Thanksgiving, West Palm Beach, Florida
"You look beautiful."
"You always say that." Standing on the sidelines, Lily looped her arms around Manny's neck and swayed to the music while in the center of the dance floor Ethan and Darcy danced their first dance as husband and wife.
"That's because it's true,
mi amor."
Lily had to admit she felt pretty good today. Like Ethan's sister, Eve, and Darcy's sister, Delia, who were also part of the wedding party, Lily wore a dress that was a deep orchid silk. The straps were thin, the hem was tea length, and there wasn't a ruffle or a flounce in sight.
A bridesmaid. Her. For a best friend.
"Here's another truth," Lily said, whispering close to his ear. "You look beautiful, too."
Hot. That's how he looked in his cutaway tux in charcoal gray. So for that matter did all of the Garrett clan, who had turned out in their finest for the eldest Garrett boy's wedding.
"Only for Ethan would I wear this monkey suit and subject myself to being called beautiful."
"Does that mean we're going to elope?"
He pulled her closer. "For you I will make another exception. You want a big wedding, we'll have a big wedding. You want me in a tux, you got it."
It was tempting, Lily thought. But even more tempting was the thought of a quiet ceremony with only Adam and the Garretts as witnesses.
"All I want is you," she said. "And as much as I like you in that tux, Manolo, I can't wait to get you out of it."
He grinned down at her. "Who's going to wear who out?" he teased, reminding her that she'd accused him of the very same thing.
Feeling very much in love and very loved, Lily toyed with the notion of pinching herself. Sometimes it just didn't seem real. Here she was. With this amazing man who cherished her. Adam was the most incredible child a woman could ask for. She was surrounded by new friends and about to embark on yet another exciting change of career. She was going back to school. Getting her P.A. credentials. Something she'd always wanted to do—for herself, not for her parents.
"You're still okay with the move?"
She loved that Manny was so in tune with her thoughts. "I'm more than okay. And Adam is over the moon. He loves the idea of moving to West Palm Beach."
"And maybe the fact that Minrada plans to attend the U of Florida starting winter semester?"
"Umm, yah. There's that. He's growing up. Way too fast," she added, feeling melancholy all of a sudden. "Look at him over there, hanging with the big boys."
The big boys being Nolan Garrett and Jase Wilson. Jason was another key member of the E.D.E.N. team that Manny had joined in September. The three of them had their heads together by the bar in the corner of the room. Adam was eating it up with a spoon.
"And he's more than bonkers over Janey," Manny added.
"So am I," Lily admitted. Sweet Baby Jane Perkins, also known as Mrs. Jason Wilson, was one of the biggest names in the music business. "She's very nice. And she's been so generous with her time with Adam."
Everyone had been wonderful—including the Kincaids, whom Lily had finally had the chance to meet and thank for their part in financing Adam's rescue.
"And Jillian," she added, referring to Nolan's beautiful wife, the Kincaids' daughter and a local TV personality. "She's gorgeous. Nolan dotes on her and the baby. I wonder what their story is," she mused aloud.
"One for the books." Manny looked thoughtful. "Someday I'll tell you about it."
"Can I have everyone's attention please?"
Lily looked toward the center of the room where Eve—blond, beautiful, and, from all accounts, able to more than pull her weight with her brothers in the family firm—had commandeered the mike.
"What's she got in her hand?"
"Oh, boy," Manny said when he realized what Eve was holding. He grinned, shook his head. "Here it comes."
"Here what comes?"
"The challenge. Just wait."
"First," Eve said, when the room had quieted down, "on behalf of the entire family, welcome, Darcy. Welcome home."
A round of applause broke out across the room.
Eve raised her hands, signaling for silence.
"Make him happy," she said with a warm smile, "but keep him in line, okay? You can use this if you have to."
The entire room broke into laughter.
Lily strained to see. "Is that a croquet mallet?"
"Yup."
"And now, ladies and gentlemen," Eve said with a huge grin, "game on."
"They're going to play croquet?" Lily asked as they followed the bride and groom and the rest of the Garrett clan—Wes and Susan Garrett, the proud parents of the groom, included—outside onto the terrace lawn where a croquet course had been set up.
"They're going to play croquet," Manny confirmed, and snagged him and Lily each a glass of champagne from a passing waiter.
"I'm missing something, right?"
"Not for long, I'm thinking."
Manny was right. Before long, Eve, accompanied by her hunky hubby, "Mac," ferreted them out and dragged them out to join the rest of the wedding party in a game of cutthroat croquet.
Lily laughed when Nolan sent her ball sailing off the course. "Hey," she groused. "I thought this was a gentleman's game."
"Sorry, Lily." Nolan leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "White gloves are off when the Garretts play the game. This is serious shit."
"All right, Garrett," she said in her best tough-cookie voice. "You wanna play rough? I'll show you rough."
Beside her, Manny laughed. "God, I love it when you talk butch."
"Out of my way, Rambo," she warned, retrieving her ball and lining it up opposite Manny's. "I'm about to get serious."
"I
like
her," Eve said, her eyes dancing. "The woman understands the sanctity of the mallet."
"The woman," Manny said, pulling Lily close and kissing her after she'd set his ball way, way off the course, "is pushing her luck."
"What? You going to punish me, Ortega?" she whispered against his mouth.
"Oh yeah. You're in trouble now. I've got a special kind of punishment in mind for you."
She grinned. "I can hardly wait."
"Do you suppose they'd miss us if we just sort of slipped out of here?"
She loved how his eyes grew dark. "Unfortunately, I think they would. How about we make a date for later tonight?"
"I've waited half my life for you,
mi amor
... I guess I can wait another few hours."
"Urn . .. Excuse me. You two do know that you're holding up the game?"
Lily grinned over her shoulder to see Nolan patiently waiting for them to move out of his line of fire.
"You gonna make something of it, Garrett?" Manny's gaze never left Lily's face.
"Nope. Not me. But it looks like you are."
"Yeah," Manny said, and smiled into Lily's eyes. "I'm going to make something of it. I'm going to make you happy,
querida.
Count on it."
She did. She would. For the rest of her life.
Midnight
It had been a long, long time since he'd gotten piss-faced, pie-eyed, fall-on-his-ass drunk. Dallas had decided early on that this would be the night he'd break the fast.
What better reason to tie one on than his big brother's wedding? It was a celebration, right?
Damn straight,
Dallas told himself, lifted his glass of scotch, and found nothing but ice.
"Screw it," he muttered, and rose from the table in the far corner of the room where he'd settled in to watch the festivities in peace. He needed to get some air.
He was happy for his brother. For both of his brothers and his sister. For his brother in spirit, Manny Ortega. Hell. They were all paired up. All tied up neat and tidy to the women of their dreams. Even Wilson had found himself a girl.
Good for them,
Dallas thought, and wandered outside onto the terrace. It was cool outside. The moon was high. The scent of the ocean hung like a salt bath in the air.
Yeah, good for them.
"Dallas?"
Dallas turned. Saw his old man standing there.
"You okay, bud?"
Dallas nodded. "Just getting some air."
Wes Garrett joined him under the moon. "Some party, huh?"
Dallas grunted in affirmation. Stared into the night.
"Something bothering you, son? You've been awfully quiet lately."
Dallas turned, looked at his father. "Mom send you out here on a seek-and-discover mission?"
Wes grinned. "You know your mother. She's worried about you," he said after a long moment. "Does she have a reason to be?"
Okay, Dallas had figured this was coming. He'd seen the concerned looks on his mother's face. The gentle smiles that subtly probed.
"How'd you know that Mom was the one?"
And where in the hell had that come from? The booze, Dallas decided, and thought,
What the hell. How had
he known?
"You just know," Wes said with a shrug. "When you think about her all the time, want to be with her all the time, know you'd put your life on the line for her... well, you know she's the one."
Dallas nodded. His dad's answer made him want to march back inside and renew his mission of getting falling-down drunk.
"I'd better go back inside," his dad said. "You coming?"
Dallas nodded. Forced a tight smile. "You go on ahead. I'll be there in a little bit."
But another half an hour passed while he stood there. . .
Thinking of Amy Walker, like he thought of her all the time.
Wanting to be with her. Hell, it seemed like he'd been wanting her all of his life.
Knowing he'd put his life on the line for her again. Wondering if it would someday come to that.
He stared at the black canvas of sky. Amy was out there somewhere. Amy—who had the ability to mess up his neat and tidy life the way a frag grenade could mess up a helluva lot of terra firma.
He felt anger suddenly.
Where the hell was she?
Was she safe? Was she whole?
Was she missing him?
Did she have any idea that she'd messed up his life by the very fact of her absence from it?
He dragged a hand over his face. Heaved a weary breath.
And headed back inside. Where, he promised himself, he'd get with the program this time and drink himself blind.