White Lace and Promises

  “Outside.”

  “That much is obvious. But why are you taking me out here?”

  Glenn paused to stand under the huge maple tree and looked toward the sky. “There’s only a half-moon tonight, but it’ll have to do.”

  “Are you going to turn into a werewolf or something?” Maggie joked, pleased to be rescued from the clutches of an awkward conversation.

  “Nope.” He turned her in his arms, looping his hands around her narrow waist and bringing her against the hard wall of his chest. “This is something I should have done the night of the Girls’ Club dance,” he murmured as he looked down at her.

  “What is?”

  “Kiss you in the moonlight,” he whispered just before his mouth claimed hers.

  Chapter Two

  Maggie was too amazed to respond. Glenn Lambert, the boy who had lived next door most of her life, was kissing her. And he was kissing her as if he meant to be doing exactly that. His lips moved slowly over hers, shaping and fitting his mouth to hers with a gentleness that rocked her until she was a churning mass of conflicting emotions. This was Glenn, the same Glenn who had teased her unmercifully about “going straight” while she wore braces. The Glenn who had heartlessly beaten her playing one-on-one basketball. The same Glenn who had always been her white knight. Yet it felt so right, so good to be in his arms. Hesitantly, Maggie lifted her hands, sliding them over his chest and linking her fingers at the base of his neck, clinging to him for support. Gently parting her lips, she responded to his kiss. She savored the warm taste of him, the feel of his hands against the small of her back and the tangy scent of his aftershave. It seemed right for Glenn to be holding her. More right than anything had felt in a long time.

  When he lifted his head there was a moment of stunned silence while the fact registered in Glenn’s bemused mind that he had just kissed Maggie. Maggie. But the vibrant woman in his arms wasn’t the same girl who’d lived next door. The woman was warm and soft and incredibly feminine, and he was hungry for a woman’s gentleness. Losing Angie had left him feeling cold and alone. His only desire had been to love and protect her, but she hadn’t wanted him. A stinging chill ran through his blood, forcing him into the present. His hold relaxed and he dropped his arms.

  “Why’d you do that?” Maggie whispered, having difficulty finding her voice. From the moment he had taken her outside, Maggie had known his intention had been to free her from the clutches of Steve’s cousin—not to kiss her. At least not like that. What had started out in fun had become serious.

  “I’m not sure,” he answered honestly. A vague hesitancy showed in his eyes.

  “Am I supposed to grade you?”

  Glenn took another step backward, broadening the space between them. “Good grief, no; you’re merciless.”

  Mentally, Maggie congratulated him for recovering faster than she. “Not always,” she murmured. At his blank look, she added, “I’m not always merciless.”

  “That’s not the way I remember it. The last time I wanted to kiss you, I got a fist in the stomach.”

  Maggie’s brow furrowed. She couldn’t remember Glenn even trying to kiss her, and she looked at him with surprise and doubt as she sifted through her memories. “I don’t remember that.”

  “I’m not likely to forget it,” he stated, and arched one brow arrogantly. “As I recall, I was twelve and you were eleven. A couple of the guys at school had already kissed a girl and said it wasn’t half bad. There wasn’t anyone I wanted to kiss, but, for a girl, you weren’t too bad, so I offered you five of my best baseball cards if you’d let me kiss you.”

  Maggie gave him a wicked grin as her memory returned. “That was the greatest insult of my life. I was saving my lips for the man I planned to marry. At the time, I think it was Billy Idol.”

  “As I recall, you told me that,” he replied with a low chuckle. He tucked an arm around her waist, bringing her to his side. “Talking about our one and only date tonight made me remember how much I took you for granted all those years. You were great.”

  “I know,” she said, with a complete lack of modesty.

  A slow, roguish grin grew across his features. “But then there were times …”

  “Don’t go philosophical on me, Glenn Lambert.” An unaccustomed, delicious heat was seeping into her bones. It was as if she’d been standing in a fierce winter storm and someone had invited her inside to sit by the cozy warmth of the fire.

  “We’ve both done enough of that for one night,” Glenn quipped, looking toward the bright lights of the house.

  Maggie didn’t want to go back inside. She felt warm and comfortable for the first time in what seemed like ages. If they returned to the house full of people, she’d be forced to paint on another plastic smile and listen to the likes of Steve’s cousin.

  “Do you ever wonder about the old neighborhood?”

  Grinning, Glenn looked down on her. “Occasionally.”

  “Want to take a look?”

  He glanced toward the house again, sensing her reluctance to return. The old Maggie would have faced the world head-on. The change surprised him. “Won’t we be missed?”

  “I doubt it.”

  Glenn tucked Maggie’s hand in the crook of his arm. “For old times’ sake.”

  “The rope swing in your backyard is still there.”

  “You’re kidding!” He gave a laugh of disbelief.

  “A whole new generation of kids are playing on that old swing.”

  “What about the tree house?”

  “That, unfortunately, was the victim of a bad windstorm several years back.”

  His arm tightened around her waist, and the fragile scent of her perfume filled his senses. She was a woman now, and something strange and inexplicable was happening between them. Glenn wasn’t sure it was right to encourage it.

  “How do you keep up with all this?” he asked, attempting to steer his thoughts from things he shouldn’t be thinking, like how soft and sweet and wonderfully warm she felt.

  “Simple,” Maggie explained with a half-smile. “I visit often.” The happiest days of her life had been in that house in the old neighborhood. She couldn’t turn back the clock, but the outward symbols of that time lived on for her to visit as often as needed. “Come on,” she said brightly and took his hand. She was feeling both foolish and fanciful. “There probably won’t be another chance if we don’t go now.”

  “You’ll freeze,” Glenn warned, running his hands down the lengths of her bare arms and up again to cup her shoulders.

  “No,” she argued, not wanting anything to disturb the moment.

  “I’ll collect your jacket and tell Steve what we’re up to,” Glenn countered.

  “No,” she pleaded, her voice low and husky. “Don’t. I’ll be fine. Really.”

  Glenn studied her for an instant before agreeing. Maggie was frightened. The realization stunned him. His bubbly, happy-go-lucky Maggie had been reduced to an unhappy, insecure waif. The urge to take her in his arms and protect her was nearly overwhelming.

  “All right,” he agreed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders to lend her his warmth. If she did get chilled, he could give her his own jacket.

  With their arms around each other, they strolled down Ocean Avenue to the grade school, cut through the play yard, and came out on Marimar near Eastwood Drive.

  “Everything seems the same,” Glenn commented. His smile was filled with contentment.

  “It is.”

  “How are your parents doing?” he inquired.

  “They retired in Florida. I told them they ought to be more original than that, but it was something they really wanted. They can afford it, so why not? What about your folks?”

  “They’re in South Carolina. Dad’s working for the same company. Both Eric and Dale are married and supplying them with a houseful of grandchildren.”

  A chill shot through Maggie, and she shivered involuntarily. She was an aunt now, too, but the circumstances weren’t nearly
as pleasant. Her brother, Denny, had also discovered that his inheritance wasn’t a hedge against unhappiness. Slowly shaking her head, Maggie spoke: “Do you realize how old that makes me feel? Dale married—I’d never have believed it. He was only ten when you moved.”

  “He met his wife the first year of college. They fell in love, and against everyone’s advice decided not to wait to get married. They were both nineteen, and had two kids by the time Dale graduated.”

  “And they’re fine now?”

  “They’re going stronger than ever. The boys are in school, and Cherry has gone back to college for her degree.” There wasn’t any disguising the pride in his voice.

  “What about Eric?”

  “He married a flight attendant a couple of years ago. They have a baby girl.” His hand rested at the nape of her neck in a protective action. “What about your brother?”

  “Denny was already married by the time you moved, wasn’t he? He and Lisa have two little girls.”

  “Is he living in San Francisco?”

  “Yes,” she supplied quickly, and hurried to change the subject. “The night’s lovely, isn’t it?”

  Glenn ignored the comment. “Is Denny still working for the phone company?”

  “No,” she returned starkly. “I can’t remember when I’ve seen so many stars.”

  They were silent for a moment while Glenn digested the information. Something had happened between Denny and Maggie that she was obviously reluctant to discuss.

  “Do you realize that there’s never been a divorce in either of our families?” she said softly with sudden insight. She knew what a rarity that was in this day and age. Nearly thirty percent of their high school class were on their second marriages.

  “I doubt that there ever will be a divorce. Mom and Dad believe strongly in working out problems instead of running from them, and that was ingrained in all three of us boys.”

  “We’re in the minority, then. I don’t know how Janelle is going to adjust to Steve’s children. It must be difficult.”

  “She loves him,” Glenn countered somewhat defensively.

  “I realize that,” Maggie whispered, thinking out loud. “It’s just that I remember when Steve married Ginny. Janelle cried for days afterward and went about doing her best to forget him. Every one of us knew that Ginny and Steve were terribly mismatched and it would be only a matter of time before they split.”

  “I wasn’t that sure they couldn’t make a go of it.”

  Maggie bristled. “I was, and anyone with half a brain saw it. Ginny was pregnant before the wedding and no one except Steve was convinced the baby was his.”

  “Steve was in a position to know.”

  Maggie opened her mouth to argue, glanced up to see Glenn’s amused gaze, and pressed her lips tightly closed. “I don’t recall you being this argumentative,” she said after several moments.

  “When it comes to the sanctity of marriage, I am.”

  “For your sake, I hope you marry the right woman, then.”

  The humor drained from his eyes and was replaced with such pain that Maggie’s breath caught in her throat. “Glenn, what did I say?” she asked, concern in her voice.

  “Nothing,” he assured her with a half-smile that disguised none of his mental anguish. “I thought I had found her.”

  “Oh, Glenn, I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do? I make a great wailing wall.” From the pinched lines about his mouth and eyes, Maggie knew that the woman had been someone very special. Even when Maggie had known him best, Glenn had been a discriminating male. He had dated only a few times and, as far as she could remember, had never gone steady with one girl.

  The muscles of his face tightened as he debated whether to tell Maggie about Angie. He hadn’t discussed her with anyone over the past couple of months, and the need to purge her from his life burned in him. Perhaps someday, he thought, but not now and not with Maggie, who had enough problems of her own. “She married someone else. There’s nothing more to say.”

  “You loved her very much, didn’t you?” Whoever she was, the woman was a fool. Glenn was the steady, solid type most women sought. When he loved, it would be forever and with an intensity few men were capable of revealing.

  Glenn didn’t answer. Instead, he regarded her with his pain-filled eyes and asked, “What about you?”

  “You mean why I never married?” She gave a shrug of indifference. “The right man never came along. I thought he might have once, but I was wrong. Dirk was more interested in spending my money than loving me.”

  “I’m sorry.” His arm tightened around her as an unreasonable anger filled him over the faceless Dirk. He had hurt Maggie, and Glenn was intimately aware of how much one person could hurt another.

  “Actually, I think I was lucky to discover it when I did. But thirty is looming around the corner and the biological clock is ticking like Big Ben. I’d like to get married, but I won’t lower my standards.”

  “What kind of man are you looking for?”

  He was so utterly blasé about it that Maggie’s composure slipped and she nearly dissolved into laughter. “You mean in case you happen to know someone who fits the bill?”

  “I might.”

  “Why not?” she asked with a soft giggle. “To start off, I’d like someone financially secure.”

  He was so serious that Maggie bit into her bottom lip to hide the trembling laughter. “In addition to being on firm financial ground, he should be magnanimous.”

  “With you, he’d have to be,” Glenn said in a laughter-tinged voice.

  Maggie ignored the gibe. “He’d have to love me enough to overlook my faults—few as they are—be loyal, loving, and want children.”

  She paused, expecting him to comment, but he nodded in agreement. “Go on,” he encouraged.

  “But more than simply wanting children, he’d have to take responsibility for helping me raise them into worthwhile adults. I want a man who’s honest, but one who won’t shout the truth in my face if it’s going to hurt me. A special man to double my joys and divide my sorrows. Someone who will love me when my hair is gray and my ankles are thick.” Realizing how serious she’d become, Maggie hesitated. “Know anyone like him?” Her words hung empty in the silence that followed.

  “No,” Glenn eventually said, and shook his head for emphasis. Those were the very things he sought in a wife. “I can’t say that I do.”

  “From my guess, Prince Charmings are few and far between these days.”

  They didn’t speak again until they paused in front of the fifty-year-old house that had been Glenn’s childhood home. Little had been altered over the years, Glenn realized. The wide front porch and large dormers that jutted out from the roof looked exactly as they had in his mind. The house had been repainted, and decorative shutters were now added to the front windows, but the same warmth and love seemed to radiate from its doors.

  Maggie followed Glenn’s gaze to the much-used basketball hoop positioned above the garage door. It was slightly crooked from years of slam dunks. By the look of things, the hoop was used as much now as it had been all those years ago.

  “I suppose we should think of heading back. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.” Maggie’s gaze fell from the house to the cracked sidewalk. It hit her suddenly that in a couple of days Glenn would be flying back to Charleston. He was here for the wedding and nothing more.

  “Yes,” Glenn agreed in a low, gravelly voice. “Tomorrow will be a very long day.”

  The vestibule was empty when Maggie entered the church forty minutes before the wedding. Out of breath and five minutes late, she paused to study the huge baskets of flowers that adorned the altar, and released an unconscious sigh at the beauty of the sight. This wedding was going to be special. Hurrying into the dressing room that was located to her right, Maggie knocked once and opened the door. The woman from The Wedding Shop was helping Janelle into her flowing lace gown. Mrs. Longmier was sitting in a chair, dabbing the corner of her
eye with a tissue.

  “Oh, Maggie, thank goodness you’re here. I had this horrible dream that you showed up late. The wedding was in progress and you ran down the aisle screaming how dare we start without you.”

  “I’m here, I’m here, don’t worry.” Stepping back, Maggie inspected her friend and could understand Mrs. Longmier’s tears. Janelle was radiant. Her wedding gown was of a lavish Victorian style that was exquisitely fashioned with ruffled tiers of Chantilly lace and countless rows of tiny pearls. “Wow,” she whispered in awe. “You’re going to knock Steve’s eyes out.”

  “That’s the idea,” Janelle said with a nervous smile.

  Another woman from the store helped Maggie don her blushing-pink gown of shimmering taffeta. Following a common theme, the maid of honor’s and the bridesmaids’ dresses were also Victorian in style, with sheer yokes and lace stand-up collars. Lace bishop sleeves were trimmed with dainty satin bows. The bodice fit snugly to the waist and flared at the hip. While the woman fastened the tiny buttons at the back of the gown, Maggie studied her mirrored reflection. A small smile played on her mouth as she pictured Glenn’s reaction when he saw her. For years she wore tight jeans and sweatshirts. She had put on a dress for the rehearsal, but this gown would amaze him. She was a woman now, and it showed.

  The way her thoughts automatically flew to Glenn surprised Maggie, but she supposed it was natural after their kiss and walk in the moonlight. He had filled her dreams and she’d slept better than she had in a long while. After their visit to the old neighborhood, Maggie’s attitude toward the wedding had changed. She wouldn’t be standing alone at the altar with her fears. Glenn, her friend from childhood, would be there. Together, they would lend each other the necessary strength to smile their way through the ordeal. Maggie realized her thoughts were more those of a martyr than an honored friend, but she’d dreaded the wedding for weeks. Not that she begrudged Janelle any happiness. But Maggie realized that at some time during the wedding dinner or the dance scheduled to follow, someone would comment on her single status. With Glenn at her side, it wouldn’t matter nearly as much.