The Wedding She Always Wanted (9 page)

Forget bending—she would have liked to burn the whole thing, but she might as well return her childhood photos to the albums her parents kept in the study. She’d decide later what to do with the few pictures Todd had provided.

After tossing those aside, Emily arranged her own photos in chronological order. As she slid stolen moments of her life back into place, she recalled when the photographs were taken. A dinner party at the governor’s mansion. A family ski trip. A ballet recital. She remembered the events, but looking at the photos was like seeing paper-doll versions of herself, each new outfit representing a different aspect of her life. Social Life Emily…Sporty Emily…Dancer Emily…

But who was beneath the interchangeable wardrobes? Who was she inside?

She turned over another picture and gave a surprised laugh. “Aileen,” she murmured. Undoubtedly, her sister had slipped the photo of Emily as a naked, diaper-waving toddler into the bunch.

“Well, there we have it. My true calling. I’m meant to be a stripper,” Emily said wryly. “My parents will be so proud.” She flipped the album page to slide the photo back in place but stopped short when she saw a picture of her aunt Olivia.

Kelsey’s mother had left home when Emily was only three. She had no memories of her father’s rebellious younger sister, but she’d heard the whispers all her life of how much she looked like her aunt. As she scrutinized Olivia’s picture, Emily could certainly see the resemblance in the blond hair, blue eyes and similar features.

But beyond superficial details, Emily couldn’t imagine someone more different. Olivia had defied her father, choosing the man she loved over the family fortune. Unfortunately for Olivia, the man she loved hadn’t done the same. Donnie Mardell, Kelsey’s father, had taken the money Olivia’s father offered and had left town. Olivia could have come home, tail tucked between her legs, but she hadn’t. Instead, she’d struck out on her own, making a life for herself and Kelsey.

Tracing a finger over her aunt’s image, Emily could only think for all their outward similarities, inside…

“We’re so different,” she whispered. Like the cicadas that shed their skins along the fence that lined her family’s property, outwardly the shell looked exactly the same, but inside it was hollow and empty. She felt hollow and empty.

A feeling that would only get worse if she didn’t at least try…

After putting away the albums, Emily raced down the hall. Once she reached her bedroom, she pulled her cell phone and Anna’s card from her purse. Dialing the number, she waited im
patiently for the other woman to answer. Anna barely had the chance to say hello before Emily said, “Anna, it’s Emily Wilson.”

“Emily! We were just getting ready to call you.”

“We?”

“I’m at the restaurant with Javy.”

“Oh.” Emily fought the temptation to ask to speak with him. Just hearing his voice would go a long way toward bolstering her confidence, but this decision couldn’t be about Javy any more than it could be about her parents. Exchanging one crutch for another wouldn’t help her to stand on her own. “Well, I’m calling to make an offer on the house.”

Emily was expecting an excited response from the other woman, and Anna’s hesitation had her hopes dropping to the pit of her stomach. “Emily, someone else has made an offer.”

Sinking onto her bed, Emily said, “So, that’s it. I’ve lost my chance.”

She’d let her fears and insecurities rob her of her dream. There were other houses, but she would always be left to wonder
what if?
And the similarities between the house and her possible relationship with Javy certainly weren’t lost on Emily.

So sure she’d already missed out, Anna’s next words didn’t immediately register. “No, no, it’s not too late. Or at least, it might not be. The seller hasn’t accepted the offer yet. Their agent knows you are interested, and I think they’re hoping you’ll make a better offer.”

It was on the tip of Emily’s tongue to ask Anna what she should do, but instead she stayed silent. Certainly, she had the means to offer above the seller’s asking price, pretty much guaranteeing the house would be hers. But no one needed to tell her that wasn’t good business sense.

Taking a deep breath, she said, “I want to make an offer of ten percent less than the asking price, like we originally discussed.”

After making plans to meet Anna at the restaurant to finalize the paperwork for the offer, Emily snapped her phone shut and grabbed her purse. Her heart pounding in anticipation, she only hoped she wasn’t too late to have the house she wanted…or to have the man she was wanting more and more.

J
avy knew the instant Emily walked into the restaurant. The noise level of work around him gradually dropped off. Conversations trailed away, the scrape of the shovel against concrete as Tommy scooped up and dumped the broken tile into a trash barrel faded, and finally the pounding of Alex’s hammer ceased. For a split second, Javy’s ears rang with the silence. After hours of chipping away at the tile, a cacophony reminiscent of dozens of plates shattering over and over again, quiet was a blessed relief.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Emily standing amid the chaos and destruction. One look, and he could certainly understand why all work in the restaurant had come to a stop. One look, and it felt like everything had come to a stop inside him: his heart, his breath, his capacity for rational thought.

Alex recovered first, jumping to his feet and pushing the safety glasses to the top of his head. “Morning. The
restaurant’s closed right now, but we’re having a grand reopening next Saturday if you’d like to come back—”

Emily’s gaze shifted to Javy. “It’s okay,” he said as he slowly stood. “Emily’s here to see Anna.”

It had been his cousin’s idea for Emily to come to the restaurant. Anna had given a long-winded excuse about saving herself a trip, since she wanted to stop by an open house not far away. Javy hadn’t bought it at the time, and the story had lost all credibility when Anna suddenly realized she didn’t have all the necessary paperwork and had to run back to her office, anyway.

Oh, but no need to call Emily, since she was already on her way.

His cousin was about as subtle as her paint swatches.

“So, where is Anna?” Emily asked, her smile a little too bright, but not enough to blind him from seeing the flicker of hurt in her eyes from the way he’d brushed off her arrival.

Biting back a curse, he explained his cousin’s absence. “She’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Time, Anna clearly thought, he should use to talk to Emily, but for the first time since they’d met, an uncomfortable silence fell between them. He didn’t want to consider that Emily could be anything like Stephanie, but the lightning speed of her flip-flopping decisions was reminiscent of his ex. Stephanie had sworn she wanted him and would wait for him—right up to the day she didn’t.

“You must be happy with all the progress you’ve made,” Emily said finally. “And you’re having the reopening next weekend?”

Gradually becoming aware that work around them had started up again, Javy led her away from the dining room and around the corner to the bar area.

“I’m thinking Saturday night. That’ll give us an extra day in case Alex’s timetable is off a little.”

“You’ll get it done,” Emily said. The confidence she showed in him was almost as tempting as the attraction he’d felt from the start. But could he really trust any of it?

“You know, I really thought you’d make an offer on the house when you met with Anna yesterday,” he said bluntly.

Emily’s hands tightened on her purse strap. “I know. And I wanted to. I really did. But it’s like I told you the night of Connor and Kelsey’s wedding…world’s biggest coward.”

Disappointment clouded Emily’s expression, instantly dousing his distrust. Anna was wrong. So was he for listening to his cousin and letting doubts get the best of him. Emily was nothing like his ex-girlfriend. Yes, she’d suffered a moment’s uncertainty, but she hadn’t completely changed her mind, hadn’t thrown all her plans away the minute she ran into a challenge.

“And like I told
you
,” he reminded her, “I think you’re the bravest woman I’ve ever met.”

“And I still think you’re wrong.”

“But you’re making an offer on the house, right?”

“Right.”

“So whatever happened yesterday doesn’t matter. Today matters, and today you’re taking a big step. I’m proud of you.”

Emily blinked, and her smile trembled slightly, perfection giving way to genuine emotion. “Thank you. I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

“Now who’s being nice? A woman as beautiful as you are must hear compliments every day of her life.”

Emily shrugged. “I suppose. But that’s just the outside. It doesn’t have anything to do with the real me, who I am inside. Even from the start, though, you saw more than that. You see the person I want to be—a woman who
is
brave enough to go after what she wants.”

Javy shook his head, uncomfortable with the credit. “That
had nothing to do with me. It’s all about you, Emily. All about who you are inside.”

“Think so?”

“Know so,” he answered, watching her step closer, the confident, sexy spark in her turquoise eyes making her so much more than beautiful on the outside. And if he hadn’t been turned on before, there was no question that his pulse started pounding out a salsa beat when she stopped a breath away.

He reached up to urge her closer but stopped when he caught sight of the grimy sweatband on his forearm and the streaks of dirt marking his hand. How could he have forgotten that he’d spent the morning doing backbreaking labor? He’d never been afraid of hard work or of getting dirty, but he took pride in looking his best and doing his best to impress the woman he was interested in. He enjoyed the pursuit and all the trappings that went along with a seduction—flowers, wine, romance….

Nothing about the restaurant, with its haze of dust, dank-smelling air, and symphony of destruction coming from the other room, held even a hint of romance. And neither did he. “I’m a mess,” he argued, taking a quick step back.

Emily immediately countered. “I don’t care.”

“I do,” he insisted. He knew she was accustomed to only the best. And while he had enough of an ego to handle dating a woman as beautiful and elegant as Emily, he also had enough class to refrain from touching her when he was dirty, sweaty and…

“I don’t care,” Emily repeated, her eyes steady on his as she leaned closer.

At the first brush of her lips against his, Javy’s hands clenched into fists. Every muscle in his body screamed to reach out, drag Emily into his arms and crush her soft curves against him, but he fought back the urge.

This was her dance and her chance to lead, even if it killed
him to be the one to follow. And as she kissed him again and again, he thought it just might.

The only point of contact was still the catch and release of her lips against his, but Emily pulled him deeper and deeper until he wasn’t sure what turned him on more—everything her kiss gave…or everything it held back.

The sound of a voice clearing loudly a few feet away broke the moment, which would have gone on forever if Javy had had his way, and he pulled his gaze from Emily’s passion-filled eyes and damp lips to meet Anna’s smug smile.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Anna interrupted, sounding anything but sorry, “but don’t start the celebration too early. We still have to make our offer.”

“Okay, that’s it,” Anna said as Emily signed the last page.

They had moved into the restaurant’s crowded office. After stacking the pages together, Anna slid them into the fax machine and sent them off with a push of a button.

“Thank you again for your help, and I’m sorry about yesterday,” Emily replied. “I truly had planned to make an offer when I met with you at the house but—”

“Hey, no need to apologize. It’s a big decision, and I have parents, too, you know. And brothers and sisters. Aunts, uncles, cousins…” Anna let her last word trailed off with an expectant lift to her eyebrows.

When Emily didn’t take the bait, Anna leaned against the beat-up desk that housed the fax machine, phone, computer, and a dozen or so photos of the Delgado family. With its warm colors and casual feel, the office blended in perfectly with the rest of the restaurant. But the office had a few masculine hints—an Arizona Cardinals coffee cup, a baseball cap, hung on the inside door handle, and a calendar showcasing muscle cars—telling Emily this was Javy’s space.

Emily expected a not-so-subtle interrogation about her relationship with Javy and the kiss Anna had walked in on, but the next comment caught her off guard.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop when you were talking to your parents the other day, but I heard you say that you’ll need to get rid of some things when you move. If you’re interested, my mother volunteers for a charity that collects clothes for women trying to get back on their feet after leaving abusive relationships. It’s a good cause, and they’d be thrilled with anything you’re looking to give away.”

“That sounds great. But what if my offer isn’t accepted?” Emily hated to think of losing the town house, but she had to face the possibility.

“First, I have a really good feeling about your offer. And second, am I your Realtor, or am I not your Realtor?”

“Um, you’re my Realtor?”

“Exactly. And I
will
find you a house,” Anna vowed.

Emily smiled at the woman’s certainty. And hanging on to a huge closet full of clothes suddenly seemed too much like clinging to the past. It was time to let go, and she had little reason to hold on to dozens of outfits that wouldn’t fit in her new house or new life.

“Why don’t you have your mother call me?” Emily suggested. “There’s no sense in moving a closet full of clothes I won’t have room to store.”

“Perfect! My mother will be ecstatic.”

“At least
one
of our mothers will be,” Emily said wryly.

Anna pointed a confident finger Emily’s way. “Your parents will come around. Right now they see you as their little girl, someone to protect and take care of. But with the changes you’re making, they’ll have no choice but to see the new you.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I am, you’ll see. It’s like I keep telling Javy. Until he
makes some changes, Maria will still see him as an irresponsible kid.”

“Irresponsible!” Emily echoed, indignation for Javy’s sake shooting like sparks through her system. “How could she possibly think that?” She waved an arm toward the sound of hard work still going on in the dining area. “After the way he has coordinated the repairs and made sure some of the staff are still able to work right now? That doesn’t sound like an irresponsible kid to me.”

A small smile tugged at Anna’s lips as she listened to Emily’s vehement defense. “It’s not the way Javy works that’s the problem. It’s the way he…” She caught herself mid-comment, censoring what Emily knew would have been a remark about the way her cousin played and his carousel of women. “But none of that matters now,” Anna added with enough certainty to jump-start a tiny flicker of hope deep inside Emily’s chest, one that Emily instantly squashed.

She was not going to set herself up for a fall. She refused to believe in the impossible simply because she wanted it to be true. Javy was all about having fun and enjoying a good time while it lasted, and Emily refused to hope for more.

Like so many of Javy’s other women, she was only along for the ride.

Javy didn’t think he’d ever take blessed silence or manual labor for granted again. After two full days of pounding, chipping, scraping and hauling away tile, thinset and grout, he didn’t think he would ever get the cacophony of sounds out his head. Forget about getting the dust and dirt out of his pores. He’d give just about anything for a hot tub and a cold beer.

A hot tub, a cold beer and Emily would pretty much be a dream come true.

She’d left after signing the offer on the town house, with
the promise to call as soon as she heard anything from his cousin. But long after she’d gone, long after it was possible, the smell of her skin and the sweetness of her kiss tempted him. Despite the dust and grime and sweat, her fresh, clean floral scent stayed with him, and every drink of water he took was flavored with her taste.

“How about calling it a night?” he said to Tommy. The night manager had been at the restaurant since morning, and he was the last of the staff to remain. Even Alex had taken off an hour or so ago, wanting to check on a few of his ongoing jobs before he lost daylight.

“Are you sure?” Tommy wiped at the sweat on his forehead, revealing the only semiclean patch of skin on his entire face.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

True to Alex’s word, they had completed the dining-area tear out. All that remained was a final cleanup of shards of broken tile and dust littering the now exposed concrete floors.

“Go on home. I’ll finish up,” Javy insisted, even though it meant putting his idea of a cold beer on ice for a little longer.

After a quick nod, Tommy split from the restaurant so fast, the kid practically left in a cloud of dust.

“To be nineteen again,” Javy murmured, only to realize immediately that he wouldn’t want to relive that dark period of his life again for anything.

Not even for the energy of youth
, he thought as his muscles groaned in protest as he reached for the push broom leaning against the wall. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed before he looked up at a slight sound. Either his ears were still ringing or he was more tired than he thought, but he’d completely missed his mother’s arrival through the back door of the restaurant.

He’d known how impossible keeping Maria away would
be. Still, he’d hoped to spare Maria from seeing the place like this. Forcing a positive note into his voice, he said, “Alex and I got a lot done today. He says we’ll be ready by this weekend.”

Stock-still in the middle of the dining area, his mother looked around. “How?” she asked, disbelief written in her dark eyes.

“I know it looks bad,” he said, but as he looked around, all he could see was the hard work everyone had done—Alex, his crew, Tommy and the rest of the staff. “But with even more hard work, we’ll get it done, Mama.”

“But why tear up the dining room? The broken tile, it was only in the bathrooms and hall.”

“Because we wouldn’t have been able to find a match.”

“Your papa found that tile. He looked for weeks to find the perfect one.”

“Yeah, I know.” Just like Javy knew he could look forever and not find the perfect match. He’d already tried to explain about different dye lots, about the Saltillo’s finish aging over time, about manufacturers discontinuing styles.