Waterfront Weddings (31 page)

Luke had missed her even more than he’d realized. But he hated to hear that he’d hurt her. “I’m sorry,” he murmured against her hair. “I wanted both of us to move past losing the baby because it was so painful.” He pulled back from her so he could see her face. “But there hasn’t been a day when I haven’t grieved.”

“Why didn’t you share that grief with me? I felt like it was mine alone.”

He rubbed his jaw. “I wanted to be strong for you. I saw how hurt you were, and I didn’t want to add to that by making you watch my own pain.” He shook his head. “But I guess I didn’t realize how it would come across.”

“Like it didn’t matter.”

The words stabbed him. “I think about our little boy all the time. What his laugh would’ve sounded like. How proud I would’ve been watching his first step. What he would want to be when he grew up.”

“You say it like you were certain it was a boy.” She looked at him curiously.

He laced his fingers through hers. “I’m pretty certain.”

“How?”

He smiled. “I read this article right after we found out you were pregnant. It told how to figure out if you were having a boy or a girl. It said that when a woman is carrying a girl, she’s sharing her beauty, so she’s not as attractive as when she’s carrying a boy. And I knew right then that you must be having a boy, because you were more beautiful than I’d ever seen or even imagined.”

Tears filled her eyes. “You really thought that?”

He reached out and tenderly wiped a tear away. “I sure did. Sometimes you would literally take my breath away.” His mouth turned up in a smile. “And you still do.”

“Thanks,” she said softly.

The wind howled outside the building.

“It’s getting nasty out there,” he said.

She smiled. “Good thing we’re warm and dry in here.”

The power flickered and went out, leaving them in total darkness.

He put his arm around her. “Are you scared?” he whispered.

She turned her face toward his. “A little. But it has nothing to do with the weather.”

He pulled her to him, and his lips found hers in the darkness.

A
shley paced inside the ballroom. It was the interior room and supposedly the safest. But she wasn’t crazy about being there. She felt trapped.

“You okay?” Justin asked. He’d brought Milo down, and the big dog was curled up in a ball next to him.

“It’s the waiting I hate. Will it hit, will it not hit? If it hits, what category will it be. . . ?” She trailed off and sighed. “The uncertainty is a pain.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I talked to the weather guy a few minutes ago. He thinks we’re going to dodge a bullet.” He patted the floor next to him. “Sit down. Milo and I will keep you safe.”

She had to admit, having him here was a comfort. She sank down onto the floor. “Thanks.” A loud cackling laugh came from the other side of the wall. “Those ladies I was telling you about found a Monopoly game in the library. I guess the game is going well.”

“You want to go join them?” Justin asked.

She nodded. “I think that might help take my mind off the storm. This is my first tropical storm, so I guess I’m extra nervous.”

He stood up and shook his legs out. “Come on, Miles.” He tugged on the dog’s leash, and Milo slowly rose from his spot on the floor.

She led them into the next ballroom.

Two elderly women sat hunched over a table, a Monopoly game between them. They were glowering at each other.

“Hi, ladies,” Ashley said.

One of the women stood up. She had to be close to six feet tall. Her bright orange hair, while not a color found in nature, somehow suited her. She grinned at Justin like a schoolgirl. “I’m Mavis Bunch,” she said. She stuck out a manicured hand as if she were royalty.

Justin never missed a beat. He took her hand and lifted it to his lips. “Charmed to meet you, Miss Bunch. I’m Justin Sanders.”

She giggled. “If I didn’t love Alabama so much, I would move to Charleston just for the Southern gentlemen.”

The other woman stood up and smacked her on the arm. “We have Southern gentlemen in lower Alabama.” As if remembering her manners, she batted her eyes at Justin. “I’m Mary Bunch. Her sister.” She motioned her head toward Mavis. “Although sometimes I think there may have been a mix-up at the hospital.”

“She’s my
older
sister,” Mavis said with a wink.

Justin shook Mary’s hand.

“Ashley from Alabama, how’s the wedding planning going?” Mavis asked. They’d met yesterday as Ashley was attempting to carry an arch through the double doors. Once they found out they shared a home state, the two women had wanted to talk to her until they found someone they knew in common.

“Pretty good.” She sighed. “Of course the storm might be a problem.”

Mary shook her head. “Here we thought we were so smart. That Jim Cantore keeps saying that the Gulf Coast might get hit hard by the tropics this year. So we decided to come to Charleston. And now here we are right in the middle of a hurricane.”

“So we have y’all to blame for this, I guess,” Justin said.

Mavis giggled. “Our daddy used to say we went through the house like tornadoes. So maybe there’s some truth to that.”

“That’s not what he said. He said we went through the house like whirlwinds,” Mary chided her sister.

Mavis shrugged. “Same thing.”

Justin met Ashley’s eyes. She could tell he was as amused by them as she’d been yesterday.

“I’ve got to sit down. I’ve had a bad knee ever since we hiked the Grand Canyon a couple of years ago.” Mary sat down, clutching her knee.

“Y’all hiked the Grand Canyon?” Justin asked.

“We sure did.” Mavis wiggled her hips. “We stay in shape. I’m the oldest certified Zumba teacher in the country.”

Mary groaned. “Don’t encourage her. She’ll have us up doing the rumba or something, and I tell you, my knee can’t take it.” She patted the chair next to her. “Y’all sit down. You’re makin’ me nervous.”

Ashley, Justin, and Mavis sat down in the empty seats.

Milo collapsed into a heap on the floor.

“That is one big dog,” Mavis observed. “Yours?” she asked Justin.

He shook his head. “I’m watching him for a friend.”

At the mention of Luke, Ashley furrowed her brow. “Do you think they’re okay?” she murmured.

“They’re fine. That reporter told me they went into the pool house.”

Mavis and Mary looked at them with identical quizzical expressions.

“Our friends went out into the storm earlier and haven’t come back,” Justin explained. “But we got word that they’re safely holed up in the pool house.”

Mary raised her eyebrows. “Why did they go out in the storm? That seems like a dumb thing to do.”

Justin burst out laughing. “I like you. You tell it like it is, don’t you?”

“Once I hit eighty, I decided it was time to stop holding back.” Mary motioned at her sister. “Now Mavis has never held back. She was born telling her opinion about everything. I used to hold my tongue because I didn’t want to ruffle any feathers.” She shrugged. “Until I realized that holding it in was only hurting me. I used to worry and fret about things. Now I just get it off my chest and feel all kinds of better.” She winked. “Of course, the trick is to speak your mind with tact.”

Mavis sighed. “I have tact, too. I just forget to use it sometimes.” She winked. “So, Justin and Ashley from Alabama. . .How long have the two of you been an item?”

“Don’t pry into their personal business,” Mary chided.

Mavis shrugged. “I’m just trying to pass the time.”

“Actually, we aren’t technically a couple, I don’t guess,” Justin said. He glanced at Ashley. “Or are we?”

She cringed. There was nothing like being put on the spot, especially in front of people she barely knew. She smiled at the women. “We haven’t really had that conversation just yet.”

Justin enjoyed watching Ashley squirm as she tried to explain to Mary and Mavis exactly what their relationship was.

“Do you like her?” Mary asked.

He nodded. “Very much.”

Mavis turned to Ashley. “And do you like him?”

“I do.” She blushed.

“Well, at least you’re on the same page about that,” Mary said. “Now let me give you two some advice.”

“We need all the advice we can get,” Ashley said.

Mary chuckled. “Well, we love to give advice. Now, the most important thing is to remember that your relationship isn’t a competition. If one of you is always trying to win, it will never work.”

Justin nodded. That made good sense.

Mavis patted her hands on the table. “And you can take it from me, because I was married for fifty-one years. You have to believe that you’re equal partners. And don’t hold back anything, even when you fight. If you’re going to be partners, then be partners in every sense. Which means the good, the bad, and the ugly.” She chuckled. “But try not to go too heavy on the ugly.”

He glanced at Ashley across the table. He knew he didn’t want to leave the resort without knowing exactly where they stood. “Ladies, it’s been a pleasure,” he said. “But I’ve got to go feed Milo and check on my family.” He stood.

Ashley rose from her seat. She bent down and hugged first Mary and then Mavis.

He waved to the women and grabbed Ashley’s hand as they made their way out of the ballroom.

“Do you really have to feed Milo?” she asked once they were alone in the deserted lobby.

He grinned. “Soon. But first I wanted to do this.” He pulled her to him and kissed her gently.

Ashley smiled against his lips.

“Does this mean that from this day forward if someone asks us how long we’ve been an item, we can pinpoint now?”

She nodded. “Yes. I think that sounds like a good story. It happened in the middle of a hurricane.”

“Kind of romantic.” He kissed her forehead.

“Definitely.” She furrowed her brow. “Do you think Luke and Summer are okay?”

Justin took her hand and led her to the couch. “Yes. I do. I hope that being forced together like this is exactly what they needed.”

“Me, too,” Ashley said softly.

He settled onto the couch and held her hand. The rain pounded on the roof, and the wind continued to howl, but he felt as peaceful and calm as he could remember feeling.

S
ummer had just dozed off when she felt Luke’s breath against her face.

“Summer,” he whispered. “Are you sleeping?”

She lifted her head from his shoulder. “I was resting my eyes.” They’d been in the dark for at least an hour, but the lights had finally come back on. The resort must have some kind of backup generator or something.

“Why are you so tired?” he asked.

“I’ve been working on a wedding that’s kind of been thrown together at the last minute. And you know how I like stuff like that.”

He laughed. “I know.”

“Plus it’s not really coming together because of the storm. The florist didn’t deliver, the photographer canceled, and the last time I checked, the bride and groom weren’t even here.” She sighed. “So maybe I’ve been working for nothing.”

He shifted on the lounger. “I think I need to tell you something.”

She looked at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. . . . It’s just that I have a confession to make.”

Her stomach tightened. Things were finally starting to smooth out between them. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear a confession.

He stood and got the large white box he’d gotten out of his truck earlier. He brought it over and set it in front of her. Then he got down on one knee.

She cocked her head to the side. “What are you doing?”

“Do you know what tomorrow is?”

She laughed. “Saturday?”

He took her hand. “Seriously. Tomorrow?”

“It’s our anniversary.”

He smiled broadly. “The wedding you’ve been planning these past weeks. The one where you had free rein to plan however you wanted? That was for us.”

Her jaw dropped. “No way.” She’d never suspected a thing. She smiled at him. “You wanted to renew our vows?”

“I did.”

She bit her lip. “But now you don’t? I don’t understand.”

Luke handed her the box. “First I want you to open this. It’s an anniversary gift. A little more personal than a boat.” He smiled.

Summer lifted the lid off of the box. The wedding gown she’d tried on at Madelyn’s boutique, her
dream
gown, lay inside ensconced in white tissue paper. “Luke,” she breathed. “I can’t believe you did this.”

“You like it?”

She felt tears spring into her eyes. He’d put so much thought into this surprise. “I love it.”

“I wanted to renew our vows on our anniversary. . .but I think I’d rather wait.”

She furrowed her brow. “Why?”

Luke sat down next to her. “Summer, I meant my vows when I said them seven years ago. Till death do us part. I still feel that way today.” He smiled. “So I know we don’t need to have another ceremony for any reason other than symbolically. But I don’t think we should renew our vows here at some resort with only a couple of friends present,” he said. “And Milo.”

“Milo’s here?” She couldn’t believe the length he’d gone to in order to make her happy.