Substitute Bride Page 8

  “Yeah, it will be,” she said, suddenly realizing that she had a lot to do to get ready for being a bride. “I have to get a dress.”

  “As long as it covers more of you than this one does.” He opened his suit jacket so he could see it. “This is a great dress, but it isn’t something I want my wife wearing in public. The other guys will see you and want to steal you from me.”

  Pleased, she peered up at him and smiled. “You don’t want anyone to take me away from you?”

  Smiling in return, he said, “That’s what I just said.”

  “Yeah, but I like hearing it.”

  He slid his hands to her waist and pulled her closer to him. “I don’t want anyone stealing you away from me.”

  She closed her eyes when she realized he was going to kiss her. In all their years together, they had only kissed once, and that was when they were fourteen and wanted to get the nervous first kiss thing over with so they’d be prepared for when they started dating in high school. That had been a quick kiss, mostly because they didn’t know what they were doing but also because it was like kissing a relative.

  But this time when he kissed her, it wasn’t a simple peck on the lips. His lips, soft and warm, met hers, causing her heart to speed up with excitement. She brought her hands up to his arms and returned his kiss. It was a heady experience. Feeling his body close to hers, his chest lightly brushing her breasts, his hands on her hips. She hardly noticed the breeze coming in from the pounding surf or the sound of people mingling at the party.

  Out here, on this balcony at this moment in time, it seemed that only she and Kevin existed. He parted his lips and she followed his lead, not realizing until she felt the tip of his tongue that he intended the kiss to turn so intimate. She had no idea he was such a good kisser or that kissing him could make her body tingle.

  The kiss ended much too soon, even though she knew it lasted a good few seconds. The rest of the world returned to her awareness, and she wondered when she’d get to kiss him again.

  He took her hands and squeezed them. “You’re pretty good at the whole kissing thing.”

  “I am?” she asked, hoping her surprise didn’t show. It wasn’t like she had a ton of experience in this area. It was a lot different from playing sports.

  “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.” He motioned to the patio doors. “We should go in and tell them the good news.”

  She peered around him and saw that all of Tammy’s family and friends had left so she nodded. The last thing she wanted was to deal with anyone who knew Tammy. They’d be likely to toss her off the balcony in outrage.

  “Considering we only have a week until the big day, we should announce it now,” she told Kevin.

  As he led her into the suite, her gaze fell to Trent who winked at her. Beside him, Nita gave her a thumbs up sign. She glanced at Kevin, relieved he didn’t notice. There was no need for him to know she had some help in replacing Tammy.

  “Hey, Mom and Dad,” Kevin said when they stopped in front of his parents who were talking to a group of his other relatives. When they turned to him, he squeezed her hand and continued, “I asked Alex to marry me, and she said yes.”

  His mother squealed and hugged her. “I’m so relieved,” she whispered in Alex’s ear. “I secretly hoped you two would end up together ever since you were little kids playing soccer in the front yard.”

  His father patted him on the back. “Now that’s a good choice, son. Welcome to the family, Alex.”

  “Thanks,” Alex replied, not knowing what else a fiancée was supposed to say.

  “Your parents will be sorry they missed the big announcement,” his father continued as he grabbed some wine glasses from the table. “I think we are due for a toast.” After he handed her and Kevin their glasses, he cleared his throat so everyone else in the room would turn their attention to him. “Ladies and gentlemen, there’s been a change of plans. My son has decided to marry Alex instead of Tammy.”

  While they cheered, Alex felt the heat rise to her cheeks, especially when Greg clapped and called out, “I knew you could do it, girl.”

  She sent Greg a warning look before she glanced at Kevin whose eyebrows rose in interest. “Greg,” she began as she rolled her eyes, “no one ever knows what he’s talking about.”

  Fortunately, his father eased the awkward moment by lifting his glass and saying, “I’d like to propose a toast. To Kevin and Alex. May you have a happy and long life together.”

  “Hear, hear,” his mother agreed.

  Alex joined in with everyone else and sipped her wine, excited and nervous about what marriage to Kevin would actually mean.

  Chapter Eleven

  Alex looked down at her hand and watched the way the diamond ring sparkled in the sun. It’d been a busy week, but tomorrow was her wedding day and she was looking forward to being Kevin’s wife. It was still strange at times to think of him as Kevin the hot guy instead of Kevin the friend. But finding an apartment, shopping for the ring, and trying on her wedding dress made it all sink in.

  The chimes above the door sounded and she glanced away from the window in time to see Kevin enter the store. “Hi there!” She left her spot at the cash register and went over to him.

  Smiling, he took her in his arms and gave her a lingering kiss that made her eager for their wedding night. If there was one thing she could put to rest, it was the fear that they didn’t have enough chemistry to make the physical part of their relationship exciting.

  “So, what brings you by?” she asked.

  “I wanted to know if you’ll be on lunch break soon?”

  She checked her watch. “I’ll be free in thirty-five minutes. Want to hang out here until then?”

  “If I do that, your boss will make me buy something.”

  She glanced around the store. “What? You don’t need a Florida souvenir?”

  “I already have a ton of them from this place. I didn’t realize how many until I had to pack.” He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him. “Where is that boss of yours anyway?”

  “At lunch.”

  “Oh?” He grinned and kissed her again.

  This time, she snuggled into his arms and traced his lower lip with her tongue. When he parted his lips for her, she deepened the kiss. She moaned and became more insistent in the kiss, loving the way his hands went down to her butt and squeezed it.

  Her breasts pressed against his chest, a sensation she most enjoyed. His hands traveled up her sides to where her breasts were. He drew away from her so he could brush them with his thumbs.

  She groaned and playfully shoved his hands down. “Not until we’re married, mister.”

  With a wicked grin, he brought them back up. “You let me touch them when I was cleaning your dress.”

  Laughing, she took his hands into hers and lowered them. “You were cleaning my dress, not trying to feel me up.”

  “Oh come on. I just want a sample of what I’ll be getting tomorrow.”

  She gave him another kiss. “You already did. Now, behave.”

  Though he let out a long sigh, he grinned and kissed her in return, this time keeping his hands safely away from her breasts. The door opened and someone cleared her throat.

  Her boss shut the door and good-naturedly shook her head. “Find a room, you two.”

  “Great idea, Mrs. Wilcox,” Kevin replied and then looked at Alex. “I guess that means you get the rest of the afternoon off.”

  “Ha ha.” Her boss headed for the back room. “I expect you to buy something since you’re wasting my employee’s time.”

  After she disappeared into the other room, he turned to Alex. “I told you I’d have to buy something if I stuck around.”

  “Yeah, but wasn’t it worth it?” Alex wiggled her eyebrows and gave him a quick kiss.

  “Yeah, it was.”

  She went to the cash register and was surprised when he dropped a package of gum on the counter.

  He shrugged. “
It’s something in the store.”

  Her boss came out of the room and chuckled. “Gum doesn’t count.”

  “But I already have everything else in this place,” he said.

  “No, you don’t,” Alex replied.

  “I have everything I want that’s in here,” he clarified.

  “Then get a gift for your girlfriend,” her boss said.

  “Is there anything you want?” he asked Alex.

  “The glass rose is pretty,” Alex replied, pointing to the red rose on the shelf close by.

  “A rose? Wouldn’t you rather have the phone that’s in the shape of a football?”

  She laughed. “No. That’s tacky.”

  Her boss cleared her throat. “Just don’t say that when there are real customers in here.” She winked and headed back to the other room.

  “Okay.” Kevin went over to the shelf and got the rose. As he returned, he inspected it. “You really like this crap?”

  “I have been known to be a girl once in a while,” Alex replied.

  “Well, I know that. But this isn’t your style.”

  “Maybe there are some things you don’t know about me. Just because we’ve been friends for eons, it doesn’t mean you don’t have more to learn.”

  “Apparently.”

  She rung up his order and handed it to him.

  He gave it back to her. “There’s no way I’m carrying that thing around. It’s yours. Do whatever you want with it.”

  She turned the pretty glass rose over in her hands. When she first saw it, she wanted it, but she didn’t want to have to buy it for herself. She envisioned her boyfriend buying it for her as a sweet, romantic gesture. Kevin meant well. He offered to buy her something, and in their many years together, she never did buy anything overtly feminine around him so how could he know she enjoyed things like this? She couldn’t expect him to read her mind.

  Her boss returned from the back room. “Go on and take an early lunch. I’ll man the fort.”

  “Thanks.” She placed the rose under the counter and picked up her purse. As she left the store with Kevin, she asked, “So where are we eating?”

  He took her hand in his. “I thought I’d let you decide.”

  She smiled. Maybe he wasn’t exactly the most romantic man who ever lived, but he considered what she wanted to do and that was one thing she appreciated most about him. She chose the spot where she wanted to eat, and soon, the topic turned to the wedding.

  ***

  The next day, Alex examined her reflection in the mirror. She hardly recognized herself. Nita fussed over her white gown, spreading it out around her, and though this gown didn’t have sleeves, Alex didn’t mind. She liked the way it made her feel. Maybe that was the purpose of the wedding day—to make a woman feel like a fairytale princess.

  “You look so beautiful,” Nita said as she stood up and checked Alex’s hair which was pulled back into a twist.

  “Thank you, Nita.” Alex hugged her. “You should be the one giving makeovers for a living.”

  “If I had to pluck your eyebrows and wax your mustache, you wouldn’t think so.”

  Alex momentarily shivered from the memory. “I never want to go through that again.”

  Nita laughed and slipped the pearl necklace around Alex’s neck. “The experience traumatized you for life, huh?”

  “I do have nightmares about it. That woman is pinning me down and waxing me everywhere. It’s not a pleasant thought.”

  “You know, some women do wax their pubic area.”

  Alex gasped. “By choice?”

  “They think it makes them look sexy.”

  “I’ll pass. The mustache was enough.” Not that she was convinced there was even a mustache to begin with, but she left that out to humor her friend.

  Her mother opened the door. “This is a huge church. I got lost on the way to this room.”

  Alex rolled her eyes. “It was Tammy’s choice.”

  Her mother entered the room and shut the door behind her. She went up to Alex and hugged her. “You look like a grown woman. It seems just like yesterday when I brought you home from the hospital. You were such a tiny baby, and look at you now.” She pulled away from Alex, and though she smiled, tears filled her eyes. “Your father and I are proud of you, honey.”

  Alex sniffed and blinked back her tears. “Thanks, Mom. I love you.”

  Squeezing her hands, her mother said, “I love you too.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I came in to tell you that everyone’s ready for the bride.”

  Taking a deep breath, Alex gave one last look in the mirror. There wasn’t anything else she could do to get ready. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  “You’ll do just fine, honey.”

  As her mother left to announce Alex would be out soon, Alex turned to Nita. “This is it.” She glanced at her hands. Though they were shaking, she was glad no one else would see that.

  Nita handed Alex the blue flowers. “Does it bother you that Tammy picked everything but your wedding dress?”

  “No. She saved me the headache of having to take care of this myself. I’m no good at planning ceremonies.”

  Nita picked up her white roses and checked out her blue gown. “I hate to admit it, but Tammy did have good taste with the bridesmaids’ dresses.” She bent down and adjusted the bottom of Alex’s dress again. “There. Perfect.”

  As Alex followed Nita to the door, the butterflies in her stomach went wild. This was it. Soon, she would be Mrs. Kevin Edwards. When they reached the foyer of the church, her father and Camden turned to them.

  Camden let out a low whistle. “Too bad I’m not the one who needed a wife.”

  Alex smiled at him. “I’ll take that as a compliment, especially since your mind is usually on food.” Which was ironic since Camden was as skinny as a person could get.

  “Hey, I’m not ashamed to admit I came here for the reception. I hear Tammy ordered more of that shrimp cocktail. I love that stuff.”

  “And here I thought you came because your friends are getting married today.”

  He shrugged but grinned. “That’s a small part of it. I mean, I don’t go crashing weddings to get free food.”

  Nita put her arm around Camden’s. “Get ready. The music’s about to start. You can think about food later.”

  Alex slipped her arm around her father’s and glanced his way.

  Her father patted her hand and kissed her cheek. “Kevin’s a lucky guy.”

  “I love you too, Dad,” she replied.

  The organist began playing the music so Alex turned her attention to the doors which the two ushers opened. Nita and Camden went down the aisle first, and then Alex and her father followed. Alex scanned the room, acutely aware that everyone’s attention was on her. She slowly inhaled and exhaled to calm her nerves.

  She looked at Greg who nodded his approval and then her gaze turned to Kevin who smiled broadly at her. Her face flushed. He’d never looked at her that way before, and it made her even more nervous. When she reached the altar, her father gave her to Kevin so she put her arm around his and tried not to think about the group of people watching them.

  “Wow,” Kevin whispered.

  She glanced his way and blushed. She knew something was changing between them but wasn’t quite sure what it was.

  The pastor began speaking, so she focused as much as she could on what he was saying. Most of it was a blur. She was mostly aware of Kevin’s hand which was comfortingly over hers. They exchanged the vows but the words seemed to blur into each other, and before she knew it, Kevin was slipping the ring on her finger and kissing her. And just like that, in a matter of minutes, she was married to her best friend.

  After she and Kevin walked down the aisle, they spent a good hour taking pictures. At one point she asked, “Didn’t Tammy cancel the photographer when the whole football incident occurred?”

  He laughed. “Yeah, but I called the photographer back. This is the best day of my life, and I want to have p
ictures of it.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “I definitely want to remember you in that dress.”

  She giggled but then paused because she couldn’t remember ever giggling because she was in love, even when she dated in the past. But then he called her beautiful, and she was giggling again. And this time, she didn’t stop.

  Chapter Twelve

  The next day, Alex was snuggled up to Kevin on the couch, a blanket wrapped around them. Though a movie was playing on the TV, Alex wasn’t paying attention to it. Her eyes were closed as he caressed her breasts in lazy circular strokes, his focus, more often than not, on her nipples which tingled in pleasure. They were both naked, and her back was to him, her body conforming nicely to his. Her head rested on the pillow and she burrowed down further into the blanket. She couldn’t remember a time when she was more comfortable or relaxed.

  “Alex?” he whispered.

  “Hmm?”

  His hand left her breasts so he could pick up the remote and mute the TV. Returning his hand to where it had been, he continued, “I was thinking about our honeymoon.”

  Keeping her eyes closed, she smiled. “Aren’t we on it?”

  “No. This is just a bunch of sex in our apartment.”

  She chuckled. “And what’s wrong with that?”

  Laughing, he cupped one of her breasts in his hand and kissed her neck. “Nothing. This is better than watching the Super Bowl.”

  “How dare you speak such sacrilege?” she teased.

  “Last night you weren’t exactly rooting for the Cowboys to get a touchdown.”

  Giggling, she turned over so that she could face him. She wrapped her arm around his waist and kissed his neck. “That’s because they weren’t in the game.”

  He ran his hand along her back to the curve of her hip and then brought her leg over his waist. “I want to discuss a honeymoon. A real one.”

  She groaned, not because of the subject but because his erection was settled nicely between her thighs. “We can talk later,” she murmured as she moved her hips so that her sensitive nub was rubbing against him.