Jennifer Snow – Winter Wedding Bells: The Kiss / The Wish / The Promise (страница 9)
“Still, you lost so much.”
Noelle held up her dainty hand, her diamond twinkling in the strengthening sunlight. “Not anymore. After he got over the shock, and I explained why I hadn’t written, he proposed. What’s more, he convinced me not to waste another minute, which is why, on Christmas Eve, we’re getting married by a justice of the peace before he ships out again. I’d always dreamed of a fancy wedding like yours, but just saying I do and being Mrs. Ted Banks will be enough.”
Julie’s foot stopped swinging. What a beautiful story. An incredible couple. How unfair that they couldn’t have a wedding worthy of them. After a second, she slowly straightened, the afghan pooling in her lap. “No. It’s not enough.”
Noelle angled her face, her expression puzzled. “What?”
“It’s not enough. With everything you’ve been through, you deserve a big wedding.”
Julie took a deep breath, making up her mind.
“You deserve my wedding.”
Before Noelle could interrupt her, Julie hurried on.
“Mason and I can’t get back the money we’ve paid this late in the game and everything will go to waste. I know Mason will want you to have it as much as I do.”
Noelle waved her hands, then stood. “No need, Julie. Honestly. We’re blessed just to have each other.”
Julie stood and squeezed Noelle’s hands. “Please. Let something good come out of all this. I’ll talk to Mason when he gets back and we’ll catch Grace later this afternoon to tell her about the switch in plans.”
A rosy hue infused Noelle’s cheeks and her eyes sparkled. “Thank you, Julie. That’s the kindest thing anyone’s ever done for me. I’ll talk to Ted, but I’m sure he’ll agree.”
“You and Ted and Josh deserve it. I wish it’d happened for you years ago.”
Noelle hugged Julie, then pulled back. “I could say the same for you and Austin. Love is too precious a gift to waste. Never let it go once you’ve found it. Especially the second time around. It’s worth the risk.”
She rolled the cart away, humming “Joy to the World.”
At a window, Julie cranked open the panel and let in a frigid blast of air. She studied the Adirondack Mountains and imagined Austin working up there with the team before they broke for the holiday. Was he thinking of her? Of their kiss?
She pressed her warm forehead against the frost-patterned glass. Was she crazy to think of taking another chance when she’d squandered so many?
She imagined Austin holding her, how they’d melted together like hot wax. No way to deny it. With him, she became whole. Complete. Not even a pair. One.
Noelle was right. Julie had three days left in Lake Placid to convince herself—and Austin—that she could change. Take more risks in life and love...
If she didn’t take this chance, she might never get another one.
AUSTIN STOOD BY the fire in the lodge’s foyer, stalling. His plan to leave in the morning without running into Julie was going up in smoke. He’d managed to avoid her yesterday, but now a large crew, including the beautiful brunette, gathered by the front desk and handed over room keys and settled bills. The wedding looked canceled.
He shoved down a surge of excitement. Once he’d been like the sad-faced fellow Julie now hugged. Knew all too well how her indecision and risk aversion brought men to their knees. It’d taken years for him to stop thinking about her, and their mountaintop kiss had brought everything back.
At least she’d go soon. Leave him to his solitary routines. He needed his peace of mind again after she’d stirred up long-buried emotions. His body tightened into a wrung towel thinking it over. Time to stop replaying the other night and remember all the reasons they didn’t work.
Strangely, Noelle, the front desk clerk, and a large, straight-backed man with a military haircut, gave the group hugs and handshakes. They seemed to be thanking Julie, the groom and the families for something. After a flurry of kisses and bro-hugs, the mass moved out to the parking lot, leaving Julie talking animatedly to the couple.
He stared at Julie, tall and curvy in a cobalt ski suit that looked more suited for the slopes than a car ride to Connecticut. That brilliant color accentuated her braided hair, glossy as chestnuts, and emphasized her naturally dark pink lips.
Where was her luggage?
“Austin!” She looked exhausted and it aroused every protective instinct in him.
Several male heads turned as she hugged Noelle goodbye and strode in his direction, her dark eyes like a sparkling Christmas night. Something in the way she moved, in the straight back and swing of her shoulders, her quick-fire expressions, made it impossible to look away. When she drew close, her vanilla sugar-cookie scent perfumed the air and he breathed in deeply, silently.
“I’m sorry about your wedding.”
A cloud passed over her expression and her smile fled completely. “Me, too. I really messed up. Hurt Mason.”
“Better he knows now than...” He bit off the mental comparison he made to his own tortuous year. The roller coaster she’d put him on. One he wouldn’t ride again, no matter how much she called to him.
“Yes. Much better. For everyone.”
He pulled his keys from his coat pocket. Time for him to cut ties, too. “Have a safe trip home, Julie. And I’m sorry about the other night. I never should have crossed the line.”
“I’m not.”
Surprise cemented his joints. “Not what?”
“Not sorry about the kiss. And not leaving.” The way she stood—hip cocked, chin tucked, eyebrows up—underscored her defiant words.
“I don’t follow.”
Julie gave him a small hooded smile. Intimate. She pulled him to a more private corner of the room where a crystal bowl surrounded by cut-glass cups dominated a mahogany table. Eggnog swirled inside, nutmeg sprinkled across its frothy surface. He eyed it, suddenly needing a drink.
“Austin, I realized something important these last two days, but I’m not going to tell you what it is. Not yet.”
“And you brought me over here to share that?” His lips twitched, amused. She might not like surprises, but she never failed to catch him off guard. Kept him on his toes...and he enjoyed every minute of it, much as he wished he didn’t.
An unladylike punch smacked his shoulder.
“Nice.” He rubbed it as though it hurt. “You’ve always had great manners.”
Her cheeky grin shot adrenaline into his bloodstream. “I try. But listen—Dad wants Mom to stay and get spa treatments. Since I’m on my own for the next few days, I thought you could show me the sights.”
He stepped back and his hip jostled the table, the bowl tipping.
Julie lunged and their hands brushed as they righted the glassware. His fingers traced hers for an electric second before he stuffed them in his pockets.
“There must be someone else...”
“My maid of honor is at the spa and Mom will be busy with treatments. Come on, Austin. It’ll be fun. Like old times.”
That was the last thing he needed. The other night, he’d wanted to run back through time with Julie, but in the cold dawn hours, he’d come to his senses and dismissed that fantasy. She hated risk and he thrived on it. A future for them was impossible.
A pianist settled himself at a black baby grand piano beside a towering Christmas tree. The balsam branches swung two stories high, alive with light twirling on glass and tinsel. The first notes of “Silent Night” drifted across the room.
“I’m not the best tour guide, Julie. If you head downtown, there are a lot of shops...vintage ones, too. You could add to your collection of cream-and-sugar sets.”
“I’ll have to get them out of storage,” she said absently, shifting her gaze away from him. “Anyway, I’m going skiing today and hoped you could teach me.”
Austin looked at Julie, full-on and curious, as if he was seeing something new. All the years they’d dated, she refused his offers to take her to the slopes. Why the change of heart?
As he puzzled it out, the pianist swung into a spritely version of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” his smooth baritone attracting a small crowd.
“You’re going skiing,” Austin repeated, trying and failing to keep the skepticism out of his voice.
She tossed him a look that read equal parts fear and challenge. “Yes.”
“But you used to think skiing was risky.”
“Exactly why I’m doing it.”
Austin looked at her for so long that she started to look uncomfortable. She dropped her gaze and grabbed a glass of punch.
“What’s going on, Julie?”
The nylon of her jacket swished as her shoulders raised and lowered. “I’m too cautious. Don’t take enough chances. It’s time I changed that.” She downed half a glass.
His eyebrows rose. “Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Her fingernails drummed on the side of the cup.
“Not to me.”
She snorted and gulped the last of the punch. “Right. Fine. It’s because I’ve missed out on too much worrying about what I didn’t know. Important things that I now regret.” She looked him directly in the eye.