Learning to Love Again (19 page)

NICOLE COULDN’T BELIEVE HOW MUCH WORK NEEDED to be done for a wedding.  God bless Aunt Helen and Carly.  Those two women swept in and Nicole allowed them to take over.  All she had to do was say “Yes” or “No” to their ideas.  From there, she and Jason just had to show up when they were told to.

The church was reserved for the first Saturday in November and Aunt Helen was counting on the weather still being warm enough for an outside reception.  Everything was falling into place.  Now they just had to get all the little details taken care of.  Nicole hated the little details.

She and Jack had settled into an easy working routine.  Nicole had found she didn’t miss her big city, high-class law firm job and quite enjoyed being able to review a contract for the sale of a bull one minute, and then switching gears and working on a will the next.  And working with her best friend, well, that was priceless.

She was sitting at her computer in her “corner office” one day when Jason stuck his head through the doorway, surprising her.  “Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey, yourself,” Nicole pushed back from her desk and met him halfway across the room for a kiss.  “What are you doing here at this time of day?  Don’t you have patients?”

“Nope, my two o’clock cancelled, and my three o’clock meeting at the hospital was cancelled, so I cut out early.  I thought you might want to play hooky with me?”

“I don’t think the slave driver will let me go,” she jerked her head in the direction of Jack’s office.

“I heard that!” Jack called out.

“What do you say, old buddy?  Can I take my girl out of here for the afternoon?” Jason called over his shoulder before turning to wink at Nicole.

Jack came out of his office, muttering under his breath, but she caught the grin on his face he was trying to hide.

“I’m not sure you two deserve any breaks,” he clapped Jason on the shoulder in greeting.  “Hell, I already give her weekends off, and now you want me to let her go before quitting time on a Friday afternoon?  She’s already getting to take a honeymoon.”

“See?  Slave Driver!” Nicole pulled a rubber band off her wrist and aimed it at Jack and let it fly.

“Hey!  Isn’t there a law against abusing your employer?” Jack caught the rubber band and shot it back at her.

“I can see you two get a lot done around here,” Jason chuckled, stepping in front of Nicole to block her next shot. He ignored Nicole’s pout as he took the rubber band away from her before reaching across the desk to grab her purse.

“She started it,” Jack pointed over at her and she stuck her tongue out at him.  “See what I put up with?  You go ahead and get her out of here, maybe knock some respect into her for me, will you?” Jack stepped back out of the way so Jason could lead her out of the room.

“Thanks, Jack.  I’ll see you on Tuesday!” she called over her shoulder on a laugh as she was pulled down the hallway.

“Where are we going, anyway?” she asked, still laughing, when they reached his truck.  “And what am I going to do about my car?”

“Your car will be safe here.  We’ll come back and get it later, or we can call over to the ranch and have Steve and one of the ranch hands get it,” he started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot.

“They’ve got the frame for the house done.  I thought you might like to see it, and then we’re going to meet Carly and Mitch in Austin for a late dinner and some fun.  I’ve got a bag in the back with everything we need for a night out on the town.”

“Sounds like fun,” she agreed, leaning her head back against the headrest.  “Have you already been by to see it?”

“Nope.  I waited for you.  What’s that guy’s name…Bill?  He called this morning, said they had the framing done and had started putting up the exterior siding and whatnot.  So if they stay on schedule, they’ll be doing the interior work in just a few more weeks.  He wants to be sure we haven’t made any changes to our plans.”

“Did he say how much longer until it’s done?”

“We should be able to move in around the holidays, it’ll just depend on the weather for the next few weeks, and how fast he can get people out here to do the building inspections when the time comes,” he made the turn onto her property and drove down to the site they’d picked out for the house.

It was in the same general area as the old house had been, since that ground was already pretty level, but she hadn’t wanted their new house to be in the exact same spot.  She had vetoed that suggestion the very second it was suggested.

“Hey, Jason, Nicole.  What do you think?”  Bill, the site foreman, walked over to greet them and they shook hands.  “The boys are taking a short break, so if you want to look around, you can.”

“Do you want to go in?” Jason asked.  At her nod, he took her hand to help her over some of the debris.  They walked through the house, looking at the progress that had been made in the last couple of weeks since they’d last been out to look at it.

“Well?” Bill walked up to them after they finished looking at everything.

“Looks good, Bill.  Thanks.  You still think December before it’s done? Nicole asked, looking around.

“We’re still on schedule, so yeah, I’d say mid-December at the latest,” he tapped the rolled up blueprints he always seemed to be carrying.  “We’re working as fast and hard as we can.”

“I know.  I appreciate it,” she smiled her thanks at him.  It wasn’t like they didn’t have anywhere to stay.  Jason wasn’t going to sell his condo until they had a firm date on the house being done.  She watched Jason step over to talk to Bill about one of the questions he had about the wiring in what was going to be their home office.  She couldn’t believe how everything was working out.

“You ready to go, babe?” Jason stepped back over to her, wrapping an arm around her waist.

She smiled and leaned into the embrace for a second.  “I’m ready when you are,” she answered.  He kissed the top of her head and they headed back to his truck.

“So where are we going now?” she asked, placing her hand in his when he reached across the seats.

“We are going to go to dinner with our friends, and then find somewhere to go dancing.  Carly told Mitch she needed a night away from the ranch, and I thought we could use a night away, too.” Jason gave her hand a quick squeeze.

She nodded her agreement, and they rode in silence for a while, listening to the radio and making small talk.  She updated him about the plans for the reception dinner.  Jason had been as ready and willing to turn everything over to Helen and Carly as she’d been.  As long as the end result was they got to say “I do,” and Nicole would be his forever, he didn’t care about the details.

They checked in at the hotel first.  She headed for the bathroom to reapply her makeup and change into the clothes Jason had picked out for her.  She heard him turn on the television and start flipping channels.

She checked her reflection in the mirror, and gave a wry grin.  He’d picked out the tightest fitting jeans she owned along with a sleeveless, low cut shirt that hugged her in all the right places.  Open the door, she found him lounging on the king size bed, all the pillows stacked behind his head.

“Oh, God.  Even better than I imagined,” he growled, sitting up when she walked over and reaching out his hand to pull her down beside him, his mouth covering hers.   “Do you think Mitch and Carly would mind if we’re late?” he asked, his voice low and seductive, his hands already moving underneath the shirt.

“You are insatiable!” she laughed, returning his kiss.  “But Carly gets mean and pissy now if she doesn’t get fed on time,” she pushed him back.  “I’ll make it up to you, tonight.  I promise,” she gave him a quick kiss.  “Where are we meeting them, anyway?”

“Spoil sport,” Jason grumbled, getting off the bed.  “Over by the Arboretum.  Carly wanted to go to The Cheesecake Factory over there, and then there’s some new country bar with live music she wanted to go to,” Jason headed into the bathroom with his shaving kit.  “At least we have a built in designated driver!”

She pushed herself off the bed and leaned against the door of the bathroom to watch him shave.  He’d taken off his shirt, and her eyes roamed over his broad shoulders and chest, down to his tight abdomen.

His eyes met hers in the mirror and he gave her a wink.  “Or you could plead a headache, or something, and I could stay here to tend to your needs,” he suggested with a playful leer.

“Uh-huh.  Tend to your own needs, you mean,” she teased.  “Nope, I want to go see this new bar.  One of the hands was up here last weekend and his wife told us about it.  It sounds fun, and the band they have right now is awesome, she said.”

He stepped over in front of her, wiping the shaving cream off of his face with one of the towels.  “You really know how to knock a man down,” he told her, leaning over to give her a kiss.

She grinned up at him and hooked her fingers into his belt loops and pulled him up against her.  “Isn’t there some old saying about always leave ‘em wantin’ more?” she asked him, feeling his ready response.  He grabbed her hips and held her tight against him and kissed her senseless.  She was on the verge of telling him to forget their friends when he broke off the kiss and pushed her hips away from his.

“That works both ways, darlin’,” he told her, grabbing his clean shirt off the hanger and shrugging into it.  “You might want to check your hair.”  He grinned at her, letting her know with just that look that he knew how close she’d been to changing her mind.  He moved over to the bed, sitting down to pull on his boots.

She shot him a disgruntled look and stepped into the bathroom to run a brush through her hair.  She grabbed her purse and found her lipstick, and slicked some on her lips.  “How do I look?” she turned to find him staring at her.

“Gorgeous,” he stood up and walked over to her, brushing a few errant strands of hair back away from her face.  “Let’s go find our friends, before I decide to hold you hostage.”  They walked side by side to the elevator and headed out for their night of adventure.

“WOW, THIS PLACE IS AWESOME, WITH A CAPITAL ‘A’!” Carly had to lean over and shout to be heard above the music.  “You and Jason look good out there,” Carly grinned over at her while Nicole glanced around at the crowd.  They had been lucky to snag one of the corner booths, and she and Jason had spent most of the evening on the dance floor, and Nicole was ready to take a break.  She’d sent Jason and Mitch up to the bar for refills.

“Thanks.  You and Mitch don’t look too bad yourselves,” Nicole smiled up at Jason as he and Mitch slid into the booth next to the women and handed them their drinks.  There was a break in the music as the band finished their set and the dance floor emptied.  The music was switched back to the jukebox which wasn’t as loud as the band had been, so people could now talk without yelling.

“You doing okay?  Your back isn’t bothering you, is it?” he asked, his lips against her ear, making her shiver, as his hand settled on her thigh.

She shook her head, reaching up with her free hand to brush a lock of hair off his forehead.  “You worry too much,” she told him, leaning her head against his shoulder, turning her attention back to her cousins.  Mitch was asking about the progress of their house, and Nicole let Jason fill them in on the details.

Just a few more weeks – eight to be exact – and they would be married.  She sighed with contentment, rubbing her cheek against him as his fingers tightened on her thigh.  Nicole let her gaze wander around the other tables, noticing all the couples, sitting much as she and Jason, and Mitch and Carly, for that matter, were so close some parts of their bodies were touching each other, and heads tilted to catch the words as they were spoken.

His hand left her thigh and he placed it on the back of the booth, his fingers cupping her shoulder.  She felt him turn his head just enough to press a kiss to her head.  Half listening to the conversation at their table, she again let her eyes wander over the crowd.  Not quite believing what she saw, she sat up, her eyes wide.

“What?” Jason looked over at her and followed her gaze.

“That’s Peter over there,” she indicated a table a short distance away.

“Peter?  As in the jackass who stole your promotion?” Carly leaned around Mitch to study the other man.

The other man chose just that moment to look up and his eyes met Nicole’s.  His eyes widened and he leaned across the table to speak to the others he was with and then he stood up and walked over to their table.

“Nicole! How are you, honey?  I heard you were coming back to town to take over my old job,” he glanced at the other three and nodded, dismissing them as unimportant with a look.

“Peter,” Nicole greeted him, her voice cold as ice, as she rested her hand on Jason’s thigh and gave him a warning squeeze as she felt his fingers contract on her shoulder.  “You heard wrong.  I won’t be returning to work for Robert.  I’ve had a better offer back home.”  She gave him a cool smile and then indicated her cousins.  “This is my cousin, Mitch, and his wife Carly.” She raised her hand and placed it on Jason’s chest, making sure the diamond on her ring finger sparkled.  “And this is Jason Morrow, my fiancé.”

“Fiancé?” Peter looked down his nose at the other man.  “You must not mind icicles.”

“I just know how to make them melt,” Jason returned, his voice hard.  Nicole glanced up at him and saw the tight reign he had on his temper.  A muscle worked in Peter’s jaw as he stared down at them.

“You turned Robert down?” he glanced back at Nicole.

“I did.  As I said, I had a better offer.”  Nicole took a sip of her drink, amazed that her hand wasn’t shaking.

She glanced over at the stage.  “Oh, look, honey.  The band is going to start up again.  Let’s go dance a little more before we head back to our room.”

Jack nodded, tossing back the rest of his own drink, but Peter was blocking their exit from the booth.  Jason frowned at the other man.  “Do you mind?”

“She’s frigid, you know.  She’ll tease you until you’re crazy with it, and then just turn it off...oaf” Peter found himself sitting on the floor.

Jason slid out of the booth and reached back to give Nicole a hand.  Startled, she realized he had managed to hook an ankle around Peter to make him fall.

“Man, you have got to be careful on these floors!  They get so slippery if someone spills a drink,” Jason wrapped his arm around Nicole’s waist. “If you’ll excuse us, my fiancé and I are going to go enjoy the band some more before we head back to our hotel.”  He glared down at the other man, who was flushed, whether from anger or embarrassment, Nicole wasn’t sure.  Peter was slow to pull himself to his feet, glaring at the four of them before heading back to his own table.

“You guys going to hang around for a while?”  Jason’s eyes followed Peter but his question was for Mitch.

“Naw, little momma here is about to fall asleep. I’m going to finish this beer and then we’ll head out.  We’ll catch you for breakfast tomorrow, though,” Mitch leaned back, his arm around his wife.  “I’ll watch your back for a few, before we leave.”

Nicole smiled her own thanks to her cousin and followed Jason out to the dance floor.  The band was playing a soft love song to start off their next set, and she settled into his arms with a sigh.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around him.

“For what?” he gave a gentle tug on her hair to make her look at him.  “Honey, that jackass is the one who needs to apologize.  He was just trying to make trouble,” he bent his head towards her and gave her a gentle kiss.  “Now, if you’re apologizing for ever going out with someone like that to begin with when you had me waiting back in Waketon, well, then I guess you do owe me an apology at that,” he teased.

“What did I ever do to deserve you?” she whispered, her fingers teasing the hair on his neck.  “Will you do something for me?”

“Anything.” he assured her, his eyes glancing around the room to make sure Peter wasn’t going to try to start anymore trouble.

“Take me back to the hotel and show me how un-frigid I am?”

He pulled back and looked into her eyes, seeing the pain that that one statement had created.  He gave her another gentle kiss and then led her from the dance floor.  They walked over to their table, where Mitch was just finishing his beer, and he glanced up at them, eyebrows raised.

“Everything okay?” Mitch asked, his concerned eyes catching hers.

“We’re fine.  We’ve just decided that we’re ready to go, too.”  Jason reached down and grabbed Nicole’s purse off the table.  “You guys going to be okay to get back to the hotel?”

“Yup.  I only nursed those two beers, same as you.”  Mitch stood up and then reached down to help his wife to her feet.  “Do ya’ll want to meet at ten for breakfast?”  They nodded their agreement and the two couples headed for the door.

Jason drove them back downtown to their hotel and left his truck with the valet parking.  He wrapped his arm around Nicole’s waist and led her to the bank of elevators.  The elevator stopped on their floor, and he escorted her down the hallway to their room.  He opened the door for her and waited for her to enter before him.  She walked over to the windows, and stared out at the city around her.

“You okay?” he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind her, pulling her back against him.

“I’m fine.” she assured him, relaxing against him, feeling his strength.  “Thank you,” she leaned her head against his shoulder.

“For what?  I didn’t do anything, except knock that pompous pretty boy on his ass.”  She laughed at Jason’s description.

“Thank you for that, too,” she turned in his arms and slipped her arms up around his neck.  “Ever since I left you, there have been a number of men like Peter, who even if they didn’t choose those words, accused me of being frigid,” she laid her fingers over his mouth when she sensed he was going to interrupt her.  “I had even begun to believe it might be true.  I just could never respond to them. I’d hear my mother’s voice in my head, and I’d just freeze up.  No matter what I tried, I’d just freeze up.”  She laid her head on his chest and felt his arms wrap around her, holding her close.

“So what’s different now?  I mean, you pulled back that first night, but I wouldn’t say you froze,” he asked, his lips moving against her ear.

“With you, there was always something different.  Maybe I was too immature to recognize it for what it was, but now I know, and I believe in it, and in you,” she leaned back in his arms and looked up at him, meeting his intense look.  “You love me, and I love you.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you,” he agreed, smiling down at her.

She smiled back and tugged his mouth down to hers.  “Thank you for being patient with me, for loving me, then and now,” she whispered against his mouth, her fingers going to the buttons on his shirt.

He worked his hands under her sweater, undoing the front clasp of her bra, his thumbs brushing over her nipples.  She moaned tearing her mouth away from his, pushing his shirt down his arms, placing soft kisses against his chest.  He worked his arms out of his sleeves, his own mouth working its magic against the sensitive area below her ear, down to her collarbone.  He picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed.  He made quick work of the remainder of their clothes before joining her, his warm body covering hers.  He levered himself up on his elbows, his eyes catching and holding hers.

“You are mine and I love you, now and forever,” he told her, caressing her face with his hands, while hers danced over his spine.

“And I’ll love you forever,” she whispered on a moan as he filled her, pushing all other thoughts from her mind.  Now was not the time for doubts.