Blue Twilight (14 page)

Chapter 28

Lisa slept fitfully and woke before her alarm went off. After a quick shower, she got to work on her hair. She had just finished drying it and had her head flipped upside down when her mom walked into her room.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen that move. I thought you could use some coffee.”

“Is it decaf?” Lisa asked through the curtain of her long hair. At her mom’s nod, she stood up and set the brush aside before taking a long sip. “Thanks, Mom. I was just starting my hair.”

“Need any help?” asked Karen. At her nod, her mom picked up the brush and started to separate Lisa’s hair into sections.

Lisa settled into the familiar routine. Her mom had helped her before plenty of school dances, but this was her mom’s special day. “Shouldn’t I be helping you get ready?”

“I don’t have much to do,” Karen admitted with a shrug. “Besides, second-time brides don’t need as much work.” Winking, she smiled at her daughter.

It took over an hour, but they managed to get all of Lisa’s hair up and curled. Her mom even wound a few strands of baby’s breath through the curls. The overall result was beautiful, and as Lisa turned to pull her mom in for a hug, she was shocked to find her in tears.

“Mom, what is it?”

“It’s my wedding day, I’m allowed to be emotional,” Karen said swiping at tears.

“Of course you are,” Lisa said, patting her mother gently. She thought about how emotional she’d probably be later on and then shut that train of thought down before it got away from her.

She watched as her mom opened her mouth and then closed it quickly. Easily recognizing her Mom struggling over something, she said,
“Spit it out, Mom.”

Dropping her eyes, Karen asked. “It’s just…when were you going to tell me, Lisa?”

Confused, Lisa stared at her. “Tell you what?”

“About the baby,” Karen whispered.

Lisa’s knees gave out and she lowered herself to the bed. “Wh-what? How did you know?”

Karen waved a hand in front of her. “I didn’t…not at first. A friend of mine called after she read something in one of those trashy magazines. I didn’t believe it, but then I watched you, Sweets. You’ve been touching your stomach off and on and asking for decaf coffee…”

Lisa tried to process what she’d just heard. Some magazine had printed a story about her? How? When? And how did they know about the baby? She knew in her heart Debra would never betray her, so who? Did that mean Jake knew? And now she’d hurt her mom by not telling her…

Moaning, she buried her face in her hands. “Mom, I was going to tell you. I had just planned on telling Jake first, but then…” Her body shook as sobs caught her again.

Karen placed an arm around her daughter’s shoulders and held her as she cried. “How far along are you?”

“Almost th-thirteen weeks,” Lisa hiccupped.

“And Jake doesn’t know?”

If some tabloid had found out, then there was probably no chance that Jake didn’t know. The thought made her cry harder. “I h-hadn’t told him yet. I was going to tell him after the w-wedding. I didn’t want to r-ruin your special day.”

Karen pulled Lisa back until she could look her in the eyes. “Why on Earth would you think this would ruin my day? I’m going to be a grandma?” she asked smiling as her eyes shone.

After seeing her mom’s awed expression, Lisa’s tears slowed down. “Yeah,” she said quietly. “I guess you are.”

Placing her hands on Lisa’s face, she said, “You’re going to be a great mom, Lisa. And no matter what, that baby will be surrounded by love. You’re not alone, Sweets. And you never will be.”

Lisa let her mom pull her close as she cried. She cried for her pain, she cried for her lost dreams, and she cried for her baby who may never know his father. Through it all, her mom held her and reassured her again that she was never alone. Once she felt in control again, Lisa excused herself to the bathroom to clean her face. There was still three hours until the wedding, and she hoped the swelling around her eyes would go down before then. Swinging into the kitchen on her way back to her room, Lisa grabbed the sonogram picture to show her Mom. They discussed the joys of pregnancy. What’s not to love about never ending nausea and having to pee every five minutes?

Two hours later, they were waiting on the limo Richard had sent.

Studying her mother, Lisa said, “Mom, you look great.”

Karen did a little twirl and laughed. She was dressed in a simple cream-colored dress and had decided against a veil, opting instead for small cream-colored sweetheart roses threaded into her hair. “Thanks, Sweets, so do you.”

Lisa gave her a tight smile and twisted her necklace between her fingers.

“Lisa, are you sure you’re going to be all right today?”

“I’ll be fine,” Lisa lied just as the doorbell rang. Plastering a smile to her face, she ushered her mom out the door. “Now let’s go get you married.”

On the short drive to the church, Lisa went over everything again. She had to believe she was doing the right thing. Rubbing her hand over her stomach, she tried to assure herself.

As they pulled up, Lisa waved her Mom inside. “I’ll be there in a minute,” she called.

Staring at the familiar white building, she recalled once imagining herself getting married here. She shook her head to clear the nostalgia and took a few deep breaths of cold air. All around her, guests were making their way inside. Unable to stall any longer, she picked up the bottom of her dress and followed them.
It’s show time.

Chapter 29

A few people tried to stop her to chat, but she waved them off with the excuse of needing to find her mom. She overheard more than one conversation about her pregnancy and felt sick. There was no way Jake didn’t know. That would make things harder, but she knew she had to be strong for herself and for her peanut. The doors to the church opened, and Lisa felt his presence before she saw him. Secretly pleased to see how exhausted he was, she watched as Debra helped him with his tie. Taking a deep breath, she started in his direction, but the priest intercepted her to say they were ready to begin. Her confrontation would have to wait as she spun on her heel and headed toward the back room. She arrived just as her mom was reaching for her bouquet of red roses.

“There you are,” said Karen, relieved. “I thought you’d left.”

“Never,” Lisa answered, grabbing her own red-and-white bouquet. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” said Karen with a big smile. They walked out arm in arm.

The organ music started as Lisa got into position. Putting a weak smile on her face, she began her slow march down the aisle. She refused to meet anyone’s eyes as she made her way to the front of the church. Feeling Jake’s gaze on her, she fought the tears as she took her place. The music swelled, and she turned to watch her mom make her way down the aisle.

***

Jake took a deep breath as he watched Lisa walk past him. She was stunning in her cranberry dress, and he barely resisted the urge to reach out and touch her when she glided past. He hardly noticed Karen when she came down the aisle moments later to join Richard at the altar. The ceremony was blessedly short and passed by quickly. Before he knew it, applause broke out around him as Karen and Richard shared their first kiss as husband and wife. A blur of red rushed past him, and he realized Lisa was running out the door. Standing, he and Debra filed out with the rest of the guests waiting to make the procession back to Karen’s house. All around him, people were discussing the ceremony.

“…was a lovely service…”

“The flowers were just gorgeous…”

“…can you believe it? I wonder how Karen’s reacting to the news…”

“…Lisa hardly looks pregnant…I wonder how far along she is…”

He stopped short, earning himself a few grunts and dirty looks from annoyed guests.
What did they just say?

Debra apparently overheard the same thing as she suddenly grabbed him and pulled him outside. “Jake…”

He felt like he was drowning.  Sucking air into his lungs, he asked, “Lisa’s pregnant?”

Deb tried to reason with him. “She was going to tell you…”

“When?” he thundered, earning him more stares. He suddenly realized Alex had known, and that’s why she’d made that comment about his child.
How in the hell had she known before he did?
Feeling cold inside, he slumped down on a nearby bench.
Christ.
Lisa was pregnant. Jake pulled on his hair as his body shook with a combination of shock and anger. A thought struck him and he pointed a finger at Debra. “Wait a minute…you knew?”

Debra shut her eyes briefly before squatting down in front of him. She wrapped her hands around both of his. “Jake, she begged me not to tell you. A photographer followed her and caught her after she’d left the doctor’s office…”

Jake’s eyes flashed. “A photographer? Where? How?” Those jackals would
not
mess with her. He’d make damn sure of that. Growling, he imagined what he’d do if he found…

Debra snapped her fingers in his face, breaking him out of his murderous thoughts. “I’m not entirely sure. They had pictures of you buying Lisa’s ring, but if I had to guess, I’d say Alex had something to do with it.” When he growled again, Debra tapped his cheek. “I’ll have Hank take care of it, but, Jake, you have to calm down. You’ll never get Lisa to listen to you if you’re shouting at her.”

Slamming his hand on the bench, he muttered a curse. He worked hard for his anonymity, and no one had the right to violate his family’s privacy. The thought floored him even as it terrified him.
His family.
He had so much more to lose now. “I’m going to be a father,” he whispered.

“Yeah, Daddy,” said Debra squeezing his knee as her eyes filled. “Now let’s go see about getting them back into your life.” Pulling him from the bench, they made their way to the car.

***

The house was already bustling with activity when Lisa arrived. She passed a waiter handing out glasses of champagne and orange juice. Grabbing some juice, she walked back to her room. Quickly changing out of her dress, she pulled on jeans and a sweater before throwing the rest of her belongings into her suitcase. Lisa downed the rest of her glass and took one last look around the room before making her way back out into the living room to wait for her Mom and Richard to arrive. When they did, she clapped and whistled along with everyone else. She tried to ignore Jake when he and Debra snuck in behind them.

After the bride and groom were seated, Lisa grabbed another glass of juice and tapped a fork against it. Waiting until everyone was quiet, she began her speech. “Thank you all so much for coming. I know it means so much to my Mom and to Richard.” She struggled to keep her voice steady as she gave the speech she’d practiced so many times. Only now, it meant so much more. “Richard, thank you. Thank you for finally making my mom an honest woman.” She paused as everyone laughed and cheered. “But seriously, thank you for making my mom so happy, and welcome to our family.” Walking over, she accepted a hug and a kiss on the cheek from Richard before continuing.

“Mom…I don’t even know where to begin. You’ve always been there for me and given me that unconditional love that I so needed. You and Richard have that same love. Treasure it, nurture it, and never, ever take it for granted.” She met Jake’s intense gaze for a moment. He kept her captivated until, with a shake of her head, she finally continued. “Be as thankful every day for what you have as I am to have you as my mom.” Unable to stop her tears, they coursed down her cheeks. “Congratulations, Mom,” she choked out. “I love you.” Applause broke out as she clung to her mom for a minute.

Kissing her cheek, her mom whispered just loud enough for her to hear. “I love you, Sweets. Go do what you need to. Just remember that I’m always here.”

With a small nod, she pulled away and hurried down the hall toward her room. She heard the beginnings of Richard’s toast as she shut the door. Grabbing her suitcase, she stopped as she heard the door open behind her. She didn’t even have to turn around to know Jake stood behind her. Standing rooted to the spot, she desperately tried to recall what she needed to say to him.

“Lisa…” he began.

His voice broke her out of her trance. Pulling the handle on her suitcase, she wheeled it around to face him. “Don’t,” she said in a voice that was stronger than she felt. “Just don’t.” Lisa reached into her pocket and pulled out her engagement ring. With trembling fingers, she held it out to him. “Here, take it.”

He stared at it for a moment before shaking his head. “No,” he finally said. “No, I meant everything I said when I gave you that ring. I still do. I love you, and I’m not giving up on us.”

Trying to hold the tears back, she took the hand she knew so well. She knew his calluses from playing the guitar, knew how they felt running over her body. Shuddering, she turned his palm up, and placed the ring on it. “But I am.” The look on his face caused her heart to stumble, but she knew she had to get through this. Blowing an errant curl out of her face, she attempted a light tone. “Look, it was fun while it lasted, but I need to move on.” She watched his eyes steel over and thought she might have gone too far.

His hand shot out and grabbed her arm. “Fun? Is that all this was to you?” He took a breath and looked into her eyes. “So, the second things get hard, you run away?”

Lisa was fuming. He’d taken her own words and thrown them back at her. “You bastard!” she screeched. “You dare to stand there and blame this on me?”

“I know what I did, damn it!” he yelled back. “I know it, and I’m sorry! I know sorry isn’t enough—”

“It will never be enough,” she seethed. “Just run back to your
wife
, Jake. We’re done.” Pulling her arm free, she opened the door.

Jake slammed it before she could get out and blocked her path.

She started to shake. “Just let me go,” she pleaded.

“Lisa, just hear me out…”

Behind the door the house had gone silent, and Lisa knew everyone was listening to their fight.

“I’m not doing this, Jake,” she said quietly. “I am not ruining my mother’s wedding day. Now, please move.”

Jake finally moved his hand and allowed her to slip out. Down the hall, she paused to say goodbye to her Mom and noticed Richard giving Jake death glares. Grabbing her jacket, she slipped it on and left the house. Jake put his coat on and followed her.

Lisa was already loading her suitcase in the trunk when Jake caught her from behind. Spinning her into his arms, he kissed her. And for a brief moment, the world fell away. This was where she was supposed to be. But reality came crashing down, and she pushed him away.

“You still love me,” Jake said breathlessly. “You can’t deny that.”

“Maybe I can’t,” she admitted. “But it doesn’t mean that I can forgive you. It doesn’t mean that I have to put myself through this anymore.” Slamming the trunk, she leaned heavily against her car. “Just let me go,” she repeated miserably.

“I
can’t
,” he emphasized. In a low voice, he said, “Lisa, I know about the baby.”

Clutching her stomach protectively, she looked into his eyes. “I’m keeping my baby, Jake.”

“You think I would want you to…”  He trailed off, running a hand down his face before meeting her gaze once more. “Lisa, I love you. I love our baby. I want us to be a family.”

“It’s too late,” she cried. “Just leave us alone.” She struggled with her door before wrenching it open.

Jake grabbed her hand before she could close it. “Where are you going?”

“I need to think.” She pulled her hand free, shut the door, and took off down the road.

***

Jake was still standing in the street clutching her engagement ring when Debra found him a little while later. “She left,” he choked out and let her pull him in for a hug.

“So what are you going to do about it?” she asked quietly.

Jake stared at the ring in his hand before gently placing it in his pocket. He let out a breath. “I need to go home,” he said and started toward the car.