Redeemed Hearts (Thoroughbred Men Series Book 3) (4 page)

Teri hoped she did not end up with blisters. She could understand why Millie insisted on the women practicing in their heels during the rehearsal. She wanted to make sure everyone walked smoothly down the aisle in front of her. Teri certainly did not want to be the one to land face first in petals in the church aisle.

She watched as the other women arrived, all carrying their heels and wearing flats. She smiled knowing they all felt the same way she did. They were just as uncomfortable. She was glad it was not a full dress rehearsal.

Teri watched as a group of men gathered around the front entrance of the church. They were all to be paired up today and do the full run-through once, maybe twice, to see if they needed to tweak or rearrange anything. Millie had asked her earlier, along with Danielle and Carla, if they had a preference or suggestions as to partners. She had none, as long as he wasn’t extremely short or weak. She was going to need someone with a strong arm to support her wobbly self in those damn shoes.

Millie clapped her hands loudly at the front of the church and when that didn’t interrupt the casual talk, Jacob gave a loud whistle. Millie smiled at him gratefully. “Thank you, Jacob. I need everyone to meet us outside of the chapel so we can pair up and get directions from the minister. There is a bit that we want to go over and we’ll get started and finish the evening with dinner. Thank you!” she said loudly and walked down the aisle to the back of the church to usher out everyone. “Shoes ladies! Please change so you can practice in them.” Several girls groaned and Millie chose to ignore them, exiting the church.

Teri felt like Bambi on stilts. She grasped a pew and almost rolled an ankle. She stepped carefully and made her way to the door eventually. She stepped outside and found that almost everyone had already been paired according to height.

As she stepped out, she heard Millie shout, “Teri, you’ll pair with Richard,” and looked to her side. She was almost as tall as he was in the stupid shoes. “I really hate high heels right now,” she ground out. Now, not only was she uncomfortable and out of her element, she was paired with a Casanova that turned her on like no other!

Teri had thought of him several times over the last few weeks. She wondered how he would have acted if she hadn’t had so much to drink the night of the party. She also wondered why he didn’t take advantage of her if he was as horrible a person as Danielle had implied.

Teri dealt with quite a bit of guilt and had confided in Carla that she was torn with guilt. Carla always seemed to know exactly what to say to her and helped alleviate some of the burden. She explained that Daniel would never have wanted her to be alone or suffer. He would have wanted her happy and to move on. Teri had visited his grave and cried for some time before going home and crying some more. She missed him and could barely remember his smile. She knew she should miss him. She did miss him, but she didn’t hurt quite as much-if at all. That bothered her.

Teri ran from her thoughts and came back to the group outside of the church. She gave a big shudder at the idea of her walking a lot in the heels. “C’mon over,” she waved at Richard, frustrated. “If you are going to usher me down the aisle in these, get to ‘ushing’ because I could seriously use some help,” she said with a wince as she did turn her foot this time. She reached out to him and ended up kicking off a shoe and stepping out of the other. She marched back inside barefoot and flopped down again in a pew to hide her bare feet.

Richard watched her in amusement. Get to “ushing”? That was a first for him. She could be quite a cranky, little piece of work apparently. She had snubbed him a few weeks ago without so much as an explanation and now was in a bad mood due to her footwear. He followed her in and sat in the pew behind her. “Are you okay this evening or having a few problems that you would like help with, Teri,” he said softly, leaning forward and admiring the graceful line of her neck.

Teri could feel his breath against her and it stirred something deep inside. She shut her eyes and prayed for strength. She turned quickly and whispered hotly, “I can’t walk in high heels, okay? I look like an idiot and I am going to make a fool of myself tomorrow. So I need your help to hold me up so I don’t fall over,” she said, embarrassed.

Richard smiled at her, gave her a peck on the cheek and walked off. She sat there stunned and mortified as she saw him walk toward Millicent. She watched as Millicent clapped her hands together happily and smiled at Teri, waving. Teri waved back half-heartedly, wondering what in the world was going on.

Richard walked over to Teri, picked up the heels from the bench beside her and held out his hand. “Come with me, twinkle toes. We are going to go hide for a bit,” he said with a warm smile. He took her hand and pulled her out of the pew before she could protest. “Wave to Millicent and smile. Jacob said she is really stressed and apparently has been crying a lot. He is pretty worried about her,” he said as they walked towards the back of the church together.

Teri waved dutifully at the bride and groom. She was curious as to what was going on and thankful to be away from everyone. She felt like a fool on display and felt like everyone was watching her. Richard’s hand burned through the back of her shirt where he placed it along the small of her back to guide her out of the main hall. Teri stepped into the reception hall and grew even more confused. “What are we doing? Setting up tables?” she asked curiously.

Richard smiled at her. “No, twinkle toes. I am going to teach you to walk in those and dance in those,” he said handing her the blue high heels. He watched as her mouth dropped open in surprise.

He placed a finger underneath her chin to close her open mouth. “I like taking your breath away and if teaching you to dance does it, so be it. I would rather take your breath away in another fashion…” he said suggestively. He smiled widely as her mouth clamped shut with a loud click of her teeth. Richard dropped down to his knees and slid the shoes on her feet. He stood and held out his hand. “C’mon, Sunshine, join me,” he said lightly.

Teri eyed him dubiously. Oh, he was smooth! She would give him that much and she could see exactly how he won over the ladies. All he had to do was look at them or talk dirty to them. They probably dropped right into his lap. She didn’t want to play games, she wanted the package deal. If he was toying with her, she wasn’t interested-unless it was by her rules alone. Teri took his forearm and pulled herself into a standing position. She tried to step forward and felt her feet give underneath her.

Richard held her still for a moment. “Don’t force it. Stand there for a bit until you get used to the displacement of your weight on the heels. When you can stand confidently, then we will move to walking,” he said calmly. He watched as she stood and caught herself several times before finally smiling up at him.

Teri was amazed that his suggestion worked. “How did you learn to do this? Did you ever dress in drag?” she asked half joking and half serious. How had a man learned to walk in heels and a woman had not?! She was surprised to see color creep into his cheeks. Was he blushing or angry?

Richard was taken aback. Did she really consider him in that light? “No, I have sisters that I grew up with. They used to think it was funny to dress me up as a kid, so yeah, I have worn heels before but they never looked as good as those look right now.” He watched a smile light across her face as she watched him. He really adored her smile and how she looked at him.

Teri was surprised that he confessed to being dolled up by his sisters when he was younger. She had no idea he had sisters, but then again, she had no idea who he was, initially, when she met him. Reputation preceded him. “Did your sisters and you grow up here in Pleasureville?” she asked.

Richard smiled and stepped back, holding out his hand. “Walk towards me slowly- and no, we did not. My family is from Paducah originally. Dad worked on a farm for quite some time and I went to Louisville for classes. There was an opening for firefighter and EMT out here, so I took it. I have been here about fifteen years,” he said lightly. “What about you? What do you do for a living? Did you grow up here?” he asked, changing tactics on her.

Teri frowned and concentrated on stepping forward. She took one slow step and blew her bangs out of her face. She took another small step and waved her arms wildly until she caught herself and stood on her own. “I grew up here. My folks are retired. I own my own company and do home and safety inspections. I work a lot with Millie and Danielle. We went to school together,” she said distractedly, concentrating on each step.

Richard watched the concentration on her face and smiled when she punctuated each word with a step. She was making progress but still looked like she was trying to walk with a stick up her bum. “Loosen up, twinkle toes. Stand strong, walk proudly. You aren’t going to fall. This can’t be any more difficult than tracing wiring or checking plumbing?” he asked, teasing her.

He was sincerely impressed that she was an inspector. You had to really know your stuff in several fields. Electrical, structural, plumbing and you were looking for any potential problems that could arise. He wondered if she had a crystal ball somewhere to help her out.

Teri struggled for a bit. “Quit calling me twinkle toes. It’s unnerving. Are you making fun of me?” she asked. She felt so strange in the heels and having him watch her with undivided attention was getting to her. She could feel her body starting to respond each time he smiled or touched her. She was wobbling her way around and he held her hand gently to steady her.

Richard laughed and pulled her to him. He grinned as Teri stumbled over to him and fell against his chest. He looked down at her and watched as her expression of frustration softened into something more. Her face looked so smooth and golden, her eyes so blue. He leaned down and kissed her gently, as not to scare her off. He could not help himself. He broke the kiss and held her tightly. “Let’s teach you to dance now, Sunshine,” he encouraged and moved to hold her hand in his.

Teri was unsure of what surprised her most: learning to walk in heels from him, the soft, tender kiss, or the fact that he broke it off when they were obviously alone and could slip away to do more. She liked this side of him, the considerate side. She appreciated the fact that he was not trying to pull moves on her.

After the bachelorette party, she had mentioned him to Danielle and Carla, both of whom did not have pleasant things to say. It was unsettling to her to know he had “been around the block with the ladies” according to them and that he was a “player”. She couldn’t put her finger on why exactly that bothered her, other than she did not want to be another notch on his bedpost and could easily see how that could happen. There was something magnetic that drew Teri to him like a moth to a flame. The problem was, she didn’t want to get burnt. She had been in love and lost. She didn’t know if she had it in her to put herself “out there” again.

Teri felt his warmth against her and shut her eyes to keep from falling into his gaze as he held her and guided her step by step into dancing. She seemed to be much smoother in her movements as he held her. She felt so tiny in his arms and could feel the calluses on his hands as they held her hands tenderly. She didn’t want to think about his hands or how he held her. Teri hitched her breath as she suddenly wondered how his hands would feel on her body.

Richard held her close, enjoying having her in his arms. He wondered at why her eyes remained shut, hiding the beautiful blue gems that first attracted him. He was amazed at the depth of desire she brought out in him. He wanted to care for her, not just have a few good times with her. She made him feel like he could do anything and it was empowering. He could feel his body stirring as he held hers closely to him. “Teri, open your eyes and look at me,” he whispered quietly, hating to break the silence.

Teri gazed up at him and felt herself slip away in his smile. She reached up and pulled his head down to kiss him unconsciously. She laced her free hand in the back of his hair and marveled at how soft it was as she held his lips to hers. She could feel his excitement grow against her and stepped back suddenly as if she had been scalded. She still held his hand and could not release it. Teri kicked off the shoes. “Thank you. I think I will be all right. I will practice some more later,” she stammered, suddenly shy. “Richard, let go of my hand,” she demanded softly.

Richard released her hand, surprised at the change in her. He ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated, and turned away. Closing his eyes, trying to get his body under control, he wondered what her problem was and how he could get through to her. He needed to talk to Jacob or Millie in order to see if they could shed some light on Teri for him.

Teri watched him turn away from her and felt torn. She didn’t want to hurt him, but was so scared of the attraction and tenderness he showed her. He brought up feelings and sensations that she had never experienced before and it terrified her. She gathered up the shoes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered and fled the room.

 
Richard heard her apologize to him. For what, he didn’t know. He turned and saw her run out of the reception hall, her bare feet padding along silently. He took a few minutes and sat down in a stray chair next to a stack of chairs that had not been put out yet. He put his head down in his hands and sighed. He did not know how to get through to her. She was an absolute mystery to him and he was entranced.

Millie charged into the hall, followed by Jacob, who was attempting to calm her down. Millie stopped abruptly at seeing Richard’s figure sitting in the chair and the expression on his face. “What did you say to her?” she asked, frustrated. She did not have time to play around. “If you two can’t get along, I can pair you with someone else,” she offered. “Or you could just suck it up and tolerate each other for two days so our wedding can go over peacefully,” she said hotly, finally snapping at the lack of response.

Richard looked up at her angry face and turned to Jacob. “I’m fine and I don’t want to be paired with anyone else. Can we talk for a few, Jacob?” he asked quietly. He didn’t figure he would be able to get a decent response out of Bridezilla in full form. “Millie, I apologize and I will be on my best behavior so the wedding will be perfect for you,” he said trying to keep the sarcastic tone out of his voice. He watched her walk off in a huff and turned to Jacob. “I’m at a loss, buddy. Can you tell me, what is the deal with Teri Jones? I try to be nice to her, she responds, and then she runs away. I try again and it’s the same thing,” he said, frustrated.