Magical Weddings (50 page)

She knew it was silly, but even though the technics of the lighting had been explained to her a bunch of years before, Kelly still liked to think of it as
magic.
And that aura of enchantment was beginning to kick in for her as she followed the old familiar path. She’d invented some pretty ridiculous stories here at Dragonfly Pointe when she’d been a kid. The festive atmosphere of the wedding today had reminded her of her favorite–about finding her prince, and living happily ever after.

Kelly snorted. Yeah, well–she’d had a pretty vivid imagination. And almost every little girl in the world had probably that same–kind of stupid–identical fantasy.

Her nickname of ‘Princess’ had been well-deserved, though. Nearly as far back as she could remember, Kelly had been interested in fashion–beginning first with her fascination in dressing-up and then continuing on with her every day look as she grew older.

She’d nearly driven her mom crazy.

But it was funny how, once her mom had become proficient with using a computer, that that pair of shoes that Kelly had asked for, or that lovely jean jacket had appeared under the tree at Christmas or in a shiny gift bag on Kelly’s birthday. Kelly had a feeling that she was spoiled, compared to her older siblings. But it’d been different when her older sisters and brother had been growing up–their family hadn’t attained financial security until after the Dragonfly Pointe Inn had been renovated by her father’s company, Callahan Construction.

It’d been Kelly’s interest in fashion that’d drawn the attention of Danielle Loughlin, who was wife to Jake, the owner of the Dragonfly Pointe Inn. After Kelly had modeled in one of her yearly charity events, Danielle had referred Kelly to her former agency.

And the rest was history.

Or, as in her case, Kelly would’ve really liked for it to become history. Even now, she was still getting calls about additional jobs. But, occasionally, she still accepted a job because she couldn’t resist the exorbitant amount of money they’d offer her.

Reaching the final curve of the path leading down to the beach, Kelly glanced over at the park and froze.

His eyes met hers as he drew on his cigarette one last time. Unconsciously letting the butt drop to the ground, he stamped it out with his boot.

When Kelly, accusingly, held the man’s gaze, he dropped his eyes to his feet. Mumbling unintelligibly, Luke Bryant quickly bent down, snatching up the butt from the ground.

Hiking up her skirt, Kelly determinedly left the path to join him. “Damn it, Luke Bryant–you know better than to just drop a lit cigarette to the ground. Besides—
I thought you quit
?”

“I
did
, Princess,” He sighed. “But sometimes, it helps steady my nerves.”

Kelly hesitated, taking a long, hard look at Luke. Even with his dark brown hair cropped short, and that shadow of stubble appearing along his chin, he was still the sexiest man alive. And tall and lean, but incredibly muscular, he had a body to die for. His facial feaures were ruggedly cut, and sometimes appeared severe and harsh since he rarely smiled–which was probably the reason so many kids had been scared of him when they were growing up. Well, that nasty scar on his face might’ve had something to do with it too. But he was thinner—and his face appeared to be incredibly pale—against the deep dark blue of his uniform. “This Air Force stuff looks like it’s taking its toll on you, Luke.”

Luke smiled sheepishly. “Ah, but the flying part is great. I wanted to be a pilot, and I’ve become a pretty damned good one, at that.”

That gravelly voice sent shivers down her spine. But there was something he still wasn’t telling her. She could see it in his eyes as she continued to study him with concern.
“But?”

He hesitated, staring her down, before seeming to come to a decision as he shrugged. “But, nothing. I’m here for the wedding–and to hook back up with a few of my friends.” He suddenly smiled and winked. “I wanted to enjoy the last couple days of my leave.”

Kelly nodded her understanding. “I’ve got about thirty-five minutes before I need to get back to the reception for pictures.” She hesitated. “How about taking a walk with me?”

He grinned, sending shivers down her spine. “Sure, Princess.”

She gave him a rueful smile, and reached for his hand.

Kelly’s eyes shot to his as the shock from Luke’s touch sent an electrifying jolt shooting straight through her entire body.

Electric
–that was the only word he could think of to describe their connection. They both stood motionless for a long breathless moment, as their eyes remained locked.

Somehow, overnight, she’d transformed into the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Luke’s head was
still
reeling from the shock of seeing Kelly again. And despite the awe he’d felt since stepping onto the grounds of the Dragonfly Pointe Inn–he had to admit, this wedding
was
pretty incredible–he’d spent the majority of the afternoon shaking hands and going through the motions after observing Kelly mingling with a few of the guests. He’d never really been willing to acknowledge that his connection with her was quite this
strong.

So when she’d turned from her position at the altar, to hook her arm through the arm of her groomsman, Luke had sucked in an unsteady breath when Kelly’s beautiful blue eyes had met his.

Growing up in the town of Crystal Rock, Luke had been through
so much
with Kelly’s family. Her older brother, Dan, had been his rock when he’d been forced by his stepdad to operate with a gang of teenage thugs.

And Kelly had been like Luke’s little sister.

Luke snorted. It was time to face facts. He sure wasn’t looking at her like a little sister
now
.

For some unlikely reason, back when she was ten years old, Kelly had chosen
him
to crush on. Luke hadn’t thought a whole lot about it at the time. But the first summer he’d visited here on leave from the Air Force, he’d unexpectedly found himself feeling a little differently about sixteen-year old Kelly, when he’d suddenly realized, he was kind of crushing on
her
. She was beautiful and smart, and, not to mention, self-assured and intelligent. Luke knew for a fact that there weren’t too many guys here in town who were immune to her spell.

And that’s exactly what Kelly had cast over him, he’d realized, when he’d traveled the war torn paths in Syria and Iraq–
a spell
. And even though he hadn’t lived in Crystal Rock for several years, it’d seemed like all he’d done overseas was dream about Dragonfly Pointe–and coming home to
Kelly
.

Two years later, Luke had run into her when he’d returned to Crystal Rock on leave. When she’d confessed her feelings for
him
, Luke had been in shock, and had done everything in his power to discourage her. He was seven years older than her–she was much too young to know what she
really
wanted. Besides, she deserved better than him. He’d assumed a couple of days of hanging out with his girlfriend Jen, and having great sex, would put the problem of Kelly completely out of his mind.

Man, had he been
wrong.
He hadn’t been able to put his conversation with Kelly behind him. Plus his time in Iraq had changed him, and he’d taken a good hard look at his life. Something had been going on with Jen, too. She was talking about marriage way too much—considering they’d spent very little time together over the past couple of years. Plus the sex had been…well…not nearly as mind-blowing as he’d remembered.

Of course, that might’ve had something to do with the fact that he was thinking about Kelly the entire time they’d been doing it.

But one week later, he and Jen had broken it off. Turned out, she hadn’t been as faithful to him as she’d pretended either. And the reason she’d wanted to marry Luke? Luke was planning on becoming Air Force career, and he’d come to the conclusion that that was exactly what Jen had wanted–a steady income, and an absentee husband.

Luke gazed down at Kelly. He was a little embarrassed to admit it, but there hadn’t really been any once else since he’d broken up with Jen.

Because the only woman he’d ever really wanted was Kelly Callahan.

He couldn’t make a commitment to her now—it just wouldn’t be fair. He was returning to Iraq in a couple of days. But recently he’d begun to rethink
all
of his decisions. Serving hadn‘t been the rewarding experience he’d expected it to be. It was difficult to live with some of the things that he’d seen and done. And it was getting to be increasingly difficult to live with himself.

Yesterday, unexpectedly, he’d found himself pulling out his phone and giving Dan Callahan a call, belatedly accepting his invitation to Kate Callahan’s and Michael Murphy’s wedding. He’d wanted…no, he’d
needed
to return to Dragonfly Pointe one more time. And something in his gut had told him that it was important for him to reveal some of his feelings to Kelly
before
he returned overseas.

But, was she
with
anyone now? The possibility had crossed his mind time and time again. He’d shot her down pretty hard when she’d confessed her feelings for him two years ago. The idea of her with another guy…well, the thought had been driving him kind of crazy.

Luke had
always
believed Kelly Callahan was just too damned good for him. Besides, what would she want with a guy like him? Not only was he scarred physically, but he was kind of a mess mentally too.

But it was still there, that spark between them. His eyes greedily devoured the features of her lovely sun-kissed face. Her inviting mouth, with its plump upper lip, was still slightly parted with shock as she stared into his eyes.

Luke cleared his throat, breaking the spell. He’d had a little more time to gain control over his emotions, since he’d recognized, with clarity, his feelings for Kelly from the moment he’d seen her again.

He’d always
loved
her. But, now, he knew for sure that he was head over heals
in love
with her.

Still appearing to be slightly dazed, Kelly blinked before shaking her head. Luke watched, as with her usual poise, she quickly regained her composure and began tugging him along through the park and up to the weather-worn path.

The scent of cedar and pine invanded his senses as they strolled along the path together, side by side.

Yep…he could still feel it as they moved closer to Dragonfly Pointe–that same old magic was there.

Just as beautiful as ever, he thought, as they began to approach the grassy overlook near the top of Crystal Rock. But Luke wasn’t gazing out to the lake when Kelly turned her eyes to the sunset.

After a few quiet moments, he finally spoke. “You don’t know how many times I’ve thought about coming back here, Kel…how many times that I’ve dreamed of
you
when I was overseas.”

Her eyes snapped immediately to his. “Oh, Luke. You’ve never said these kind of things to me before.” She closed her eyes. “Don’t tell me your’re finally going to admit your feelings for me
now
–when I’ve worked so hard trying to get over you? You shot me down pretty good a few years back.”

“You’d never believe how hard it was for me to say no to you.” He hesitated. “You were just so young, Kel.” He gave her a rueful smile before studying her keenly. “So, you’d better just tell me–I’ve been worried sick…are you seeing anyone now?”

She was definitely taken aback. But she finally, resignedly, shook her head no.

“We need to talk. I know you have to get back to the reception for pictures. But can we get together later tonight?“

Kelly sighed, but then, slowly, she nodded her agreement.

“I…” Reaching out to clasp her hand, and staring into her deep-blue eyes, he became instantly mesmerized. All he wanted to do was pull her into his arms. He’d been thinking really hard about their first real kiss. But those beautiful blue eyes held a world of hurt. At only eighteen, Kelly had been sincere when she’d confessed her feelings for him. His rejection must’ve felt like a huge slap in the face. But, as diificult as it’d been for him, Luke knew it’d been the right thing to do. “Later. We’d better get you back for those pictures.”

“Alright,” Kelly answered quietly.

After taking a huge deep breath of the crisp night air, still holding Kelly’s hand, Luke guided her back to the quickly darkening pathway and on through the woods.

When they eventually began to approach the inn, Kelly pulled to a halt near one of the park benches.

Luke lifted his brow–but then he gave her a grin when she dropped to the bench and slid out the shoes that were shoved underneath. She was a woman who’d always made a conscious fashion statement–so it’d never failed to amaze him when she walked around barefoot.

“I would’ve thought, by now, you’d have grown out of that habit. The bottoms of your feet gotta be like shoe leather.”

Kelly snorted. “It’s not like I walk around without shoes
everywhere.
”

“Yeah, Princess. But what about the wood chips and pine needles scattered all over that path we just walked on? Didn’t
anything
get stuck in your feet?”

She shrugged, as she studied her feet, but began to laugh. “Apparently not.”

Luke laughed along with her. But when she slid up the hem of her dress, and began slipping the hose over her feet, his mouth went suddenly dry.
Damn
, she had gorgeuous legs.

And feet. And toes. And…

He started. Crap,
everything
about the woman was hot. Tall and thin, she had an amazing figure. The deep rosy purple of the gown she wore, along with her shimmering white-blonde hair, set off the lightly tanned creaminess of her skin. And the swell of her breasts…well—they were exposed–enticingly in the off the shoulder gown she wore.

Clearing his throat, Luke shook his head dazedly.

And Kelly looked at him oddly. But then she apparently noticed the direction of his gaze, and gave him a deliberately provocative smile.

“Alright. You do that way too well.”