Wishing in Wisconsin (At the Altar Book 3) (10 page)

He pulled her closer to him.  "Not at all.  She deliberately came here to upset us and break up our marriage.  I really do hope she gets the help she needs."

"I'm glad we're mostly alone again.  I mean, we have eight guests, but that's still mostly alone for living in a B&B."

He nodded.  "No one bothers us in the evenings for the most part.  They just go off and do their own thing."

"The only bad thing is it's still a public place, and I can't grab you and kiss you on the front porch like I want to."

"You want to grab me and kiss me?"  He jumped to his feet, and pulled her to hers.  "We can probably find a private place for that."

She laughed.  "I bet there's a way to do that."  She followed him at a half-jog as he pulled her into their bedroom.  "Does this mean you like the idea of kissing me?"

He laughed.  "I would have thought I'd made that clear."  He pulled her against him, his mouth lowering to kiss her sweetly.  "Kissing is fun, even if you don't let me do more than that."  He wasn't going to pass up any chance to touch and make love to his beautiful bride.

"What if I let you do more than that?  Would that make kissing more fun?" 

He nodded.  "Definitely, but it hasn't been a week yet, and I'm not trying to rush you."

"There was never really a set period of time.  I just wanted to get to know you better without sex clouding everything.  I do think we've done that."  She felt like he knew her better than anyone but Cissie, and she wasn't sure anyone could know her better than her friend.  Over twenty years of being best friends had bonded them in ways that couldn't be surpassed.

He studied her carefully.  "Are you sure?  I don't want you to do something you'll regret."

She reached up and pulled his head down to hers, kissing him passionately.  "I'm sure!"

He groaned.  "Thank God!  I wasn't sure I could kiss you without making love to you tonight."  He pulled her tank top over her head and unfastened her bra.  He wasn't going to give her a chance to change her mind. 

Moments later he'd pushed her down on the bed, following her down with a grin. 

*****

Cindy curled against Trey, her head on his shoulder.  "It's so much better with emotions involved."  She had enjoyed making love from their first time together, but now that she had feelings for him, it was almost magical.

He kissed her forehead.  "I'm a man, so I'm not supposed to agree with that, but I do."  He turned to her more fully, stroking his hands over her.  "I've missed making love with you."

"I have, too.  I've missed the physical closeness we had."  She moved closer to him.  "Thanks for letting me take the time to get to know you.  I know it's not what you wanted to do."

"It's not.  Of course, it's not.  But when you care for someone, and want to spend your life with them, you do what it takes to make them happy.  So now when I ask you to do something crazy, you have to agree."  He grinned at her.

She laughed.  "Depends on what you ask me to do!"

"Oh, I'm sure it'll involve chocolate, whipped cream...and video games."

She shook her head.  "Go to sleep, crazy man.  Five in the morning comes awfully early."

*****

While Cindy was cleaning the bathrooms after the weekend guests had checked out the following morning, her phone rang.  "Hello?"  She never bothered to check caller ID, because she knew she'd answer it regardless.  She was in a service business, and she needed to always answer her phone.

"Cinderella!"

Cindy made a face at the name.  "Hi, Lachele!  How're things in New York?"  She hadn't had a chance to talk to Lachele since the wedding. 

"Just peachy!  I need to make reservations for the weekend, though."

"You're coming to see us this weekend?" Cindy was excited but wary all at once.  Why would Lachele be coming back to Wisconsin so soon?

"Yup.  I want to check on you guys, but I also need to interview a potential groom."

"A potential groom in Blevins?  Are you kidding me?"  There just weren't enough people in Blevins for there to be three looking for spouses, were there?

"Nah, this guy's not in Blevins.  He's in the next town over, but I thought it would be nice if I stayed at the B&B and checked on you and Stephen.  Are you two happy together?" 

Cindy smiled.  "We had a rough first week, but I think we're doing better now."

"Oh?  Tell me about it."

Cindy briefly went over what had happened with Penny and Jean, laughing at Lachele's response.

"Oh, good gravy, Cindy!  You know you should have called me.  Or better yet, called the cops.  Penny sounds like she needs to spend some time in a locked ward wearing a straight jacket.  How do you
find
these people?"

"You matched me up with her brother.  Remember?"  She couldn't believe Lachele was blaming her for Penny's bad behavior.  Really, she didn't go find the woman!

"Oh, well, that's not my fault.  I never met the nutty sister."

Cindy sighed.  "I wish I hadn't."  She didn't tell Lachele the problems she'd caused in her own marriage by withholding sex after they'd had a wedding night.  She knew she should have handled that differently.

"We'll talk when I get there.  I think I'll be flying in on Friday around noon.  Interviewing half days Saturday and Sunday.  Tell Cissie to make sure she makes me some of her fried cheese curds.  I feel like it's been years since I had some."

"I will."  Cindy smiled at the phone in her hand.  "Do you want me to send Trey to pick you up at the airport on Friday?" 

"No, I know the boy needs to work.  I'll get there.  It's not like I'm afraid to drive in Wisconsin."

"Yeah, I guess even Madison traffic is nothing compared to where you're used to driving in."

"Driving?  Are you kidding me?  I drive in Montana, but I don't drive in New York!  You've been here.  You know what it's like!  I'd rather stick a fork in my eye than try to fight traffic.  Don't be daft, girl!"

Cindy laughed.  "I've missed you, Lachele.  I'm glad you're going to come see us.  We'll go to the bowling alley on Friday night.  Cissie always brings a live band in."

"Count me in!  I'll wear my dancing shoes!  And tell Trey to be ready to swing me around the dance floor!"

"I'll let him know!"

*****

Cindy went to the office where Trey was working and knocked loudly.  They only had a couple of guests that day, so the house was mostly quiet.  When he answered the door in his underwear, she laughed.  "I'm glad you started wearing boxers.  They look lots better."

He grinned, pushing her against the door and kissing her.  "Did you come to try out the couch?" he asked, his lips at her neck.  "Or did you just want to ogle me in my sexy underwear?"

She shook her head.  "Not this time."  She giggled as he nipped her neck.  "I came to tell you that we're having a special guest on Friday."

Trey lifted his head, looking down at her.  "Not my mother!"  He couldn't imagine anything could be more disastrous for their marriage than his mother coming to town.

Cindy laughed out loud.  "Nope!  No more in-laws in this house, at least for a few months!" 

"Oh, good!"  He resumed his exploration of her neck. 

"Lachele is coming back."

He raised his head again, his eyes wary.  "Why?"

"She said something about interviewing a new groom in the area."  Cindy shrugged.  "I was surprised there was someone else in the area wanting to use Matchrimony.  I guess word of our marriage got out."

He didn't meet her eyes.  "I guess."  He pulled back, walking over to the couch and sitting, patting the spot beside him.  "She'll be here Friday?"

"She's coming in on Friday and staying all weekend.  She'll interview Saturday and Sunday, and stay with us.  She wants to see Cissie on Friday night at the bowling alley."

"That works."  He stroked his hand up her thigh.  "Are you sure you don't want to try out the couch?  It seems like a perfectly good couch!  I've slept on it, of course, but there are such better uses for a comfortable piece of furniture."  He leaned in and kissed her again, trying to change her mind.

Cindy sighed.  "You're crazy, you know that?  I think that's why I like you so much!"

"As long as we know the reason, nothing more matters much!"

She sighed.  "I'm going to go tell Cissie the news while we have lunch.  Do you want to go with me?  Or do you want to make your own?"  She hated knowing that he was on his own for lunch every day, but he really did seem to prefer it.

"I'll handle my own.  I don't want to interfere with your time with your friend.  Besides, the faster I get my work for the day done, the sooner I can go out and work on the snowmobiles."

"You're really enjoying that, aren't you?"

He nodded.  "A lot more than I realized I would."

"I'm so glad.  I worry that there's not much to do here. You're used to living in the big city."

He shrugged.  "I get out more here than I ever did at home.  I had my guy friends that I'd game with, but for the most part, we'd just go to someone's house.  Seriously, I'm not missing anything.  I have you with me, and that's more than I ever dreamed I'd have."

She frowned.  "Did you really think you'd never find someone?"  Cindy had worried about
when
she'd find someone, but never if.  She hated that he had been so unsure of himself.

He nodded.  "Yeah, I really did.  Having a sister like Penny really messes with your head.  She was one of the most popular girls in school, and I couldn't imagine why any guy would be willing to go on a first date with her, let alone more than that.  She treated them all like garbage, and they came back for more.  I thought that's how girls were supposed to treat their boyfriends, and it kind of turned me off of marriage."

"So what made you talk to Lachele?"

He grinned.  "I did her website.  I called the different couples she was using to be her testimonials.  I did it so I could get quotes from them, but I talked a lot longer than I should have.  They told me their stories, and I realized that love like I had in my head really existed."  He probably shouldn't admit it to her, but if he didn't talk to her about things, who could he talk to?

"What about your parents?  Were they not loving?"

He shrugged.  "They love each other, I'm sure.  They're just not demonstrative about it.  They don't hold hands or kiss in public, or even in front of their kids.  They'd be mortified if they saw us kissing at the bowling alley, which we've done once or twice."  He couldn't keep his lips off her, and he wasn't ashamed of it.

"They didn't want to come to the wedding?"  Not that she needed her in-laws around, but she wished they could have been there for him.

"My mother said it was the dumbest thing she'd ever heard of, meeting at the altar.  And Dad didn't want to rock the boat.  It doesn't matter."  But it did matter.  It hurt him that they hadn't cared enough to come. 

"We're not going to be like that with our children."

He shook his head.  "No, we're not."

She sighed, resting her head against his shoulder.  "I'm glad you didn't listen to them and came here to marry me anyway.  Lachele did a good job with us."

He kissed the top of her head.  "She did."

Chapter Ten

Lachele's arrival on Friday was a moment to be remembered.  The woman couldn't seem to stay on her feet for anything.  She tripped getting out to the car, landing face first in a mud puddle that was left from the rain the day before.  Then when she finally made it to the house, she tripped over the door jamb, landing on her face again.

Cindy clucked over her, dabbing hydrogen peroxide on her wounds.  "Stop trying to break my house!"

Lachele laughed.  "I only ever break myself.  Don't worry about that!"  She used the washcloth Cindy had given her to wash the mud off her face and arms, while Cindy worked on the scrapes on her legs.

"Well then don't break yourself
in
my house!"

"Good gravy, girl, do you think I'm trying to break myself?"  Lachele shook her head, her purple hair fluttering this way and that.  "So tell me about Trey.  Is he perfect for you?"

Cindy smiled.  "You need another ego stroke on your matchmaking skills?"  She knew Lachele was proud of the couples she'd set up.

"I'll take all the strokes I can get, ego or otherwise."

"He's pretty darn awesome.  I've never met anyone like him."  Cindy sighed.  "He's truly a good, loving man, which is a shock when you look at the family he came from." 

"Yeah, we talked about all that in the interview.  I knew he needed a woman who knew how to love."

"I'm glad you picked me for him.  Not that I think I'm perfect or anything, but I do know how to love."

"I know you do.  I could see that the day I met you.  You and Cissie have a closer bond than most sisters."

"We do.  Sometimes I think I'm still spending a bit too much time with Cissie.  I don't want Trey to feel ignored."  No matter how many times he told her it didn't bother him that she ate lunch with her friend every day and not with him, she felt guilty for it.  She felt like she should be with him even though she hadn't been raised to be together constantly.

Lachele frowned.  "Have you brought up your worries about it to him?  He's not the kind of man who would lie to you about how he feels."

"He says he doesn't mind that we meet for lunch every day.  I've invited him to go with me, and even offered to stay home and cook for him, but he says he doesn't mind that we do that."

"He doesn't mind then.  Truly."

Cindy nodded slowly.  She knew Lachele had spent a great deal of time with him, learning about him, and she must have done well, because she'd matched him up with her.  "I'll take your word for it."

Trey walked into the kitchen then, taking in the first aid kit on the table.  He looked at Lachele who was sitting in a chair with his wife hovering over her.  "You all right?"

Lachele nodded.  "I just seem to be spending more time kissing the ground than standing on my feet today.  It's really not that unusual for me, to be honest with you."

Trey eyed the older woman uncertainly.  The last time he'd seen her, she'd taken him to task over trying to sneak into the bride's room at the church.  Would she still be angry with him for that?  "Did you have a good flight?" he asked hesitantly.

"Oh, stop beating around the bush.  I'm not going to eat you.  Just because I had to get onto you at your wedding doesn't mean I'm still mad at you."

Cindy bit back a grin looking back and forth between them.  "Why did you have to get onto him?"

"He didn't tell you?" Lachele asked.  "He was trying to sneak into the bride's room to see you before you were married.  He knew the rules, and ignored them to try to disobey. I had to set Sam on him as a babysitter." 

Cindy laughed out loud.  "So you wouldn't have married me if you hadn't liked what you saw?  Is that the deal?"

Trey shook his head adamantly.  "Of course not!  I was just going insane not knowing.  It was nothing about whether or not you were pretty enough.  It was who you were!"  He couldn't bear the thought of her thinking she would have been rejected if she hadn't been pretty enough for him.  It wasn't true at all.

"Uh huh."  Cindy winked at him, not bothered at all.  It was Lachele's rule they didn't see each other, not hers.  "You ready to see Cissie?" she asked Lachele.

"Of course!  I think I might have the man for her all picked out."

"You think?  But you're not sure."  Cindy was very interested in Lachele's process, especially where Cissie was involved.

"I need to talk to him a bit more, but I hope so."

Cindy grinned.  "Me, too! It would be wonderful if she found her match.  Is that why you're here?  To interview a potential groom for Cissie?"  Was it possible he was someone who already lived in the area?

"You know I can't answer that!  Are you crazy, woman?"

Cindy sighed.  "I wouldn't tell her."

"Oh, yes you would.  Do I look like I just drifted into town on the back of a turnip truck?  There's nothing you keep from that girl!"  Lachele glared at Cindy, as if she were offended at the mere idea that Cindy would keep something from Cissie.

"I've kept several secrets from her lately," Cindy protested.

Lachele rolled her eyes.  "I'm not talking secrets about your sex life, although I'm glad that part of your relationship is going well."

Cindy looked over her shoulder at Trey when Lachele said that, and she did her best to control her giggle when she realized the tips of his ears were even red he was blushing so profusely.

"Do you mind eating dinner at the bowling alley, or do you want me to fix something here?" Cindy asked as she put away the first aid kit.  She didn't mind cooking, but she had a feeling Lachele would want another burger.

"Oh, let's just eat there.  I'm craving one of those burgers with the bacon and cheese cooked right inside it.  And the cheese curds.  Why did you get me addicted to those things when I can't find them in New York?"

"Oh, I'm sure you can find them somewhere in that huge city."  Cindy had a hard time believing they didn't have cheese curds anywhere in New York, but she really hadn't looked when they'd visited.

Lachele sighed.  "Yeah, but just like I won't eat pizza outside of New York, I can't eat fried cheese curds outside of Wisconsin.  It would feel like a sin!"

Cindy laughed.  "Well, that doesn't sound like you can't find them, just that you're too picky then, doesn't it?"

Lachele wrinkled her nose.  "Whatever.  What time are we going to the bowling alley?  I need a nap after all that travel.  This butt does
not
belong smushed into an airplane seat!"

"We'll leave around five thirty or so.  Band will get there at six, and it'll be easier to get a table."

*****

Trey ended up driving them to the bowling alley that night in Cindy's car.  Lachele was a bit too sore from her tumbles to be able to walk the distance comfortably. 

"Will Cissie sing for us tonight?" Trey asked.  He loved the idea of hearing her again.  He was surprised to realize he looked forward to when she sang.

Lachele looked back and forth between them.  "Is Cissie as good as I hear she is?"

Cindy frowned at Lachele.  "Who told you Cissie was good?"

Lachele froze for a moment, and then said, "Oh, just heard it when I was here for the wedding."

Cindy narrowed her eyes as she looked at Lachele.  "There's something you're not telling me, and I really don't like it."  She slipped her hand into Trey's.  "Do you know what she's hiding?"

He avoided her eyes, instead staring straight ahead.  "I haven't talked to her since she was here for our wedding.  What could I possibly know?" 

Cindy wasn't convinced, but she didn't say anything. 

Lachele saw Cissie from across the room and ran toward her, calling out, "Boobie bump!"

"She's sure moving fast for someone who fell twice this afternoon," Cindy said with a frown.   "What do you know that I don't?"  She elbowed him in the side, hoping he'd spill his guts.  He had to be hiding something.  She could see it all over his face.

He shrugged.  "What could I possibly know that you don't know?  You know everything!"

She didn't respond to that, knowing he was evading her question.  Again.  She moved to an empty booth and waited until Lachele came back.  "Did you order drinks?"

"Oh, yeah.  Cissie said she already knew.  She's getting me the same thing I got last time, and getting you your usual.  Wanted to know if you want corn dogs again, Stephen?" 

Trey sighed.  "I really prefer to be called Trey, and no, I think I want to try the cheeseburger you ladies were going on and on about."  He felt like he was missing out on something by
not
getting the burger. 

Lachele hurried back to tell Cissie about Trey's change of order.  Cissie glared at him.  "You order the same thing every time in my bowling alley!" she yelled across the almost empty room at him.

"I'm being adventurous," he called back.  He was amazed at how comfortable he felt with Cissie.  He'd never really had a female friend before, and he hoped that Cissie was as comfortable with him as he was with her.

"Be adventurous in someone else's bowling alley," she called back, a wide grin on her face.  She hurried into the kitchen.

Lachele scooted into the booth across from Cindy and Trey.  "I like it here.  It reminds me of home."

"I really think you should move home.  You could run your business from anywhere."

Lachele sighed.  "Maybe someday.  Matchrimony is such a small fraction of our income.  My practice is still most of it.  Eventually, I'd love it if Matchrimony took over, but for now, I need to pay the bills.  Besides, as much as I love hooking up lost souls with their mates, I like the way I help people in my practice as well."

Cindy shrugged.  "I'm sure you help them a lot.  The bit of counseling you did with me as part of my interview was a huge help."

"I wasn't technically supposed to do that.  Once a counselor, always a counselor."  Lachele grinned at Cissie as she put the drinks on the table.  "You remembered my extra ice!"

"Of course I did.  I remember everything everyone orders.  It's a gift and a curse!" Cissie glared at Trey, but didn't say anything to him about his order change.

"I can see that," Lachele answered.

After Cissie hurried away again, Lachele looked at Trey.  "So tell me what you love most about Cindy."

Trey laughed.  "What's not to love?  She's beautiful, sweet, even-tempered when you're not stealing her coffee..."

Lachele raised an eyebrow at Cindy.  "You won't share your coffee?" 

Cindy glared at Trey.  "You had to tell on me, didn't you?" 

Lachele grinned.  "Cindy, what do you love about Trey?"

"Are you counseling us, Lachele?" Cindy asked.  She hadn't expected these questions.

Lachele shook her head.  "Nope.  I just don't often get a chance to sit down with the couples I match so quickly after the wedding.  I'm having fun!"

Cindy thought for a moment.  "I love that he's so selfless.  He's always doing things to help me and my business.  I love that he learns quickly.  He only took one sip out of my coffee mug before he learned to get his own.  And I love that he treats me as if I'm the most important woman on the face of the earth.  I've never had anyone act as if I was special before."

Cissie stopped at the table then with a tray filled with baskets of food.  She put burgers in front of everyone and two baskets of cheese curds in the middle of the table.  "Be right back with refills on drinks."

"You are special," Trey said, ignoring the interruption from Cissie.  "You're an easy woman to love, Cindy Zayne, even when you are withholding sex."

Lachele looked between them.  "You're withholding sex, Cindy?"

Cindy shook her head, her eyes still on Trey.  "No, that was last week.  You love me?"

Trey nodded.  "I thought it was obvious.  If I didn't love you, I'd still be drinking from your coffee mug every morning."

"I love you, too.  I never dreamed I'd tell you for the first time in a bowling alley in front of Lachele, but whatever.  I love you, Trey Zayne.  You have the ability to make me crazier than any man in the world, but you can make me happier than anyone I've ever known.  I'm so glad you're in my life!"

Trey leaned over and kissed her, snagging a fry out of her basket and popping it into his mouth.

Cindy blinked at him.  "Why are you stealing my fries when you have a basketful of your own?"

"Just seeing if it makes you crazy when people steal your French fries like it makes you crazy when they drink your coffee." 

Cindy rolled her eyes at him, before turning her attention back to Lachele, who had tears streaming down her face.  "What's wrong, Lachele?"

Lachele used a napkin from the table to mop the tears off her face.  "I've never gotten to see a couple I matched together say they love each other for the first time before.  It was better than any ole sappy movie!"

Cindy laughed.  "I'm so glad you approve."

"Oh, I do.  And now that you love each other, you need to start adding to my collection of Matchrimony munchkins.  You know how I love babies!"