скачать книгу бесплатно
So strange.
He could see his younger self, looking down at her as she whirled in his arms. Lena…
Or was it?
Right now, as he pictured Lena, smiling softly, gazing up at him on that long-ago night, it wasn’t Lena he saw. He was sure of it. He looked down and…
He saw Lori in his arms.
It couldn’t be. It wasn’t. Of course not. His mind was playing weird tricks on him, that was all.
Still, somewhere deep at the center of himself, he was certain…
Blazing heat flooded up under the collar of his silk dress shirt. The walls pressed in on him. He couldn’t breathe.
And then Lori looked up from the table where she sat with Brody. She saw him.
And she smiled. Sheepishly. Hopefully.
Damn. She was beautiful.
And somehow, her smile did the trick. The world righted itself. Everything spun back into place.
The past wasn’t now.
Just as Lori wasn’t Lena.
He almost laughed out loud at his own idiocy. It made a strange kind of sense, he supposed—that now, with the way he felt about Lori, it would seem to him that it must have been her and not her twin he held in his arms that night.
Funny, how a man’s mind could play tricks on him when his heart got involved.
And as much as that one night still haunted him now and then, as much as what had happened then didn’t quite add up—as much as, when he looked back on it, he was troubled by the idea that Lena hadn’t really seemed like Lena…
It simply didn’t matter. It was years ago. Lena was over it and so was he. They had both moved on.
What mattered was right now. What mattered was the hopeful smile on Lori Lee’s soft mouth.
Someone jostled his elbow. “‘Scuse me,” he said automatically, not sparing so much as a glance for whoever had bumped him. He started forward, eyes on the prize, moving swift and sure around the tables, until he reached Lori’s side.
“Tucker!” Brody’s face lit up in a wide smile of greeting.
He gave the boy an answering grin. “Hey, Brody. How you doing?”
“Okay.” Brody stuck his finger under his collar. “‘Cept for this suit.” He made choking noises.
“Brody,” Lori warned softly. Brody heaved a sigh and took his finger out of his collar.
Tucker winked at him. “Lookin’ good, though.”
“You think?” Brody stretched his neck and smoothed his kid-size tie.
“No doubt about it.” Tucker dared to turn his gaze to the woman in pink. “And you…” There were no words. He said the one that came closest. “Beautiful.”
Her soft mouth trembled on a radiant smile. “Why, thank you…”
He reached down and plucked the place card from the empty spot beside her. “Well, what do you know? This is my seat.”
Her expression said she’d already looked at his place card. Still, she teased, “No way…”
He turned the card around so she could read his name—just in case she hadn’t already. “Yep. ‘Fraid so.” He pulled back the chair and slid into it, grabbing his swan-shaped napkin and shaking it out to lay it across his lap.
She leaned close. He got a whiff of her scent, a light scent, as tempting as the sight of her in that pink dress. She asked out of the side of her mouth, “Where did you put Charlie Bowline? He was here a few minutes ago. Apparently, one of the ushers told him he was seated at this table.”
Tucker turned his head enough to snare her gaze. And smiled. Slowly. He watched her lips soften and part a fraction. Her eyes changed, clear blue going soft and smoky.
He said, “Mr. Charles Bowline will be sitting with Tate and Molly Bravo. If he ever manages to find his seat, I’m sure he’ll have a terrific time. Tate and Molly are a lot of fun.”
“Charlie is the best man, you know,” she murmured chidingly.
“Don’t say that. You’ll hurt my feelings.”
She pressed her lips together to keep from laughing, but still the corners of that sweet mouth trembled. “Dirk’s best man, I mean.”
“And I hope he finds his seat quickly.” A waiter filled his gold-edged flute with champagne. He lifted it toward Lori. She picked hers up and they tapped them together.
“Hey. Me, too.” Brody had his Coke raised high.
Tucker tapped the kid’s glass and so did Lori. “To the best man, wherever he may be.”
The food came—skewered shrimp and then salads and a main course of filet mignon and stuffed baked potatoes. It was damn good, all of it. Surprising, considering the size of the crowd. In Tucker’s experience, the bigger the dinner, the worse the food.
Not that the food mattered. To Tucker, the company was what counted—and since the company included Lori, all was right with the world.
They chatted with the other guests at their table—two couples from Abilene, friends of Dirk’s family, and a sweet elderly lady: Dirk’s great-aunt. Beyond the tall windows, the sky slowly darkened to pewter-gray as the promised storm rolled in. Not a problem. They were all safe and dry and having a great time.
Neither Tucker nor Lori mentioned the mysterious appointment she had with him Monday, or their phone conversation the previous Sunday, when she’d as good as said she’d never go out with him. By unspoken agreement, they kept things light and general.
That was okay with Tucker.
She was beside him and he saw no reason she wouldn’t stay there for the rest of the afternoon—even on into the evening if he got really lucky.
There would be dancing.
Oh, yeah. He was a happy man.
Everything seemed workable, now. The afternoon and evening stretched out ahead of them. Sunday, he’d see her at church and at the diner. And Monday…well, she’d set that up herself. Whatever legal matter she wanted to discuss with him, she’d be right there in his office.
He’d have another chance to convince her of how they should be spending more time together.
Like, say, the rest of their lives.
No. He smiled to himself. He wasn’t going to push her too fast. He would take it nice and easy and slow…
After the main course was cleared off, Heck Billingsworth, up at the bride’s table, rose and tapped his water goblet with his fork.
“Ahem, ahem. Ladies and gents. I’d like to say a few words about how much this special day means to Enid and me…”
Brody sat patiently through several rounds of toasting. But all that sitting was a lot to ask of a ten-year-old boy. By then, the other kids in the room were either fiddling around in the doorways or disappearing into the main foyer, just like Tucker and Tate used to do at similar events when they were kids.
Brody leaned close to Lori and whispered, “Mom. Can I go play with the other kids now?”
She let him go, after getting a promise that he’d stay in the main entrance area or in the ballroom, where she could find him. “No wandering off outside. I mean it.”
“I won’t, Mom. I promise.” And Brody was out of there before Dirk’s father could rise to offer yet another toast.
A half an hour later, after everybody and his brother had taken a turn at raising a glass, Heck stood and announced that the band would be moving to the ballroom. Outside, thunder rolled and lightning blazed down from the dark belly of the clouds.
Heck let out his booming laugh. “This here’s Texas, ladies and gentlemen. No puny thunderstorm is going to spoil our good time.”
Answering laughter rippled through the crowd. Everyone applauded.
Tucker pushed back his chair and offered Lori his hand. “The first dance is mine.”
She laid her soft hand in his.
Chapter Six
Tell him, Lori thought, for the hundredth time that evening. Tell him, tonight…
It was well after eight and outside, though daylight still lingered somewhere above the thick, black clouds, it seemed like it was already nighttime. The rain had started, a hard rain, pouring down. Through the row of windows that looked out on the ballroom’s long veranda and the wide, curving driveway at the front of the clubhouse, lightning flared in sudden, bright flashes. Lori whirled in Tucker’s arms. She looked up into his gleaming eyes as she swayed in her pink gown and she shivered at the seductive thought that somehow, time had spun backward. Somehow, that long-ago prom night was happening all over again.
It was that night again…
Only better.
This time, there was no masquerade. This time, Tucker wasn’t calling her Lena. This time, he knew which twin he whirled across the floor. This time, the magic was real.
And when this song ended, she promised herself, she would lead him to some quiet corner and tell him the secret she’d kept from him for so long.
Yes, it would probably go badly.
But she couldn’t lie to him—or herself—any longer. Tucker might be furious with her when he learned the truth, and rightfully so. But he wouldn’t take it out on Lena and Dirk. He wouldn’t ruin the party. He wasn’t that kind of man and she knew he wasn’t.
Yes, word would be bound to get around town eventually. But by the time that happened, Lena would at least be off on her honeymoon.
The song ended.
Lori swayed closer to Tucker. “I wonder…”
His arm tightened at her waist. He breathed in her ear, “What? Anything. Name it…”
“A few minutes. Alone…”
He chuckled. She felt the happy sound vibrate all through her. “My thoughts exactly.” He let go of her waist, but not of her hand.
The next number started up as he turned. Pulling her along, he wove through the crush of dancing couples, guiding her from the floor.
They tried the main foyer first. But most of the kids were in there, fooling around on the stairs, chasing each other in and out of the seating areas. She caught sight of Brody, playing with a couple of other boys near the front desk. His little tie had come undone and his jacket was nowhere to be seen. She opened her mouth to ask him where the jacket went, but Tucker tugged her along and all she had time for was a quick wave. Brody sent her a wide, happy grin and went back to his game.
They passed through an arch into a hallway—a nice, dim one. But not empty. People strolled up and down it, going to and from the Cottonwood Room at the far end.
Courtly old Dr. Flannigan, who’d been the Billingsworth family physician for years, came striding down the hallway toward them. He smiled his crinkly warm smile at the sight of them. “Tucker. Hello. And Lori. My, my. Aren’t you a vision? You and the lovely Lena, both.”
“Why, thank you, Doc.” She gave him a smile.
“Believe me, the pleasure is all mine.”
“Hi, Doc,” Tucker said—and kept going. He muttered something—probably a swear word—under his breath and turned a corner to another hallway, the one that led to the powder room and the men’s room. But two women, bridesmaids, emerged from the powder room. They both called greetings.
“Hey, Lori. Tucker…”
“Great party, huh?”
“Darlene, Louisa…” Tucker saluted the two pretty women in celery-green and turned to lead Lori back the way they had come.
They tried the dining room. No go. The serving staff was still busy in there with the big job of cleaning up after the wedding banquet.
One of the waiters asked, “May I help you, Mr. Bravo.”
Tucker chuckled, a wry sound. “Not unless you can all clear out of here on the double.”
The waiter frowned in bewilderment. “Clear out, Mr. Bravo?”
Tucker clapped him on the arm. “Never mind. Just a joke…”
The waiter forced a laugh. “A joke. Oh. I see…”
Tucker took pity on the poor guy. “Go ahead. Keep at it. Sorry to interrupt.”
The waiter nodded and went back to loading dirty dishes into plastic crates. From the ballroom, Lori could hear her father’s voice, amplified over the club’s PA system. He must have taken the microphone from the wedding singer.
“And now for the big moment. Time to cut the cake…”
Tucker headed back to the ballroom, pulling Lori with him. With so many guests everywhere, private corners were in short supply.
So all right, she thought. Now’s not the right moment…
But she wasn’t giving up. She would tell him that night—later that night. She’d send Brody home with her parents and she’d go with Tucker, out to the Double T, or wherever. It didn’t matter. Just as long as they went someplace where they wouldn’t be disturbed.
