Beach Wedding (18 page)

“Fine,” I sigh, resigning myself to the glare of the
spotlight. “Who’s he got, anyway? One of his band-mates?”

“Please,” Marcie snorts. “They’re still
tripping off drugs they took in the Seventies. No, he’s asked
that friend of yours, Luke.”

I freeze. “Luke? I didn’t know they were friends.”

Marcie laughs. “What’s friendship got to do with it? I
filmed them bonding up a ladder, fixing the mansion roof. Great manly
stuff, the audience will love it. We’re going to be filming at
his place, mix things up a little. Do you have the address?”

I shake my head.

She hits a few keys on her cell phone. “Sent. See you there at
six! And try to wear something cute,” she adds a passing shot
on her way out.

Luke.

I’ve been trying not to think about him. Trying, and failing
badly. Coming clean to him the other night, I was hoping to feel some
kind of resolution – a sign to let me know whether I was free
to move on, but instead, I’m still as much in a tangle as I
ever was. Only now, with no secrets left between us, I can’t
help but feel a treacherous hope pulling me back to him.

He could have been angry. He could have pushed me away. But instead,
he seemed to genuinely understand what I was going through. I never
dreamed of being granted his forgiveness, but now, it makes me
wonder.

If we could move on from the past – what would we move on to?
Am I supposed to just go back to New York and leave our relationship
behind me for good, or is coming back here the sign all along that
Luke Porter is the only guy for me?

By the time evening rolls around, my stomach is twisted up tight in
knots again. The address Marcie sent me is right near the other
luxury development, further down a quiet stretch of beach. I pull up
outside and try to take a deep breath. At least this time, I’ll
have Pixie and Clyde as a buffer – and a dozen people from the
production too.

“Ready for your close-up?” Theo teases me, greeting me.

“Don’t. I already wish I had said ‘no’.
There’re a million and one things I could be doing right now.”

“Now you understand,” he laughs. “Pixie’s a
hard woman to say no to.”

The house is similar to the other one I toured: gorgeous clean lines
and stunning windows, but it feels more lived in. We head upstairs,
to where they’re setting up the balcony for our ‘spontaneous’
get-together. I step out on to the deck and gasp. If the other view
was breathtaking, this one could knock you dead. Blue ocean as far as
the eye can see. With the sun sinking over the water, this is a
million-dollar view right here.

I see Luke as soon as I walk in, getting wired for sound. He gives
me a little wave, and I try my best to read his body language. Is he
happy to see me, or already regretting getting swept up in this
production? Our dinner got cut short so abruptly, I’m still
left wondering about what he was about to say on the beach that night
before I was called away.

“There you are,” Marcie meets me, and whisks me over to
hair and makeup. “Damn, she’s clashing with the throw
pillows. Can we switch those out?” she calls, like I’m
not standing right here in front of her.

“Great to see you too, Marcie.” I tease.

She gives me a look. “If you’d called us in when Pixie
went off-script, we wouldn’t be going through this charade.”

She’s wound extra-tight today. I wonder why, but as I look
around, I see the reason: Brent. He’s lounging against the
balcony railings, talking on his cell phone, oblivious to the fact
he’s blocking the path for all the tech guys.

“Don’t worry,” I tell Marcie, feeling a strange
sense of camaraderie with her. “We’ll get back on
schedule. Pixie cries at the drop of a hat these days, so you won’t
miss any of the good stuff.”

“Thanks.” She gives me a rare smile. “I just wish
he’d get out of the damn way and stop micro-managing everything
I do!”

“Now you know how it feels,” I grin.

“Touché!”

Once I’m powdered and primped, I head over to join Luke.

“Can you believe this?” he greets me, looking around. “I
didn’t realize it took twenty people to have a casual drink.”

“Marcie doesn’t do things by half,” I agree.

“They’ve even got someone over there rearranging the food
to make it look better for the cameras.” Luke glances back at
me, smiling. “I didn’t think grilling could look bad.”

“You’re just lucky you didn’t have to sit through
the meeting debating which flavor cake they would eat,” I smile
back, relaxing. If he’s acting like everything’s cool
between us, I can do that, too. “They had focus group testing
and multiple choice questionnaires and everything.”

He laughs, that warm rich sound that always sets me at ease. “So
what will our wedding duties be, exactly?”

“Clyde didn’t tell you?”

“Not so much,” Luke grins. “He was too busy trying
to remember a song he’d heard on the radio in nineteen
eighty-six.”

“I don’t think Pixie was even born back then.”

“What can I say, love works in mysterious ways.”

Our gaze holds for a moment, then we’re called over to take our
places. There are couches set up overlooking the water, with a spread
of delicious-looking food and drink. I reach for a glass of lemonade
to quench my thirst, but the prop stylist stops me.

“Not until after the filming!”

“OK…” I slowly put it back down as Pixie and Clyde
emerge. She’s dressed in a pink sundress and his face is almost
hidden by oversized shades. Pixie goes right over to talk to Theo,
but Clyde collapses beside me on the couch with a groan.

“Man, I’ve got a killer hangover. Your aunts sure know
how to rock.”

“My aunts?” I turn, surprised.

“Saw them out at karaoke,” Clyde grins. “That
Bettina sure can sing. She put Stevie Nicks to shame. We shut down
the whole place down.”

So that’s why I didn’t hear them come in last night.

“OK.” Marcie claps her hands, and everyone quiets. “This
is just a casual scene. Clyde, you serve some food from the grill,
everyone talks about how great it is. Yum yum. Then you two say
you’ve got something important to ask. Ginny, Luke?”

“Here.” Luke lazily raises his hand, like we’re
back in school. I catch his eye, and have to stifle a smile.

“I know you guys don’t have much experience, but just act
natural. And don’t look at the cameras!”

We shoot all evening, until the sun is low over the ocean, and my
stomach is rumbling. Silly me, I actually thought an evening grilling
on the balcony would mean I’d get to eat, but every time I
sneak a mouthful, I get caught chewing on camera and we have to roll
again. By the time Marcie finally declares it a wrap, I’m just
about ready to faint with hunger.

“Does that mean we get to eat now?” I ask hopefully, as
the crew packs everything up. I reach for a plate of steak, only to
find it’s cold and rubbery. Everything else has been left out
so long, there are flies buzzing around. I let out a wistful sigh.

“Come on,” Luke chuckles, taking the plate from my hand.
“They brought a whole crate of meat over. Prime porterhouse.
I’ll grill us a couple of fresh ones. And how about a burger,
too?”

“I love you so much right now.”

The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. I blush. “I
mean… I just… That would be great.”

Way to go, Ginny.

“Clyde, Pixie?” Luke turns to the others. “Want to
join us for a real grill? We could take the chance to hang without
all the cameras around.”

“Sorry, they can’t.” Marcie answers for them. “We
have satellite interviews booked back at the inn.”

Pixie gives me an apologetic smile, tailing her out. “But you
guys have fun!”

Luke turns back to me. The last of the crew hoist their equipment
down the stairs, and suddenly, we’re alone on the balcony.
“Guess it’s just you and me then.” He pauses, and
his words sink in. “Want a beer?”

“Sure,” I tell him, my nerves returning. “I’ll
just go freshen up. They caked, like, a whole ton of makeup on me.”

He smiles. “You never did need that stuff. You’re
beautiful without it.”

My heart stops.

“Umm, thanks.” My blush spreads, until I feel like my
whole body is flushed bright red. I quickly bolt for the door, before
I say anything else.

How did this happen?

I find the guest bathroom and run cold water over my wrists, trying
to get my cool back. One minute, I’m in a room of twenty people
buzzing with lights and noise, and the next, Luke and I are alone. On
his balcony. At sunset.

Talk about the perfect romantic setting.

Not that romance is on his mind, I remind myself. As far as I know,
Luke thought we’d be hanging out with a crowd too, and was just
too polite to take back his invitation once it was just the two of us
left. We’ll eat, talk a little, then go our separate ways
again.

So why did he call you beautiful?

I stay in the bathroom as long as I can, then take the long way back
out to the balcony. I look around, curious about the place Luke calls
home now. It’s the same luxury design as the other house I saw,
but this one feels lived-in, with rustic touches like a leather
chesterfield sofa and an open fireplace in the lounge. I pause by his
bookshelves, surprised to find them full. The Luke I knew preferred
to watch a game on TV rather than read, but here I see shelves of
history books, and a row of crime novels too.

“See anything you like.”

I jump. He’s come in from the kitchen, and caught me snooping.
Luke hands me a cold bottle of beer. “I got into books when my
dad was sick,” he explains. “A lot of time in hospital
waiting rooms, sitting around with nothing much to do.”

“Was it long?” I ask. “I mean, did you at least
have some time together, before the end?”

He nods. “Small blessings, I guess. But you’re never
ready to say goodbye.”

I rest a hand on his arm. “It gets easier. You think it won’t,
that you’ll never heal the hurt, but it just takes time.

“Thanks.” He gives me a sad smile. “What about
you?”

I already know he means my parents. “It hits me the usual
times. Birthdays, holidays. I usually have work I can do to distract
myself. I find myself wishing sometimes, they’d had a graveyard
burial,” I add softly, toying with my necklace – their
rings, hanging close to my heart. “I know they had left
instructions in their will about being cremated and scattered out on
the ocean, but it would be nice sometimes to have a place to visit,
you know?”

“They’re always with you, Ginny.” Luke’s
voice is so comforting. “I know, they would be proud.”

I can feel a pang in my chest that usually leads to tears, so I turn
away. “How about that steak?” I ask brightly. “That
was torture, having all that food so close, and yet so far.”

Luke lets the subject drop, just like I knew he would. “One
prime rib-eye, coming up!”

We head back outside. Luke found a ton of food the production left
behind in the fridge, so I can gorge on potato salad, roasted
vegetables and fruit. He stands casually behind his massive grill,
manning the flames with a pair of tongs in one hand and a beer in the
other.

“I bet you live out here,” I laugh. “A grill, this
view, what more do you need?”

“I can’t complain,” he grins. “You ever miss
it? Home, I mean.”

I nod. “New York is great, don’t get me wrong, but
everything’s so fast-paced and cutthroat. Even when I try to
relax, I can’t shut off my to-do list. Down here, you can just
take a blanket out to the sand, and all your problems seem a million
miles away.”

“Unless you forget the SPF,” he grins, and I laugh,
remembering the summer we stayed out on the water all day, and I came
back pink as a lobster.

“That was the worst burn of my life!” I groan. “I
was in agony for days.”

“You squealed like a little kitten. And all I could do to help
was keep you lotioned up.” Luke’s smile turns suggestive,
and I flush, remembering those nights, and his hands smoothing softly
over my painful skin.

It was easy to forget about the burn when the fire between us was
hotter than hell.

I go sit on the couch to put some distance between us, but when I
look up, he’s still gazing at me with that edge in his stare:
the reckless, dangerous one that led me astray all those years ago. I
stop breathing. Damn, that smile could make me forget my own name.

“Are you heading back, once the wedding is done?” Luke
asks.

I give an awkward shrug. “Yes. I mean, my life is there. My
business…” I trail off, getting lost in his blue eyes.

“So there’s nothing that could make you stay?”
Luke’s voice is casual, but his words strike through me.

“I… don’t know,” I lie. “I haven’t
thought…”

Carefully, he puts down his beer and tongs. He crosses the space
between us in confident, easy strides. He leans over me, placing one
hand on either side of the couch behind me, until his face is just
inches away.

I can see his mouth, temptingly close. The heat in his eyes. The
unmistakable sense of
him
.

“Nothing?” he asks again, the corners of his lips lifting
in a sexy-as-hell smile. “We’ll have to see about that.”

And then he kisses me.

Last time, Luke took me by surprise. But even now I have a moment to
see it coming, the feel of his mouth on mine still blows me away.
Soft and slow, deep and sweet as summer molasses—every last
thought or doubt I have is chased clean from my mind.

He doesn’t just kiss me; Luke
possesses
me.

I reach for him, needing to feel more of that incredible body against
me. I slide my hands over his chest and up around his neck, pulling
him down with a hunger that’s already raging out of control.
Luke groans against my mouth, and then pulls back – but only
long enough to fall back on the couch and yank me to him again, body
to body. His lips crash down on me with a new passion, demanding, and
I kiss him back with everything I have, loving the taste of him, so
familiar and unknown all at once. I’m falling, already spinning
out of control, my whole world contracted to just this moment, right
here. His hands are in my hair, at my waist, all over me, roaming to
touch and squeeze, leaving a trail of sensation in their path.