Commissioned In White (Art of Love Series) (11 page)

Shane was right. His father was indeed the captain of cool.

Beside her Ellen groaned softly behind the hand she clapped over her mouth to keep from openly protesting the bride’s meltdown. Reesa wanted to laugh at her mother-in-law’s reaction, but what rational ex-wife would want to attend the wedding of her former husband to someone new anyway—much less
arrange
it? She figured Ellen had brought most of her discomfort on herself. In fact, Shane’s entire family was bizarre at times. It definitely made Reesa wonder what she’d gotten herself into marrying into the Larsons.

Will’s calm voice interrupted her thoughts again to catch her attention.

“I’m really sorry you’re uncomfortable honey, but you sure look incredible in that amazing dress,” Will said sincerely, smiling into her eyes. “Are you okay enough to finish the ceremony?”

“Of course I am,” Jessica retorted, her irritation at the question showing in her tone. “Why do you even ask, Will?”

When the congregation laughed at her question, Jessica’s confused gaze turned and took them all in. Then seeming more confused than ever, she looked back at Will, brows lifted as she waited for him to explain. “Did I miss something?”

“Honey—I believe the minister is still waiting for the answer to his question,” Will said. “You were in the middle of your wedding vows when you decided you were—hot.”

The wicked grin the groom gave his bride made Reesa squirm in her seat. The husky masculine laugh in her ear just added to her squirming as Shane chuckled along with rest of the onlookers. The parallels between Will and Shane were too obvious to be comfortable for her, but Reesa managed not to flinch when Shane’s arm slid more tightly around her along the back of the pew. She let his fingers idly stroke her shoulder even though she had the odd urge to push it away.

After another silent minute passed, Jessica laughed loudly, the sexy, husky sound of her distinctive voice again carrying throughout the church. Then when her laughter subsided, she spoke.

“Oh God, I’m blowing this, aren’t I? You Larson grooms are intimidating as hell. Do you realize that? I was so scared of that look in your eye when you said your vows that I didn’t hear anything said after that. My heart was beating too loud in my ears.”

Reesa heard Ellen groan loudly at Jessica saying the word “hell”, but the congregation only snickered. Even the minister looked down, obviously trying to keep a straight face himself. Reesa gave the man high marks for trying retain his dignity, but she didn’t see any way to salvage the sacredness of the ceremony after what Jessica had did and said.

Reesa looked at Ellen, who was pale and biting her lip. Maybe she needed one of Jessica’s pills, she thought bizarrely, fighting the insane urge to giggle. She watched Jessica finally turn to the minister, weaving but still gripping Will, who held her hands firmly in his.

“Can you run that last question by me one more time, please?” Jessica asked politely. “I promise to pay attention this time.”

The minister nodded, laughing his way through a repeat of his prompting Jessica for her vows.

“Yes I will,” Jessica stated firmly, then burst out laughing, convulsing and snorting at the gut-busting humor she suddenly saw in it all. “That’s so funny. I
will
marry
Will
. That’s hysterical. What in the world was in that pill? Oh did you hear that—I made a rhyme too.”

The bride in her beautiful lace gown doubled over in laughter, flashing the congregation her ample cleavage which was spilling out of decorative lace meant to adorn her breasts rather than restrain them. Both the maid of honor and the best man widened their eyes in shock, but finally disintegrated into loud laughter too. Tears streamed as they wiped at their eyes, trying to regain control.

The other two younger attendants—another couple Reesa assumed—rolled their eyes and smiled at each other, for the most part trying to ignore the older couples. They managed to remain mostly in control throughout, and now were both looking like they felt sorry for Will.

“I’m so sorry,” Jessica apologized, straightening at last and squeezing Will’s hands. “I do want to marry you. I promise. I’m just—it’s just really hard to think of myself as a wife, and it still scares me. I thought I had worked all this out. I guess I hadn’t quite hit a Zen point with it yet.”

“Hang in there, baby,” Will told her calmly, and then he looked directly at the minister.

“How close to wrapping this up are we?” he demanded in that all-business voice of his, pulling the riveted attention of everyone in the church to Will instantly.

The minister shrugged, closed his Bible with a snap, and raised his hand in the air.

“In front of all the witnesses of this union today, and in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I now pronounce you man and wife,” the minister said boldly, blatantly skipping the rest.

“Thanks for the shortcut,” Will said sincerely to him, then he tugged Jessica forward into his arms where he knew she’d be safe and not fall in her drugged stupor. “Too late for doubts now,
Mrs. Larson
.”

“Oh God,” Jessica said loudly on a groan.

“Yes, I’m sure God is happy to have this over with as well,” Will answered sharply, letting himself laugh with relief. “Kiss me now. We’re married.”

But he didn’t wait for her to obey or even agree. Reesa watched Will put his sure mouth on Jessica’s quivering one. It stopped the nervousness in the woman, but was the kind of intimate kiss that silenced the entire congregation for a full ten seconds before everyone erupted in laughter and applause. Then the entire congregation surged to their feet clapping furiously when the groom laughed and lifted his new wife from the floor in a fierce hug.

“Just so you know, I thought that kiss deserved a standing ovation too,” Jessica said to him loudly, arms wrapped around him. She started giggling when he finally let her feet touch the floor again. Laughing, she let her newly acquired husband drag her from the altar and back down the aisle.

As the bride and groom disappeared, Reesa turned to see Carrie lifting Michael’s hand to her mouth for a reverent kiss. Michael mirrored the same action as she smiled.

“I’m seriously glad it wasn’t just me,” Carrie said to her husband. “In fact, I feel vindicated knowing it was you all along. Jessica’s right about the intimidating thing. I feel so much better now about how scared I was.”

Reesa watched Michael give Carrie a considering look, but his only retaliation was a smile that threatened more than it acquiesced. She felt glad that she wasn’t going to be spending time alone with the two of them today.

Then suddenly the church was emptying of everyone, and the family all stood to leave as well. Looking at a clock on the wall, Reesa noted the entire ceremony had barely lasted ten minutes, even though it had painfully seemed to her to last much longer. She was emotionally worn out just from watching it.

Ellen’s loud sigh next to her echoed Reesa’s sense of weariness.

“Can you imagine the kind of pictures the photographers got of this farce? And it was being taped too. Talk about wedding bloopers,” she said mournfully as her children and their spouses poured out into the now empty aisle. “I should have known Jessica was going to have a meltdown. If only Will hadn’t looked so caveman-like, I’m sure she’d have held it together longer.”

Reesa laughed at that, couldn’t help it because she completely agreed, even if she would never say so. But she was still shocked Ellen had.

“Jessica was nervous. We knew that. Will was probably just being himself,” Reesa offered, figuring she could say that with confidence since she’d likely married his clone.

“You’re right. Dad was being himself,” Shane agreed, stepping close to his wife and giving her what he figured was a close approximation of the same look his father had for Jessica. “Reesa, why didn’t you tell me you had a wedding dress?”

Reesa sighed. “Because it’s just a dress I’ve had for years. It’s no big deal. Next week I’m posting it online to sell. I only pulled it out of the closet to make room for your clothes. I’d forgotten all about it until then.”

“I don’t want you to sell it,” Shane said firmly, noticing Sara froze in her spinning when she heard his serious tone. “I’d like to think I’m the guy you kept the dress for, so why don’t you wear it and marry me again? This time we’ll do it right.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Why would we do that? We’re already married,” Reesa declared.

“We’re not
this
kind of married,” Shane insisted, one arm sweeping the nearly empty church in an encompassing gesture. “Marry me, Teresa. In a church, not a courtroom this time. Make it more real with me.”

Reesa sighed and glared, angry that he had brought up such a private matter in front of what was mostly his whole family.

“Shane, be reasonable. A wedding is a lot of work and a lot of money. All that trouble is definitely not worth it for a dress that is over ten years old and probably won’t even fit now. Can we please argue about this later at home?”

“Sure we can argue about it all you want,” Shane said reasonably, keeping his tone even. “Mom, are you up for planning one more crazy Larson wedding?”

Ellen darted a worried glance at Reesa, who was still fuming, and another at Michael and Carrie, who were staring at Shane as if he had lost his mind. The last guests in the congregation had stopped at the door of the church to listen to the family debate.

She cringed as Shane lifted his chin and set his jaw in a gesture she knew all too well.
Damn it
, she thought, wishing she could swear out loud to make her point more clear. Her youngest could be the most stubborn creature in the world when he made up his mind about something. It took a blasted miracle to dissuade him.

“If Reesa wants a wedding, I’d be more than happy to do another wedding,” Ellen said, narrowing her gaze at Shane’s quick glee. “BUT,” she cautioned loudly, lifting a hand to stop, or at least slow, Shane’s gloating. “Reesa has to
want
a wedding, not just go along to appease your stubbornness. I know how you are. You get that stubbornness from your father.”

Reesa lifted her chin and glared up at her husband. “I definitely agree with the stubborn part. No deal—we’re not having another wedding,” she said succinctly.

“We never had a first one,” Shane said sharply, snapping his fingers for Sara who skipped over to hold his hand as they began walking out. “We had a civil ceremony, which is way different. That’s why we need to have a real wedding.”

“If you and Aunt Teresa have a wedding, can I wear a princess dress?” Sara asked, fluttering her eyelashes at Shane.

“Absolutely,” he said, looking only at Reesa. “You can even wear your dancing shoes.”

“Yay—another wedding!” Sara said, skipping along beside Shane.

“If I end up yelling at Sara for a month over this, it will be your fault,” Reesa said sharply, her green gaze flashing at Shane in irritation.

“What if I admit that I think I want a real wedding now even more than I want a baby?” Shane confessed, listening to shocked gasps from everyone within hearing distance, including Sara.

“
We’re having a baby too?
” Sara asked, the question a high pitch squeal of disbelief.

“No!” Reesa said firmly, her face going white with shock at his words. “Shane Larson, stop this nonsense immediately! No baby. No wedding. Don’t make me murder you in a church.”

Shane smiled wickedly at his tiny wife’s public rebellion, but snuck a glance at his brother, who was gesturing madly even while letting his sick wife lean on him. “You are crazy,” Michael mouthed silently, twirling a finger beside his temple.

He agreed with Michael’s assessment, but it only made Shane grin harder. His instincts were singing. He knew he was right to press this. All he had to do now was find the right way to convince Reesa.

***

“Shane, please,” Reesa called, unable to shift beneath his weight as he held both her wrists in his hands and had his knees pinning her legs while he was inside her. “Stop trying to blackmail me with sex. I’m dying for relief here.”

“I’m just making a point,” Shane said roughly, moving a little to ease the torment for both of them. “Look at us together. This is not about the children. This is not about me being a hero and saving you. This is about us, Reesa. I wanted you before I even knew your situation. If things had been different, we’d have had a normal wedding. Admit it. That court ceremony didn’t mean much to anyone but the judge and the kids’ grandparents. It wasn’t for us.”

“Damn you, Shane,” Reesa said brokenly, her body arching and somehow hoisting his upwards with the force of a violent climax that was just not going to be denied any longer no matter what Shane tried to hold back from her.

Feeling the waves of her climax assault him too, Shane had no choice but to surge inside her and rock them both to bliss. It was hard to say who was weeping more in relief at the end, him or her.

Maybe holding back for forty minutes had been a little much, he decided, but Reesa was being so hard-headed. The hard punches his wife delivered to both his arms thirty seconds after the pleasure had passed told him exactly how angry she still was at him.