“Heard there was a wedding this weekend and thought you might need a photographer.”
Tom. She stared for a minute, not quite able to accept reality.
“We, uh, have one. Maggie’s back in town.” She dug for composure, finding nothing but happiness. Raw, real, full-body happiness. “What happened to your hair?”
He ruffled one hand through what was left of his locks, a quarter inch of black spikes that somehow managed to look exactly right on him. “Someone told me to cut it.”
Suddenly, she was aware that she stood like a little girl playing dress-up, in a veil that didn’t belong to her. She reached up to yank it off, but he held out his hand.
“Don’t. Please, don’t. I want that shot.”
No, no, he wasn’t doing this to her. Ignoring his request, she managed to get the veil off, carefully laying it over the counter. “What are you doing here?”
“I told you, I heard—”
“For real,” she interjected, maybe a little more sharply than she’d meant to.
He held up the camera. “I am offering my services for Willow’s wedding. Free of charge.” At her narrowed eyes, he added, “Although I may ask to dance with one of the bridesmaids.”
She let out the breath she’d probably been holding since he appeared. She wanted to reach for him and hold him and kiss him, but she shook her head to squash the urge. “So, how are you?”
“Lonely.”
“Just the way you like it.”
He didn’t answer, but looked hard at her, then lifted his camera. “Don’t move.”
“Tom, don’t—”
“Please.” He took a step closer. “I want to get that look on your face.”
“My ‘I can’t believe you showed up out of the blue’ look?” Is that how it would be from now on? He’d pop in when he was lonely?
“The ‘you’re trying to hide how happy you are to see me’ look.” He put the camera on a chair and slid his hands into the pockets of khaki pants, staring at her. “I went to Greece.”
Her jaw opened a little in shock.
“You were right,” he said, taking another step closer. “You were right about everything, it turns out.”
Not exactly sure why that sounded like it was loaded with extra meaning, she waited for the rest.
“I spent time with my in-laws, and I got a letter from Ruthie.”
“What?”
He pulled out an envelope and handed it to her. “It was addressed to Sophia, but she never got to read it.”
Gussie took a few slow breaths, steadying herself for what she was about to read.
The words ran together, until close to the end.
There is no one I’d want raising my daughter except my wonderful brother.
That sentence jumped out in painful clarity, stabbing her. “You’re taking her back?”
“I’m coming home.”
“This isn’t your home.”
“What do they say? Home is where the family is.”
“Heart,” she corrected. Like the one shattering in her chest.
“Same difference.” He closed the rest of the space, only the letter she held between them. “I’m supposed to raise Alex.”
Oh, Lord, it was one thing to lose him—or have him pop in to torture her periodically. But Alex, too? She already loved Alex.
And she already loved him. “Tom, I thought we’d agreed I’m supposed to raise Alex.”
“You are. You will.” He slid the letter out of her hands and let it flutter on top of Willow’s veil. “With me. Together. I sure as hell can’t do it alone.” Taking both her hands in his, he pulled her knuckles to his lips.
“But you do everything alone.”
“Not anymore.”
She wanted to believe that. Wanted to believe the insane pounding of her heart and the look of love in his eyes. “But, you know, that tattoo?”
“Oh, yeah, that.” He reached to the cuff of his long-sleeved shirt. “I got another one.” He unbuttoned and started rolling the material back on his other arm. “I got to thinking about how you always said I should come with an expiration date. So I went to my pal the tattoo artist in Cyprus and got one.”
She swallowed hard, finally looking at his exposed forearm. When would her time be up with him? Right then, it didn’t matter. She’d take anything. A day, a week, a month, a year.
Forever.
He ran his fingertip over the word, small but legible, purple and rimmed in the pinkness of a fresh tattoo. “I put this one in English so you can read it. Every day and every night, I hope.”
Forever.
“You think you can keep me on the shelf that long, Pink?”
“Forever.” She almost sobbed on the word, the world blurry with tears and happiness and hope. “Tom, what changed?”
“Everything. Gussie, we both changed.” He reached for her head, threading her hair, letting his fingertips graze the scar he’d made her forget. He pulled her into him, whispering before his lips touched hers, “We changed each other.”
Yes, they did. They certainly did.
“Give me a chance to show you how much,” he whispered. “Give me a chance.”
Like there was ever a possibility she wouldn’t.
Chapter Thirty
“Where have you been?” Gussie barked the question when Ari came flying into the Barefoot Brides office, her long hair tumbling out of a ponytail, her shorts, T-shirt, and sneakers even more of a shock than the fact that she’d finally decided to show up for Willow’s wedding—an hour before they walked down the aisle.
Ari froze, her dark eyes wide. “What are you doing in here?”
“Better question, why aren’t you in the dressing room with the rest of the bridal party? Clean, showered, made up, and ready to put our dresses on for Willow’s wedding?” Her voice rose with the frustration she’d been feeling since not being able to reach Ari for the past few hours. “Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
“I was…out.”
Gussie glowered at her. “Do you mind telling me what is more important than the fact that one of your best friends is getting married and you are a co-maid of honor?”
Ari blinked guiltily. “I had to go somewhere.”
“Where?”
She bit her lip, giving her head a shake.
“Tell me,” Gussie ordered.
“Not important.”
Gussie’s blood pressure spiked. “I’ve been keeping Willow calm, assuring her you’d be here, lying for you when I couldn’t reach you so she didn’t become the freaked-out bride we all swore we’d never be, so yes, Arielle Chandler, you are telling me.”
“You’ll think I’m nuts.”
“Too late.” Gussie narrowed her eyes and gripped the paperwork for the florist that she’d come to retrieve. “What’s going on? Where were you?”
“I had to do something.”
“Now? Today?”
Ari held up her hands as if she had to stop Gussie’s onslaught. “I had to…” She closed her eyes. “I think I met him.”
“What?” Gussie’s screwed her face up, completely unable to follow the conversation. “You met who?”
“Him. I met…him. You know, him. My one, my only, my destiny.”
Gussie stared at her, delicately balanced between howling in laughter and screeching in frustration. “Ari, you know I think your new-age superstitions are precious and you believe in love at first—”
“No, I don’t. It’s not love at first sight. It might not be, anyway. It’s fate. It’s destiny. It’s—”
“Hogwash.” Gussie came around the desk, a rush of sympathy at the look of torment on Ari’s striking features. “You know what’s happening, don’t you? Willow is getting married. Tom and I are together. That leaves you as the only one of the three of us…” Alone. She didn’t want to use the harsh word, especially because Ari’s state of singlehood was ridiculously self-imposed. Men flocked to her, but her whacked-out beliefs in “a one and only
” kept every potential guy at arm’s length.
Ari shook off the touch of sympathy. “I’m not mooning over the fact that my two best friends and business partners have found their mates, Gussie.”
“Mates. You make it sound like we’re dolphins, for crying out loud.”
Ari pressed her fists against her mouth. “But there’s a problem.”
“There always is. What? He’s the wrong sign? His aura is bad? What’s his fatal flaw?”
She shook her head again, not laughing like she usually would. “I think he’s going to hate me.”
“Sounds like the start of a fabulous relationship.” Gussie nudged her to the door. “You can tell me all about him on the way to the…what?”
All the color had drained from Ari’s face as she looked over Gussie’s shoulder. “Who…is…that?”
Gussie whipped around to look out the window, a smile pulling the minute she recognized the man who crossed the parking log. “Luke made it! He was supposed to get in this afternoon, but he didn’t show up at the apartment.” She turned back to Ari. “He’s here to…” Then she started laughing, giving Ari a gentle push. “I know, he’s hot. But, please, can we go before Willow hits Bridal Defcon 1?”
But Ari just stared, her jaw slack, the color still gone from her creamy, olive complexion. “That’s…Luke?”
“So much for Mr. Soul Mate you just met, huh? I thought you were—”
“You guys!” Willow practically squawked as she barged into the room, her color high, her hair in the fat curlers Gussie had rolled, her dressing gown nearly falling off. “Where in the hell are you two? I am officially having a breakdown. I’m getting married in less than an hour.” Her voice rose and hitched. “I’m getting married in less than an hour!” she repeated, putting her hand over her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes. “I’m so happy and scared and excited and happy!”
Gussie and Ari shared a knowing look, but Willow held her arms out for a group hug.
“Now I understand!” Willow exclaimed.
“Why brides freak out?” Gussie asked.
“Yes! It’s so amazing. Isn’t it amazing? I’m marrying the man of my dreams, and I am going to spend my whole life with him, and I can’t believe this is happening for real! It’s amazing!”
Gussie laughed and tried to get them all to the door, catching Ari looking once more out the window. “Let’s go,” she insisted. “It’d be pretty sad if the wedding planners were late to one of their own weddings.”
Gussie led them all down the back hall to the bridal dressing room, Willow floating like she was a foot off the ground, where she stayed while they dressed in silk and lace, drank some bubbly, and shed a few happy tears with Willow’s colorful mom and dad.
They all followed the stone path together, stopping at the tiny bridge that crossed the sea oats and led to the wedding set, where about sixty excited people and one beaming groom waited.
Gussie was first, but before she started her walk, the three of them took a deep breath and had one last “we’re all still single” best friend hug. Already Gussie could feel the sting behind her lids, tears of pure joy and anticipation for her own moment like this.
Something told her it wasn’t far off—something like the look on Tom’s face every day since he’d been back.
“Listen,” Willow whispered. “I know we always said no weddings for us.”
“That was the wine talking,” Gussie joked.
“The voices of jaded wedding planners,” Ari agreed.
Willow shook her head. “It was fear, plain and simple.” She gave both women a squeeze. “I was scared of losing control, and when I did, it was awesome. And you.” She looked at Gussie. “You’re terrified of not being good enough, but I think that Tom has proven you wrong.”
“He sure has.”
“And you’ll find your one true love, Ari.”
Ari was peering into the crowd a few hundred feet away, but turned back to the small circle, her eyes bright. “I know,” she said quietly. “But right now, Willow? There’s a man standing up there who’s been waiting for you for ten years. Go marry him and live happily ever after.”
Willow smiled. “Sure would like you girls to join me.”
“We’re right here,” Ari said.
“That’s not what I mean.” With one last hug, Willow gave Gussie a slight nudge toward the bridge covered with white rose petals that lined the sandy aisle.
As she reached the guests, Gussie felt Tom’s presence, stealing one sideways glance and getting a wink that fried her right down to her bare toes. Holding on to that sensation, she finished the walk, and turned to watch Willow, escorted by her parents, walk the aisle to exchange vows with Nick.
The tears didn’t quite dry during the ceremony, or when the bride and groom kissed, and certainly not when they walked back down the aisle as husband and wife.
Gussie just stared as one teardrop rolled down her cheek.
“Tears of joy, Pink?”
Tom’s voice came from right behind her, followed by his strong hands on her shoulders, pulling her into his chest. She looked up, unashamed of those tears or the smile he brought to her face every time she looked at him.
“Utter joy,” she confirmed. “I predict a long and happy marriage for Mr. and Mrs. Hershey.”
“How do you know?”
“Oh, I can always tell,” she said. “After you’ve seen enough weddings, the forever couples stand out.”
He turned her in his arms to face him. Gussie still wasn’t used to his short hair, but she loved how it made his handsome features even more striking.
“How can you tell?” he asked.
“There’s…peace…in each other’s arms.” Which was exactly how she felt right this very minute.
His smile was slow. “How else can you be sure if a marriage is going to last?”
She glanced at Willow and Nick, holding hands, laughing, hugging friends and family. “There’s no friction. There’s no push or pull. They just work together.”
She closed her eyes and settled closer to him, feeling that last barrier taken down, the last remnants of her lonely facade melting into a…partnership. “There are no walls between them.”
“What about space? Is there space between them?”
Almost none, now. She and Tom were like one. For now, anyway.
“No.” And she hated to admit that to a man who traveled so extensively. There’d always be space between them—possibly half a world. “They’re together, like a unit.”
He brushed a hair off her face, cupping her chin. “Do they usually know each other for a long time?”
“Nick and Willow met in college, ten years ago.”
A frown pulled. “No one ever has a whirlwind romance that lasts a lifetime?”
“I won’t discount a whirlwind romance to last a lifetime if the foundation is strong.”
He nodded. “Okay, so that’s it? Peace, comfort, no barriers, no space, and newcomers can apply? No other criteria?”
“And love.” She laughed softly. “But that goes without saying.”
“Actually, it doesn’t.” He threaded his hands in her hair again, sliding his warm palms over her neck, blanketing her with an affectionate gaze. “Love should never go without saying.”
For a long moment, neither one of them spoke, but, then, sometimes they didn’t have to and they still heard each other loud and clear.
“Then let’s start with that and work backward,” he said.
“Start with what?”
“Love.” He pulled her closer. “You know, that feeling when you can’t breathe if you think you’re going to go a minute without seeing each other? When you wake and sleep and eat and work with one person on your brain and in your heart? When you only care about how they feel, what they think, and if they are happy? You know that feeling?”
She sure did. Her throat grew a little tight, so she nodded.
“That’s love,” he repeated.
Then she
was in it.
“And next, you have time. There’s no law that says these successful marriages have to be grounded in a multiyear or multimonth relationship, so one that started, oh, a month ago? It could work.”
It definitely could.
“As for peace and comfort, I don’t know about you, Gussie, but I’ve never been more at peace or more comfortable than I am right this minute, with my arms around you.”
A shudder danced through her as she agreed with a nod.
“We kicked that barrier thing in the ass, too.”
“Walls are gone,” she confirmed. “Along with wigs.”
“Then that leaves space.” He inhaled deeply and sighed, taking Gussie’s heart on a little ride it almost couldn’t stand.
“I approved a new contract today, I’m happy to say.”
And that ride stopped…along with her heart. This would be life with him. Contracts. Assignments. Constant travel. Could she take it? “Where are you going?”
“Nowhere. That’s the new contract. Anyone hiring me will either have to bring the job to me, accommodate my family by flying us to the job site, or wait until I’m good and ready to travel.”
She blinked at him, processing all that, stuck on one word. Family. Well, two words. My family.
“I’ll work my travel schedule around Alex’s school and your weddings and our life. But, spacewise, we need a bigger house. I’ve seen a few in south Mimosa Key I think we would love. Still home to Alex, but a fresh start for all of us.”
Her knees felt weak, but she managed not to buckle with the happiness that pressed all over her. “So, do we meet the criteria for a happy marriage that lasts”—he lifted his arm, showing the new tattoo he was so damn proud of—“forever?”
“I think we do,” she whispered, not trusting her voice completely.
“Then let’s go tell Alex the good news.”
But she didn’t move. “The good news?”
“That we’re getting married.”
She laughed. “You haven’t asked yet.”
“Can’t do that without the rest of our family.” He turned and waved to Alex who, Gussie realized, had been standing about twenty feet away, watching the whole exchange.
“Now?” Alex asked.