Mistletoe Match-Up (Romancing Wisconsin #3) (2 page)

“I’m fine.”

“I didn’t ask how you were, just pointing out you could at least pretend to be happy for them.”

He scowled at her. “I am.”

“Then show it.” She pulled him close with a tug on his arm. A wisp of sweet, seductive fragrance drifted past his nostrils. “Say cheese.”

He spotted the photographer and summoned a smile a split second before the flash went off in their faces. Momentary blindness followed and he gave a shake of his head. The moment they stepped through the inner doors of the church, Derek pulled free of Lisa’s grip. No sense remaining near her long enough to physically respond to her body lined against his.

Mark and Janelle headed outside to the fairy-tale horse drawn sleigh that would take them to the supper club for the reception. The rest of the wedding party gathered their things to ride over in a rented limo. Lisa slid into the limo with the rest of the Rileys, but Derek drove his truck to the club and met up with everyone for the reception line.

A half hour later, he found himself battling resentment that Lisa garnered as much attention as the bride and groom. Conversely, he couldn’t help but be impressed listening to all her accomplishments since graduating college. She’d successfully run some small state representative campaigns in Indiana before moving on to senatorial races.

Derek had never been disappointed with the choices he’d made, and he loved his career, but in Lisa’s presence again, it suddenly felt like he hadn’t done much with his life. God, he hated how inadequate he felt around her.

Dinner served up more of the same when Eric and Marissa kept Lisa talking in between taking care of the twins.

“Enough about me,” Lisa said when the plates were cleared. “I don’t know how you two do it.”

Marissa smiled in the middle of handing Ethan off to her sister, Nikki. “We couldn’t do it without family.”

“I bet. And I understand congratulations are in order again?”

“Yes, thanks.” Marissa smiled. “Although, this one was a little bit of a surprise.”
 

With Evan napping on his shoulder, Eric reached to rub Marissa’s abdomen. “This is the last one, or I’ll have to build a bigger house.”

Derek smiled with the rest of them before taking advantage of a lull in the conversation. Eric and Marissa had given their best man/maid of honor toasts earlier, so he rose to his feet and lifted his glass toward Janelle and Mark.

“To the bride and groom, I wish you a lifetime of love and happiness. And Mark, keeping with the spirit of Christmas tonight, I must remind you of our family connection to The List, so you’d better take good care of her.”

Mark saluted him with a chuckle. From the parent table in front of the wedding party, Grandpa sounded out a loud, “Here, here!”

Lisa looked up at Derek while everyone drank to the newlyweds. “The List?”

He drained his half full glass of champagne and leaned past her to deposit the flute on the table. “Inside joke.”

Lisa’s eyes narrowed a split second before she shoved to her feet. The back of her chair bit into his thigh and Derek sucked in a harsh breath. Teeth clenched, he rubbed the sore spot and sat, willing the pain to subside. More champagne sounded like a grand idea.

Lisa lifted her glass, then turned to Mark and Janelle. “As we all know, life is full of choices. Careers, friends, husbands, wives…but the one thing we can’t choose is our family. Riley’s stick together through thick and thin, and I couldn’t have picked better even if I’d wanted to.”

“That’s not what you said when I told Dad you were kissing Brock Winston behind the shed in eighth grade,” Eric called out. Laughter erupted.

“Or when I was home on leave and caught you sneaking out your bedroom window to go to a party,” Mark added.

“Ha, ha,” Lisa said above the noise. “Now both of you shut up, you’re ruining my toast.”

Derek took a drink. Leave it to Lisa to make it about her.

“What I’m trying to say is that we’re all lucky to have the family and friends who surround us. In our fast-paced world, it can be so easy to forget those who’ve been there for us, no matter when they came into our lives.” Her voice dropped a notch, suddenly thick with emotion. “I’ll be the first to admit I’ve fallen into that trap.”

An unexpected tightness invaded Derek’s chest when he noticed a tear tremble on Lisa’s bottom lashes. One blink made it streak down her cheek. Marissa sniffed. Janelle raised her napkin to dab at the corner of one eye. Hell, even Mark had to blink a few times, and Eric cleared his throat. The noise startled Evan awake, and the baby started crying, too.

Damn. She’s good.

She swept her gaze across the room from one side to the other and then turned back to the bride and groom. Her chest rose and fell with a deep breath. A tremulous smile graced her lips and the emotional moment passed.

“But no more. Mark, thank you for another sister to make up for all the years I had to put up with you two yahoos. Janelle, one look at my brother and I can see how happy you’ve made him. We’re going to get along fabulously.” Pause for laughter and watery smiles. “Lastly, for your marriage, the best sage advice this single Riley can offer is…now that you’ve chosen each other to love, don’t ever forget to love the one you chose.”

She raised her glass. Applause filled the hall. Kisses and hugs were exchanged. When Lisa reclaimed her seat next to Derek, he caught her quick, self-satisfied smile. Their gazes locked. Hers gleamed with smug triumph.

It may have been years since he’d seen that expression in those gray eyes, but the instant flashback hit with stunning force.
 

She’d out-toasted him on purpose.

But why should he be surprised? She’d always had a passion and talent for one-upping him. He gave a silent salute with his glass, downed the bubbly liquid, then headed to the bar for something stronger. The night stretched endlessly before him.

Grandpa Butch tapped his shoulder about an hour later. “They’re startin’ the Grand March. Janey asked me to send you over.” He jerked a thumb toward the dance floor where a large arch woven with tiny white lights and pine boughs sat just inside a doorway near the DJ equipment.
 

“Thanks, Grandpa.”

Derek pushed away from the bar, leaving behind his warm, watered-down scotch on the rocks. Grand March, couple obligatory dances, say his goodbyes, and go home. After Christmas, Lisa Riley would leave again—she never stayed in town long—and he could forget all about this annoying attraction to a woman who drove him crazy.

Chapter Two

Lisa propped one bare shoulder against the doorway near the arch and surveyed the room. Apparently, everyone had changed around here but her. Her parents acted like teenagers on a date. Cute—as long as she didn’t think past first base. Mark and Eric were no longer just her brothers, they were
men,
with wives. Remarkable—considering she still had snapshots of them in their Scooby-Doo tightie-whities. Janelle Walsh now associated with people more than animals. Impressive and refreshing.

And the man threading through the wedding guests toward her? Well, he’d knocked her off balance since the moment she stepped inside the church that afternoon. Derek Walsh had morphed from a tall, gangly boy who used to try to beat her at every damn
single
little thing to a good-looking guy who filled out his tux exactly the way a man was supposed to.

Above average height herself, she usually went for tall, dark and handsome, but something about
his
fair-haired looks put the cliché to shame. Unsettling—to say the least.

Like now. Just one glimpse of him disturbed the dormant butterflies in her stomach. Not those little yellow ones that flitted over the dandelions, either—these giant Monarchs irritated her insides.

Damned if she could put her finger on why. She tilted her head to analyze his slightly mussed, not-too-short blond hair, modest sideburns, and strong jaw. He had nice lips, neither too full nor too thin, a straight nose, and thick eyebrows a little darker than his blond hair that set off his brown eyes.

One feature didn’t necessarily make her say,
“Hot damn,”
but rather the entire combination had matured since high school to give the impression that here was a man who’d taken his place in the world and stood confident in his skin.

Monarch wings beat unmercifully.

So what
. He’d also become a brooding jerk. First his bossy attitude at the church, and then his response to her toast. Well, what had he expected? As the saying goes, old habits die hard. The moment he’d insinuated he was closer to her family than she was, her rusty competitive streak rose up in aggressive protest.
“Inside joke.”

She’d shown him. Too bad the thrill of victory hadn’t lasted past his mocking salute.

“Aunt Lisa?”

Reese stood at her side, a multitude of black curls having escaped their confines in the wake of the little girl’s wedding enthusiasm.

“Hi, sweetie, having fun?”

“Yes.” Her head bobbed. “And I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Me, too.” Lisa thought about how much she’d missed by staying away for so long. The most recent one day visits for Eric and Marissa’s wedding last year, and the twins’ birth this summer didn’t really count.

Heather joined them, and Lisa knelt down to pull the two girls into a hug. “I can’t believe how big you two are getting.” She reluctantly released them and sat back on her heels. “Are you excited for Santa to come tonight?”

A vigorous nod dislodged another curl from Reese’s demolished up-do.

Lisa grinned. “Have you been good?”

“Yep,” Heather replied, her sleek blonde ponytail neat as ever.

“And, Derek promised he’d put in a good word with Santa,” Reese added.

Lisa forced her smile to remain in place. “Why Derek?”

Reese leaned close and cupped her hand to Lisa’s ear. “His grandpa is Santa Butch.”

“Butch Walsh is Santa?”

“Not
the
Santa,” Heather corrected. “He’s a helper, because Santa can’t watch all the kids, visit malls, have breakfast at schools, be in parades,
and
get the sleigh ready for Christmas Eve. Santa Butch has his own Naughty and Nice list that he e-mails to Santa just before the reindeer take off.”

Ah.
The List
Derek had referred to. Stupid inside joke, if you asked her. She smiled at the girls. “E-mail, huh?”

Reese stuck her hands on her hips. “Regular mail would take, like,
for-ev-ver
.”

Lisa chuckled. “I suppose that’s true.”

“Can you stay for Christmas tomorrow, Aunt Lisa?” Reese asked.

There was a question—and another reason she’d countered Derek’s toast so soundly. Being back home, reminded of how successful she used to be, only served to magnify her current failures. Things didn’t look to improve anytime soon, either.

She pasted on her brightest smile, because she’d meant it earlier when she said she wouldn’t overlook family anymore. “Yes, sweetie, I’m staying for a while this time.”

“What?” Derek’s surprised growl sounded above and behind her.

“Seriously?” This from Marissa, in front of her.

“All right!” Reese exclaimed.

Lisa rose, glancing from Marissa to Derek. One look at his frown and she focused on Marissa. “I’ve missed a lot being so far away in Indianapolis, so I thought it was time to come home.” That, and she had no money after quitting her crappy job just to get time off for the wedding.

Marissa hugged her. “This is great!”

Derek’s opinion of the new development projected without him speaking a single word. His expression reminded her of the day she’d been announced valedictorian and he salutatorian.

There was no time to dwell on his displeasure as the DJ announced the beginning of the Grand March tradition. Reese and Heather skipped under the twinkling arch first, clearly overjoyed to be free of the twins who’d gone home with their Aunt Nikki after dinner. On the dance floor, they bounced with uncoordinated abandon to the upbeat tempo of the music.

Jim and Jill, the married couple who’d served as the third groomsman and bridesmaid, followed at a more sedate pace when their names were announced. Derek stepped up alongside Lisa and she linked her arm with his. Forearm muscles flexed under her touch. A quick glance revealed a tight smile on his lips, and she mimicked it with her own.
Showtime
.

Only someone goofed up the order of the names, and Eric and Marissa were called next. After an exchange of confused shrugs, Lisa shifted in front of Derek so the Maid of Honor and Best Man could go first.

The lights on the arch flickered several times, accompanied by a sudden jingle of what sounded like hundreds of tiny invisible bells. Lisa’s reflexive retreat from the onslaught to her senses landed her heel on Derek’s foot and brought her flush against his body. A swift intake of breath hissed past her ear.

“Sorry.”

Large, warm hands settled on her hips, shifting her weight off his foot. “Don’t worry about it.”

His gruff voice indicated pain, but turning to look at his face in the cramped space would place her directly in his arms. She eased further away, ignoring the eager leap of her pulse that argued with her common sense. Her gaze caught on Santa Butch as he exited the dance floor, and she wondered at the satisfied grin highlighting his rosy cheeks beneath his spectacles.