pain each time his injured ankle felt the impact of the ground. And then he saw it. A long black snake suddenly reared its head upward, hissing at Trish.

This time her scream became more of a whimper as if she thought if she screamed the snake would strike. Tony knew the ugly thing was harmless, but he could see the stark terror on her face and so he hurried forward. She finally tore her gaze from the snake and looked over at Tony and Digger.

“Trish, it's okay. It's more scared of you than you are of it,” he told her calmly, but she only gave him a terrified shake of her head.

“It . . . its tongue is out,” she squeaked. “I think it's going to bite me!”

“Stay put. I'll get it.”

“Don't
touch
it!” she pleaded, and when he moved closer she pushed herself so hard against the garage that Tony would have chuckled if he didn't feel so sorry for her. “It might bite you. And keep Digger away!”

Tony moved forward as fast as he could and even though he wasn't fond of snakes and pretty damned scared, he wasn't about to let her know it. Looking around, he spotted a stick. After picking it up he ignored his thumping heart and quickly slid the stick under the middle of the snake and gave it a hefty toss toward the open field leading to the woods. Digger ran out to investigate and Tony hobbled over toward Trish. He tossed the stick aside. “You okay?”

She nodded, but he noticed that when she reached up to push a blond curl from her cheek that her fingers trembled. “I just loathe snakes. I mean I'm simply terrified.” She gave him a sheepish look and tried to smile. “Thanks for coming to the rescue. Again.”

“Raccoons, snakes? What next? Sasquatch?” When her eyes rounded he chuckled and realized that he liked coming to her rescue.

“Hopefully, not a spider.” She shuddered. “Or a rodent.”

“Well, you're near the woods and the river. There's bound to be spiders and snakes. Surely you figured that?”

Trish slid to the ground and put her elbows on her knees. She inhaled a shaky breath. “I didn't think past getting out of Cincinnati.” She shook her head. “Funny, but I always thought of myself as being a rather outdoorsy person. I guess this is a bit more rural than the suburbs.”

“Yeah, animals generally love being near the water. But seriously, most are harmless.”

She flicked a glance at him. “You must think I'm such a dingbat.”

Tony laughed, really laughed, and thought she was so damned cute. “I haven't heard that term in a while. I don't consider you a dingbat.”

“A dork, then?” she muttered.

Tony lifted one shoulder and then sat down next to her. “Maybe a dork. . . .”

“You weren't supposed to agree with me.” She gave him a shove and then pointed the spade at him.

Tony was happy to see her sass return. For a minute she looked close to tears and he really didn't know what he'd do if she started crying. “Okay, a cute dork, though.”

“Weren't you afraid of the snake? I mean, the thing was several feet long!”

“Nah . . . ,” he lied, thinking he needed to beat his fists against his chest. “I'm sorry the damned thing scared you.”

“I guess I'm scared of a lot of things. What are you scared of, Anthony?”

He looked at her for a moment.
Falling for you,
he thought but shrugged again and tugged at a long blade of grass. “I guess my biggest fear right now is not making a success of the restaurant.”

She nodded. “Understandable.”

“You?” Tony asked casually but watched her closely.

“Ha.” She picked up a pebble and tossed it. “You might be here a long time if I answered that. You should have asked what I'm not afraid of,” Trish replied in a joking tone, but Tony sensed some truth and it bothered him much more than he wanted it to. He should really get up and hobble back into the house. This was getting personal again and she'd made it clear that she wasn't ready for personal. He should respect her wishes, but damn if it wasn't getting more and more difficult to do so. When his arm brushed against her shoulder, he felt a sharp zing of awareness. Her long legs, tanned and bare, made him swallow hard. Her flip-flops exposed a French manicure and a toe ring glinted in the sunshine. He wanted to run his hands down her legs and see if her skin felt as smooth and soft as it looked.

Tony knew he should go and yet he found himself asking, “Why don't you start with your biggest fear? Other than snakes.”

Trish inhaled a deep breath and at first Tony didn't think she was going to respond. “Loneliness,” she answered softly. “I mean, don't get me wrong, I love this little town and when I moved here it was such a relief to get away from . . . everything.” She tossed another pebble. “But loneliness can be . . . suffocating.”

He surprised himself by answering, “Believe me, I can relate.”

“You have family here. That has to help.”

“Yeah, but it's not the same as . . . well . . . you know.”

“Yeah. I know.”

Tony looked down and his damned hand took on a life of its own and he reached over and picked up her hand. It was as if he couldn't control his actions around her.

Or maybe it was that he didn't want to.

Tony brought her hand to his lips and kissed it briefly but held on. He understood. They sat there for a couple of minutes, silent, thinking, knowing they were moving into dangerous territory. “So, what's you next biggest fear?”

“Oh no, it's your turn.”

“I thought I was doing this interview,” he replied, rubbing the top of her hand with his thumb. Feeling her skin, sitting this close and getting a whiff of her perfume danced through his brain and skittered south.

Trish surprised him by answering, “Number two is a strange combination of being afraid of falling in love again . . . and then
not ever
falling in love again.”

Tony didn't laugh because he understood once again. Completely.

“I mean, I hope it will happen again.” But then she shrugged. “I guess.”

Tony nodded. “Oh, I get it. After having my heart ripped out of my chest and then used for batting practice, it's pretty damned scary to step back up to the plate.”

When she nodded glumly Tony had a moment of clarity.

“And that's bullshit,” he said fiercely.

Trish turned to face him and raised her eyebrows, he guessed at the harsh tone and his admission. “How so?”

“Well, look at you. You're smart, gorgeous . . . damn, and caring.” He grinned. “And funny, even though you're not always trying to be,” he added, and got another shove. “Anybody who had you on his arm, in his life, would be one lucky S.O.B. and your ex is a complete dumb-ass. I'm just sayin'.”

“I gave a similar speech to you, Tony. Did she cheat on you?”

He nodded. She'd opened up so much. It was his turn now. “Yeah, she turned on me when the recession hit and the restaurant started to struggle. We would have gotten through it, but she hated not getting to spend like crazy. I responded by working longer, harder. Maybe if—”

“Don't!” she said firmly.

“Don't what?”

“Blame yourself for her cheating. I've been down that road and it's a dead end. There's never,
ever
an excuse for infidelity.”

“For a long time that's all I could think about. What I did wrong that pushed her into the arms of another man.”

“No!” Trish squeezed his hand. “Look, I'm well aware that there's two sides to every story and no one is perfect.” She pointed at herself. “I'm not perfect. But I do know one thing for sure. There's
nothing
we did or didn't do that gave her or my ex that right. Nothing.”

Tony nodded and had to fight back emotion. After clearing his throat he said, “Thank you for that.”

“Are you still in love with her?” Trish asked softly.

Tony shook his head. “No. I know now that the person I was in love with never really existed. I waited so long to get married, determined to find the right woman to share my life with. It's so hard to get over all of those lost years. Giving everything I had to someone who didn't deserve it. Trish, how do you ever get over it? Get rid of the anger and the fear of having the same damned thing happen all over again?”

Trish leaned her head against his arm and sighed. “I sure wish I knew the answer to that question.”

Tony looped his arm over her shoulders. For a long time they sat there in silence. Finally, he said, “I think this is the beginning.”

He felt her head nod against his shoulder and she finally said, “Yeah, me too.”

“So, should we take baby steps? Or one great big flying leap?”

A Leap of Faith

“W
OULD YOU BE OFFENDED IF I TOLD YOU TO TAKE A
flying leap?” Trish asked. She grinned when she felt him shake with laughter.

“Not at all.”

“Although leaping might still remain a little bit painful,” he told her.

“Oh, I forgot!” Trish scrambled away from him and looked down at his ankle. “And you ran out here when I was screaming like a goofball! Oh, does it hurt? I hope this didn't set you back.” She put her hand on her mouth and gingerly examined his ankle. “My goodness, all I do is cause you trouble.”

“Maybe you're the kind of trouble I need,” he said, causing Trish to look up at him. “Hey, I freely admit that it felt good to come to the rescue. It was worth the little bit of pain it caused to make sure you were okay.”

“I owe you one, then,” Trish answered slowly. She wondered how frayed gray gym shorts and a worn New York Mets T-shirt could look so supersexy. Maybe because she knew what he looked like without the shirt? The dark stubble shading his jaw and the dark wavy hair just shy of needing a trim only added to the appeal.

“One . . . what?” He arched a suggestive eyebrow. “Do I get to choose?”

“I . . . uh . . .” The soft breeze that blew across the field did nothing to cool Trish off. She wanted to scoot up there, straddle his lap, and kiss the man senseless.

“Let me fill in the blank for you: a kiss.”

“A . . . kiss?”

Tony tilted his head to the side. “Too much to ask?”

“S-sounds like a reasonable request,” she tried to say lightly but sounded a bit breathless instead.

“Nice. So, when can I collect?” Tony asked, and the look he gave her made a hot shiver slide down her spine.

Right this minute
got stuck on the tip of Trish's tongue.

“How about now?”

Was the man seriously reading her mind? Trish searched his face, trying to read him. The spontaneous kiss they'd shared was one thing. And he did the kissing. Trish couldn't even remember when she had taken the lead and kissed a man. “I . . .”

“Take a flying leap, Trish,” he challenged, but didn't laugh this time. Instead, he gave her a serious yet seductive look that had her slowly moving toward him. At first she didn't even realize what she was doing and then suddenly she found herself straddling his legs and looking into his deep brown eyes. “Do it,” he softly encouraged, but his hands remained at his sides. “Kiss me.”

Trish blinked and then dropped her gaze to his mouth. After licking her lips to moisten them, she leaned just slightly closer. She placed her hands on his shoulders, feeling the solid strength, the warmth, and leaned closer still. Although he remained silent Trish could tell by the rise and fall of his chest that he was anticipating this as much as she was. She looked in his eyes, seeing golden flecks and molten desire.

Desire for her.

She touched the tip of her tongue to his bottom lip, teasing, nipping, and then with a soft sigh molded her mouth to his . . . and kissed him. He opened his mouth for her and she took full advantage, dipping her tongue in gently, shyly, savoring the taste, the texture, and the silky heat. Her hands slid up to his head and she threaded her fingers through his soft hair.

With a low groan Tony put his hands on her waist, pulling her closer. Trish moved against him and the sensation of his hard body against her softness sent a jolt of desire through her that took her breath away. She sucked in much-needed air and melted against him, needing to get closer still.

Tony's hands were suddenly beneath her shirt touching her bare skin and she loved it. He had big palms, slightly callused fingers, and the slight abrasion made her tingle.

This felt wanton. Wicked.

It felt fantastic.

She didn't think she'd ever wanted a man more than she wanted Tony right now. But just when Trish was about to tug Tony's shirt until he got the message about removing it, Digger came bounding toward them with his ball.

“Well, that was bad timing,” Tony said with a pained laugh. “No doggie treats for a week.”

Trish leaned her forehead against his chest, suddenly a little bit embarrassed. “Maybe he has more sense than us,” she said with a nervous laugh. “What are we, anyway? Teenagers?”

Tony reached down and tilted her chin up. “It sure feels like it,” he told her. “I don't think I've been this turned on since I was about seventeen.”

Trish felt heat creep into her cheeks. “We're outside,” she whispered as if someone might hear. “And I was about to strip you half naked!”

“I know. It's awesome,” he said with a grin. “Well, except for the half-naked part. I'd rather be totally naked.”

Trish laughed weakly. “I don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed.”

His grin faded and he gave her a serious look. “I haven't felt this alive in a long time, Trish. Damn, that felt good.” He rubbed his thumb over her chin. “But I want to make love to you in my bed where I can take my time.” He dipped his head and kissed her with such tender sweetness that she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly.

After pulling back he said, “Let me cook you dinner tonight. I'll fix whatever you want.”

“No!”

His face fell. “Why not?”

“Because you have to stay off your ankle. I'll fix dinner for you.”

“You're a bossy little thing.”

“So you keep telling me.” She arched an eyebrow. “Are you going to follow orders?”

“I think you could get me to do whatever you wanted,” he told her.

“Really, now?” Trish had some suggestions that had her feeling more like a college student than a divorcee. She arched an eyebrow. “That's good to know.”

“Yeah. So . . . what do you want?”

Trish tilted her head to the side and tapped her cheek with her finger. “I think I'll make a list.”

“Like a honey-do list?”

“No, more like a honey-do-me list,” she whispered in his ear. “But first I have to do some shopping.”

“For groceries?”

“No . . . lingerie.” She drew out the word.

Tony's eyes widened and he scrubbed a hand down his face. “Dear God, am I going to wake up on my couch with an ice pack on my ankle and a ball game on the television? Was this all a dream?”

Trish put a hand on her hip and tilted her head. “Yeah, but when you do I'll be in your kitchen cooking you dinner. But you'd better get in there and rest up,” she said, and then turned on her heel. With her head held high she started walking toward her back door. Trish could feel his eyes on her and she grinned, wishing she could turn around and see the stunned look that must be on his face, but it would ruin her exit.

Embarrassment vanished. She felt bold and beautiful. After living a life of restraint, trying to please instead of being herself, this felt even better than a flying leap. This felt airless, like soaring.

Tonight could not come soon enough.