Waiting for You (24 page)

Lani, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to her physical beauty.
At the moment, she had her bare feet propped up on the Nichols’s
coffee table as she painted her toenails and discussed what color they
should paint Zoe’s toes.

“There will be no living with her after this,” Aidan predicted,
coming up to stand by Karise.

“Our day alone kind of got shot, didn’t it?” Karise was loving every
minute of this newfound connection with her family, but it occurred to her Aidan might have appreciated a quieter celebration.

He pulled her up against him, nuzzling her neck in a way that made her wish they were alone. “There will be others.”

“
The day isn’t over yet,” she offered hopefully. He really was going
to have to stop what he was doing or she was going to wind up
making Devon angry at her again. He smiled against her shoulder.

Karise was getting ready to climb out of her skin. She wasn’t going
to be any use to anybody if she didn’t get away from him.

“I’m going to go freshen up.” She stepped away from him while she still could. “My closet is open to anyone who wants it.”

“Mine, too,” Kate offered.

Alex took Karise up on her offer, and the sisters made their way back to the cottage for Alex to change.

“This is kind of fun, isn’t it?” Alex flicked through hangers of
clothes, debating what to wear.

“
It is.” Karise grew serious, clearing her throat as she contemplated
how to say what she needed to. “I’m sorry, Alex.”

Alex turned to her, the dress in her hand forgotten as she regarded
Karise.

“You tried to be a
sister
to me, s
evera
l times, and I turned you away.
I’m sorry for the years I cost us.”

“I used to be pretty pissed about that,” Alex stated bluntly. “But
time softened it. And then Devon told me what you’d said to him,
about how you felt like you broke our family up. It made me sorry I didn’t try harder.”

Karise looked around the room, thinking. Her gaze finally landed
on Alex. “I’m glad you’re here now. If Victoria gave us nothing else, she gave us that.”

“Yeah, I guess she did.” Alex smiled at Karise. “For what it’s worth,
I’m happy to have a sister. Especially one with cute clothes. Can I
borrow this?”

“Absolutely. You can have it.” Karise didn’t make the offer out
of generosity. She knew once she’d seen Alex in the emerald green
dress, she’d never feel confident in it again. The color and cut were much more suited to her older sister than her. Together, they picked
out a deep blue dress for Karise to wear. The two chatted easily as they
freshened their makeup and fixed their hair. It was a simple moment
but one to treasure nonetheless. It was the kind of moment she wanted
Zoe to have someday.

“I like your tattoo.” Karise noticed Alex’s ornate armband for the first time.

“Thanks.” Alex smiled in a way that told Karise there was a pleasant
memory that went along with the tattoo. “Daniel has a matching one.”

Karise shook her head. She could just picture the two of them, all
tanned and perfect, running around their island with matching tattoos.
“You two are too perfect. Your whole family is so exotic and beautiful.
We must look like total bumpkins to you.”

“Not at all, although I wish someone had photographic evidence of you chasing goats in your undies.”

“I’m going to kill Gavin,” Karise muttered as she put on her lipstick.

KARISE MIGHT NOT
have made good on her threat to kill Gavin, but it was the first thing she brought up when she saw him. He laughed
in response. She might have given in to the temptation to flick his
forehead if Aidan hadn’t intervened.

As it turned out, once the women were dressed for the evening,
they found their second wind. Everyone piled into two cars to caravan
into town. Lani ushered them out with reassurances that they’d be
fine for as long as needed.

“What a nice young woman,” Kate observed as they pulled away.
“You’d think, given who she is, she’d be spoiled or something.”

“I keep trying to picture one of the British royals offering to babysit
and just can’t get there.” Gavin took his eyes off the road long enough
to glance over at Kate.

In the backseat, Karise curled up against Aidan’s side, happy for any chance to touch him. “I think she’s had a bit of a rough life. Her parents were killed when she was really little, so Daniel raised her.
She was about twelve when Alex came into the picture – and I’m pretty
sure they met when Alex saved Lani from an assassination attempt. I never did hear the whole story. Alex doesn’t talk about it much.”

“Do you ever feel like your life is the boring one?” Kate asked, slapping Gavin’s arm. “We should have more adventure.”

“Every day is an adventure with you, love.”

Kate made a face at him. “You’re just trying to charm your way out of this.”

“There was a time I had to bargain with you to get you to leave the dishes in the sink. Now I’m in trouble for not providing enough adventure?”

Kate’s face brightened. “That was a fun time.”

K
arise
looked over at Aidan, wondering what memories they would
make together. “I have to thank you, Kate, for being so persistent.”

“I needed the push from Jessica and Liz.” Kate waved off the praise.
“I came so close to losing Gavin because I was so scared to let go and just love him.”

Gavin
took her hand in his, kissing her knuckles. “You weren’t going
to lose me. I loved you from the moment you called me pretentious.”

“I didn’t call you pretentious, just that picture.”

Aidan took their squabble as his chance to whisper in Karise’s ear.
“Have you thought about a date?”

“Soon,” was all Karise knew. “I don’t even care about the wedding.
I just want to be married to you.”

“Don’t care about the wedding?” Kate zeroed in on that statement.
“You can’t deprive me of putting together your wedding. I’ve been
planning it for months!”

Aidan laughed outright at that. “I appreciate your confidence.”

“I’m not sure what to make of that,” Karise admitted. “So, what does my wedding look like?”

Kate didn’t hesitate. “Tasteful, elegant, simple. I’m thinking
persimmon for the color, poppies for the flowers.”

“Okay, yeah, that does sound pretty spot on.”

“What color is persimmon?” Aidan wondered.

“Orange.” Gavin didn’t miss a beat.

“I don’t know if I’m impressed or worried for you, man.” Aidan looked at Gavin like he was an alien.

“It’s more of a red-orange,” Kate corrected. “But you’re impressed,
Aidan. Admit it.”

“Name the date, and I know Kate will free up the winery for you,”
Gavin added. “If the president himself was on a wine tour that day, she’d give him the boot for you two.”

Karise was amused by the conversation. “We’ll talk about it. And
thank you.”

They pulled into the parking lot, followed closely by Devon’s rental.
As the little group went to find a table, Aidan hung back. He took both
of Karise’s hands in his, looking deep into her eyes.

“I’m worried I’ve pushed you too hard, or that you’ll get swept along by Kate’s enthusiasm and regret it. I want you to be happy; I want our wedding to be as simple or as spectacular as you want it to
be. Whether it’s tomorrow or a year from now, my only request is that
you make it what you want it to be.”

“I think we should talk to Zoe before we pick a date. I want to be sure she’s okay with whatever we choose.”

“That’s one of the many things I love about you.” He kissed her hands. “What do
you
choose, though?”

“Next week?” she suggested with a half a laugh. “I feel like I’ve spent my entire life waiting for you, and now you’re here and you’re
mine and I don’t want to wait anymore. I want to marry you and chase
goats with you and raise babies with you and make beautiful houses in my spare time.”

“Then next week it is.” He took her head in his hands, tipping her
face up so he could meet her in a kiss. Her heart swelled within her.
This was really happening. As he led her to join the others, he glanced
over with a grin. “I would like to point out, though, that chasing goats
came before raising babies.”

“A slip of the tongue,” she promised. “I prefer babies to goats.”

When they took their seats, Aidan wasted no time before turning to
Devon
. “How soon do you think you could get
Karise’s
father up here?”

Devon was instantly wary. “Why?”

“Karise and I talked about it, and we’d like to get married while you’re all still here to be at the wedding.”

Devon’s eyes flew to Karise. “Are you pregnant?”

“What? No! You are the second person to ask that today.” Karise flushed.

“Who else asked that today?” Aidan wondered.

“This just seems so fast,” Devon said at the same time.

Karise answered Aidan first, “Gary—
because
I’m so tired, I guess.
I assured him I’m not.” Then she turned to Devon, “I’ve done everything
in my life on somebody else’s schedule. Aidan asked me to set the schedule for this one thing, and I want to do it now. I want you to be
here. I don’t want to wait for the right time; I’m declaring now the
right time.”

“We’ll come back, you know.” Devon took her hand in his, studying her face. “I just got you back, and now you want me to give you away already.”

Karise put her hand to his face, wondering how she could love him
so much after so many years of refusing to even say his name. “I’m not
going anywhere. I’m sorry for the years I cost us, but I’m here now.”

“You can stop apologizing for that any time now,” Alex interrupted.
“I think it’s a great idea to have the wedding while we’re still here. And
you’re welcome to honeymoon in Tuwanga.”

“It is a lovely honeymoon spot,” Jane agreed. “And if you want to
pop over to Ecuador while you’re out and about, you’re always welcome
with us.”

The conversation moved on. It was some time later when Karise
heard Devon lean over to tell Aidan he’d speak with Pablo the next day
to see what they could arrange. As the evening wore on, it got harder
to hear as more people trickled in, the vast majority of them dressed like cowboys.

“This is not your typical Napa crowd,” Karise observed with a measure of amusement.

“There’s a rodeo
passing
through. I r
emember
Elsie
saying
something
about it yesterday,” Kate explained. “I thought about seeing if everyone
wanted to take the kids to check it out.”

A
lex
grabbed
Daniel’s arm, giving him a look that only he understood.
To the rest of the group, she said, “I’m not feeling well; I think I’d better
head back.”

Karise didn’t think anybody else bought the line any more than she
did, but they all let it slide. The tab was settled after a little squabbling
over who would get it; then they all piled back into their respective cars to caravan back to the winery.

The instant Devon parked the car at Kate’s, Daniel was out of it
like a shot. Alex paused long enough to notice the truck sitting in the
driveway that hadn’t been there before. She shook her head and followed
Daniel into the house. The group in Gavin’s car exchanged curious
glances before scurrying to follow inside. They skidded to a halt inside,
causing a cartoon pileup. Karise blinked in surprise, taking a moment
to register what she was seeing.

Daniel had a young man by the throat, backing him toward the door
with murderous rage in his eyes. Alex was lecturing Lani in hushed
tones riddled with fury. The girl was crying softly. Occasionally, she’d
interrupt with an attempted explanation, only to be silenced by Alex, who wasn’t finished railing at her.

Karise knew she should go somewhere else to give the family
privacy, but she was riveted to her spot. Besides, where would they go?
The house’s open floor plan didn’t exactly allow for privacy on this
floor. Unless they piled into a bedroom, there wasn’t really anywhere to go. They’d step outside, but Daniel was out there with the mystery
man. His voice had risen so they could catch most of the conversation
despite the wall between them.

Devon slipped outside; Karise had the distinct impression it was to
keep Daniel from doing something he might regret. Whoever the guy
was, Daniel and Alex knew him and were not
pleased
with his
presence
.

“Maybe we should get Zoe and sneak out,” Aidan whispered in
Karise’s ear.

“You are not leaving us alone.” Kate grabbed his shirt sleeve.

Gavin took it all in. “I am so glad we have a son.”

“What if the next one is a girl?” Kate reminded him.

“Maybe we should stop while we’re ahead.”