Dreaming of You, page 6
He frowned. “Aria recommended my podcast to you?”
“Yeah, she said it might help me work through some of the things I was having issues with.”
And just like that, he understood.
None of this had been random. Not Clarissa finding his podcast or corresponding with him via email or even them meeting here in what would otherwise have been the mother of all coincidences. She’d found him because they were connected through their friends.
“I never realized that. You said you’d found me by word of mouth. I just assumed you meant on an internet forum, like most people.”
She laughed, and this time it sounded genuine. “As if I’d have time to surf the web. I barely have time to get myself presentable in the morning.”
“I’m sure you manage just fine.” She could wear jeans and a ratty T-shirt and she’d be stunning.
They slowed to a stop outside a cottage surrounded by a wild garden.
“This is me,” she said, slipping his jacket off and holding it out to him. As he took it, her perfume drifted toward him, and he longed to bury his face in the fabric and inhale deeply to see if it smelled like her. “Thanks for keeping me company.”
“You’re very welcome.” He didn’t want the night to end, but at least he knew he’d see her again soon. “You’re one of Aria’s bridesmaids?”
“Yes,” she confirmed.
“I’m one of the groomsmen, so I’ll see you at the rehearsal dinner. Or maybe sometime before.”
Her eyes crinkled at the corners, and her lips tugged up ever so slightly. “I’ll look forward to it. Bye, Mark.”
“Good night, Clarissa.”
She gave him a parting wave, then glided up the porch stairs and let herself in the front door. He waited until he heard it click shut before he left.
Evie sang at the top of her lungs in time with Beyoncé, crumping her way across the carpet. If she couldn't sing as well as she did, Clarissa would have cringed, but as it happened, she had a superb voice.
It was the day after she’d fled the bar, and she was with her friends. She’d had a lot of explaining to do, but everything was smoothed over now and they were letting loose and nurturing their creative sides.
"Got me hoping you'll page me right now," Aria chimed in from the kitchen, where she was preparing the wedding cake she'd insisted on baking herself.
Avery clapped her hands over her ears. Unlike Evie, Aria was tone-deaf, but what she lacked in talent, she made up for in enthusiasm. Evie completed a circuit of the room, dodging armchairs, coffee tables, and masses of paper, and dropped to the ground beside Sophie, who high-fived her.
"Good choice."
They were taking turns choosing love songs to listen to while they assembled decorations for the upcoming wedding. Evie, Sophie, Avery, and Clarissa were folding origami flowers in every color of the rainbow while Emily practiced floral arrangements and Teri handed her stems and tools as requested.
Teri groaned. "You guys are so old."
Evie grinned, not bothered by the teenager's scorn. "You wait your turn, Little Miss Muffet."
Teri knocked her forehead against the wall, and Emily giggled. The two had reached a truce after their first meeting, when Teri had tried to steal from Emily's gift shop.
Clarissa made a precise fold in a piece of sky blue paper and tucked the ends inside each other, completing a tidy six-petaled flower, which she set aside in the uncluttered area they'd designated for successes. The unsuccessful messes lay discarded in mounds around the room.
"How do you do that?" Sophie asked, holding up the mangled pink rose she'd folded and refolded several times. "Swear to God, I've only seen you mess up one flower since we started, and to be honest, it was still good enough that I would have called it a winner."
Clarissa shrugged, picked up a piece of gold paper, and started on another. "I spend a lot of time doing intricate work. I'm used to it."
Avery dropped a demented dahlia in disgust and started gathering up the crumpled failures into a black rubbish bag.
"Shouldn't you be good at this?" Emily asked her. "It's basically science. Fold this direction, then that, until you're done."
Avery shot the redhead a glare and grumbled, "This isn't science. It's art. I'm not artistic." Once the crumpled remains of her efforts were cleared away, she sat on the arm of the couch and proclaimed herself supervisor.
"Slacker," Evie teased, finishing a rose and eyeing it proudly.
Avery scowled at the perfect paper blossom in Evie’s hand. Clarissa hid her smile in her shoulder. Avery liked to be the best at everything, and the fact that Evie, who took nothing seriously, was better at something than her... well, if the set of Avery's jaw was anything to go by, Clarissa hoped Evie slept with one eye open.
"How's it going in there, girls?" Aria called as the song ended and Emily got up to select a new one.
"Great fun," Evie called, just as Avery replied, "It'd be better if there was beer."
"We’re having fun," Clarissa confirmed, "and it would be better if there was alcohol. How's the cake?"
"Delicious, of course."
Sophie hopped up and went through the connecting door to the kitchen. Clarissa focused on her folding and had completed another flower by the time Sophie returned with a cask of wine under her arm and carrying a platter with half a dozen wine glasses.
"Wine," Avery muttered, not at all a wine drinker. "Fantastic."
Sophie laid the platter on the coffee table and, with a flourish, pulled a bottle of beer from her back pocket and tossed it to Avery. Jason Mraz's “I'm Yours” played over the speakers, and Emily rejoined them, helping Sophie pour wines and hand them around. Even Teri got a small portion.
"Okay, maybe you guys aren't so bad," the girl admitted.
"Oh, my gosh." Aria peered around the corner, a cheeky smile on her face. "Did you hear that?" She directed the question at Evie. "We're not so bad."
Teri rolled her eyes and heaved a momentous sigh. "You know I love you, Ri."
"Yeah." Aria's smile softened around the edges, and her eyes shone. For a moment, Clarissa worried she might weep, but she held herself together. "I love you too."
Avery made a gagging sound. "You're too cute. Cut it out."
Teri stared daggers at her. "I don't love you."
Clarissa repeated the methodical folding movements, enjoying her friends’ banter in the background. Being around people was a nice change. She’d spent too many days in her own company, and being surrounded by people she liked and trusted relaxed her.
She could let her guard down. They didn't expect anything from her, other than for her to be herself. She hummed under her breath and exchanged smiles with Emily, who shifted several flowers and started wrapping twine around the stems.
"What are you grinning about?" Avery asked.
Clarissa shrugged. "I'm having a good time. This is nice. I haven't seen all of you girls together for ages."
Avery smirked, but she was enjoying herself too. She was an open book as far as Clarissa was concerned. They'd shared too many secrets for it to be any other way.
"As soon as Coop proposes to Sophie, we can do it all over again," Avery said.
Sophie laughed. "I think Gaz is more likely to propose to you first. Just to lock you down, make sure you can't up and leave him again."
Avery pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side, nodding. "Fair call."
"You know what I think?" Aria asked, still listening from the kitchen.
"What's that?" Clarissa said.
Aria bounced through the doorway, her hands occupied with a fondant lily. "I think Justin will beat Cooper and Gareth, and make an honest woman of Em." She sent a wicked smile to Emily, who blushed bright red to match her hair. "I'm not wrong, am I? He's mentioned it."
Clarissa felt for poor Emily, who clearly didn't like being at the center of speculation.
"He might have mentioned it," she mumbled, becoming a deeper shade of red, if such a thing were possible. "It probably won’t happen for a while though." She shrugged self-consciously. "Don't get too excited yet."
"Eep!"
Startled, Clarissa turned toward Sophie, the source of the noise.
"We're going to be sisters," Sophie exclaimed. Jumping up, she hugged Emily, then Teri and Aria for good measure. Teri cringed away from the contact, and Aria held her lily carefully out of reach.
"I suppose we are." Emily beamed, her perfect teeth luminous against the red of her cheeks. "I always wanted a sister."
"So did I," Aria said warmly.
Despite all the loving vibes in the air, Clarissa went cold inside at the reminder of Jen. Goose bumps traveled up her arms. She hadn't spoken to Jen since the night everything had gone to hell. For three months, she’d seen her in the hall at school, or across the courtyard during lunch, but had been too scared to approach her and risk rejection. Jen must have known what Clarissa had done and what had happened because of it. If she’d wanted to talk, all she'd had to do was pause as they passed by each other, rather than brushing her aside as though they were strangers.
Jen had never outright shunned her, but her indifference had been just one more betrayal, and Clarissa had been scraped so raw that all she could focus on was making it through the year. Anger, hurt, and guilt had fueled her. She'd had tunnel vision, unable to focus on anything other than escaping Itirangi and outrunning the past. After all, Jen hadn’t been the only person she’d feared running into in the school halls.
No, don't go there.
She looked around her friends and tried to summon the sense of comfort she'd had five minutes ago, but she was too busy wondering where Heath Shaw was. Her fingers shook, and for the first time, she fudged a fold.
She took a deep breath. In for four, hold for four, out for four.
She was strong; he couldn't hurt her now.
7
Mark bent over the pool table, lined up a shot, and knocked a banded ball into a pocket.
Eli, his teammate, murmured, “Nice shot.”
He aimed at his next target, moved the cue, and missed, the white ball bouncing harmlessly off the edge of the table. He stood back so Gareth could have a turn. Gareth also sank one ball but missed the next.
Eli pocketed two balls, and Mark clapped him on the back. “What a master.”
Then Davy, Gareth’s partner, showed them all up by sinking four in a row before missing.
“Come on, that’s hardly fair,” Mark protested. “You probably spend all day practicing.”
Davy winked. “Should have thought of that before you invited me to make up numbers.”
Sparing a glare for Sterling, who’d taken a work call and was speaking madly into his phone—the reason Gareth had needed a new teammate—Mark took another turn and missed.
“How are you feeling about the big day?” he asked Eli while they waited. “No nerves or cold feet?”
“Better bloody not have cold feet,” Davy said in a pleasant tone that belied his grim expression. “I’ll truss you up like a stuck pig and tie you to the altar if it makes Aria happy.”
Mark snorted with laughter. He thought Gareth might have cracked a grin too, but he could have imagined it. The man seemed incapable of anything other than glowering at him.
Eli wasn’t bothered. “As far as I’m concerned, the wedding can’t come fast enough. There’s nothing I want more than to make Aria my wife.” He nodded to Davy. “You told me she was a good woman the night we met, and you were right. I’d do anything for her.”
Mark was happy for Eli, but seeing him show so much emotion was somewhat shocking. “That’s great, mate,” he said. “I’m glad you’re happy.”
To his surprise, Gareth said, “I know where you’re coming from. Now that I’ve got Avery back, it’s like I’m really living again, you know? I’d do anything to make sure I never lose her.”
“You’re both mad,” Davy said. “I love those girls like they’re my sisters, but I can’t imagine tying myself to one of ’em forever.” He took his turn, sank three balls, and asked Mark, “What do you reckon, buddy? One woman for the rest of your life?”
A month ago, the prospect would have made him sweat, but now he considered it seriously. “Actually, I like the sound of that. Look at these two.” He gestured at Gareth and Eli. “Don’t they seem pleased with life?” He didn’t need to look at them to know Eli’s jaw had dropped and even Sterling had started listening. “If that’s what love can do for a man, it doesn’t look half bad to me.”
In fact, it looked damned inviting, like an alluring mirage, just out of reach. If only he didn’t know what he did about his own mortality. If only he hadn’t overheard his mother’s phone call all those years ago, after the heart attack that killed his father. The heart attack that may have had a genetic component. He’d never mentioned what he’d heard to Rose. She’d had enough on her plate without him piling his own worries on top. Instead he’d made the decision to live his life in such a way that no other people would be saddled with his problems.
Eli turned to Sterling. “Did you hear what he said, or am I imagining things?”
Sterling grinned wickedly, and Mark could hear the cogs rotating in his brain. “I did hear it,” he agreed, “and after last night, I think I know which woman it is that has him dreaming of wedded bliss.”
Mark covered his face with his hands. “No, Sterling. Don’t do this to me, man.”
Eli’s spine went ramrod straight. “Clarissa?”
“You... want... Clarissa?” Gareth asked in a strange, choked voice. Davy elbowed him in the side. Both men turned red like they were holding their breath.
Mark shrugged. “She’s intelligent, sweet, and beautiful. What’s not to like?”
Gareth muttered something, and Davy burst out laughing, his barrel chest heaving so hard his eyes watered.
Mark’s hands went to his hips. “What’s so funny?”
Between whooping gasps, Davy spluttered, “Rissa. Likes. To. Slap. Men. Gareth, especially.”
Instantly, and wholly unexpectedly, Mark’s hackles were up, and the blood pounded through his head so loudly he couldn’t hear anything else. He rounded on Gareth. Never mind that the other man stood several inches taller than him and was a good deal broader.
“What did you do to make her feel like she had to slap you?” he demanded.
Gareth’s face was still red, and he held his palms up like a gun was pointed at his chest. “Nothing,” he insisted, the redness creeping down his neck.
“You must have done something,” he persisted. “She wouldn’t have slapped you for no reason. She’s not like that.”
Sterling stared at him. “I’ve never seen you like this over a woman.”
Mark ignored him and raised a questioning eyebrow at Gareth, who sighed. “She saves the slap treatment for men who hurt her friends. I upset Avery, and Clarissa can be like a mother bear when Avery isn’t happy.”
The tension seeped from Mark’s shoulders, and for the first time, he noticed everyone was staring at him with equal parts shock and wariness. The attention made him uncomfortable. He leaned over the table and thumped his cue into a ball.
“Hey!” Davy cried. “It wasn’t your turn.”
He shrugged. “Oops.”
Eli and Davy started arguing over exactly whose turn it was. Mark exhaled, relieved they’d refocused on the game, then checked his phone, for some reason hoping to find a text from Clarissa. Ridiculous, considering she didn’t have his number. Disappointed, he looked up in time to see Sterling’s knowing smile.
* * *
"Is this all of us?" the celebrant asked, looking around the group. He counted them off. "Bride, groom, five bridesmaids, and one, two, three, four—"
A car roared down the drive, and seconds later, a young man raced around the corner of the building, his dark hair flopping over his face. He skidded to a halt in front of Teri and dropped a kiss on her nose.
"Sorry, babe, practice went late and I didn't notice."
She flushed pink to the roots of her hair. "We're just about to start," she hissed.
"Ah, five groomsmen," the celebrant said. "Good timing."
They were assembled on the deck of a private function venue overlooking the lake. The view took Mark's breath away. Rippling blue water extended into the horizon, framed by brown-green hills on each side. The lawn, which sloped from the deck to the water's edge, was spotted with pink and purple lupins—tall, bright flowers that spoke of new beginnings. Cherry blossom trees formed a beautiful backdrop along the side of the deck.
The celebrant stood no more than five and a half feet tall, with a wreath of gray hair surrounding a shiny domed head. He had fine-boned features and clutched a folder to his chest.
"Thank you all for coming to this rehearsal," he continued. "I'm Bill, the celebrant for Elijah and Aria's wedding. I'm here to keep everything running smoothly and make sure you have the best ceremony you possibly can. To start out, why don't we have the men form a semicircle, with Elijah at the head of the aisle, and the rest of you fanned out to the side."
Mark shuffled around to where the celebrant directed him, between Eli and Sterling. Aria's two brothers were positioned to Sterling's right, with Teri's boyfriend at the end. The boy had come from rugby practice and dirt smudged his face, which he wiped with his uniform shirt. Sweat glistened on his tawny skin, and he kept sneaking glances at Teri.
Mark hid a grin behind his hand. Ah, young love.
"Ladies," Bill said, turning his attention to the women. "We're going to start around the corner, where you'll be dropped off on the big day. When you come around, I want you to pause, smile, count to three, then keep walking. Take your time; it's not a race. Hold your hands like this." He set the folder aside and clasped his hands together, letting them hang a little below his waist, as if he were holding an imaginary bouquet of flowers. "That way, everyone can see your lovely dresses. The first of you to come out—who's that?"
