Playing for Keeps (31 page)

She laughed through her tears. “You never could carry a grudge.”

“That’s because you did it well enough for all of us.”

Chloe stepped through the door. “Oh hell. You guys have gone sappy on me.” But then she launched herself on the bed and joined the love.

We were all laughing, tangled in the sheets, when Pete walked in. “Not all guys can say they’ve had three women in their bed at one time.”

I threw a pillow at him.

He caught it, laughing. “Coffee’s ready.”

“Hot damn. A man who makes you coffee in the morning.” Chloe jumped up and ran after him. “Hey, Pete, you’ve dated both my sisters. When is it my turn?”

Nell and I rolled our eyes. “We better go out there and rescue your man,” my sister said.

I took her hand. “Then we have a wedding to get ready for.”

She beamed through her tears. “Yes, we do.”

Chloe elbowed Nell aside. “Move your big ass over so the rest of us can have a turn in front of the mirror.”

Nell shoved back. “It’s
my
goddamn wedding. I’m the one that’s supposed to look beautiful. You’re just filler.”

Clo scowled. I knew she’d have grabbed Nell in a headlock, but Nell already had her hair done and Clo had too much respect for good hair to mess with it. “I’m the fricking frosting on the cake. You think everyone is going to be focused on you, but you’ve got it wrong. I’m outshining you, sister.”

I rolled my eyes. Whatever. I just needed to concentrate on my mascara. One swipe. Two. Crap. I smeared a little.

Our bathroom was crowded with the three of us crammed in there, but I wouldn’t have changed it for the world. Even as I bumped into Nell trying to get closer to the mirror, I was glad I was there with my two sisters.

Chloe grabbed the wand out of my hand. “Here. That’s not how you do it. Look at me. Jeez, Gracie. What did you do with the eye shadow? Apply it with a paint brush?” She shook her head. “Wash it all off. I’ll do your makeup.”

Nell chuckled evilly. “Now you’re in for it, Gracie.”

I groaned but, really, I was in sisterly euphoria. Today they could torture me however they liked and I’d endure it with a huge smile.

Chloe pushed me down on the toilet seat and tipped my chin up. She began redoing my makeup. I tried to sit still and let her do her thing. I finally had to at least say something. “Don’t put too much on.”

“You’re in no position to make demands on me now,” she said absently, brushing stuff all over my face.

Nell smirked. “Remember that time Gracie dressed you up as Raggedy Ann for Halloween?”

Chloe’s head perked up and her brow furrowed. “Oh, yeah. I wanted to be Jem.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “I was humiliated.”

“That was over sixteen years ago,” I pointed out.

“Payback’s a bitch.” She attacked my face with renewed fervor.

I have to give myself credit. I didn’t bat an eyelash. I sat there calmly and let her do her thing. Every now and then, Nell would glance over and frown, which made my heart speed up in fear, but she didn’t say anything.

Finally, Chloe stepped back and eyed me critically. She nodded. “Done.”

For a brief second I debated just not looking in the mirror. Better not to know sometimes. But that wasn’t me, so I turned.

“Holy crap.” I leaned closer. “Is that me?”

“Amazing what makeup applied properly can do, huh?” Chloe grinned. “Damn, I’m good.”

“Come on.” Nell herded us out into my bedroom. “We need to get dressed and go. We’re getting late.”

I glanced one last time at my reflection. Amazing. My eyes looked huge, my lips looked pouty, and I had cheekbones. “But my lashes look luxurious.”

Nell rolled her eyes. “Out.”

Chloe was already getting into her dress. I felt a twinge of protectiveness. She looked grown up and womanly. Letting go of my baby sister was hard. I took a deep breath and exhaled. “Chloe, you look beautiful.”

“I know.” She twirled. “Brian’s going to melt in a puddle at my feet.”

She was right. The poor guy didn’t stand a chance.

Nell was busy putting on her lingerie so I decided to slip into my dress too. I ran over the few things I had to check on before the ceremony. Mostly, I wanted to make sure the caterer didn’t have any questions, and that there actually
was
an officiant.

Fawn left a message for me the night before that Leif tracked down someone to perform the service. My first impulse was to yell
No!
but at this point I couldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. So I focused on being grateful he’d found someone. How hard could it be? He just had to read a few lines. Foolproof, right?

Yeah, right.

“Oh my God, Gracie.”

Startled by Nell’s gasp, I looked up. “What is it?”

She and Chloe stood there gaping at me. I looked down, wondering if I’d gotten any chocolate on my dress (I’d needed to calm my nerves earlier).

Nell pointed. “You—you—”

Chloe said it in her succinct way. “You look fricking fantastic. The dress gives you boobs.”

I faced the mirror and studied myself from a couple angles.

“Pete’s going to flip. He won’t be able to keep his hands off you.” Chloe frowned. “I wish I were tall like you. And thin. Don’t you wish you had shoulders and arms like hers, Nell? All lean and stuff?”

“I wish I had someone to help me into my dress.” She eyed the white gown hanging from the closet door. “Do I put it on the floor and jump in, or do I slip it over my head?”

“Not over your head.” Chloe shuddered dramatically. “It’ll mess up your do.”

We managed to get her into it without making her hair disheveled or getting makeup on the pure white fabric. Chloe arranged the layers of tulle while I laced up the back. Then the three of us faced the mirror.

None of us said anything. I tried, but I was all choked up. Nell looked just like Mom did in her wedding pictures.

Chloe finally spoke up. “Damn, Nell. You’re making me misty eyed.”

We chuckled and were hugging each other when the door opened and Daddy barged in.

“What’s the hold up? We have to get—” He froze, and I swore I saw film of moisture in his eyes.

He cleared his throat. “You girls look so”—he struggled for a word but settled on—“beautiful. Your mother would have been so proud.”

“She
is
proud,” Nell said confidently. “And she’s happy for you too.”

He scuffed the carpet with his shoe. He stared at me, daring me to say something to the contrary.

Oh, I wanted to. I pursed my lips, but I couldn’t. Mom
would
be happy. I may still be pissed that he hid Clarice from me, but I couldn’t deny that she was great.

Not to mention good for him. He looked spiffy. He wore a three-button tux with a simple, but expensive looking, white shirt. His gold tie was a close match for our bridesmaid dresses.

“You clean up well,” I said.

His stance slowly melted and he smiled at me. Then he pulled me into his arms and hugged me tight.

My eyes welled up, but the thought of Chloe having to fix my makeup dried me right up. I kissed his cheek. “I love you, Daddy.”

He patted my back, cleared his throat again, and pulled back. “We’ve got to get going.”

“Right on.” Chloe surveyed herself one more time and sauntered out. “I’ve got shotgun.”

I rolled my eyes. Some things never change.

We all piled into the limo we’d rented and got to the Pavilion in record time. Chloe hustled Nell to the waiting area. Clarice took Daddy to join the guests, which was a good thing because he had a case of nerves. I went to check on the caterer.

I looked over the tables in the reception hall. Sarah did a wonderful job with the flowers. We opted to have Fall-colored Gerbera daisies floating in shallow bowls of water. She’d arranged the tall vases for the biggest visual impact when you walked in. Perfect.

The catering crew seemed to have everything under control. I spied Damon walking toward me so I smiled. “It all looks—”

“We have a problem.”

I noticed the frown on his face, and a knot formed instantaneously in my stomach. “Oh no.”

“It’s not irreparable though.” He took my arm. He escorted me through the swinging doors to the kitchen.

The kitchen crew was gathered around a table. One guy in a tall white hat was shaking his head and tsking. A couple women were snickering behind their hands.

I realized Damon was still talking to me. “—can’t believe this happened. I double checked everything, but somehow there was a mix up…” He shook his head and drew me close to the table.

On it was a cake. It wasn’t the wedding cake I’d picked out.

“Where’s our cake?” I looked around.

“This
is
your cake.”

I leveled him a look. “What?”

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his weary face. “Somehow my baker got the order mixed up. I didn’t realize it until we unpacked it here. I thought we could substitute it with something else, but there’s nothing prepared.”

Okay. It probably wasn’t as bad as I thought at first glance. I looked down at it again.

Okay, maybe it was.

It was as long as two sheet cakes and twice as wide. With the bulbous head and the round balls at the base, there was no mistaking what it was. To top it all off, it was flesh-colored.

I squinted at it, wondering if we could pass it off as something else.

No way.

“At least it’s big enough to serve everyone.” I leaned down for a closer look. “Those
are
chocolate shavings on the balls, right?”

Damon covered his eyes and groaned. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know how this happened. You have every right to be upset with me—”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it.” I patted his arm. “How many weddings serve an enormous penis cake with
Shoot for the Stars
written up its length? People are going to remember this one.”

He groaned again.

“Really. It’s okay.” I grinned. “Actually, it’s fitting in a weird way.”

I spent another fifteen minutes reassuring him and then went to see what else had gone awry.

Surprisingly, everything was under control. The DJ was in place, people were arriving, and Leif’s friend, the acting officiant, was in place. I was surprised to see him dressed conservatively and not in tie-dye. I was almost disappointed.

It was almost time to begin, so I went to the waiting room to make sure Nell wasn’t freaking out.

I ran into Clarice on the way. “Where’s Daddy? It’s almost time to start.”

“He’s with Nell and Chloe.” Clarice looked me over and nodded. “You look absolutely lovely. Pete will swallow his tongue.” She gave me a knowing wink and patted my arm. “I’ll go take my seat.”

Yeah, Clarice wasn’t all that bad actually.

I found Daddy pacing. Nell, who I’d expected to be beside herself, stood in the middle of the room, glowing in happiness.

Chloe tossed me my bouquet. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

I smiled at Nell. “Ready?”

“Let’s do this.” She held her hand out. “Daddy?”

He must have gotten over his pre-battle jitters because suddenly he was completely calm and focused. “Let’s roll out.”

Chloe and I signaled that we were ready, and the music started. We waited for our cue, Chloe bouncing back and forth on her toes. Then it came. She gave me a cheeky grin and moved out.

I watched her glide down the aisle. Brian’s eyes locked on her. I recognized that look—it was the way Pete looked at me. I wondered when we’d be walking down the aisle for her wedding.

I took a deep breath and followed her. All eyes turned to me, which made me want to fidget, but I focused on Pete and walked toward him.

I could read everything in his eyes—love, desire, and awe. I grinned wickedly. Clarice was right.

Reaching my place at the altar, I turned around to watch Nell.

The music changed and the traditional march began. Nell and Daddy appeared and the guests let out a collective gasp, that was how beautiful Nell looked.

She floated down the aisle to Riley’s side. They had eyes only for each other. My eyes flooded again.

The officiant (I’d never gotten his name) cleared his throat and began. “Friends, Romans, countrymen, we’ve gathered here to witness these two people”—he gestured loosely with his hand—“Penelope Connors and River Neill hook up for life.

“If anyone opposes this union, now’s the time to say so.” He glared at the audience. “Do it at your own risk.”

No one dared make a peep, and he nodded in grim satisfaction. “Then let’s get on with it.”

He looked sternly at Riley. “River, I’ve known you since you were a little tyke. If you say you want this woman, then I know you do.”

He turned to Nell and frowned. “I love this boy like my own. You up to cherishing him for life?”

“I do,” Nell said surely.

“Even if it means your name will be Nell Neill?”

I tried to keep my lips from twitching, which was hard with Chloe snickering next to me.

Nell just grinned. “Damn straight.”

The man grinned. “Right on. You two got rings?”

Pete and I handed Riley and Nell the rings.

“The rings are a symbol of your union, bound before all these people and God, Allah, Buddha, or whoever else you choose to believe in.” He held up his hand. “Don’t want to get into a religious debate here and now. Just exchange the rings.”

Riley slipped Nell’s ring on her finger, lifting her hand and kissing it. Nell did the same, her eyes never wavering from his.

I looked up and found Pete watching me. I cocked an eyebrow and smiled.

“Done!” The man slammed his book shut, making half the audience jump. “I present to you River and Nell Neill.” He shook his head and murmured to Nell, “I’d rethink taking his last name if I were you.”

Nell laughed joyously, grabbed Riley, and kissed him so hard his ears turned red.

Music started up again. Nell and Riley walked up the aisle, grinning like fools. Pete took my hand and we followed.

“So what do you say?” I whispered in his ear.

He gazed at me. In his eyes, I read hesitation mixed with hope that I meant what he thought I did.