One corner of his mouth twitched. “I think Bo Peep also wore a frilly bonnet. And lacy bloomers that came down to her ankles.”
That dragged a slight smile from her. “Not helping. I told my mother that the only way I would wear that dress would be if she somehow managed to wrangle it onto my dead, lifeless body-and even then I’d probably resuscitate myself long enough to rip it off.”
“And that’s when the fight started?” he deadpanned.
A short huff of laughter escaped her. “Pretty much. Although it hadn’t been particularly pleasant before that.”
He brushed back a strand of her hair that she was sure looked matted and gross. “I’m sorry they came here, sorry I didn’t insist they leave immediately. Sorry they upset you. I guarantee they won’t be bothering us again before Tuesday.”
Right. But what about after Tuesday? The nightmare would just begin again. Even though she’d washed her hands of the wedding arrangements, she knew she hadn’t heard the last of it. And that in no way solved the resentment her family felt toward Eric.
Pushing those unsettling thoughts aside, she asked, “How did things go at the bar with Marc?”
“Better than at the wedding planning table.”
“Not a real high benchmark.”
“No, but I think we actually might have taken a small, tottering step forward. But then again, maybe not. He’s not an easy guy to read.”
“He never has been, especially not the last few months. I think there’s something bothering him.”
“Besides our engagement?”
“Yes, but he won’t talk about it. Which means it must involve a woman.”
“If so, he should watch out for that ‘what goes around comes around’ karma. It would serve him right if her family lived in Marble Falls and took an immediate dislike to him. But I’ve got my own problems without worrying about his.” His expression turned serious and his gaze searched her face. “What you said before you walked out, about maybe not showing up at the church…was that just something that shot out in anger or did you mean it?”
A denial rushed into her throat, but she pressed her lips together to contain it. Because this was too important to simply offer him a placating answer. Because this was one of the reasons they’d come here-to talk about the state of their relationship.
At her hesitation, a muscle ticked in his jaw. “Well, that’s the loudest silence I’ve ever heard.”
“Eric…I-”
Her words cut off when he stood and paced in front of her. Then he turned toward her and dragged his hands down his face. “You’re having second thoughts.”
It wasn’t a question. It was a statement made in a raw, hoarse voice that sounded ripped from his throat.
She rose and framed his face between her hands. “Not about my feelings for you.”
“Just about marrying me.”
“No, but…” She released a long sigh and lowered her hands. “I’ve now reached a whole new level of exhaustion, Eric. Do you know how many arguments we had during the entire six months we dated before getting engaged?”
He considered for several seconds. “No. Other than a few disagreements while figuring out our work situations, did we have any?”
“I can only recall two. Both of them silly misunderstandings, quickly resolved and completely forgettable. The rest of the time, it was…magic.” Yes, romantic evenings filled with conversation and laughter that melted into sultry, sensual nights of discovery and exploration. Ice-skating and walks in the snow when they’d first met last winter had bloomed into springtime hikes and quiet evenings at home. Then summer, with private indoor and outdoor picnics. But then came the end of summer and Eric’s proposal and the start of their current situation.
“I’ve lost count of the number of arguments since our engagement,” she continued quietly. “I feel like I spend all my time fighting. If not with my mother, then with one or more of my brothers, or with you. I like peace. Quiet. Managing Hayden’s is stressful enough-I can’t handle having my personal life fraught with constant turmoil. I’ve never considered myself a quitter, but I’m just so damn tired of fighting.”
He raised her hand to his lips and pressed a quick, hard kiss against her palm. “Then let’s stop fighting.”
“Based on the last four miserable months-which seem to grow more miserable by the day-easier said than done.”
“No, it’s not. We just need to stop fighting each other. If there’s fighting to be done, let’s do it together-for each other. Our families are causing the tension. It can’t touch us if we don’t let it.”
“A great theory, and one we’ve discussed before. But as these last four months have proven, it’s difficult to ignore one’s family. Especially when you work with them. And live only a few miles away from them. And when they show up during your get-away-from-them weekend.”
“Difficult, definitely. But not impossible. And they’re gone now.” He took her other hand then pressed her palms against his chest. “I love you, Jess. So damn much. Nothing…nothing is as important to me as you. You know that…don’t you?”
She blinked back the tears burning behind her eyes at his words and nodded. “It’s just that I’m so… disappointed.”
“In me?”
She shook her head. “No. In this whole situation. In how badly it’s turned out. I always imagined this one big, happy family scenario-gatherings, holidays, cookouts. And instead it’s one big unhappy mess.”
“As long as you and I aren’t a mess, that’s all that matters, Jess. Your mother and Kelley will just have to fight it out without us. After the wedding, everything will settle down.”
“I keep telling myself that-”
“Good.”
“-but I’m not sure I can stand this for another two months. At least not without the benefit of a morphine drip.”
One corner of his mouth twitched, but remnants of worry still lurked in his eyes. “We have the next few days all to ourselves. No pressure, no arguments. Nothing to worry about except us.”
He brushed his mouth over hers, once, twice, softly, and her weariness melted away, replaced by a sudden, fierce need to feel. A need to feel Eric. To recapture the magic between them. To rediscover how good they were together. To remember what they stood to lose if they were foolish enough to let it all get away from them. A need to forget everything and simply drown in sensation.
“Nothing except us sounds really nice,” she whispered against his lips, slipping her hands over his shoulders and twining her arms around his neck.
He leaned back and his gaze bored into hers. “Do you love me?”
The uncertainty reflected in his beautiful eyes shamed her, filling her with a hollow ache she couldn’t name that he’d felt it necessary to ask. That she’d made him doubt her feelings. While there was no doubt she hated this situation, there was also no doubt she loved him. And she was so afraid it was all slipping away.
A surge of fierce love rushed through her, coupled with an almost desperate need to reassure him, to not only tell him, but show him how much she loved and wanted and needed him. Now.
Rising up on her toes, she pressed herself against him and pulled his head down for her kiss. “Yes. God, yes. I love you. So much-”
His lips silenced hers in a hot, deep, passionate kiss that left her breathless. “Love you so much,” she repeated, sprinkling kisses along his jaw to his ear where she raked her teeth against the lobe. “And I miss you. It’s been so long…”
“So long,” he agreed, tunneling his fingers through her hair. “Too damn long.”
Her hands slipped beneath his sweater to run up his smooth back, and he groaned.
“Are you trying to seduce me?”
“Yes.” She rubbed herself against him. “Is it working?”
“Absolutely.”
