Operation: Endurance (When the Mission Ends) (14 page)

As the guys heaved themselves back into the limo, they were in much better spirits than they had been after the strip club. They’d showered and changed in the locker room at the rock-climbing gym and now looked like they were ready to head back out on the town.

Chris grinned as Colton sat and rearranged his balls, which had to be throbbing from that strangling harness. “You’ll probably want Penelope to ice those for you later.”

Colton grimaced. “I don’t think I want Pen anywhere near my balls tonight. Goddamn, that was seriously not cool.” He looked down at his watch and ignored the smirks from Jake and Chris. “We still have a couple of hours before we’re supposed to meet up with the girls. Shall we go buy this guy the drinks we owe him?”

“I think so and maybe a little liquor will help numb you up, too.”

“We can only hope,” Colton muttered.

* * *

By the time they caught up with the girls, none of the guys were feeling any pain. The girls were definitely in better shape. In fact, to Chris’s soused brain, it seemed like they were all perfectly sober. That didn’t seem right. Didn’t girls get drunk the night before a wedding, too?

They appeared to have developed a cease-fire agreement sometime during the night, too, because no one mentioned the girls’ visit to the male review club. Now, everyone was back to being all lovey-dovey. You would never guess the other two couples had only been apart for a few hours from the way they acted.

It left things really uncomfortable for Julie and him, but as he looked over at her, he could see the exhaustion pulling at her. She wasn’t well enough yet to miss out on this much sleep. He sidled over to her. “Are you about ready to head out?” he whispered.

Relief showed through her expression as she nodded and then glanced toward the other two couples.

He continued, “I don’t think they’re going to miss us if we leave.”

She nodded and then led them over to say goodnight to Cassie and Jake.

As they exited the house, she placed her palm in front of him. “Keys, please.” He handed them over without question, knowing he wasn’t in any shape to drive.

“Did you drink anything at all tonight?” He studied her, but couldn’t see the effects of any alcohol.

She shook her head. “Not really. I had a sip of the champagne before we left and then half a glass of wine while we were out. Cold medicine and alcohol aren’t a very good mix.”

“That’s right. I didn’t even think of that. How are you feeling?”

She pressed a hand up against her chest like maybe it hurt, but she waved him off. “I’m fine. It’s just late and I’m tired. But I need to head over to the venue and see how it looks in the dark to double-check it’s all okay for the wedding tomorrow night. If you don’t want to go, I could take you home first, but it’d be easier to do on the way.”

“No, that’s fine. I’d like to see it.”

West Texas was a surprising hub for wineries in the country and they were taking advantage of the fact for the wedding. The vineyard was about five miles out of town.

Chris enjoyed being able to watch Julie by the glow of the dash as she drove his truck.

When they arrived, all was quiet. “How are we going to get in?” He looked around the empty parking lot.

“I have the key. I arranged it with them earlier this week because I knew I’d need to check out the set-up after dark.”

“So what’s so special that you couldn’t see it during the day?”

“You’ll see. Come on.”

Julie left Chris outside the door, while she went in and prepared whatever they were supposed to see. He leaned back against the wall and looked up at the stars glowing brightly in the sky. There’d been a time this past year when he didn’t think he’d ever see these stars again. A year ago tomorrow was when his jet had crashed. He’d honestly never thought he’d see West Texas or his family or Julie again. Gratitude swelled in his chest.

“What are you thinking about?” Julie’s soft, husky voice brushed over him in the dark. He hadn’t heard her come back out the door.

He gazed into her eyes reflecting the starlight from above. “Just about how lucky that I am to be here. I didn’t think I’d make it back.” He touched her cheek softly. “I thought I’d broken my promise to you and I almost missed all of this.” They’d never discussed that promise or that day since he’d come back. Everything had changed too much to go there.

He could see the tears well up in her eyes. It wasn’t fair to do this to her when she was still grieving over Aaron’s death, but he couldn’t resist the pull anymore. “I’m so sorry I broke my promise to you, Butterfly.” Gently he brushed his lips against hers. It was the lightest of kisses and he respected her too much to do anymore. “I’m so damn sorry.” He brushed his lips up against her hot temple and she shuddered. He drew his head back from hers with a frown. “You’re running a fever.”

She nodded her head. His stomach dropped. Not shudders of desire—she was shivering because she was sick. God, he was even lower than low. She was in love and mourning another guy, sick with a fever and he was out here in the dark, mauling her.

He wrapped an arm around her to share his warmth with her. “Come on. Let’s go see this room, so you can get home to get some rest.”

He started to push her into the building, but she stopped him. “I’m so glad you’re here.” Her voice had become more hoarse over the course of the evening. “It means so much to Cassie and Jake that you’re here for this.”

His heart sank. She was thankful he’d survived so that he could be here for Cassie and Jake, not for her own sake. That hurt. He knew she’d moved on, but that still hit him like a blow to the gut. He knew she didn’t mean it that way so he worked to keep his face neutral and to regulate his voice. “Let’s go see the magic.”

Even with the hurt spinning through his system, he couldn’t withhold the gasp as he entered the building. Somehow, someway, Julie had managed to recreate the sparkling sky from outside within. The entire room was canopied by twinkling lights and a sheer fabric that made the lights look like starlight in the clouds. As a guy he didn’t usually notice these types of things, but even he could see how magical and romantic the transformation made the room.

He spun back toward her. “Has Cassie seen this yet?”

She bit her lip and shook her head. “Do you think she’ll like it?” The tentative look in her eye melted his heart.

“You’ve outdone yourself. She’s absolutely going to love this. Wow.” He spun to look around the room again. “Julie, this is amazing.”

“It will look better tomorrow night with all the candles lit, but yeah, I think it works, doesn’t it?”

He could see them all now. Candles covered every available surface in the room. The large room was divided into three areas for the intimate wedding. There was an area for the wedding ceremony, tables for the reception, and then a dance area and bar for after the reception. Everything was covered with the same gauzy material that was woven within the lights and exposed metal beams on the ceiling.

The vineyard building was an industrial building with a vibrant green ceiling, but it kept a warm feeling because the walls were variations and textures of dark brown. All the candles were shades of green to complement the ceiling and the colors Cassie chose for the wedding. He could see just how stunning the entire effect would be tomorrow night.

“It more than works. You’ve done such an amazing job with this. It’s truly fantastic.”

“Hopefully, Cassie and Jake agree. I want everything to be perfect for them tomorrow.”

The silent Sunday morning was shattered by the annoyingly shrill beep of her alarm clock. As Julie rolled over to turn it off, her lungs seized up and she began to cough. The horrible hacking movement of her lungs literally hurt. Oh God. She couldn’t deal with this today. She just had to make it through one more day and then she could spend the rest of the week in bed. The coughing continued as she struggled to pull herself out of bed. Sliding out from beneath the covers, a shiver racked her. Yep, damn, the fever was still there, too. She had a feeling she was going to have to go in for some antibiotics soon.

Stumbling into the kitchen, she filled a glass of water, and began popping the various cold medicines scattered over the counter. The goal was to make it through this day, no matter what it took. Everything from her waist up hurt, but especially her chest which seemed determined to seize up and cough. Hoping some hot tea might help, she filled her old battered tea kettle with water and set it back on the stove to heat.

After that, she slumped down into one of the bar stools at the breakfast bar. Her bed called for her, but there was just too much to do. Opening the binder, she began to work on her lists for the wedding.

* * *

Two hours later, Julie peered critically into the mirror. They had a makeup and hair team coming to make up all the girls at Cassie’s, but there was no way that she could have shown up there looking like death warmed over. So Julie had created a heavy base coat of concealer, base, and blush, just hoping that Penelope and Cassie would be too caught up in the excitement of the day to notice.

They didn’t need to know just how sick she was. In fact, that was her plan for dealing with everyone today. She’d stay on periphery, get things done, and away from other people, most
especially Chris or Pete. They both knew how sick she’d been this week, so they’d be watching her for weakness. She couldn’t show any. Not today. She was in control. She could do this. Just a few more hours and then she could sink back into the comforting embrace of her bed.

Cassie deserved to have everything perfect for this day. To that end, a team had been sent to her house early this morning to pamper her.

Besides, she didn’t want to expose them to any more germs than she already had. Penelope certainly didn’t need to get sick with her pregnancy and Cassie was headed out on her honeymoon. Hopefully neither one of them had picked up her cold last night. She’d tried to breathe away from them all night.

As she walked back into her kitchen, she glanced out the window to Chris’s door. She recalled last night. That light kiss. Longing spread throughout her soul, so strong she wanted to crouch down on the floor from the weight of it. Watching him in the moonlight had been heaven, even with as sick as she was.

Could they have a future together? She wanted to hope, but as long as there were still secrets, that wouldn’t be fair to him. But it seemed wrong to tell him about Nugget. He’d lost so much already.

She shook her head. She couldn’t think about that right now. She needed to concentrate on other things. Gathering up her lists and cell phone, she began the phone calls to make sure that everything was on schedule for today, checking off items as she went.

* * *

Chris peered at his cell phone screen in surprise before he answered. “Hey, Cassie. I figured you’d be crazy busy in the midst of wedding preparation.”

“Well, normally I would be, but my wedding planner has abandoned me for the day and refuses to answer her phone. She’ll only text me. Can you look over at Julie’s and see if it looks like she’s there?”

Chris frowned in concern, as he headed toward his front door. “She’s been really sick. Have you talked to her at all today?”

“No, and that’s why I’m worried. I’ve received a ton of texts, but she says she’s too busy to talk on the phone.”

“Her car’s here,” Chris said as he crossed the sidewalks leading to her front door. “Let me go see if she’ll answer the door for me.” Chris knocked on Julie’s door and as he waited, he asked Cassie, “Are you feeling okay about everything else? Are you doing okay? Are you ready for tonight?”

Cassie laughed. “Yes, yes, and God, yes! I am so ready to be Mrs. Jake Madsen. I love him so much, Chris.”

“I know you do. Everything’s going to be perfect.”

“It will be as soon as I know that everything’s okay with Julie.” The strain in her voice showed her worry.

He frowned at the door. She had to be here, but she wasn’t answering his knock. He tried again. Finally he heard the chain lock disengage. “Cass, she’s opening the door right now.”

As she opened the door, her eyes widened in shock, but she quickly recovered as she took in his appearance and the fact he was on his cell phone. Chris didn’t think that it was possible for Julie to look worse than she had earlier in the week. He was wrong.

“Is that Cassie?” Julie whispered, her voice little more than a hoarse croak.

He nodded. “She’s worried about you.”

“Tell her I’m fine. My voice is just shot and I don’t want to expose her and Penelope to my germs any more than I have to.” She closed her eyes for a moment and he cupped a hand under her elbow to steady her as she swayed on her feet.

“Cass, I’m looking at Julie right now.” He knew that Julie didn’t want anyone to know how sick she was, so he started to cover for her as he propelled her back toward her sofa. “Her voice sounds pretty ragged from her cold and I’m sure that’s why she hasn’t talked to you all day. She doesn’t want to worry you and I’m sure she’s trying to save her voice for tonight.”