Chapter Thirteen
“Where did the weekend go?” asked Laura. She couldn’t believe it was Monday morning already, and she and Smoke had hardly snatched a moment alone together.
He came to her and closed his hands around her waist, drawing her to him. “I have no idea, but it’s gone. Now we just have to get through this week. I’m going to miss you, lady.”
She smiled and rested her head against his shoulder. “I’m going to miss you, too. You be careful, okay?”
“Always. You know that. It’s not like I’m going to be flying much. I’ll get them to Seattle this morning, and then I’m just hanging around mostly. Cam’s meeting us tomorrow afternoon so we can get our suits. Other than that, I’ll be waiting to see if they need to go down to Portland and meet with Meyers.”
“I wish you could just drop them off and come home, then pick them up on Friday.”
“I do, too, but in reality, you’d be too busy for me even if I were here. You still have to finish that ring, don’t you?”
“I do.” Laura smiled. She needed to call Lawrence back about Friday night, too.
“And all the girls are waiting for me to be out of the way so you can get into the flowers and cakes and all that stuff with them.”
“It’s true.” She looked at her watch. “I’m supposed to be meeting Holly at nine to try on the dresses.”
He smiled and hugged her to his chest. “Okay, I can take the hint. I’ll get going.”
She put her hands on his shoulders and planted a kiss on his lips. “Text me when you land?”
“Yep.” He frowned. “Will I even get to see you again before the wedding?”
Laura bit her bottom lip. She hadn’t thought about that. “I guess that will depend what time you get back on Friday, and what time you’re leaving for your party.”
He pursed his lips. “Do you want to call that whole thing off? I’d rather we all went out together if we do anything at all.”
“Sorry.” Part of her felt the same way, but there was no way she could let the others down now. Missy had spread the word about Oscar’s club and about Lawrence and Clay. Her mom especially was thrilled at the thought of not only going to see them but being at a fancy club as their guests. “I can’t back out now.”
His eyes told her he understood, even as he chuckled. “You refuse to be outdone by me, don’t you?”
“I can’t let that ego of yours go thinking it’s won. You’d be insufferable. Now get out of here and see if you can dream up something amazing to do for your party. It’d have to be fabulous to beat mine.”
“Okay.” He dropped a tender kiss on her lips. “I love you, lady.”
“I love you, Cole.”
He held her gaze for a moment, then nodded. “This is me gone.”
She watched the truck until it turned out of sight at the bottom of the driveway, wondering if that was the last time she’d see him as her fiancé, and thrilled to think that in less than a week, he’d be her husband. She ran back upstairs to get ready. She was going to have to move it if she was going to pick up Piper and make it over to Holly’s store at Four Mile by nine.
Holly greeted them with a smile. “Come on in. Your dresses are here and hanging in the dressing room. Go put them on, and we’ll see what we need to do with them.”
Laura emerged from the dressing room a few moments later and stared at herself in the mirrors. She turned a full circle and smiled. She loved it. And it fit beautifully. Holly had sent Tara her measurements, but she’d expected they’d still need to make some alterations.
Holly came in from the store. She brought her hand up to cover her mouth, and her eyes sparkled with tears. “Damn, girl. Just look at you!”
Laura nodded, surprised to feel the tears well up in her own eyes.
Piper emerged from the dressing room, and her eyes grew wide. “Oh, Laura! It’s beautiful. You are beautiful.”
Laura nodded. “And just look at you!”
Holly let out a laugh. “Cameron’s not going to know what to do with himself. I knew that would look good on you, but I had no idea you’d look like that!”
Laura nodded again. Piper looked amazing. “The color is perfect on you, but we knew that. But wow, it shows your figure off … just wow! I’m guessing Cameron’s going to have some competition. They’re all going to be drooling after you, looking like that.”
Piper looked a little uncomfortable. She turned around to examine her rear view in the mirror. “I feel like my ass sticks out a mile, and my boobs do, too.”
Holly nodded. “That’s because they do.”
Piper looked horrified.
“And they’re supposed to,” said Laura. “If you’ve got it, flaunt it, and you’ve sure got it, girlfriend.”
Holly nodded. “The guys are going to go crazy. They’re going to have two fine examples of the iconic female figure to ogle. We’ve got the tall, svelte, and sexy Laura, and the come-fuck-me curves of Piper.”
Laura had to laugh at the shocked look on Piper’s face.
“Did she just say what I think she did?”
Laura nodded. “’Fraid so girlfriend, and don’t look so shocked. That’s exactly what you’ve got going on.”
Piper gave them an embarrassed smile. “It’s been a while.”
Holly laughed. “Well, don’t worry. I can assure you that your dry spell will be over next weekend. And if Cameron doesn’t get his act together, someone else will.”
Piper looked at Laura.
“What? You didn’t already, did you?”
Piper shook her head. “No, but I wanted to, and I think he did, too.”
“I can guarantee you, he did, too,” said Holly. “When we left on Friday night, I was sure he was going to whisk you up to his room and screw your brains out.”
Laura laughed. “I must admit, I thought that was going to happen, too.”
Piper shrugged. “It almost did. I thought we were going to. We stayed and shared a bottle of wine, and he was getting all cozy, and he seemed as though he liked me, but then he got a message on his phone, and it was like a switch flipped. He was still the nice, fun, kind guy, but he was back to being a polite stranger.” She frowned. “You don’t think he has a girlfriend, do you?”
“No. I’m sure he doesn’t,” said Laura.
Holly raised an eyebrow. “So, why do you think he changed so fast?”
Laura shrugged. “My guess would be that he got a text from someone back in Napa, about work and that reminded him that he’s only here on vacation, that he needs to go back to his own world.”
“But why would that make a difference?” asked Piper.
“I don’t know,” said Laura.
“Me neither,” said Holly. “You’d think that would spur him on. Make him get some while he can before he has to leave.”
Laura laughed. “He probably doesn’t want to do that. He’s probably not looking for a one-night stand.”
Piper’s eyes widened again. “You think? That’s all I was looking for.”
Holly grinned. “You go, girl.”
Laura shook her head. “I don’t know. I have no clue.” She didn’t know what to say or what to think. She was surprised at Piper and didn’t know if she was right about Cameron.
“Well, it doesn’t matter either way, does it?” asked Piper. “Nothing happened, and if it does happen now, it’ll be on your wedding night. After that, he’ll be gone.”
“I guess,” said Laura.
“And like I said before, if he doesn’t get his act together, someone else will beat him to it.” Holly smiled at Piper. “You’ll have your choice of hot guys, I’m sure.”
Laura looked at her old friend. She had a feeling she was more interested in Cameron than she was letting on.
Piper shrugged. “All that matters is that I love the dress, and it fits well.” She looked at Laura. “And you look absolutely amazing. I don’t know what Big Sandy is going to make of me in this dress, but I do know that Big Smokey is going to love his bride in that dress. You look stunning—even more so than usual, and that takes some doing!”
Laura smiled. “Thank you.”
“She’s right,” said Holly. “You always look great, and you know it. That was my only worry with you—whether we could find anything that would take things up enough of a notch to be special. We did!”
Laura smiled. “Thanks. It’s funny; that’s exactly what I was thinking about Smoke. I know he’ll look good in whatever he gets, but then he always does.”
“I have to agree,” said Piper. “He’s a good-looking guy. It’d take something major to make either of you look even better than you normally do.”
Holly laughed. “I have a feeling he’ll pull it off. I’d be a little concerned if he was just going with Pete and Jack, but Nate’s with them, isn’t he?”
Laura nodded.
“Well, then I have faith. Nate has the best dress sense of any straight guy I’ve ever known, and Cameron seems to have a great sense of style, too. I think they’ll come up with something amazing. But that’s enough about that. You’re good to go.” She spent a few minutes inspecting the fit of, first Laura’s and then Piper’s dress. “I don’t think we need any alterations at all. Are you comfortable?”
“This feels as though it was made to measure,” said Laura.
“It kind of was,” said Holly with a smile. “So, now we’re good with the dresses, tell me what the hell is going on with Friday night? Emma left me a crazy cryptic message about not going to Vegas and going to LA instead and country singers and Chance.”
Laura laughed. “I’m surprised she remembered anything other than Chance.”
“Me too. So, what’s the scoop?”
Laura explained about Lawrence and Clay and the connection with them and Hope’s cousin and the new club. “It just seems like everything’s come together so well that I can’t ignore it. I mean, what are the chances that I’d be making a ring for a guy who happens to know Hope’s cousin? And that they’d all be in the same place the night I’m having my bachelorette party? It just feels like the right thing to do.”
“It sure sounds like it,” said Holly with a grin. “I can’t wait. I’d asked Pete about going to Six when I heard about it. Roberto and John were there on opening night, and they raved about it. Though, I’m not sure Berto saw anything other than Oscar. He has a huge crush on him.”
“He’s a good-looking guy,” said Laura.
Piper laughed. “Another one? They seem to be everywhere these days.”
“They are. Oscar is one of the hottest of them all,” said Holly.
“I wouldn’t let Pete hear you say that,” warned Laura.
“Too late. He was pissed that I kept staring at him at Chance and Hope’s wedding. I’ve had to claim I can’t help it. I told him all girls have one crush that they just can’t help, and Oscar Davenport is mine.”
Laura laughed. “And he believed you?”
She shrugged. “He has no choice. And I did point out that Emma is the same way over Chance, and Jack’s man enough to deal with it.”
Piper shook her head. “I’m amazed. I’d never dare tell a man that.”
“Well, you should learn,” Laura told her. “You can’t let a guy’s ego get in the way. Guys can’t help staring at hot women, so they should be able to handle it when we do the same.”
Holly nodded. “She’s right.” She turned at the sound of the buzzer on the door as someone came into the store. “You two get out of those, and I’ll be back in a minute.”
~ ~ ~
On Tuesday afternoon, Smoke paced up and down the lobby of the general aviation building and checked his watch. Cameron should be landing any minute now. Jack, Pete, and Nate were going to meet them at the store. Smoke could have gone with them; Cam was perfectly capable of making his own way there, but Smoke had wanted to come and meet him. He loved that his brother was taking an afternoon out of his busy schedule and flying up here to Seattle to meet them. There was no need. Smoke could have found his own suit and simply told Cam what it was so he could get the same. This was good, though. They were shopping together, bonding again.
He watched a jet come in to land and taxi around to the ramp. It wasn’t Cameron. He watched as the pilot let down the steps and then the passenger came down. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of the woman carrying a small dog. That stereotype really did exist for a reason. It was her. At first, he’d thought the hackles on the back of his neck had stood up in revulsion toward that kind of woman, but as she came closer, and he could see her more clearly, he knew. It was her. He looked around wildly. He needed to get the fuck out of here. He had no desire whatsoever to run into Anabel Groves.
He ducked into the first doorway he came to and was relieved to find himself in a comfortingly familiar flight planning room. A row of computers displayed weather information and radar screens. Hopefully, Anabel would get her ass out of there before Cam showed up. He pulled the door closed after him and then peeked through the gap. She was still a beautiful woman; there was no denying that. Not that she did anything for him. He knew that the beauty on the outside stretched thinly over the ugly on the inside of that one. The ugly shone through as she addressed the girl at the counter. There was no kindness in her manner. There was an air of meanness—that was the only word for it. Smoke shuddered, wondering what his life would have been like if he’d married her. He thanked his lucky stars for that escape. It might have cost him his family for years, but he had them back now, and he had a beautiful, kind-hearted, wonderful woman who was about to become his wife.
He sighed at the sight of Cameron coming in through the doors from the ramp. He’d have to go out there and greet him. He glanced back at Anabel and changed his mind. Cam would wait a few minutes, and with any luck, she’d leave.
Shit! Anabel had spotted Cameron, too. Smoke watched curiously as she waved at him. He wondered what kind of relationship the two of them had had after he was out of the picture. He smiled as Anabel tottered over to Cam and draped herself around him in a hug. To the casual observer, Cam was pleased to see her. He hugged her, kissed her cheek, petted the little dog she held, but as she hugged him again, Smoke could see Cam’s lip curl up in disgust. He was putting on a good front, but Anabel was no friend of his.
Smoke watched them talk for a few minutes, hoping that Cameron wouldn’t mention why he was here. The last thing he wanted was Anabel hanging around to see him. After a little while, a driver came in and tipped his hat to her. After hugging Cam again, she left.
Smoke blew out a big sigh and watched her go. He’d hoped he’d never see her again; now that he had, he hoped it wouldn’t happen again.
Cam grinned when he saw him. “Where did you come from? I was worried you might bump into Anabel out in the parking lot.”
“Nah, I saw her arrive and went to do some flight planning.”
Cam laughed. “You mean you hid?”
“Maybe.”
“I don’t blame you. Hate is a strong word, but I think I hate that woman.”
Smoke raised an eyebrow. He didn’t think Cam was capable of hating anyone.
“You do a good job of covering it up.”
Cam shrugged. “I have to. You know what it’s like. Appearances count for more than anything. It’s easy to keep up the façade and not create problems, but I can’t stand that woman. Not after what she did to you.”
Smoke smiled. “Thanks.”
“Come on. You know how it was. I wanted to rock the boat back then. The only reason I didn’t was to hold the family together. Everyone was so angry and so hurt. If the deal between our family and hers hadn’t gone through, Dad would have been in a mess. That’s why I stuck around and hung in there. I wanted to go with you and leave them to it, but where would that have left Chelsea? I did what I could to keep the family together, to make sure you’d have one to come back to one day.”
Smoke didn’t know what to say. He’d always assumed that Cam had been kind of pleased to see him go. He was supposed to step up and take control of the business, but he’d never wanted to, and Cam always had. Once he’d gone, it was natural for Cam to step in.
“Do you hate me?” asked Cam.
“Hate you?! Hell, no! What for?”
“For staying in the family when they treated you so badly. For not siding with you against them.” Cam shrugged. “I don’t know, for being a bad brother.”
Smoke grasped his shoulder. “You’re not a bad brother; you’re the best brother. You know, for years, I thought you must hate me.”
“Never. I missed you, but I didn’t know what to do.”
“Me neither, but all that’s behind us now. I’m grateful to you that you did what you did. You kept the family together, and now I get to be a part of it again. It all worked out.”
“I just wish none of it had ever happened. We lost so many years.”
Smoke shook his head. “I used to think that way, too, but seeing Anabel just then made me realize; if we hadn’t had that big blow up, I’d be with her. I’d be miserable. I’d be running the company instead of you. Who knows what you’d be doing. And I’d never have met Laura. I’d never have been as happy as I am right now.” He smiled. “It all worked out for the best, in the end.”
Cam smiled. “I guess it did.”
“I guess we’d better get our asses moving if we’re going to meet the guys and get these suits figured out. Come on, the car’s waiting.”