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Josh had a nice butt. Broad shoulders, too. And biceps that filled the sleeves of his button-down shirt. Lilly was into biceps. And fit bodies. Maybe she’d been surrounded by too many of Jack’s crew in the past three years, but she certainly appreciated a man who kept in shape, and Josh Madden had a great body.
Lilly watched him thread his way through the club to the front door. She should have told him about the back door, which was much closer, but he hadn’t given her a chance. He seemed intent on the phone call from his...wife? He’d called her honey and asked about the kids, but Lilly hadn’t seen a wedding ring, or even an indentation from one no longer worn.
She looked at her bare left hand where four carats of diamonds had surrounded a three carat marquis. The audacious setting had rested for a year before it had been joined by a diamond-encrusted wedding band. She’d never really cared for the bold set that had been his claiming of her.
She rubbed the empty space and thought about her great grandmother’s fire orange opal ring that sat in her jewelry roll back at the Girard compound. She loved the heirloom in its antique setting and regretted once again that she didn’t have a daughter to pass it on to. She still had a few good years to add to her family, but that would require a man in her life.
She was still smarting from the smack of her divorce and the ease of which he had replaced her with a younger, thinner, lighter-skinned woman. No. She’d never put herself through that torture again. Even if it meant losing the dream of a little girl of her own. God had given her two wonderful boys who were growing up way too fast. That should be enough to fill her life. It would be plenty.
As she ran a finger over the indentation on her left hand, she decided to wear the fire opal there, especially while in Cancun. The orange stone with its glints of red, yellow, and green, had been mined not far from where she sat, the silver dug from the distant mountains then crafted by an ancestor for his beloved wife. The ring had deep meaning to her and belonged in this area of the world. Yes. When she got home, she would put it on and wear it proudly.
In the back of Lilly’s mind, the change in music registered, but she paid no attention until the chair next to her scraped and Jack planted his body in it. “Hey, sis. Sorry we deserted you.” He looked around the club. “Josh didn’t leave, did he?”
“He got a call and stepped out. I’m not sure what his plans are.” And at that point, she wasn’t sure she cared. He was a good looking man, but if he was married, she refused to have anything to do with him. Divorced? She’d have to see why the other woman decided to let him go. He acted like a player, and another cheater was not in her future.
Jack shrugged and pulled Jillian into his lap. She threw her arms around him and kissed him lightly.
Lilly overheard their words. “I love you.” And “Love you, too,” as the DJ announced the next song. She felt a hand on the back of her chair before she felt the heat of Josh’s breath on her ear when he leaned in.
“I’m so sorry. Trouble back home with—” His words were lost in the opening cords. “—kids are more than she can handle sometimes. I’m afraid I’m the only one—”
Lilly couldn’t hear over the loud music and didn’t need his excuses. He was nothing more to her than her little brother’s friend and wedding guest. But his spicy scent stole through her defensive shield and nudged the woman within.
Josh slipped back into his chair and took a long pull on his beer as though to wash away the bad taste in his mouth. She sipped her wine and covertly glanced at her watch. Maybe she should step out and check on her own children. Her mother was technically watching them, but they rarely woke in the night. At seven and four-and-a-half—because that half was so important at that age—they were fine with someone in the house in case of an emergency, like when they needed snuggles to fall back asleep. Her mother had been an important part of their lives since birth.
Mom had promised to have only one drink while working through the new union contract Lilly had finished the day before. The reps weren’t going to like it much, but she and her older brother, Levi, had knocked out the best solutions they could offer in a downturned economy. Maybe Mom would have a few ideas to sweeten the deal.
Her thoughts wandered to the contracts she and Jack had worked on all day. Girard International was about to diversify and plunge into the cruise line business. After the public relations disaster the past February when it was falsely reported that Ebola had been brought to Cancun via a cruise line, Lilly worried about their decision. Two luxury ships were a lot of money. But she’d never seen Jack as excited about the family business.
“What do you think, Lilly?” Jillian’s question broke through her contractual thoughts.
“I’m sorry,” she confessed, “my head was back at work. What was the question?” Lilly realized the table had filled with Jack’s crew and several women. That was nothing new. Those men were female magnets, except these women gave off a different vibe from the men’s usual one-night-stands. They seemed to know, really know, each other. They acted more like old friends than want-to-be lovers.
“Oh, no, Lilly. I’m so sorry,” Caroline exclaimed. “You haven’t met my friends.” Luke and Caroline had all but become a unified fixture at the Girard compound the past few days as key players in the wedding. Lilly liked Caroline’s tough-as-nails, take-no-prisoners attitude, and she’d always liked Luke.
Caroline yelled to be heard over the multiple conversations, “Listen up, everyone.” All eyes turned toward the brunette who, accustomed to giving orders, commanded attention. She turned toward Lilly. “These women are the reason I’m going to marry the man of dreams the first Saturday in August, at sunset, on the beach right outside that door.” She pointed to the back of the club and the beach beyond.
The table erupted in whoops and hollers as everyone got to their feet. Three women bolted around the table to Caroline’s side with high-pitched squeals, enveloping her with hugs and questions. The men smacked Luke on the back and shook his hand vigorously.
Good for them. All week they had seemed happy in their engagement and future plans of Caroline leaving her job as a U.S. Navy pilot to fly for a small charter service in Cancun. An August wedding. That was soon. Plenty of time to throw together an amazing wedding. It wouldn’t be the gigantic social event that Lilly’s had been with nearly five hundred guests for a sit-down dinner and dancing to a fifteen-piece orchestra. No. Small and fun would fit Caroline’s and Luke’s personalities.
Lilly stood and gave her newest friend a hug. “Congratulations. If you need me to talk with Kuk about using the beach, just let me know.” She gave a conspiratorial grin. “I have plenty of childhood fodder to use against my cousin if he gives you any problems.”
“Thank you, Lilly.” Caroline gave her another short hug. “I’ll take you up on that offer if we need to, but I think everything will be fine.” She stepped back and glanced between the women around her.
Formally, Caroline stated, “Lilly, I’d like you to meet Lisa Dexter, Sarah Laughlin, and Chloe Masterson.” She pointed to each woman as she introduced them. “My running buddies, roomies aboard ship, wing-women, and besties.” Lilly dutifully shook each woman’s hand and nodded.
“Club clothes for our bridesmaid dresses. Right?” Lisa scanned the other women’s faces for agreement. “That’s what we decided when we first saw that rock on her finger.”
The women pilots all nodded in agreement.
“Shopping,” Sarah sang. “And fast. It’s only...eight weeks away!”
More shrieks filled the space around Lilly.
To be that young and excited about love. How wonderful. Lilly couldn’t withhold her smile or quell the hope that rose within her that Caroline had found a forever man.
Everyone grabbed chairs, the table dividing with men on one side and women on the other. The estrogen half was deep into wedding ideas and plans while the men had wandered into the realm of war stories. Lilly was sucked into the feminine vacuum and treated like an older sister. She’d never had a sister, and except for a few experiences with Jillian since the holidays, she’d never even had a sister-in-law to enjoy that special bond. The moment filled a void she’d been unaware of until that moment.
She had socialized at the side of he-who-remained-unnamed for the past decade, never more than an arm’s reach away. She hadn’t had girl time in years. Too consumed with work, family, the boys’ school and sports—not to mention the extensive social life which demanded a public appearance at least once a week—Lilly had slowly slipped away from the closeness of her life-long girlfriends. They were all of an age and busy concentrating on their own lives. She looked at the younger women and wondered if they would even keep up with Caroline after she left the service.
Glancing away to cut off that line of thought, Lilly caught Josh’s gaze on her. They exchanged accepting smiles before returning their attention to the energetic younger crowd. He seemed to pick up on how she felt and understood her slight discomfort in this place, at this time. No, she didn’t feel old, simply older than the others around her. Having an ally across the drink-laden table was nice.
The music had become nothing more than loud background that interfered with the intense preparations being made by the women. Lilly had forgotten how many decisions went into planning a wedding, but Jillian’s input and local connections were invaluable. Feeling more like an eavesdropper than a conversational participant, Lilly found herself settling back in her chair and sipping her wine.
Once again her gaze wandered to where Luke used both hands, swooping through the air, to add visuals to his story. As she looked down the line of handsome men engrossed in the current tale, her attention stopped on Josh.
She liked his strong jaw line, the kind that needed to be shaved twice a day if headed out for an evening with a woman. He had full lips but there were no lines creasing each side from years of smiling and laughing. She wondered if it was just his personality or if he didn’t have much in his life to be happy about. Based on the penetrating look on his face, the fan-like lines embedded deep at the corners of his eyes were from squinting and scowling rather than grinning.
His dark blue eyes glinted like sapphires in the dim lighting.
Oh, damn. He was looking right at her. He’d caught her staring at him. Lilly quickly averted her eyes and forced herself to concentrate on the wedding conversation in front of her.
In the back of her brain, she registered the music change to a slow song , but followed the bouncing conversation about shoes versus bare feet and lace toe thongs.
A warm hand touched her nearly bare shoulder. Prickles of awareness shot down her spine and through her entire body.
“Dance with me.” The warmth of his deep voice at her ear was like a hypnotic chant. Josh’s large hand had lifted hers and guided it upward. Her body betrayed her and followed before she could refuse. “You looked like you needed rescuing.”