Chapter Two
Daniel parked on the street, following the directions that Megan had given him to get to the Rose Garden in Manito Park for Lance and Abby’s wedding. Megan had invited him when she’d called to convince him to be a model for the figure drawing class this semester. It hadn’t fit in his schedule. Juggling classes and football during the fall semester was hard enough already.
“Oh. Of course.” She’d sounded disappointed. “Well, how about next semester?”
He’d chuckled. “I’ll think about it. Ask me again in November, okay?”
“Okay!” She’d sounded way too enthusiastic about that for his liking. “Hey, what are you doing next weekend?”
The fast subject change didn’t surprise him. He’d modeled for her major project last winter, and she’d convinced him to pose for her again for a smaller project once the fall semester started. She always jumped from topic to topic, the connections not obvious to anyone but her.
“Not much. It’s the free weekend before classes start, so there’s a party Saturday night. But that’s all. Why?”
“Lance and Abby are getting married on Saturday morning at eleven. You have to come.”
He’d gotten to know them on their surf trip at the beginning of summer. They were engaged at the time, but as far as he knew, hadn’t set a wedding date. He hadn’t expected an invitation since Abby had said she wanted a small wedding.
“Are you sure your friends won’t mind if I’m crashing their wedding?”
She scoffed. “You’re not crashing. I’m inviting you. They didn’t send out formal invitations or anything. Lance’s family is here because his little sister is starting at Marycliff this semester. It’s just them and whatever friends are around. Chris got a couple days off to come, so he and Matt are the groomsmen. I’m the maid of honor, and Hannah’s going to be the other bridesmaid so the numbers are even. I’m pretty sure Elena’s coming too, but she’ll be sitting all alone if you don’t come.”
The smile in her voice tipped him off. She was playing matchmaker. And thought she was being subtle. But that made him reconsider the automatic no that he almost gave Megan. Elena had gone on that surf trip at the beginning of the summer too. They’d been the only two not part of a couple, so they’d ended up spending a large amount of time together. He almost hadn’t gone on the trip, actually, since Hannah would be there with Matt. Daniel had been afraid things would be awkward. He’d tried to date Hannah while she and Matt had been broken up, and gone to Megan’s art show as her date since they’d modeled for a painting together. Matt had shown up and made Hannah cry. At first Daniel had thought Matt had upset her by being a dick, but he’d apologized for his role in their breakup, and Matt and Hannah had gotten back together after that. She’d taken the time to explain to Daniel that she was still in love with Matt, and that she wasn’t interested in anyone else.
So when Chris had texted him to ask if he wanted to take a trip with them and learn to surf, he’d been surprised. Even more so when he’d found out that Matt would be the teacher. But he’d talked to Matt and there were no hard feelings. When he’d seen Elena, with her long, dark brown hair, bronze skin, and curves that were made for large hands like his, the attraction he’d felt to Hannah had paled. Honestly, if he’d met Elena first, he never would’ve asked Hannah out.
After that trip, he’d gone back home to Portland for the summer. He’d texted Elena a few times, but after about a week she’d said she was really busy with family stuff and didn’t respond to any other attempts he’d made to contact her.
But when Megan had asked, the prospect of seeing her again had been too much to resist. “Yeah, okay. I can make it.”
He stepped through the opening in the hedges, rows of roses spread out before him. Not as big as the Portland Rose Garden, but it was still nice. A small group of people gathered at the top of a gentle slope in front of an archway, a few rows of white folding chairs set up facing it. That must be where the wedding would take place. As he made his way toward the group, the August sun beat down on his dark brown skin, the temperature rising still at ten thirty in the morning. At least he could get away with khakis and a white button-down shirt that he’d left open at the collar and cuffed at his elbows because of the heat. Normally he’d be in full pads by this time of day and been running drills for hours. Since he wasn’t in the wedding party, he didn’t have to worry about a suit, though he had trimmed his hair with his clippers and shaved his usual scruff. He had more of a baby face without it, but he wanted to look respectable for the wedding.
He scanned the group of people, assuming the older man and woman he didn’t recognize were Lance’s parents. A few other people milled around, chatting and fanning themselves with folded papers. Another middle-aged man stood near the archway talking to Megan, who then spoke to someone else before she darted away, probably to wherever Abby was hiding.
Spotting Elena standing by herself off to one side of the chairs, he made his way in her direction. She had her hair down today, loose curls falling around her shoulders and down her back, her simple pink tank dress clinging to her curves in all the right ways, nipping in at her waist, and flowing past her hips. As he approached, she glanced up, her chin tilting up as her eyes skated over him before coming to rest on his face. The last time he’d seen her, those brown eyes flared with heat and desire. But today her face remained impassive, not giving anything away, a solemness to her that hadn’t been there while they were in Westport.
“Hey,” she said, her dark red lips parting only enough to let out that small word of greeting.
“Hey.” He stopped next to her, not quite close enough to touch, standing side by side and looking around, taking everything in. Her head came up to his shoulder since she had on heels today. “Weddings not your thing?”
He glanced at her to find her giving him a strange look, her eyebrows raised. “Why do you ask that?”
Lifting one shoulder in a careless shrug, he glanced back at the group of people still milling around near the arch while he stood with Elena off to one side. “Well, you’re by yourself, and you don’t look very happy to be here.”
She snorted softly, and he glimpsed a tiny uptick of her lips out of the corner of his eye. “It’s not weddings. I’m just not feeling all that social lately. But they didn’t invite very many people, so my absence would be noticed. Especially since my best friend and her boyfriend, who are both my roommates, are in the wedding party.”
He’d given up the pretense of not looking at her by now, giving her his full attention. What had happened with her family this summer? Whatever it was had had a profound effect on her, because the Elena he’d gotten to know would be in the thick of the crowd, chatting, meeting all the people she didn’t know, and having a good time. Part of what made the trip so much fun had been her dragging whoever would come with her all over the area to the different chintzy tourist places. Most of the time it had just been him, the other couples choosing to surf or, in the evenings, getting busy in their rooms. They had a block of rooms at a hotel, and the walls weren’t very thick, so he could hear Chris and Megan, whose bed apparently shared a wall with his, going at it. A lot.
He’d jumped at any chance Elena had given him to get out of there, feeling like a perv listening to their homemade porno soundtrack and getting hard. There was something particularly awkward about being acquainted with the people you could hear having sex, but not being friends enough to give them shit about it. And spending time with Elena was better than fantasizing about her. And by the end of that trip, the fantasy had become a reality more than once. As they’d spent more time together, he’d gotten bolder, and touching had turned into kissing, which had led to her inviting him back to her room the last two nights they were in Westport.
But this solemn version of her who’d only given him the barest of smiles instead of a hug or a kiss on the cheek? This was someone different. “Rough summer?”
She looked skyward, blinking rapidly before answering, her voice rough and choked. “You could say that.”
“I’m sorry.” He paused, unsure what to do or say. Wanting to offer comfort, because even though they hadn’t talked in a couple of months, he still liked her. But since she hadn’t initiated any kind of physical touch, not even a handshake, he hesitated to offer her a hug. She seemed withdrawn, holding herself at a physical distance from everyone, as though needing the space to maintain her psychological distance. Now was not the time to breach that. “You want to talk about it?”
She shook her head, looking down, letting her hair fall in a curtain around her face. More barriers. “Not now. Not here.”
Unable to help himself, he brushed his hand over her shoulder and down her arm. “Later, then? I’ve been told I’m a good listener.” Her eyes met his, and the unshed tears there twisted his gut. It had definitely been a bad summer. “You know,” he offered, “I have experience with bad family stuff.”
Her mouth twisted. “Okay. Later. After everything.” She looked away from him, glancing at the people past him, then met his eyes again. The tears were gone now. “I think they’re getting started. We should sit.”
They claimed two seats on the end. A violinist stood off to one side, playing something pretty and classical sounding while everyone took their seats, switching to a different song while the wedding party walked down the tiny aisle.
“Please rise,” intoned the minister as the traditional wedding march began. He turned to see Abby walking through the hedges bordering the garden, her eyes fixed on Lance. She walked alone, a small bouquet of multicolored roses in her hands, wearing a simple, strapless wedding dress. She looked beautiful, her face radiant. And Lance’s expression matched hers. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning, like it took everything in him to stay in place and wait for her to walk to him. Chris’s hand on Lance’s arm confirmed that impression.
They exchanged the traditional vows, smiling widely as they slipped rings on each other’s fingers. The minister read the Bible passage about love, and everyone clapped and cheered when he said, “You may now kiss the bride.” Lance bent Abby backward for a thorough kiss. When he stood her back up, her cheeks glowed pink, and she hid her face in Lance’s chest. He chuckled, rubbing his hand down her back as the minister announced, “I’m happy to present to you, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Lance and Abby Kane!”
The violinist played the familiar recessional music as Lance and Abby walked back down the aisle, her arm through his, followed by the other two couples. Daniel glanced down at Elena, and was happy to see her smiling, even if it was still tinged with sadness. “Do you want to go to the reception? Or would you rather bail?”
She looked around, glancing back at the wedding party gathered behind the chairs, laughing and talking. “I should go for a little while, at least. They have a room reserved at Luigi’s for lunch.”
“Alright. Did you drive?”
She nodded, her eyes sliding away from him again. They stayed for a while longer, waiting while everyone else talked and laughed. Daniel helped fold and stack the chairs in the back of someone’s pickup so they could be returned to the rental company. After that they all drove to Luigi’s for the reception. He laughed and chatted, too, but all he really wanted to do was get Elena alone and find out what was responsible for the sadness that never left her face, even when she smiled, making her laughter subdued and rare rather than quick and full like it used to be. She seemed like a shadow of the girl he’d met.
Every time she met his eyes, she looked away quickly, like she didn’t want to let him see too much. Would she let him in enough to tell him what was going on? She’d said she wanted to tell him, but she seemed to be delaying. And he didn’t know what that meant.