Текст книги "Doing It for Love"

Автор книги: Cassie Mae

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Текущая страница: 17 (всего у книги 19 страниц)

Chapter 34

Deep breaths. This is it. You can do this. Just stand up straight, hold on to something, and eye on the prize.

“Okay,” I tell Theresa and my mom. “I’m ready.”

Theresa nods once and then pulls on the zipper.

I suck in as hard as I can. We’ve gotten the dress on about 96 percent of the way, but whatever alterations Gina did weren’t for my bustline.

“Come on, come on, come on!” Theresa yells at the thing, but I can tell it’s not going to budge. THE dress, my dress, doesn’t fit. And it’s my wedding day!

I lean against the vanity in the bridal room, trying desperately not to tear up because my makeup is already done.

“It’s just a little bit,” Mom says. “Maybe the veil will cover…” She drifts off as she settles the veil down my back. I know it won’t cover it with the transparent material.

“I don’t get it,” Theresa says, shaking her head. “We gave Gina the same measurements that woman took at the dress shop. I don’t know why—”

“Wait,” I say, trying to catch my breath. “The last measurements that lady took was when I was wearing Spanx.”

Theresa gasps. “I totally forgot about that. Do you still have them?”

“They’re in my underwear drawer.”

She grabs her keys, her red gown swishing by her knees. She fits just fine into hers.

“I’ll go get them.”

I’d complain about having to wear that thing on my wedding day, but honestly I’m just hoping it does the trick. So I practically shove her out the door.

“Thank you!” I call after her. Mom helps me out of THE dress so I don’t rip it again while we wait. She helps me into a fluffy robe and fixes a loose snowflake in my hair. She hasn’t spoken much today, just sniffled a few times.

“How we doing on those Hurdles, Momma?”

Her eyes wrinkle in the corner when she smiles. “That first one is still really high. How are you doing on yours?”

I flick my gaze to my dress and let out a small laugh. “I don’t think I cleared a single one.”

“You’re still here, though. So maybe you didn’t do as badly as you think.”

“I tripped and stumbled over each one of those Hurdles.” My future mother-in-law continues to give me the stink-eye. Paying for the wedding never would’ve happened without my parents. Operation Great Sex was not without its stumbling blocks either. We were all sorts of menu items while we battled each other to our honeymoon destination. And I gave up the Bahamas two days before, not only because I wanted him so much, but as I nudge the packed honeymoon bag with my toes while Mom messes with my hair, I know I want Landon to be happy, and I want to share that part of his life with him. So Utah, here we come.

Devil butterflies start to beat their wings in my stomach. I clutch it tight, breathe deep, and count fifteen Mississippis.

“Momma?” I ask, staring at my bag. “It’s normal to be nervous, right?”

“Do you need me to warm your feet?”

I nod, a long blond curl bouncing in front of my nose. Mom clips it back in place.

“Twenty minutes before I married your father, I detoured to the caterers and stuffed my face with sponge cake.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” If only I could fit into my dress.

“It took you grandmother and two bridesmaids to pull me back into the bridal room. I kept babbling about how your father never cleaned, spent too much time working, how we didn’t kiss like we used to, and I wasn’t even sure if he was the one.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“I didn’t. That man I married still never cleans, works too much, and we don’t kiss as often. But you know what? It doesn’t matter. Because he’s also that same man who loves me as much as he did that very first day we laid eyes on each other. And I cannot picture a life that would’ve been better than the one he shares with me.”

I dab a shaking finger under my eye, careful not to ruin anything. “So it’s okay Landon leaves his socks on the floor?”

She laughs. “Is that a deal-breaker?”

“It drives me crazy.”

“But you still love him.”

“Yeah.” I grin. “I love him and his dirty socks.”

“Then I think you’re ready to get married, baby.”

Theresa bursts back in the room about ten minutes later, Spanx in hand. “Okay, let’s get you into that damn dress.”

–

Red and black drapes float across snow-covered windows. Flowers line the aisles, petals in my bridesmaids’ hair, and red and white roses clipped to lapels. Sparkly snowflakes hang from the high ceiling, accent the seats in the hall, and while it’s so gorgeous and more than I could ever hope for in a wedding, all I see is the pepper stuck in Landon’s teeth. And after Dad lifts my veil and gives me away, I automatically reach up and get that sucker out of there.

“Are you sure you two aren’t married already?” the preacher asks with much laughter from the congregation. Landon pulls me forward and wipes under my eye, getting whatever makeup residue that’s splotched there with the sweat forming all over my body. Winter wedding, great idea…except they turn the heat up a thousand degrees and that doesn’t help when you’re wearing Spanx .

But my dress is all the way zipped up. I finally made it over that Hurdle.

After Landon and I have prepped each other, he takes my hand and the preacher starts off with lots of good advice about love and family and friendship, but I can’t concentrate much with the butterflies storming in my stomach and sharing hand squeezes with Landon.

“Now,” the preacher man says, gesturing to Landon and me, “the bride and groom have written their own vows.”

My stomach…

drops.

Honest to the sweet Lord, I almost curse right then and there in front of a man of the cloth. Landon kinks his neck to the side, because I think I’m supposed to go first, and as much of a planner as I am, as anal and as organized, I forget my stinking vows back at the apartment! I look at Theresa, whose mouth is open and she’s shaking her head like, “You never gave those to me.”

I stare blankly back to my husband-to-be, lips parted slightly as I mouth, “I forgot them.”

Whispering stirs in the congregation, and my face grows warmer and warmer under the lights. I forgot my wedding vows. I am the worst bride ever. He’s going to leave me right here at the altar, because my mind goes blank. I don’t even remember what I wrote in the first place. I had a killer joke to start with, and then I was beautiful and sweet and, damn it, I’m a flake! Should I even be doing this?

Landon takes my hand with an amused grin, kisses my finger, and says, “I vow to make you laugh.”

Then he waits for me.

“I…I vow to humor you about your jokes.”

“What if they’re really bad?” he asks with a laugh.

“Even then.”

“I vow to pick up my socks.”

I snort. Actually snort during our vows. “Can I get that in writing?”

“You want it notarized, too?”

I weave my fingers through his and take a step closer. “I vow to sing to you when you’re sick.”

“Please don’t.”

“Lots of 98 Degrees to get you to the right temperature.”

“I take back my sock vow.”

“You can’t do that.”

“I just did.”

“We are not going to argue during our wedding ceremony.”

“Okay,” he says, “I vow to always argue naked.”

“And make up naked.”

“To always take you out on dates.”

“And I’ll never stop flirting with you.”

“I vow to kiss the center of your palm.”

“I vow to give you long hugs.”

“I vow to squeeze your hand twice.” And he does.

“And I vow to always squeeze back.”

After lots of “aww”s from our friends and family, Landon and I turn to the preacher.

“Do you have the rings?”

“Yes!” I shout, scaring Landon into Alec. But I didn’t forget this one. Theresa leans over and slides the clearance ring I got him that says, “You are mine,” because even though he said he didn’t need one, he does. And this will have to do until I can afford a nice gold band.

He pushes the ring onto my finger—I mean literally pushes, because the heat in here has made my fingers swell. And I take his hand, and as the twenty-dollar piece of jewelry slides over his knuckle, something bursts in my chest.

I remember how it felt when Landon first kissed me. I remember the second kiss, the third, and I remember the first time we made love and the first time we fought and the first time we spent a night together. I remember moving in, learning to deal with living with each other, and overcoming all the Hurdles that were put in our path.

I remember how it felt when he put the ring on my finger. It was beyond words.

But nothing could’ve ever prepared me for how it feels to put a ring on his finger.

Tears are falling now, and there’s no way to stop them. And through the blur I witness, for the first time ever, a tear crawling down Landon’s cheek into his smile line.

“Landon, do you take this woman—”

“Oh yeah,” he says on an exhale. My shoulders move with light laughter.

“Elizabeth, do you—”

“You bet I do.”

“By the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Landon doesn’t even wait for the kiss line. He wraps a hand around my waist, one around the nape of my neck, and yanks me flush against him. He nips at my bottom lip, but then he’s gentle, more demanding, and then actually embarrassingly passionate with all our friends and family sitting not two feet away. And because I’m such a smooth and hot girl, I start laughing in the middle of it.

I lean back, tasting the saltiness of his tears, and I can’t imagine ever feeling better than I do right now. And the first words I say to my husband are “Did you see my ass in this thing?”

He grins, nodding against my forehead. “Did you see my ass in this thing?” He pulls at his tux and kisses me again. “We should be in magazines, picking pepper out of each other’s teeth and wiping away mascara.”

“So hot.”

“I love you, Tumbles.”

“I love you, husband.”

I think I actually hear his heart kick up a couple beats, and we embarrass our friends and the preacher a little longer at the altar.

–

“You shaved,” I tell Landon on the dance floor, running my manicured nails across his cheeks. He’s never felt this smooth before. I can’t stop touching his face.

“Yeah. You said something about bearded-guy nightmares, and I really didn’t want you thinking about them when we’re…”

“Having sex?”

“My mother is right behind you.”

“And she knows we’re having sex tonight.”

“She doesn’t know that.”

I go to snort, but he grabs my nose, causing me to choke and make a really pretty grunting noise. I snatch his wrist and pull his hand away from my face, linking our fingers together. My smile twitches a little when I see the light catch on the words engraved in his ring.

“I’ll get you a real one as soon as I can,” I say, nodding at his hand.

“Do I need to tell you the fingerless-man story again?”

I shake my head, and the song switches up. I catch Theresa dragging Alec across the floor to Landon and me.

“My turn,” she says, jumping between us and taking my hand. She spins me under her arm, but my hair clip knocks against her elbow because we’re the same height.

“How’s THE dress?” she asks.

“I haven’t ripped it, so I call it a win.”

She laughs, then squeezes me tight. “I’m going to miss you.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Yes, you are.” I feel her head shift toward Landon and Alec, who are doing some sexy “Gangnam Style” moves. “But it’s okay. I’m just jealous.”

“Are you saying you want to fall in love and get married someday?” I pop my mouth open in mock shock.

“No…I’m jealous that Landon gets to be your best friend. And before you say ‘I have two best friends,’ he should be the only one. It’s okay. But I am allowed to be jealous.”

I hug her tight, stopping our dance movements. Theresa’s been with me since middle school, and there is a bittersweet feeling that we’ll be friends, but me getting married means that we won’t always be around. If Landon’s movie dreams take off, so will we. So she better bet her ass that I’m going to make the most of the time we have as neighbors.

My father-in-law steps up, asking for the next dance, and as scared as I am to make a fool of myself, I smile and say, “Yes!” a little too loudly. He’s not the best dancer. We sort of just move side to side like middle schoolers at their first dance. I wave at Landon, who’s dancing with his mom, and the warmest fuzzies latch onto my heart when I see them smiling and laughing with each other. I’ve never seen a real smile from my mother-in-law.

“They’ve butted heads his whole life,” Mr. Wangford says, nodding at his wife and son. “Did you know she almost flew to New York and dragged him home by the ear?”

My stomach sinks, but I pretend to smile. “Am I really that bad?”

He laughs and attempts to spin me out. “No, this was when he first moved out. He told us he was going to make a name for himself, left with a hundred bucks in his pocket and nothing but fantasies in his head. He didn’t want our help, and I was all for letting him learn the hard way, but his mother…yeah, I had to hold her back from going after him. And you know, he proved us both wrong.”

“He’s very talented. He’ll make it big.”

“I think he already has.”

And my father-in-law looks down at me, half-smiles like Landon does when he can’t quite find the words to say, and he squeezes my hand. Twice.

–

It feels like I’ve danced with every single guest. I have no idea where my shoes ended up. My ribs are starting to cramp because of the tightness of my dress, and as the hours turn into longer hours, I ask Mom exactly how much of the reception we have left, because I honestly want to lie down.

“Well, we’ve done the cake and bouquet toss,” she says, ticking off things on her fingers. “Theresa and Alec gave their speeches. You danced with your father and your father-in-law. Let’s see what else here…”

She starts pointing at things around the hall, and I catch Landon’s eyes briefly across the room while he chats with his parents. Flutters awaken in the pit of my stomach. My wedding day is nearly over, and it’s completely bittersweet because here comes the wedding night!

He winks at me, and I shimmy at him just as my mom turns around.

“Elizabeth Ann!”

“What?”

She shakes her head. “I’ll get the microphone and announce you two are leaving.”

Before she gets too far, I snag her arm and give her an airtight hug.

“Thank you for all of this, Momma.”

She squeezes back, and we stay that way through half a song. When she pulls back, she dabs at her eye.

“Stop that,” I say, fixing my makeup as well.

“You have fun tonight. And just remember, you have an entire life to have Operation Great Sex.”

“Mom.”

“I’m just saying…”

She fixes my hair, and then walks to the stage. Landon catches my wrist and pulls me through the dance floor and into a side hallway…where we find Jace with a wedding guest.

“Oh, hey,” he says, the girl obviously not caring they were just walked in on, since she’s still kissing his neck. “Uh, congrats, you guys.”

Landon laughs and pulls me into another hallway.

“It’s not a wedding without that, right?” I tell him, but my laughter stops when he pushes me against the wall. Fire licks up my stomach, heart beating in a race. His lips are close, and he smells like aftershave and frosting. He puts one hand above my head, leaning in only to look at me with his piercing gray eyes.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi,” I say back, breath suddenly knocked from my lungs.

“I want you.”

“Okay!”

“Shh…” He laughs and presses a finger to my lips. “I want to show you something.”

“Landon, keep it in your pants.”

He pushes his hand into his jacket pocket and pulls out a hotel key. “Gift from my mom and dad. The bridal suite.”

“No.” I yank the thing out of his hand to make sure it’s real.

“Yeah. Couldn’t believe it either.”

The guests in the hall disappear from my head. All of them. I forget that Mom hasn’t made our exit announcement, and I grab Landon’s lapel and pull him to the elevator. I don’t even have to wait till the doors close and his hands are all over me. I thought I was tired, but we’re doing this. We are strawberries and whipped cream.

Chapter 35

The suite is bigger than our apartment, and there’s a giant bottle of champagne in an ice bucket and the TV covers practically the whole wall, and the bathtub…Landon and I will have no trouble having sex in there.

“Your parents win,” I say, leaping onto the bed with a giant smile on my face.

“No talk of parents in bed,” he scolds, hopping up next to me. My veil keeps tickling his chin, so he leans up on an elbow and puts a hand on my stomach.

“You look so hot,” I tell him, scratching my nails over his smooth face. “Shave more often.”

“I thought you liked my whiskers.”

“Only when you’re going down on me.”

He laughs, tossing his head back to the mattress. “That didn’t take long.”

“What?”

“For you to get naughty.” He hoists himself off the bed, then reaches out to help me. When I’m upright he grasps my hips and pulls me in to him, sending butterflies with jetpacks zooming around in my stomach.

“We’re going all night. Then all day tomorrow. Then the entire week of this honeymoon, because Lord Landon has been very blue. He misses his home.”

“That is the sexiest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Landon chuckles and squeezes my waist twice. I take his hands and squeeze back. He looks at me as if I’ve fallen from the stars, his gray eyes burning every inch of my skin, my dress, my veil, even my manicured fingernails. There’s a slight pull of his lips before he says, “I don’t know if I want to take you out of this.” His hand curves up the bodice of my dress, and goose bumps cascade over my abdomen.

I reach to his tie and unhook the knot. “I know I want you out of this.”

Hot butterflies parade through my stomach as he laughs against my cheek. I love that he still does that to me. It’s not just the anticipation of making love…but making love with him. My husband. I have a hubby now. He’s mine, mine, mine, and those butterflies swarm under my skin and I unbutton his top button, second button, third, fourth, fifth. I tumble my fingernails over the ridges of his stomach, kiss his chest where his heartbeat pounds under my lips. It’s not just his body that is mine, but his everything.

He swipes a thumb across my cheek, and I didn’t even realize I was crying, because I feel so warm and my mouth won’t do anything but smile. Landon strokes my hair, unlatching the clip holding my veil in. It slips through his fingers, grazing my shoulder as it floats to the floor. When his eyes meet mine, they glass over, but he smiles and cups my face like I’m made of fragile cotton candy.

“You’re my wife,” he whispers. As if it’s a prayer, a hope, a dream he never thought would come to reality. Mint breath covers my mouth before he drops a chaste kiss to my lips. “Mine.” His hands roam now, and mine grip his open shirt. He pulls me tight against his frame, his face burrows into my neck, and his hot hand splays across my exposed upper back. “You know what this means, right?”

“Sex!” I blurt, and he pulls away, laughter playing on his lips.

“It means you’re my family now.” His fingers lace with mine, and he brings them to his mouth. Then I kiss his knuckles in return. If he wants to be romantic and sweet tonight, that’s completely what I want, too.

Landon tucks my blond curls over my shoulder, walking around so he’s behind me. He pulls on my zipper, warm palms dip under the fabric, and he wastes no time sliding them around my stomach, then up to my breasts.

“What…is this?” he asks, pinching and flicking the material around my torso, and I realize that…I’m still wearing Spanx .

“Oh, balls.” I jerk out of his hold and start backward toward the bathroom.

His lips twitch up in his really-trying-not-to-laugh smirk. “Is that what married-people lingerie is?”

“You shut your mouth.”

I hold my dress closed and kick my bag into the large vanity area. “Two seconds.”

“Liz…”

“Please?”

“I wanted to take you out of that.” He nods to my gown.

“I promise you’ll want to get me out of what I put on.”

He sighs, shrugging out of his shirt. I hear him slump on the bed right before I shut the door to the bathroom.

Once I have it locked, I let the dress fall down my torso and I immediately yank on the skintight underwear. I make a lot of bizarre noises, wiggling and jumping and trying to get these things off, but it seems every ounce of sweat I accumulated today has molded itself into the material that has glued itself to me.

“Okay…“I blow out a breath and lean against the counter. I’ve only been able to free about an inch of my stomach.

“Tumbles? It’s been much longer than two seconds!” I hear Landon call out, and I make a face in the mirror.

“Patience, you animal!”

Then visions of him sprawled out naked in our hotel suite and the sweet, sweet love we’re about to make jolt me upright, and I tuck my thumbs into the material on each side and tug so hard on the Spanx I form red marks.

And the damn things won’t budge.

My hair falls into my face, and I shove it back, search my bag for a hair tie, and get the strands off of my now heated skin. Frustration and struggling isn’t helping the sweat factor, and I try again to wiggle out of my underwear. And again. And, damn it all to hell, I need butter or oil or scissors.

The sound from the TV filters in and I slump on top of the toilet, wishing the things would tear in half as I bend. It’s not a bad idea since I’m sort of losing it, so I reach down and touch my toes, I twist my torso, I do the splits on the bathroom tile, and if anything I’ve made the material roll up my thighs and get stuck in my pelvic crease.

I fall against the floor, grateful we’re in a nice enough hotel that I’m pretty sure the tile is cleaner than the bathroom I have at home, and I’m so far gone that I start laughing. Of course this happens. Nothing ever runs one-hundred-percent smoothly. I grapple for my bag one more time, twisting to my stomach.

“Please have something sharp,” I whisper to the contents. If not, I’m going to have to get Landon in here. Nothing sexier than helping your wife get out of her Spanx.

“Ah ha!” I shout to the heavens, pulling my nail kit out. I sit up, ready the toe-nail clippers, and start clipping away at the fabric that was probably made by Houdini.

Landon asks me what I’m doing three more times while I cut myself out. I just tell him I’m making myself irresistibly sexy, and he says something sweet like “You’re already at that point,” but he can’t see me on the floor of the bathroom stuck in my underwear, sweat rolling down my temples.

Finally, when I get close to my hip, I take both ends of the material and rip myself free, bursting forth like Superman about to save the planet from an oncoming meteor.

“Aaaaaaah….” I sigh, collapsing once again on the cool floor. I’m half tempted to take a quick nap so I can regain some strength before riding my husband into Chocolateville. But I’ve already made him wait so long. Not just tonight. He’s waited five months.

Once I find the motivation, I slowly get to my feet and gaze at my exhausted and sweaty body in the mirror. It almost looks as if I had sex all by my lonesome in here, my perfectly curled hair now carelessly wrapped in an impromptu bun, chest rising and falling with every quick breath, and skin red and glistening. I probably smell so fabulous.

After swipes of deodorant and spritzes of body spray that don’t seem to take, I say, “Screw it,” and hop into the shower. Then I dry, blow dry, primp, and slip into the royal blue bustier I got last night at my bachelorette party. I pucker my lips and shake my ass, examining myself in the mirror. Landon won’t be sorry at all that he had to wait so long.

“Husband…” I call out, stepping into the suite with gusto. “What do you—”

I stop midsentence, staring at Landon’s form on the bed. His mouth is wide open, face half stuffed into the pillow, and only his butt is covered by a strip of the comforter.

“Landon?” I hiss, taking cautious steps forward. He makes no attempt to move.

Holding back a small laugh, I slide onto the bed and gently tap on his arm. Nothing.

“Are you seriously sleeping?” I whisper, hoping he’s playing possum just to tease me. But he doesn’t flinch, doesn’t stir, doesn’t crack a smile. I put a finger under his nose just to be sure he’s still breathing.

Well, guess I could wake him up in a fun way, but he looks so out of it, so relaxed, and I…I’m jealous. I want to sleep too. I want to sleep on my wedding night. What was the point of the last five months other than to bring me to the edge of my sanity?!

I let out a large breath, half hoping it wakes him up and half relieved it doesn’t. Sliding into the sheets, I curl up beside his naked body, adjusting the comforter so he’s completely covered. He still doesn’t move, and as I trace his lips with my manicured fingernail all thoughts of why I wanted to wait evaporate, because every time with Landon has been epic. From the first time he knocked me out of my chair in our theater class to this moment here. The awkward first kiss we had, the accidental slip, the naked argument fail…and I’m sure there will be more. With pregnancy, menopause, our bodies changing and growing and adjusting to those changes, there are bound to be some sexual blunders. But I love him. He loves me. I find such satisfaction in that alone that every moment with him will be double-fudge raspberry cheesecake.

So instead of waking him up, I fall asleep in his arms, completely satisfied with how our night ends.