Accidentally Yours (29 page)

Chapter
20

I Take This Woman

A
ll sets of eyes were on Desireé as she glided up the aisle, her arm linked with that of her widowed mother…that is, all sets except one.

Zack had
n’t known Vivian was going to be the maid of honor until she appeared in his room ready to leave. Her short hair had been brushed back, away from her face, and her makeup was flawless, but he’d been stunned at her casual attire…a pair of Capri pants and a sleeveless blouse. He listened intently as she told him about Lorna Nairn’s frantic call and subsequent visit to see if the dress fit and explained that he would have to drop her off at Mrs. Mack’s home, where the bridal attendants were dressing, and from where they would be driven in limousines to the site of the ceremony. “You didn’t seem concerned to know what I was doing in your room, but I was using it to change in. Lorna was waiting in my room, so I came in here to try on the dress. I hung it up in my closet after she left, and I’d just come back to your room to get my clothes when you walked in.”

She was right, he hadn’t cared why
he’d returned to find her in his room half-dressed. The only thing that counted to him was that she was there…and one look at her scanty attire made him resolve not to let her get away.

It was amazing. Vivian may have been
a last-minute substitute, but that dress looked like it had been made for her. From the way she was smiling at the guests as she made her way up the aisle in time to the music—Desireé had chosen the emotionally powerful theme from the historic miniseries
Roots
—he felt sure she had done this more than once in the past.

He half expected her to raise her arm and wave, like a politician...or like a queen.
His
queen.

All through
the ceremony, he found his mind wandering, thinking about the pleasures they’d found with each other in his room just hours earlier, and already looking forward to those they would share tonight. She looked delectable, and he intended to savor every taste of her. Before he was through he’d know every plane of her body as well as he knew his own. Too many times he had slept with women before he really knew them and then realized their personalities didn’t mesh with his, but with Vivian it had been the opposite. Circumstances had forced them to get to know each other first…and the more time he spent with her, the more time he
wanted
to spend with her. And Fate, which he’d cursed just last night, had brought them together as Vivian stepped into the role of maid of honor opposite his best man.

Austin and
Desireé saying their vows was lost to Zack; all he could see was Vivian. She gave him a little wink when, performing her duties as honor attendant, she took Desireé’s bouquet to free her hands for the placement of the wedding bands.

When it was time for the recessional—the music Austin had surprised
Desireé with was
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,
by that fellow who changes his name about as often as most folks trade in their vehicles—Zack linked his arm in Vivian’s and escorted her toward the door. This time, she did wave to the guests, regardless of not knowing most of them; and he found himself doing the same.

He suddenly felt very happy, and he knew that his best buddy
’s wedding day was going to be an important milestone in his own life, for in that instant he realized he was in love.

*****

Vivian couldn’t wait to get out of the chapel, for all during the ceremony her mind kept wandering to carnal memories that had no place occurring in a house of worship. That dampness between her legs simply wouldn’t go away. Fortunately, it only took a few moments to get out of the chapel, for unlike the carefully timed processional, this time they walked at a normal pace. After they were outside, Zack let go of her arm, but then took her hand. Maybe she was just imagining it, but it seemed like he was holding it very tightly. They posed for photographs on the chapel grounds, and he stood much closer to her than he needed to. Then he surprised her by asking the photographer to take a shot of just the two of them. Vivian’s face grew warm when the photographer’s assistant remarked that they looked nearly as happy as the bride and groom.

On the way to the chapel, Vivian had ridden in the limousine with
Desireé, Mrs. Mack, and original honor attendant Alisha Gibbs, who had taken the ride to offer moral support to her best friend in the moments before her marriage. It was fun; the four of them sang repeated choruses of the Dixie Cups classic,
Going to the Chapel,
but for the ride to the reception the lineup changed. The bridesmaids and ushers got into one limo, Mrs. Mack and Alisha rode in private vehicles, and she and Zack, as the honor attendants, rode with the bride and groom in a limousine, in seats facing each other. Austin and Desireé were holding hands and looking at each other lovingly. Every so often they would hold up their left hands to gaze at the new bands they wore.

“
All right, you two,” Vivian teased. “I know you guys tried those rings on before you bought them.”

“
Of course we did,” Desireé said, “but it’s not the same as it is when you’ve actually taken your marriage vows.”

“
We don’t mean to be sickening,” Austin added, sounding embarrassed.

“
Well, Desireé, I must say you’re handling the change in the lineup of your bridal attendants very well,” Zack remarked.

“
I almost had a cow when Lisha told me the titty fairy visited her overnight, but when she said she had it all worked out and that Vivian fit into the dress…” she shrugged. “What could I say? She was as disappointed as I was, but because she didn’t want me to worry she didn’t even tell me about it until she had everything all taken care of. And I can’t thank you enough, Vivian. You’ve been a real lifesaver, both in New York and out here.” The two had become friendly when a distraught Desireé surveyed her hair, which had become a matted mess after weeks of being weak and ill with malaria after doing surveys of luxury hotels in sub-Saharan Africa, and Vivian offered to bring her to a skilled hairdresser.

“
I’m just so glad everything worked out.”

“
I’m glad the rehearsed part is over,” Austin said. “I intend to enjoy every minute of our reception.”

“
Won’t you two be leaving early?” Vivian asked.

“
There’s really no reason to,” Desireé replied. “Our flight tomorrow isn’t until three o’clock. We’ve got time to lounge around—we booked a suite at the Brown Palace—until checkout time, then grab our bags and head for the airport.”

“
Belize, here we come,” Austin added.

“
I’m going to forget all about those thank-you notes I have to do when I get back,” Desireé said. “I want to have them done within a month. If there’s anything I can’t stand, it’s brides and grooms whom I only hear from on the back of my checks.” Desireé turned to Vivian. “You know what I mean, don’t you?”

“
I think all of us have had that experience at least once. It’s one of my pet peeves, but I’ve got lots of those.”

“
I don’t think it’s really fair that it’s the wife who has to do all the work, but I guess that’s part of the job,” Desireé said with a sigh.

Austin pantomimed the act of writing
as he spoke. “Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Thank you so much for the silver serving dish…”

“
Oh, you!” Desireé playfully punched his upper arm.

Austin nuzzled the neck of his new bride.
“I have a feeling I’m going to like this marriage thing,” he said. “Zack, you’ll have to try it one of these days.”

Zack
smiled at Vivian, but didn’t reply.

“Hey, you two look different this afternoon,” Desireé remarked. “As if you’ve got a secret or something.
Would it have anything to do with why you got to my mother’s house so late?”

Vivian feigned innocence. “I can’t imagine wh
at you’re talking about. Who’s got a secret?” She kept her expression impassive, even as Zack slid his hand over to cover hers, hidden by the full skirt of her dress.

*****

The reception, held within the confines of a huge white tent on Phil and Sandy Wallace’s property nestled high in the mountains, began as a dignified affair, with trio of musicians playing classical music as a background for the mingling of the guests while they awaited the arrival of the bridal party. The musicians disappeared just before the ushers and bridesmaids were presented to the guests, replaced by a band who played classics of a more popular nature.

“
I hope somebody remembered to report the change in lineup. It’ll be embarrassing if they announce Alisha’s name instead of mine,” Vivian said, her arm linked with Zack’s as they awaited their turn.

The announcements were being handled by
Desireé’s mother’s boyfriend, a circuit court judge whose booming voice barely needed amplification. “And as maid of honor and best man, I present to you Miss Vivian St. James and Dr. Zachary Warner of New York.”

“
There’s your answer,” he whispered as they moved forward to the center of the tent to thunderous applause. The smiles on the guests’ faces told Vivian that she and Zack looked good together. She gave them a sunny smile, like she was in a Pepsodent commercial. This must be how it felt to be a bride, she thought.

It was party time. The large tent had full-service bars in three of its four corners. The
roof was filled with silver and white helium balloons. Vivian became so full from sampling the hors d’oeuvres, especially the crab cakes, that uniformed waiters were passing around at every turn, that she feared she wouldn’t be able to eat her dinner. The music played continuously; whenever the dance band took a break the classical musicians returned. Even the six Port-O-Sans for the convenience of the guests were roomy and complete with sinks with running water. Helen Mack had spared no expense at the wedding of her only child.

The dance band was exceptional, with a wide repertoire ranging from standards to the sixties heyd
ay of labels like Motown, Stax, and Philly International, right into contemporary sounds. Vivian watched as the guests lost their inhibitions, led by the older generation, who of course had been around for the original Function at the Junction. She got into the spirit herself, mastering the
Shotgun
dance to the R&B classic of the same name as she danced with Mr. Warner.

She and Zack
didn’t set next to each other—he sat on Desireé’s left and she on Austin’s right—but he came to her and offered his hand when the band slowed down the tempo.

They had danced together when the lead singer invited the guests to join in during
Desireé and Austin’s first dance as husband and wife, but this time it felt different. Fewer dancers came to the floor, for one. Then again, maybe she was just getting accustomed to dancing with him.

“
I’ve got to tell you something, Vivling,” he said.

“
What’s that?”

“
I know it’s soon, but I think I’m falling in love with you.”

She promp
tly took a misstep.

Zack tightened his hold around her waist.
“You all right?”

“
Yes.” She quickly regained the beat. “I just didn’t expect to hear you say that. I’m glad you feel that way…I’ve been thinking the same thing myself about you.”

“
So it doesn’t frighten you?”

“
Of course not. I think you’re pretty special, Zack.”

“
Good. But I’ve got to tell you, it scares the hell out of me. But I intend to enjoy every part of it.”

*****

Vivian, a little self-conscious of her unmarried status, sat out the tossing of the bridal bouquet, which was caught by Desireé’s widowed mother. Judge Frank Mitchell, Mrs. Mack’s boyfriend, caught the garter in a surprising display of agility for a man of his bulk, and the guests were delighted that the longtime couple would, if the legend persisted, be the next to marry.

The sun had set when the first guests began to leave. Vivian was enjoying a two-step with Zack when she suddenly remembered something.
“Zack!” she exclaimed. “We both got here by limo. The car is still at the chapel. How are we going to get back to our hotel?”

“
I’ll get my parents will give us a ride back to the campus so we can pick up the car.”

*****

They returned to the inn to find several guests having drinks and playing the piano in the lobby, where it was a house tradition to gather in the evenings. Everyone asked Vivian and Zack if they had been to a wedding, no doubt prompted by their formal attire, and they stayed only long enough to confirm before saying good night and heading for the stairs.

It had been a long day, one that contained considerable emotional
and physical upheaval, but Vivian felt exhilarated. She and Zack had exchanged their feelings for each other in a crowded setting, unable to affirm their feelings for each other with even a kiss in the public setting, but now they would be alone. Her body tingled in anticipation. She wanted to be naked in bed with him so badly that she couldn’t get up the stairs fast enough.