Chapter Three
Smoke stopped in the doorway and just stood there for a moment watching her. She was so damned beautiful, and she was all his. He loved mornings like this. They didn’t happen often enough, but when they did, they made him want to give up his busy schedule and stay home with her more.
She was sitting on the swing on the front porch, the morning light glinting on her hair as she stared out at the lake swinging gently back and forth. She chuckled. “If you forgot what you were doing, you were bringing that coffee out here and coming to join me.”
He looked down at the two mugs in his hands. “Oh, yeah, right.” He came outside and handed her one then sat down beside her and slung his arm around her shoulders. “Sometimes, I just forget everything when I see you. You’re so gorgeous.”
“Who’re you calling gorgeous, gorgeous?”
“You, my lady, my fiancée, my soon-to-be wife. “Abso-fucking-lutely gorgeous. That’s what you are.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
He nodded. “Just saying it like I see it. What do you think? How soon are you going to be my wife?”
She shrugged. “Not soon enough.”
“I know that much, but are we going to pin down a date?”
“Yeah, we need to, but do you really want to get your calendar out right now?”
He didn’t. He wanted to sit here with her and enjoy the cool of the morning and his hot coffee. “No, but if we don’t do it now, when will we?”
She sighed. “You’re right. Have you got your phone?”
“Yup.”
She got hers out and smiled at him. “Okay. Let’s see if we can find a date when we’re both free and when we can take the following two weeks off to go on that honeymoon you keep talking about.”
He grinned and opened his calendar. “Where do you want to start?”
“Tomorrow?”
He laughed. “I’d love to, but you’re leaving on Monday. Then when you get back, I’m leaving.”
“I know. Realistically we’re not going to do be able to anything before October.”
Smoke pursed his lips. “October’s out. I’m going to have to go to New York to renegotiate the lease on the plane there. Then I’m going to be ferrying Nate and Jack and Pete between here, LA and Seattle.”
Laura sighed. “Well, I’m back in London early November, then it’s Thanksgiving, then before we turn around, it’ll be Christmas. So, we’d better start looking at next year.”
“Next year? I don’t want to wait that long.”
“Neither do I, but what else can we do?”
Smoke thought about it. There had to be something. “I could cancel something? Get Jason to cover for me?”
“That’s hardly fair, is it?”
He shrugged. It wasn’t. Jason was already carrying most of the load at the flight school, and he covered a fair share of the charter flights, too. “Is there anything you could cancel?” He braced himself; he knew he shouldn’t even ask.
“I’m not even going to get mad at you for suggesting it. I’m to the point where I would cancel something if I could, but there isn’t anything. I have to go to London. I only go once a quarter as it is. Everyone else still goes to the monthly meetups.”
“I know.” He shook his head. “Is there any time where we could squeeze in a week’s honeymoon? Something to keep us going for now and then we could take two weeks next year sometime?”
She nodded thoughtfully. “I’m in Nashville next week. You’re in Seattle the week after.” She looked up into his eyes. What are you doing the following week?”
He checked his calendar. “Nothing major. I’m scheduled to be here. I’d be at the flight school, but …”
The corners of her lips were quivering up into a smile. “Two weeks today? If we did that we could take the following week off for a honeymoon.”
“Let’s do it.” There were so many reasons not to, so many factors that could be better if they waited, but he didn’t want to. He was sick of waiting. He wanted them to be married.
She put her coffee down and cupped her hands around the back of his neck, pulling him down to kiss her. When he lifted his head, her blue eyes were sparkling with fun. “What should we do, though? We’ve figured out the when, but it will dictate the what. It’ll have to be simple, and some people won’t be able to make it on such short notice.”
“If it’s important to them, they’ll make it. It’s not like we want many people anyway.”
“Everyone I care about is up here. Well, except Leanne.”
Smoke groaned. “Tell me she’s not going to be your bridesmaid?”
Laura laughed. “No, I think if I have one, I’d like to ask Piper. She’s my oldest friend and Leanne wouldn’t want to do it anyway, I’m sure.”
“Good.” Smoke had gotten over his dislike for Leanne to some extent, but she still wasn’t his favorite person. “But you said, everyone’s here. Does that mean you want to get married here?”
She shrugged. “What else would we do? We’ve already said neither of us likes the idea of Vegas. It’s too short notice to set up much of anything else. I know we talked about a wedding in the Mediterranean somewhere, but that’s hardly realistic in this time frame.”
“I guess. Would you want to do it here, at the house?”
“No, I think I like the chapel by the lake. It was good enough for Gabe and Renée and for Ben and Charlie. It’s good enough for us, right?”
“Yeah. If it’s good enough for you, that’s all I care about.”
Her smile faded. “Do you think it’ll be good enough for your mom and dad?”
“Yeah. It will. They won’t care. They know we’d never have their kind of wedding. They’d love it if we wanted to, but they know we’re not like that. In fact, I talked to Mom about it last night when I picked Cameron up, and she cried when I told her that, of course, they were invited.” He squeezed his eyes closed for a moment. “She thought they might not be.”
“Oh, Smoke. Can I call her when we figure it out? I’d like to tell her how much I want them there.”
He nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.”
“So, have we decided then? Two weeks today, at the chapel—if we can get it, and then what? Should we talk to Ben and see if we can do anything at the resort for a reception?”
“Yeah, though I don’t like our chances.”
“Could we do a reception here?”
“We could, but I don’t like the idea. It’d be too much work and hassle when all we want to do is get married and get out of here.”
She laughed. “That’s true. Maybe we could do something over at Four Mile? Angel was telling me that they haven’t had many bookings for the function rooms yet, that side of the business hasn’t kept up with the lodging.”
“Yeah, let’s talk to Ben about it.” His phone buzzed. It was a text from Cameron.
You guys take your time. Piper and I have had breakfast.
We’re going for a walk. Don’t hurry down here on our account.
Smoke smirked and held it up for Laura to read. She smiled and tapped away at her own phone, then chuckled. “Piper says she’s perfectly fine and there’s no rush for us to get down there.”
“She’s not on the hunt for a husband, is she?”
Laura laughed. “I think that’s the last thing on her mind.”
“Good, because I don’t think Cam’s in the market for anything serious.” He’d have to have a word with his brother. He didn’t like the idea of him sleeping with Laura’s friend and his potential employee, thinking that he’d never see her again.
Laura shook her head. “You still always think it’s the guy who’s in danger of getting hooked and tied down, don’t you?”
He shrugged. “I do, I can’t help it. Not many women are like you.”
“Well, Piper is. Don’t worry, Cameron’s safe.”
Smoke smiled. “I’m not worried. I just don’t want to see your friend get hurt. What do you reckon? Do you think we should go down there and see if we can catch Ben before he gets too busy? We can see what’s going to be possible for a reception and maybe stop by the chapel on the way in. It might be all booked up. We should see if this is realistic before we get too excited about it.”
She got to her feet. “Too late, mister. I already am excited. Now we’ve made the decision, I just want to make it happen. If the chapel’s booked, we’ll figure something else out. Let’s go see or do you want to call your mom and dad first?”
“No. I don’t want to say anything till we know it’s happening.”
“It’s happening.”
He smiled and stood to join her. “I’ll tell you one thing that’s happening before we go anywhere.”
“Oh yeah, what’s that?”
He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her to him, sliding his hand inside her robe to cup her breast. He loved the way she sighed as he circled her nipple with his thumb. “We’re going to do a little bit of making up for everything we’ve missed the last two weeks.”
She bit her bottom lip as she looked up into his eyes. “I like the sound of that.”
So did he. He took her hand and led her back inside.
~ ~ ~
Ben ran down the steps from the lodge and stopped at the bottom when he spotted Charlie getting out of her car. He jogged over to her.
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
She reached up and planted a kiss on his lips. “I wanted to come and see my lovely husband before I get busy for the day.”
He slid his arms around her and pulled her to him. “Should we play hooky instead? I can get Deb to take care of check ins.”
She laughed. “You know people think I’m a bad influence on you? You’re ready to play hooky at the drop of a hat these days.”
“I am, but it’s because you’re a good influence, not a bad one. You make me want to take time off. You make me want to live for today, not just work all the time.”
“I wish I could, but I’ve got a lot of work lined up myself this morning. How about I try to get finished around three? You should be done with check ins by then, and we can go for a drive or something.”
He nodded. “Yeah, let’s do that.” He couldn’t really leave Deb to face the day by herself.
“Okay. Do you have time for a coffee with me before you get too busy?”
“I do.” He loved that she’d come down here to see him. They were finding their feet as a couple. It hadn’t all been smooth sailing, but they were happy.
He took her hand and led her though the bar. She took a seat while he poured them each a coffee. “Do you know who’s coming down for breakfast today?” she asked.
“I think Missy and Dan and Jack and Em are coming, but I’m not sure about anyone else. Why? Do you want to join them?”
“No! I don’t have time. I’m just hoping I won’t run into anyone. I wanted to see you, but I really don’t want to see anyone else.”
“Aww, now I feel special.”
She laughed. “You should because you are.”
He grinned at her, then looked up as a couple came through the bar on their way out. It was Smoke’s brother, Cameron, and Laura’s friend, Piper. Cameron nodded at him.
“Have a great day, guys,” he called.
“Who was that?”
“Smoke’s brother and Laura’s friend.”
“Wow, that’s kind of cool that they got together.”
“I didn’t think they were together, but maybe they are.”
Charlie smiled. “Well, if they’re not, they should be. The look great together.”
“It takes more than looks to make a good couple.”
“I know. It’s just that now we’re married I want to see everyone as happy as we are.”
“No one can be as happy as us.” He leaned across the bar and planted a kiss on her lips. “I’m the happiest guy on the planet—and the luckiest.”
“Aww, aren’t you two just the sweetest?”
Ben turned and rolled his eyes at Missy. “What are you doing here?”
Missy shook her head and looked at Charlie. “Isn’t that a nice way to greet your old friend?”
“Don’t give me grief, Miss. I’m just enjoying a quiet moment with my wife.”
Missy grinned at him. “And I’m happy for you. I’ll just go back outside and wait with the others. I’ll talk to you both when you’re done in here.”
Charlie shook her head. “Sorry, Miss. No can do. I’ve got to get home and get back to work. I just came in to have a quick coffee with Ben.”
“Aww.” Missy chuckled. “So sweet!”
“Give me a break,” said Charlie.
“I will, I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it, but don’t you go turning into that girl.”
“Which girl?”
Ben had to smile at the puzzled look on Charlie’s face.
“You know. The one who forgets all about her friends when she meets a new man.”
Charlie laughed. “That’s hardly me, is it? I spend more time with my friends than I get to spend with Ben. Since most of my friends are also my clients. And besides, he’s not exactly a new man, is he?”
Missy laughed. “Nope. I guess not. He’s your old man now, and you’re his ball and chain. I’ll see you later, but would you send someone out with some coffee, Ben? I need it this morning.”
As Ben watched her walk back out onto the deck, he made a mental note to check in with her later. Missy wasn’t normally a big coffee drinker; it was odd for her to say she needed it.
Charlie leaned across the bar and kissed him again. “That sounds like your cue to get busy.”
He nodded reluctantly. “I guess. I’ll get out of here as early as I can.”
She smiled. “Just try for three? We both know we’ll run over, and it’ll be more like five, but we can try.”
“I’ll be home by four at the latest, and if you’re not done, I’ll just have to drag you away from your computer.” He said that, but he respected her work too much, just as she did for him. They loved each other, but their work was important to each of them.
She smiled. “I’ll make sure I’m done. See you later.”
Ben smiled as he watched her leave. Life was good. He went to get a pot of fresh coffee to take out for Missy.
~ ~ ~
“Hey, Ben!”
“Oh, hi guys. I didn’t know you two were coming this morning.” Ben held up a pot of coffee. “I’m just taking this out to Miss. I think Emma and Jack are out there, too.”
Laura smiled. “We’ll wait here till you come back in then. We need to talk to you.”
He nodded and hurried outside. Laura smiled at up at Smoke. “He looked worried. I wonder what he thinks we want to talk about.”
Smoke pursed his lips. “I just hope he doesn’t know something about Cam and Piper that we don’t.”
Laura chuckled. “Get it over it. They’re both grown-ups.”
Smoke shrugged. “I guess.”
Ben came back in and leaned on the bar. “What’s up, guys? Is everything okay? What do you need to talk about?”
Smoke looked at Laura, and she nodded. “We need to ask you about booking a function room.”
Ben grinned. “What kind of function are you planning?”
Laura laughed. “I think you’ve already guessed.”
“A wedding reception?”
They both nodded.
“That’s awesome, guys! Congratulations! When?”
“Two weeks today?”
Ben’s grin faded. “Seriously?”
“Yeah,” said Smoke. “I know it’s short notice, but we’ve wasted so much time already. When we finally sat down to figure out when we could do it, it was either now or wait until next year.”
“Wow!” Ben ran both his hands over his face. “I know you don’t want to wait, but I don’t know what I can do. Upstairs is booked out every weekend right through till October. I could maybe figure out how to do the catering, but I don’t have the venue.”
Laura nodded sadly. It was hardly surprising.
“Hold on.” Ben fished his phone out and dialed a number. “Angel, hey, it’s me. Can you check the schedule for the Lakeview Suite for two weeks from tonight? … Yeah … Great, thanks. Mark it as booked then, would you? … Just use my name for now. I’ll talk to you two later and fill you in.” He hung up and smiled. “You can have the Lakeview Suite over at Four Mile if you want it? It won’t have the same nostalgia factor as this place, but it’s a much better space. It’s bigger if you need that, or we can partition it off if you want to keep it small.”
Laura hugged him. “Thanks, Ben. You’re the best!”
Smoke scowled at her, but she could see the smile lurking. “Yeah, thanks, bud.”
“It’s my pleasure. It really is. What are you going to do for the ceremony?”
“We stopped by the chapel on the way in to town. Amazingly enough, they had nothing booked, so we’re all set up there.”
Smoke nodded. “So, we’ve got everything covered.”
Laura laughed. “Hardly everything. Would you still be able to cater it for us at Four Mile, Ben?”
“Absolutely. Everything’s set up there to be a top-notch wedding and event venue, I just haven’t put the effort into promoting it yet.”
“Well, we’ll be happy to help put the place on the map,” said Smoke.
Ben raised an eyebrow. “Are you planning something big?”
“Hell, no. We just want family and friends, but considering my family and some of my friends are big in the hospitality industry, it won’t hurt to impress them.”
Ben nodded. “I guess not. Speaking of your family …”
Smoke scowled. “What’s he been up to?”
“Nothing! Nothing bad. I just saw him with Piper this morning, and I wasn’t sure if they were an item.”
“Neither are we yet,” said Laura.
Smoke blew out a sigh. “But we can hope.”
“That they are?” asked Ben.
“No, that they’re not,” said Smoke.