Heaven Can't Wait (11 page)

Lissy lifted her head from his chest, brushed her lips against his, slipped her tongue between his lips to taste him. Then she pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside.

The corners of his mouth turned up in a sexy smile, and he returned the favor by removing her dress, his hands returning to palm her breasts. Then he frowned.

“I guess I lost the bet. I’m the one who started this.”

“I’m the one who asked for it.” She lifted her hips, let him slide her panties down her thighs, then giggled as they awkwardly pulled them first off one leg and then the other. “I’m the one who should pay the price.”

“We could just forget the bet.” He tossed her panties aside, lifted his ass off the floor to slide his jeans down his legs, and threw them over with the rest of their clothing.

She straddled him again, ran her fingers through his hair, then pressed his mouth against a hot and aching nipple. “It was a stupid idea anyway.”

He licked her, tugged her puckered bud with his lips, sucked. Heat speared through her, made her shiver.

“Do you realize that everything we own except for what’s in this house is burned to a cinder?” For some reason, the thought made her laugh.

His fingers searched between her thighs, slipped inside her. “The only thing that matters to me is in my arms.”

Lissy descended the stairs toward the lobby of the Tabor Mansion, Holly and Tessa in front of her, Kara and Sophie behind her, fussing with her train. From inside the main ballroom came the sweet strains of Bach’s
Air on a G String
, played by a string quartet. When it ended, she would enter the room, and the quartet would begin to play
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
. And then she would become Will’s wife.

Her mother waited for her at the foot of the stairs dressed in beaded lavender silk, her eyes puffy. Her gaze traveled over Lissy’s gown, her finely penciled brows lifting slightly. “You look lovely, Melisande. Truly lovely—a beautiful bride.”

“Thanks, Mother.” Lissy shifted her bouquet of lily of the valley to one hand and gave her mother a hug.

“I just wanted to say I might have been wrong about Will. I hope with all my heart I was.” Her chin quivered, and Lissy knew she was on the brink of tears. “I’m sorry I haven’t been a better mother to you. Maybe I’ll be a decent grandmother.”

Then, without giving Lissy a chance to respond, her mother motioned to the usher, took his arm and entered the ballroom with the bearing of a queen.

Lissy stood there for a moment, too stunned to speak.

“Don’t you even think about crying, Lissy!” Holly smoothed her gown. “They haven’t invented a mascara yet that’s foolproof against tears.”

Lissy smiled, looked into her friends’ eyes. “Thank you so much for everything.”

“You look truly beautiful.” Sophie looked like she might cry.

“Sophie, don’t!” Tessa plucked at the strap of the Badgley Mischka. “What made you change your mind about the gown?”

Lissy took a deep breath, tried to put it into words. “When I thought I’d lost Will, a lot of things went through my mind. I realized that nothing really matters but having him with me. If it makes him happy to see me in this gown, then I’ll wear it. It’s such an easy way to please him. This is his wedding, too, you know.”

Kara smiled at her. The only married woman in the group, she understood—Lissy could see it in her eyes. “He’s going to flip.”

The song was drawing to its close. The bridesmaids got into line.

Holly hazarded a peek through the door, her face lighting up with a smile. “Oh, wait till you see, Lissy!”

The music ended, and for a moment there was silence, punctuated by a cough and the sound of a baby’s babble.

“Sorry!” Kara whispered. “Caitlyn’s a chatterbox today.”

But Lissy didn’t even hear, her mind on Will.

The lilting sound of a violin floated through the air, the beauty of the music making Lissy’s throat tight. Ahead of her Kara walked through the door with graceful steps. Sophie went next, turning to share one last smile with Lissy.

Then Tessa turned and stared at Lissy as if seeing her for the first time. “Good God almighty, Lissy, you’re getting married!”

Lissy smiled, and the tightness in her throat became a lump. “I guess I am.”

Tessa turned and walked down the aisle.

“Oh, hell! I think I’m going to be the one to lose it!” Holly dabbed at the corners of her eyes with her fingertips, then turned and started after Tessa.

Clutching her bouquet to keep her hands from trembling, Lissy counted to ten, drawing deep, steadying breaths, and then stepped into the doorway.

There at the end of the aisle stood Will dressed in charcoal gray Armani—and a mauve cummerbund.

She stared at him in amazement, the sweetness of his gesture making her heart constrict, leaving her only vaguely aware that the crowd had stood and was waiting for her. She smiled at him, took one slow step after the next and felt his astonishment when he realized what she was wearing. His gaze slid over her like a ray of golden sunshine.

Then his gaze met hers, and his lips moved silently. “I love you.”

And in that moment, any lingering doubts Lissy might have had melted away, leaving nothing but hope and joy and love.