— EIGHT —
DANI was already crying and they hadn’t left the hotel suite yet.
“You gonna be okay?” Olivia laughed gently. “I’m not crying yet, don’t get me started.”
The photographer Dani’s parents had insisted on hiring kept snapping away, and Dani thought for the umpteenth time that day that eloping made a lot of sense. So many feelings for what was just another day—it’s not like Rafe and Olivia were going to be different tomorrow than they’d been yesterday. Plus the cost. And no one looked good with mascara running down their cheeks.
It was really about how silly she looked crying over the whole thing. Dani hated crying. At least she wasn’t alone, Olivia’s sister Mina had wet eyes too. She’d just ducked into the bathroom to reapply her concealer.
“It’s just that you guys…the divorce, and the fighting, and now you’re back together…” Dani sniffed and dabbed at the corners of her eyes in a vain attempt to not mess up the professional make up they’d paid too much money for. “And now I’m ruining it.”
“The wedding or your make up?” Olivia touched her cheek. “Both are still perfect.”
“Why aren’t you crying?”
Her sister-in-law just smiled. “I cried all my tears around the shooting. This is the happiest day of my life. I’m all good.”
“You should market that in pill-form.”
“I’ll get right on that.”
“I’m glad you’re going to be my sister again.” Dani fluttered her hands in the air and took a deep breath. “No offence, Mina.”
“I never stopped seeing you as my sister, baby girl.”
“I know. Now turn around, let me smooth out your skirt.”
Olivia wore a tea-length, champagne-coloured strapless gown that made the most of her short, curvy figure. Her long dark hair was sculpted into a retro half-up, half-down do. Dani’s hair wouldn’t hold the pin curls in the same way, so she’d flat ironed her hair instead, and while she liked her figure-skimming black cocktail dress, she didn’t hold a candle to the bride.
As it should be.
“Ready to go find our mothers?”
Olivia shuddered. “Do we have to?”
Dani laughed. “Yep.”
“Damn.” Her sister-in-law pointed to the box of flowers that had been delivered earlier. “There are two corsages for them. Maybe I can give those to them while we get some pictures? Oh, shit. The boutonnieres. Can you take those over to Zander’s room?”
“Of course.” Dani blew her an air kiss, grabbed the smaller tray of flowers and pins for the men, and opened the suite door. In swept their mothers, right on queue. Dani was grateful for the escape as the photographer started barking out positions for the women to receive their flowers in a totally orchestrated way. Ahhh, memories.
The guys were getting ready one floor below. There was still an hour to go before the ceremony, and Dani decided to take her moment of privacy to call Jake. There was a small landing just beside the stairwell with a padded bench. She set the flowers down and double checked that the hallway was empty before dialling. He picked up right away.
“How’s everything in bridal land?” The second she heard his voice, she relaxed. She hadn’t even realized she was tense.
“Good. A little overwhelming, which…I dunno. It’s good. Olivia is gorgeous and happy. I’ve been tasked with taking Rafe his boutonniere, so I thought I’d sneak a phone call to you.” She hesitated before adding, “I miss you.”
“Tomorrow, I’m all yours.”
“And I can’t wait.” She twisted the tear-stained Kleenex that she really needed to throw out. Except she’d need it again during the ceremony. Now she understood why ladies carried lace handkerchiefs.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Would you believe that I need a hug?”
He laughed quietly in her ear. “Is that a big deal for Dani Minelli to admit?”
“Mmm hmm.”
“Where are you? Can you ask one of your brothers for a hug?”
“I’m sitting on a bench down the hall from Rafe and Olivia’s suite. I haven’t gone down to Zander’s room yet. And a brotherly hug isn’t what I’m looking for.”
“Ah.” His voice was rich and warm, and exactly what she needed.
“Okay, I’ve gotta go find my brother. I’ll sneak another call later. I like hearing your voice.”
“And I like hearing you say that. Be happy, gorgeous.”
Feeling more balanced, Dani grabbed the flowers and ducked into the stairwell—where Jake was waiting for her on the landing hallway down to Rafe’s floor. He’d shaved and put on a suit, and her body immediately responded to the nearness of him—in the good, nipple-tightening, aching thighs kind of way, but also the terrifying oh my God, everyone will see me want him kind of way. Her heart hammered away in her chest as if underlining the latter point. “Jake…”
“Be happy, gorgeous,” he repeated, holding out his hand.
Darting a glance all around, she descended the flight of stairs and took it, because even if he was the cause of her panic, he was also the cure. “What are you doing here?”
“Rafe invited me yesterday.”
“And you didn’t think to warn me?”
“This was more fun.” His eyes glinted with humour, but she wasn’t feeling it.
“How am I supposed to spend the evening around you and not let everyone in on our dirty little secret?”
Narrowing his eyes, he took the cardboard flower tray and dropped it on the ground. Then he pulled her close and skimmed one hand up her body as the other palmed her ass in a possessive brand that made her core clench in appreciation. She cursed her womanly bits for not caring that the caveman routine was…caveman-y. Ergo, not cool.
“Don’t say that like being dirty together is a bad thing,” he muttered, kissing her jaw. “You look amazing. I can’t wait to get you out of this dress. Please tell me you’ve got your own room. I couldn’t book one, they were all full.”
“I do. And that’s not helping.” She gasped as he dropped his hand down the back of her thigh only to slide it up again under her dress. Between them he was thick and ready, and she needed him to kiss her even if they didn’t have time for anything else. “I can reapply my lipstick, you know.”
Barely were the words past her lips before he pulled them together, his tongue tangling with hers in an erotic kiss. All around them, her family was readying for a wedding, but alone in the stairwell with Jake, all she cared about was the electric connection between their bodies.
“You drive me crazy,” she whispered against his lips as they both sucked in ragged breaths.
“You make me crash weddings,” he muttered back.
Laughing quietly, she kissed the corner of his mouth. She literally couldn’t keep her lips off him if given half a chance. “You said you were invited.”
“I may have started the conversation that led to Rafe inviting me.”
“We can’t…I mean, we need to play it cool tonight. Not touching me. I might spontaneously combust.”
He nuzzled her neck. “Can’t have that. I’ll be good. Until the end of the night. What room are you in?”
She winced. “320. Right next door to Tom.”
He pressed his lips against the curve of her ear. “Then you’re going to have to be very, very quiet when I’m licking you later.”
A flame-thrower would have had less effect on her than those words. White, prickly heat flooded her from head to toe and between her legs, fresh wetness soaking her panties. Gonna have to change those before the wedding. She gaped at him as he pulled back, adjusted his tie, and winked before jogging back down the stairs.
Toward Zander’s room. Where she was going.
Oh, no. No, no, no. This wouldn’t go well at all. Or at least, not until the end of the night. She pressed a hand to her belly and allowed herself a moment of shiver-inducing rewinding of Jake’s last words before she shoved them to the back of her mind.
— —
Jake took a perverse pleasure in the way Dani couldn’t look him in the eye when she entered Zander’s room a few minutes later. With pink cheeks and still swollen lips, and in her little black dress, she was the prettiest bridesmaid he’d ever seen.
She handed out the small bundles of flowers, pinned on her father’s boutonniere, then made herself scarce again.
Pretty soon the photographer showed up, then it was time to head to the small atrium for the ceremony. Zander produced a flask and they all had a toast to the groom as they filed downstairs.
The gentle strains of string music greeted them as they filed in. The officiant was already there, along with a staff person from the inn. Rafe handed over a small ring box just before his mother and Olivia’s mother arrived and announced “the girls” were just outside. Rafe stood a little a taller, and Jake was hit in the gut with an intense desire to be in his shoes.
Swinging his gaze to the door, he held his breath as first Mina, then Dani, walked through the door. He should have been paying attention to Olivia following them in and taking Rafe’s hands in the middle of their semi-circle of family members, but all Jake could see was Dani.
Her long, dark hair swung over her shoulders in a shiny, hypnotic curtain and her slim black dress looked innocent until she took a step and it clung to her hips, and all he could see was the shape of her body.
They may have only shared one day together so far, but he’d already memorized her every curve, and the brief taste of her in his arms in the stairwell had lit up that knowledge with sparklers and neon highlighting. The width of her hips and the pert roundness of her breasts, topped by nipples he could still taste on his tongue. The way her skin pebbled under his touch and how wet she got when he stroked her just so.
The music faded away and the Justice of the Peace looked back and forth between Rafe and Olivia. “It’s not every day that a couple contacts me and say they want to get married—again.” That got the expected laugh from the small group, and he smiled at the couple. “I understand that you have done a lot of talking, and soul searching, as you made this decision to bring your paths back together, and share a life again.
It is fitting that you choose to begin this union tonight, surrounded by those closest to you. But like all New Year’s resolutions, know that there will be stumbling blocks. As you’ve already discovered, marriage is hard. Making it last is even harder.
Rafe and Olivia, you two know that better than anyone, and after talking with you over the last few weeks, I believe you take these vows seriously and with a depth of understanding and meaning that greatly impresses me.”
The officiant looked down at their hands, already clasped and covered them with his own.
“Rafe, do you come to this marriage to Olivia with renewed commitment and intent?”
Jake watched as his friend smiled widely. “I do.”
“Will you love, honor and cherish her in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?”
“I will.”
“For real this time?” Everyone burst out laughing, and the officiant raised his hand. “They asked me to say that.”
Rafe nodded. “For real this time.”
Then it was Olivia’s turn, and she repeated her “I do,” “I will,” and “For real this time” with the same broad smile her husband had. Beside her, Dani blinked a few times, her eyes wide like she was holding back tears, but she held it together.
Grabbing his pocket square, Jake tapped Tom on the shoulder and pointed to Dani, handing over the folded cotton. Tom handed it to his sister, who smiled a polite thanks until Tom pointed back at Jake. When her gaze hit his, the room lit up for just a second, a warm, bright connection that she broke as quickly as she’d made it.
He jerked his attention back to the ceremony just as Zander handed Olivia’s ring to Rafe.
“Liv, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love.” He slid it on to her left hand.
Lifting her hand, Rafe kissed his wife’s knuckles, and Dani’s tears started to fall. Jake was going to tease her about that later as he kissed his way down her naked body.
Olivia stroked Rafe’s cheek before taking his ring in her fingers. “Rafe, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love.” She nudged it over his knuckle.
Clearing his throat, the officiant murmured something quietly, then Rafe and Olivia spoke at the same time. “With these rings, we wed. This time, forever.”
“You may now kiss the—” He cut himself off, because Rafe already had Olivia hauled against his body, his arms around her waist and hers around his neck, their vow-sealing kiss very much in progress. “Yes, the bride.”
They kissed twice, then whispered I love you to each other before the Justice of the Peace turned them to face everyone else. “I now present as husband and wife, again, Rafe and Olivia Minelli.”
Cheers led to hugging, and by the time everyone had kissed the bride, two servers had come into the room with trays of champagne and appetizers. Dani stuck to the opposite side of the group, no matter which way he turned, and he didn’t press her to be closer. When she caught his eye after murmuring something to Mina about how good the champagne was, he lifted his glass and made a mental note to have a bottle sent up to her room. He wanted to drink it off her body.
The photographer coordinated a bunch of family photographs, then whisked the couple outside for some wintery wedding pictures while the rest of the group headed to the attached steak house.
Inside the dining room Rafe and Olivia had reserved, they found an appetizer buffet set up and a private bartender—a very pretty bartender.
Tom leaned toward Jake. “My offer for you to stay in my room is now officially rescinded.”
“And what if Zander beats you to it?” Jake tipped his head toward Tom’s oldest brother who’d just pulled a twenty from his wallet and was making a beeline for the bar and the bartender’s tip jar. “He who tips first…” From behind him, Dani laughed, and he turned around slowly. “You like that?”
She nodded. He left a safe four feet gap between them, but he hoped his eyes said it all. You’re beautiful, my Dani.
A smile told him she got at least part of the message.
After Rafe and Olivia returned, the bride wearing the groom’s suit jacket because she’d gotten cold and the groom wearing a shit-eating grin because he finally had his wife back, officially and everything, Zander proposed a toast. Then it was Dani’s turn.
“I know Rafe said no speeches,” she said slowly, pulling out a thick, spiral bound sheaf of papers with a glossy cover printed with the words Dani’s Really Long Speech. “But I had to grow up with fart jokes and nobody to play tea party with me, and I missed your first wedding, so suck it.”
Jake smothered a laugh as Olivia gave Dani a high-five.
“But I don’t need a hundred pages, small point font, single spaced to say everything I want to say about brothers and sisters. If I still just had brothers, I’d do it anyway out of spite, of course. Since Rafe marrying Olivia means that we don’t need to carry on our special sister bond in secret, though, I’ll cut him a break.”
Smiling at her brother now, Dani lifted her glass. “Rafe, despite your dislike of wedding speeches and tea parties, you’re a wonderful brother. I’m so proud of you for being an upstanding soldier, a police officer, a community member, son and neighbour. But I’m most proud of you for finding your way back to Olivia. The last two years I’ve stayed close with each of you, and continued to love you both. So I had a front row seat for the fireworks.” She got more laughs for that, but Jake didn’t think she was going for a funny punchline. “And Olivia…the first time my brother brought you home as his wife, I was just a teenager, and I didn’t have a clue what real love was. Even as you struggled, I could see how much you cared for each other. That you continued to serve him breakfast over the last two years—wanting him close even when you didn’t like him…that just underlined all the lessons I’ve learned from you both over the years.”
She cleared her throat and stared at her notes, and all of a sudden Jake realized…she hadn’t planned on saying any of this in front of him. Look at me, he silently urged her. Look up and see that I want to hear this. It’s not too soon. All these years, you’ve been on my mind, too. All that I know about love I’ve measured against how I think about you.
Her cheeks darkened and she bit her lip, then she started again. “Lessons learned from Rafe and Olivia’s Tragic Love Story.” She peeked up then, glancing first at her brother and his wife, then quickly at Jake. He winked, and she took a deep breath before continuing. “One. Think seriously about telling your spouse they’re wrong. And when in doubt, let them think they’re right. Two. Endless patience is probably a good thing. Three. Coffee keeps people together, even after a divorce. Four. Be gentle with each other. And Five…” She stared at the page for a minute, then folded it in half and looked up with a wink. “Beware the small town gossips. And sisters.”
Everyone toasted and laughed, but Jake saw that Dani’s hands shook as she tucked that sheet of paper into her purse.
As the servers brought in their first course, the table sparked up with quieter pockets of conversation. Before the main course, Rafe’s parents spoke. Before dessert, Olivia’s mother and sister stood and shared some stories about a young Olivia, before everyone else knew her.
After all the plates were cleared, Rafe rose and lifted his glass. “I’d like to thank you all for coming tonight, and celebrating the end of what we’re going to call my dumbass period.”
Olivia laughed and shook her head, her eyes crinkled shut. Rafe gazed down at his wife with a fondness that Jake recognized from inside himself, then he set his glass down without doing a toast and moved behind her chair. Ducking his head, he whispered in her ear and she nodded, squeezing her eyes shut even more. Rafe guided her out of her chair to stand in front of him, and he wrapped one arm around her waist and snagged his glass again with the other.
“To our family.” His eyes settled on his parents as he finished the toast. “And sticking things out, no matter what.”
Everyone offered their cheers, then Rafe handed off his drink to Tom. “I just told Liv that my New Year’s resolution is to learn how to dance. That’s not going to help me tonight…” he nodded at Zander, who tapped the screen on his iPhone, which he’d hooked up to portable speakers at some point. At the first crooning lines of Unchained Melody, Olivia finally started crying. “But we’re among family. And I do love dancing with my wife. So…” He pulled her away from the table, and they swayed to the music as if they were the only two people in the room.
It turned out that Zander had a whole playlist programmed, so next Olivia danced with Alessandro Senior while Rafe danced with Anne. When the third song started, and the groom looked like he wanted his bride back, Jake stood up. He could dance with Dani’s mom.
“It’s nice to see you here tonight,” Anne said as they turned around the room to an older country song.
“When Rafe gave me the opening, I took it.”
“You’re practically like family.” She smiled up at him. “When are you going to start one of your own, hmmm?”
Just as soon as your daughter lets me, he thought with a wince. She wouldn’t look at him so happily then. “I’m still young.”
“Oh, Jake.” She shook her head. “One thing you’ve never been is young. Not even when you were a hooligan getting in trouble.”
“I never got in trouble!”
“College drop-out?”
Oh. That kind of mom-disapproved type of trouble. “Respected business owner?”
She laughed and patted his arm. “You do have that going for you. If you weren’t in the army, I’d suggest you maybe think about dating Dani.”
Stumbling over his feet, and then hers, Jake had barely right himself before Anne laughed again. “Not really, of course. But I’ve always wanted her to settle down with someone like you. Not you, of course.”
“No,” he muttered, his heart pounding. “Of course not.”