His Love Match. Shirley Hailstock
her to get the measurements done as quickly as possible. But that instruction didn’t reach her hands. She pulled the tape measure down and extended it to his ankle, then to his sock-clad feet. Unconsciously, she brushed against him. His arousal was hard and he jerked away from her touch.
Diana’s head snapped up and she met his eyes. They were dark, almost liquid. She’d seen that look directed at her only one other time. And from the same face that now stared into hers with a longing so deep it wrenched her heart.
Scott reached down and pulled her up to him. She stood as if reaching for the sky. Scott’s body was long. Diana climbed the mountain of him until she was on her feet. She could feel the full length of him. For a moment she luxuriated in the warmth that covered them like a shared aura. They faced each other, their mouths only a kiss away. Kiss. The word registered in her brain. Lightning speed brought her up short. She pulled free of Scott’s arms and hurried to the door. With her hand on the knob, she turned back.
“I apologize,” she said. “I’m finished with you. You can dress and leave.”
Outside, Diana stood breathing hard, clutching the tape measure as if it was an anchor keeping her pinned to the ground. She took several breaths. What had happened to her? What was she doing? She’d never done anything like that before, but this time she found it hard to control herself. She wanted to touch him, wanted to keep running her hands over his hair-roughened skin. She wanted to feel his arousal, allowing him to lengthen and grow in her palm.
Stop! she screamed at herself. She had to calm her thoughts before Jeremy emerged from one of the dressing rooms. He knew her well enough to tell if something was happening to her, and there was no doubt in her mind that something had happened. And more would have happened if she’d let it go on any longer. How could she feel this way? She hated Scott Thomas. She’d always hated him. How could she want to kiss her? Oh, God, how could she want to have sex with him?
She gasped at the thought. Was that what that was? Had it been so long since she had sex that she wanted to have it with a man she didn’t even like? Diana stopped all thoughts of Scott. He was probably dressed by now and would open the door behind her at any moment. She didn’t want to be standing there when that happened.
Rallying her thoughts, she took the card with Scott’s information to Jeremy’s desk and gave it to him.
“Thanks for the help,” Jeremy said. “I think everything is in control now.” He surveyed the shop.
Diana smiled quickly, wanting to get out of the shop before Jeremy saw how close to falling apart she was. And worse, having to face Scott so soon after she’d had her hands on him and her body melded to his. Gathering her purse, she air-kissed Jeremy and left by the connecting door, escaping into the bridal shop and out of Scott’s sight. Diana didn’t think she exhaled until she had finished with Jennifer’s needs and returned to her car, all without seeing Scott a second time.
But there would be other times. Now that she knew he was the replacement groomsman, the two would meet at the rehearsal and the wedding. Thankfully, she did not have to attend any wedding activities with him. When the rehearsal and wedding ceremony were done, so would she be. Then she could return to her normal life. Whatever normal was. Or had been. Would it be the same ever again? Diana didn’t really think so. She and Scott both lived in Princeton. The township was small even though the borough covered a larger space. They both lived in the township, and according to the card she’d recorded his information on, he lived within a good walk of her residence. Diana’s business was there. She’d called it home for years not realizing she could run into Scott at any point in the day.
And for the next few days, it was inevitable.
* * *
The National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., might be larger than this one, Scott thought, but only by an inch or two. Scott should have known Jennifer would plan something this elaborate. Bill was a lot more laid-back. Or was it Diana, the wedding planner, who’d suggested this mammoth structure? Scott scanned the height of the ceiling, then brought his gaze back to the door. Where was Diana? Most of the wedding party had arrived, but Diana had yet to appear. She’d been on his mind for the last three days. Since the incident in the dressing room she’d plagued him day and night. He’d thought of her all the time. Questions arose for which he had no answers, and every question led to another. He wanted to know where it would lead, if it would lead anywhere. He wasn’t even sure he wanted it to lead somewhere.
A few days ago he’d been a relatively happy man. Now a woman was driving him crazy. He wasn’t even sure she knew it.
And there she was.
Diana opened the cathedral door and slipped inside. She walked fast down the aisle, and she looked as if she’d been running. She wore jeans and a bright pink short-sleeved sweater that accentuated her breasts. Scott remembered her pressed against him. Immediately his body began to harden. He stepped aside, forcing himself to relax.
“Sorry,” she said to Jennifer when she reached her. “The flight was late and traffic delayed me.”
“We’re still on schedule,” Jennifer said, taking a look at her watch.
“Well, let’s get started.” Diana put her jacket and purse on one of the pews along with a large bouquet of flowers. When she turned around, her eyes met his. Quickly she looked away, giving her attention to the rest of the party.
“Father Ryan is here,” Jennifer stated. The priest came through the back of the church. He wasn’t dressed in robes but wore all black, pants and shirt, no collar.
“Ladies, gentlemen, could we line up in the back of the church.”
“Where’s Bill?” Scott asked. “Shouldn’t the groom be here?”
“He won’t make the rehearsal,” Jennifer explained. “His trial went to the jury yesterday. They’re waiting for the verdict.”
Scott thought she should be prepared for these events to interrupt other occasions in their future, but he kept his words silent.
“He’ll meet us later at dinner.”
Diana took over then, putting people in order by height. She explained what the church would look like in the morning after the flowers and candles were delivered and lit. She cautioned the party to be careful with the candles with their headpieces, since the netting burned easily. Couples were paired together. As the music played, they practiced their walks down the aisle.
“It’s time for the bride and groom,” Father Ryan said.
“The groom isn’t here,” Jennifer told him. “He won’t make the rehearsal.”
“We’ll need one of the groomsmen to stand in for him.” Father Ryan looked over the small assembly.
The guys looked from one to the other. “Several of us are already married,” one of them said. “We’ve done this before. Scott, you need the practice. Why don’t you stand in for Bill?”
“I’ll do it,” Scott agreed. He knew if he didn’t it would start a back and forth banter about the state of his bachelorhood. He’s been on the end of that conversation more than once and had no intention of allowing it to happen in front of a dozen women, most of whom did not know the circumstances that had led to the needling.
Scott remembered a time when they were all single and had no intention of marrying. Then one by one, they fell off the wagon. He was the last unmarried soul on that wagon, and while the guys often complained about their wives, they loved them and wouldn’t trade their new lives to return to the old ones. Of course, now that they were in their thirties, their days of drinking and bar hopping all night had morphed into attending nursery school plays and walks in the playground. Occasionally they’d get together for the male bonding ritual in front of a big-screen television as their favorite teams vied for dominance on a Sunday afternoon, but at night they returned to the woman they loved.
Scott’s transformation had been to the sky. Although he’d learn to fly as a child, accompanying his father on trips,