05 Desperate Match Read online

  And then he pulled back. Cold air slapped at her front where he’d warmed her. “Brother’s wedding,” he muttered. “Can’t miss it.”

  He helped her off the sink, and in a daze she turned to the mirror to fix her hair and makeup.

  “Got your lipstick on me,” Rowan said. She looked in the mirror at his reflection. “I like it.” A pink stain was smudged on one side of his lips. Lips she wanted to keep kissing. “Let’s get my tie, then we gotta go.”

  Fighting her aroused daze, she struggled to keep her voice steady. “Are you in the wedding party?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Adam’ll kill me if I’m late.”

  “Then let’s hurry.” They stepped out of the bathroom to the bedroom, and she accepted the tie he handed her. With economical movements, she wrapped it around his neck and crafted the one knot she’d been taught by her father.

  “Nice,” Rowan said.

  “Thanks. My dad taught me when I was little.”

  “Cool.” An unreadable look crossed his handsome face for a moment.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Huh?”

  “The look on your face just now. What were you thinking?”

  He kept silent and for a minute she didn’t think he’d tell her.

  “Was thinking of last time I wore a tie. My mom’s funeral. Adam tied the tie for me. No dad to teach me and didn’t have lots of occasions to wear one.”

  She didn’t know what to say. She took his hand and squeezed it. “Someday you’ll teach your son. Now let’s get to your brother’s wedding.”

  He squeezed her hand back, then released it and helped her into her coat. They hurried out of the building and across the lawn to the gymnasium. Other Program members were hurrying into the building also. Despite her thin dress and heels, Jill barely felt the cold in her excitement to attend the wedding. The fact that Rowan had held her hand the whole walk to the ceremony only made her excitement sweeter.

  She tossed her coat onto a pile of coats hidden in a corner at the entrance. “I’ll help you find a seat, then I’ll go find Adam, who’s probably shitting a brick by now that I’m MIA,” he said.

  “Okay.” She followed him into the decorated gym, anticipating his reaction. She wasn’t disappointed.

  “Whoa. They did a number in here.” Rowan froze in the entrance and craned his neck. “Looks amazing. Mrs. Bristack rocks.”

  At that moment one of the women who’d been helping with setup brushed by. “Hey, Jill. Nice job in here. Loren’s gonna flip.”

  She smiled. “Thanks.”

  She felt rather than saw Rowan’s questioning gaze. “Emma and Thea dragged me into helping.” She shrugged. “I like decorating stuff, so I shared a few ideas.”

  Thea and her husband Ryan had come up behind them. “Shared a few ideas?” Thea echoed. “Rowan, the room is this beautiful thanks to Jill. We would’ve been lost without her.”

  “For real?” Rowan brushed a kiss on her cheek. “You got talent. Ever think about making a go of it for a career?”

  Only every day, but it wasn’t the time to share that particular goal. She could tell him later when they were snuggled in bed. Darkness in Rowan’s embrace was where it was safe to share secret dreams. For now, Rowan had to get to his brother, and she had to find a seat.

  Rowan tried to concentrate on his brother and Loren making their commitment to each other, but he kept getting distracted by the woman seated in a row of chairs behind him. He’d walked her to a seat near the front on the side he’d be standing on, then ran to find his brother so he could be part of the ceremony. He, Adam, and their dad had entered the gym from the side and taken their spots up front. Jill had grinned at him and he’d focused on her until the back doors opened to admit the bride.

  Three–year–old Kylie had scored a lot of smiles and laughs as the flower girl. The little cutie had earned her rightful place as the daughter of an enhanced soldier, choosing not to delicately drop the flower petals, but to throw them several feet ahead of her as she walked.

  He’d lost sight of Jill when everyone rose to welcome Loren. Jill was petite, which he liked. Her cheek fit perfectly against his chest when they hugged. And when they snuggled together in bed, her hips aligned perfectly with his, while her lips nestled against his collarbone. Shit, he couldn’t mentally go there now. He was at his brother’s wedding, in front of a huge crowd. The chairs rustled as everyone retook their seats.

  He chanced another glance back at Jill, but she wasn’t looking at him this time. Her full attention was on Loren and Adam, who were oblivious to anyone else in the room. Tears ran down Jill’s cheeks, and he fought the urge to leave his spot to go offer her comfort. Then he realized all eyes were on him, and he grinned. “I didn’t forget it.” He fumbled in his chest pocket for the ring.

  He handed the thin gold band over and winked back in Jill’s direction. She blew him a kiss. He tried not to read too much into her flirtatious behavior, but with every day she spent away from her marriage, she morphed into a butterfly meant to fly. He liked that metaphor. When she’d shown up on campus, she’d been cocooned, scared of her own shadow. Three weeks later, she wasn’t flying free yet, but he’d had a glimpse of her brightly colored wings, and he wanted to see more.

  Her buttoning his shirt then tucking it into his pants had nearly brought him to his knees. Only his brother’s wedding had made him call an end to the sexual play. Anyone else’s wedding would’ve been skipped.

  A cheer went up around him, and he forced his attention back to the moment. Steven, who was officiating at the wedding, had declared Loren and Adam officially married. Rowan let his voice join the chorus of cheers and well wishes and had a fleeting wish he had two hands so he could clap his joy at the moment. Sometimes his disability sucked.

  He didn’t have more than a second to wallow, because the wedding ceremony was breaking up and the whole room sprang into movement. Everyone grabbed their chair to move it off to the side, and several of the soldiers ran to heft the tables at the side of the room. In less than five minutes, the room was transformed again, this time as a reception space, complete with dance floor.

  Chase took his place at a DJ table, with four–year–old Luca, at his side. Chase held out a mike to the kid who grabbed it and yelled, “Let’s party!” The room erupted with cheers, and the small dance floor filled with gyrating bodies. Rowan stood on the sidelines outside of the mass of partiers.

  It had been a rough week for everyone on campus, particularly for him, and he knew everyone was rejoicing at a few hours to dance off their problems. He glanced around for Jill, the woman at the root of all the problems. She had no idea of the shit storm she’d caused, and he wanted to keep her oblivious. He didn’t see her at first, but then two thin arms wrapped around his torso from the back. He spun to see her grinning up at him.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey yourself. No more tears?”

  “What? Oh. No, I cry at weddings. Don’t all women?”

  “Don’t know. Thought I was going to have to make a run for paper towels.”

  She gently punched his chest. “Shut up. It was a beautiful wedding. Loren and Adam look so happy.”

  “Yep.”

  “Will they get to go on a honeymoon?” She circled to his side and he wrapped his arm around her waist.

  “Not sure.” He shrugged, refusing to tell her any of the truth. She couldn’t know that Adam and Loren had planned on a two–week trip to an island in the Caribbean. And she definitely shouldn’t know that tonight’s wedding wasn’t supposed to be in this gymnasium, but at a fancy hotel in downtown Baltimore. All of the plans had changed thanks to Jill’s husband. Jackass had brought his outrage to the media.

  The media had brought the story to the masses, and now it seemed the entire country believed The Program had kidnapped a married woman and was holding her against her will. Religious groups had gone nuts and threatened violence and any other repercussion they could think of until Jill was returned to
her rightful husband.

  There wasn’t a chance Loren and Adam could have held their wedding off–site. Security for their guests couldn’t be guaranteed. Far easier to sneak Loren’s mom onto campus than sneak everyone off. Loren and Adam had said they didn’t mind moving the wedding venue but keeping the date the same, when Rowan had repeatedly apologized for the trouble he’d caused. And he only blamed himself, not Jill. It’d been his choice to offer Jill shelter on campus. In retrospect, there’d been a ton of other options. Battered women’s shelters, Loren’s mother would’ve offered short–term shelter or calling in Program favors with the local police.

  No, he’d opened his big mouth and offered up his own home, because something deep inside recognized Jill as his. It had been near impossible on that first day to feel any connection more than that first tingle on their handshake, but every day he spent with her, every night holding her and whispering secrets, he was more convinced this woman was his perfect match.

  “I can’t believe I’m here,” Jill said quietly, leaning into him. “This was not my usual Saturday night.”

  “What would you normally do?” he found himself asking. He’d been silent on bringing up anything about her past, worried it might set her emotional healing back. She’d brought it up, though, and maybe talking about the past would fight the demons.

  She gave a small frown. “Saturday was my big day out. Jack would give me enough money to get the groceries at Walmart, and I’d come home and we’d watch a movie. Unless there was a game on he wanted to watch.” She frowned slightly. “There was always a game he wanted. Didn’t matter whether it was college football, basketball, or hockey.”

  “I like movies,” he offered. “Any time you want to watch. Chase has a good collection.”

  “He’s the guy DJing, right?” She had to shout to make herself heard over the music.

  “Yeah,” he shouted back.

  “And the little boy’s his son?”

  “Yeah.” It was too loud to shout the whole story that Luca wasn’t technically Chase’s son by blood. He scanned the room for Samara. “There’s Chase’s wife.” He pointed to the heavily pregnant woman seated across the room.

  Jill’s gaze followed his finger. “I haven’t met her yet.”

  “I’ll introduce you later. Let’s dance.” He dragged her out on the floor, determined to have a good time at his brother’s wedding. It would be a travesty to let Jackass ruin this night for him. He had a gorgeous woman in a gorgeous dress, and he wanted to hold her close and dance.

  But she resisted. “Oh no, I don’t dance.”

  “Bullshit. Everyone dances. Let’s go, chicken.” He lightened his teasing words, by tickling her and fake dragging her onto the crowded floor.

  “I’m not a good dancer,” she said, still protesting, but he called her bluff. Her foot had been tapping and her hips swinging.

  “Fine, we’ll wait for a slow dance.” You had to look carefully, but disappointment flashed in Jill’s expression that he hadn’t forced her out onto the dance floor. He wasn’t worried. The night was young, and they had a lot of dances ahead. Plus, he had an ace up his sleeve. He knew Adam and Loren planned to enter the room as husband and wife after the third song. They’d start off with the traditional couple’s dance. As the brother of the groom, he’d take the bride for a whirl after his brother and dad.

  Sure enough, Chase slowed the music down and spoke into the microphone. “Stop the press and give it up for the first time as a married couple, Adam and Loren Blacker.”

  Huge applause and cheers welcomed the newlyweds as they sailed into the entrance, both with identical beaming expressions on their faces. Rowan and Jill instinctively moved to circle the floor along with everyone else who gathered to watch the couple dance their first dance.

  Adam whirled Loren around with eyes for no one but his blonde, blissful bride. After a few minutes, he was forced to relinquish her to his dad, and he turned to partner Loren’s mother, Mrs. Stanton. Rowan had only met her a few times, but he liked the woman. He waited a suitable length of time then stepped onto the dance floor.

  “Go dance with my brother.” He leaned down to whisper in Jill’s ear.

  She pulled back, obviously shocked. “What? No.”

  He dragged her closer to the dance floor. “I need you, babe. I’m taking Loren. We need another woman to round things out.”

  “What about Chase and his wife? Isn’t he Loren’s brother?”

  “Chase is doing the music, and Adam won’t dance with Samara. Long story. It’s got to be you.” He watched as she did the mental math and hid his smile when she took a timid step onto the floor. Like it or not, she was part of this family now, and that meant dancing.

  He held her hand and they walked together to the center where the two couples danced. He released her to break in with his dad and Loren. The bride’s warm smile welcomed him as she looped her arms around his shoulders with no hesitation about how to handle slow dancing with a one–armed man. He held Loren, leading her to the music, and watching Jill approach Adam hesitantly.

  He relaxed as Adam grasped Jill’s hand and wrapped his other arm around his waist. Dad turned to Mrs. Stanton, and the six of them danced as if the entire thing had been choreographed for weeks.

  “How’s married life treating you?” He joked with Loren.

  “Fabulous. I highly recommend it.” She smiled back, but her face looked worried as she glanced over his shoulder in Adam and Jill’s direction. “I heard I have Jill to thank for this gorgeous gym.”

  He looked away from Loren for a second to see Jill smiling at something Adam said. “Yeah. She’s got talent.”

  “How’s it going between you two? I’m your sister now, so I get to pry.”

  “Things are good. Maybe too good.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He was saved from having to answer when Adam cut in. “I want to dance with my wife again.”

  Rowan handed Loren off, and grabbed Jill before she could duck off and hide. He could tell from the smug way Adam had said wife, he’d be hearing the word a lot from his brother’s lips. He was happy for his brother, really. It was easier to be happier now that he’d found a woman he could make his own.

  Jill copied Loren and slung her arms over his neck. She was shorter than Loren, which meant her body pressed closer to his. He swore he could feel the silkiness of her bare skin through the starched fabric of his shirt. They didn’t speak and just enjoyed the feeling of holding each other and swaying to the romantic song. More couples joined them on the dance floor, and soon every matched couple was dancing. Emma had somehow convinced Xander to dance also. When Rowan had first met the guy, he would’ve placed money on his arm growing back one morning over the odds of Xander ever dancing at a party.

  Samara had climbed onto the DJ stage and Chase held her as he swayed with Luca clinging to both their legs. Rowan chuckled. “Cute.”

  “What is?” Jill asked.

  Rowan spun her around so she could see. She laughed also.

  “You ever want kids?” he asked.

  She stiffened slightly, then relaxed. “I did my best not to get pregnant. I was terrified Jack would abuse our kids the way he hurt me.”

  His hand tensed on her lower back, and he forced himself to breathe easy. She was safe; gone from Jackass.

  “It’s one thing to take abuse myself, you know. But I’d never be able to handle watching my child hurt. Jack never wanted me pregnant. He wanted me all to himself.”

  He pulled her in tighter against his body, trying to give comfort. “I think you’d be a great mom.”

  “Thanks, but now I realize it all worked out. I’m only twenty–four. I’ve got time to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life before I settle down and have kids.”

  Her carefree words hurt him. He was nearing thirty, and he’d finally found what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, and wife and kids were part of it. If she was his match, maybe he’d be doing her
a disservice by sinking her right back into a domestic lifestyle.

  “I loved what I did today,” she confessed after a pause.

  “What do you mean? Oh, the decorating?”

  “Yeah. I’d love to study more about design and decorating.”

  “So do it.”

  She pushed back to look up at him. “How? With what money?”

  “If you want it bad enough, you’ll figure it out. You figured out how to get here, didn’t you?”

  She nestled up against him again. “That’s right. I did.”

  “You’re pretty awesome, you know that?”

  Her gaze met his, and their feet stopped any pretense at dancing as their lips met in a heated kiss. Their dance floor audience was forgotten, as they continued their kissing from earlier. Rowan focused entirely on Jill, supporting her body and pulling it as tightly possible to his own.

  “Get a room, Rowan,” Chase shouted into the microphone, and they pulled apart hastily. The music shifted abruptly from slow to a fast beat. Jill tried to hustle off the floor, but he latched onto her hand and spun her into dancing with him.

  Her cheeks were pink, and her eyes wide. “No running,” he shouted over the music. “I’m getting my dance.”

  She looked like she was about to protest, but Adam and Loren danced by, and his brother grinned at him but thankfully kept his tongue silent. Hitting your brother at his wedding wasn’t cool.

  He’d always liked dancing, and admittedly had some rhythm. He was happy to see Jill kept up and was willing to have fun as they sang along to the song that had been this past summer’s top hit. Jill didn’t seem self–conscious, and she had no reason to be. For one, she could move, and two, the dance floor was packed with bodies.

  They danced until their bodies glistened with sweat and they both needed a drink break. He held her hand as they left the dance floor in search of sustenance.

  “Marlena outdid herself.”