Tomorrow Will Be Too Late (35 page)

He looked tired, she thought. Tired and somehow subdued, the immaculate clothes and haircut doing a poor job
of disguising
the fact he must have slept little in the last days. Maybe a perfect explanation
existed
for it, a little diabolical voice in her head whispered
. She turned
to the gathering in search
of
the reason
for
his insomnia. Victoria didn’t seem to be
t
here, she realized after skimming the sea of
faces
, the immense relief she felt almost ironic. So what if she wasn’t
t
here? It didn’t prove anything beyond the fact
that
she
hadn’t accompanied
him to the wedding.

She looked back
at
his face and saw his mouth corners lift in a little smile. Ridiculously, it seemed he
had
read her mind and found it amusing.

Luckily
,
the priest started the ceremony, the ancient ritual making it impossible to remain distracted. She listened to her sister’s voice, loud and clear as she declared her love for Tom, not an ounce of doubt marring the strong, convinced words. And she listened to Tom’s vows, private and moving, a sound of crying from the pews making her think she wasn’t the only one fighting
back
tears. Most probably his mom, she had to think,
relieved that
the ceremony
had
arrive
d
at its smooth
finale without
an interruption or
the
drama she feared.

The newly pronounced
Mr.
and
Mrs.
Garrison faced the congregation, the
jubilant
Wedding March
resonating in the high
-
vaulted church
and adding to the happy moment. The sun shone through the colorful windows, bathing the interior in a rainbow of colors.

Kate found herself at Justin’s side, both of them walking in the procession following Alice and Tom.

‘You look very beautiful
.
’
H
is quiet voice made her look up, words drying up in her throat as she gazed into his eyes. She had expected coldness or contempt, or maybe both
. I
nstead
,
he looked at her with warmth that had no justification
based on
what
had
transpired between them before.

‘
You
don’t look too bad yourself
,
’ she answered, aiming for friendly but distant. She couldn’t afford to slip from her path,
she reminded herself sternly, the pain of their last conversation still too fresh to be forgotten.

‘Glad you approve,’ he
said with a grin
, unperturbed by her cool attitude. ‘
The
ceremony was very successful, don’t you agree? I was half
-
expecting Tom’s mother to rush to the altar and prevent
them
from exchanging rings, but luckily nothing happened.’

‘I guess she got over the fact he
’s a married man now
.
’
She
glanced
at
the new
Mrs.
Garrison, her
sister’s
radiant smile making
Kate
happy for her.

‘That’s good
.
’
He
smiled
at her, the tired expression on his face vanished.
She was surprised to see
his tight mouth relax and eyes lighten up to a brilliant shade of blue.
Impossibly
, their little chat seemed to have
had
a rather positive impact on his mood.

They reached the open door, the flood of sunshine forcing her to close her eyes momentarily, assaulted by the brilliant brightness. Her foot caught in one of the cracks in
the
stone slabs paving the interior of the church. She swayed trying to recapture her balance, only to find his hand reach
ing
out
to
hold her, the gesture as natural and simple as breathing. As if it
were
what he was meant to do in this world, she thought dazedly, the warmth of his fingers making it hard to think. Saving her and offering her his strong arm whenever she needed one
.

‘Would you mind
if we
share
d
a ride back to the house?’ he was asking now, his voice calm and smooth. Still, she
couldn’t
shake
her
unexplained sense
that
the innocence of his question
was
deceptive in
some
way.

‘Well,
’
she hesitated, not sure what to do. She caught sight of Sophie and her boyfriend chatting with another couple and heading together to the waiting limo.
Obviously her presence there wasn’t really welcome. She could explain to him she’d ride with her mom and stepdad, but they were already getting into the car to be shared with Tom’s parents. And to be honest, wasn’t this the expected arrangement
—t
he maid of honor and the best man, standing together at the altar and arriving together at the following party
?

‘All right
.
’
She
nodded reluctantly, aware that they
had
attracted enough looks to make her look silly if she bolted and disappeared like a frightened child. ‘
I
f you think it’s a good idea,’ she added, unable to pretend she enjoyed the fact they would be alone with nothing to say to each other.

‘I’m positive
.
’
He
seemed to have
difficulty
remain
ing
serious, she thought angrily, his beautiful mouth stretched in yet another grin. ‘
Come
on, the carriage awaits us.’

She watched him open the door to
a
sleek
black
car, the tinted glass making it impossible to look inside. He gestured for her to get in
to the front seat
, waiting politely until she settled in before walking around and taking the driver’s seat himself.

‘I just couldn’t see a
ny
sense in being driven around by a chauffeur
,
’ he explained, starting the engine and watching her with a slight smile. ‘I did compromise though, replacing my
usual
sporty toy with this blending
-
in dark horse.’

She had to laugh as he effortlessly wove his way through other cars, most of
them
bigger and more impressive.

‘So, how have you been?’ he asked conversationally, his eyes on the road. They could have been a couple of friends catching up after a break, not jaded lovers, she thought almost resentfully, envious of his
laid
-
back attitude.

‘Good
.’
She
nodded, eager to appear
as
unaffected by his presence as he was by hers. ‘You?’

‘
Splendid
.’
Blue eyes went to her face, suddenly serious. ‘
Actually
no, quite the opposite. Miserable would be an understatement. But I am working on fixing it right now
,
and once we’re home
,
I will explain to you exactly what I mean.’

‘Home?’
S
he stared at him open
-
mouthed, her eyes widening in shock. ‘
What
the hel
l are you talking about
,
Justin?’

‘
Take
a peek
.
’
Very
pleased with himself
,
he nodded to the window and she followed his gaze, her head turning obediently as if she were a puppet on strings.

Instead of the already familiar grounds of the Garrison estate
,
they were in a totally different, yet not unfamiliar spot. She recognized the blazing crimson of the crabapple trees, a carpet of fallen pink blooms littering the lawn under the old gnarly magnolia trees.

‘
Are you insane
?
’ Her hands were shaking as she reached for her buckle, ready to get rid of her seatbelt. He couldn’t be doing that, her brain screamed
,
even though she already knew that yes
,
he could and most definitely
was
. “
We
can’t just take a detour like that with all those people waiting for us at the reception, Justin.’

‘You’d better wait until the car stops
,
’ he advised politely, pulling into the driveway as she watched the gate open and close silently with a sinking feeling of
déjà vu
. ‘
As
for the others, you shouldn’t be that concerned. First of all, it’s Alice and Tom they want to see, not us. Secondly, I couldn’t give a
flying duck right now what anyone thinks, aside from you, Kate.’

She was speechless. Totally and absolutely speechless, she thought as she sat there, unable to move. He turned off the engine, the silence between them stretching until she could barely breathe. She tried to think of a hundred comebacks, smart and witty, exposing the
ridiculousness
of what he was doing. Yet, her head was empty, the drumming of blood in her temples too distracting to go anywhere beyond a whiny ‘I don’t want to be here, Justin. Take us back right away.’

‘
That’s
tough,’ he
said
pleasantly, getting out of the car and walking over to her side, his gallant gesture of opening the door and waiting for her next move finally snapping her out of her frozen state.

‘I’m not getting out,’ she
said
stubbornly, looking up to him standing patiently at the door. ‘
Forget
it.’

‘I can always carry you
,
if needed
.
’
He
nodded, his smile laced with steel. ‘
I
t would be no hardship at all. I just thought I would leave
that
kind of antics for later, once we get all the other less pleasant stuff out of the way.’

‘
There
will be no antics!’
She
was yelling, her desperation sounding
ridiculous
to her own ears. ‘Not now
,
and not later. I don’t know what insane idea it was to kidnap me here, but it isn’t working.’ She
stepped
out of the car, the thought of being actually carried in his arms too much to bear. She was much safer away from the warmth of his chest with no fragrance of his skin, potent and alluring, filling her nostrils.

‘I didn’t kidnap you
.
’
He
led
her up the stairs to the impressive front door, the dark, glossy wood contrasting beautifully with the white portico. ‘
Call
it a small detour,
Kate
. Once we
’ve
had the chance to chat, I promise we’ll rejoin the party. If we’re fast
,
we might be just in time for the cutting of the cake. As for bouquet
catching, I don’t really think you need to engage in
such
unpredictable sport.
’

They walked into the black and white tiled foyer, the sweet scent of jasmine greeting them just as intoxicatingly as it
had
the first time. She wanted to turn on her heel and run, but knew he would fetch her, his light mood not fooling her for a second. For whatever reason
,
he wanted her here with him, alone and vulnerable.

‘
A
ll right, let’s talk
.
’
She
walked over to the sitting area, plopping down
on
the couch and looking at him challengingly. ‘
The
faster
,
the better. You might have your plans for today
,
but so do
I
,
and they definitely don’t involve me sitting in your house while my sister is worried
about what
happened to me. I’d be surprised if she didn’t call me at any moment
.
’
She
looked at her little bag, just roomy enough to hold her phone and a pack of hankies.