Chasing I Do (The Eastons #1) (18 page)

Perfect timing, since he was one stroke from losing it, and the little swivel action she did with her hips didn’t help his situation. Breathing became impossible. Holding back became impossible. His chest felt too big for his skin and his heart too full for his body.

He wanted to hold her to him and set her free all at the same time. So when she lifted her hips, he went in fast and deep. Sure, he wanted to make this last, wanted to blow away every “what-if” she’d had about them, but she was clenching again, thrusting those magnificent breasts out. And the pressure built. Hotter and higher.

He tried to keep himself in check, but her thighs tightened around his waist until he thought he’d pass out.

“Pink,” he said, the nickname only he’d ever used, and she opened her eyes and met his gaze straight on. She was looking at him as though he was her choice—and that was all it took.

She started to shake and she pushed down as he came up and then,
holy fuck,
then the sweetest sound ever came out of her mouth.

“Gage,” she cried. Not once, but several times. Each one gaining in volume and ferocity.

“I got you.”
But do you have me?

He must have said it aloud, because she whispered, “I’ve always had you.”

With one final thrust, he pressed his face into the curve of her neck and let go. Loud and hard, his release shook him to the core, as if tearing him in two while putting him back together.

He rolled over, bringing Darcy with him as they both struggled to catch their breath.

When he was able to open his eyes, Darcy was resting on his chest, her smile tilted up at him.

“Hey there,” he said, picking up a strand of her hair and letting it slide through his fingers.

“You know what’s even better than day old cake?” She kissed his chest. “After-sex cake.”

“You know what follows after-sex cake?” He fisted his hand in her hair. “Eating the frosting. One. Lick. At. A. Time.”

Chapter 11

“It’s so sinful, I could lick every last drop.”

Stephanie Stone set her shot glass down and placed a dramatic hand to her flat stomach. She was dressed in a cropped pantsuit, strappy Jimmy Choos, and a handbag that cost more than Darcy’s mortgage. She was regal, refined, and so stunning Darcy had a hard time not staring.

Today was a perfect Portland afternoon for a tour and menu tasting. The roses were in full bloom, the sky was so clear they could see all the way to Mount Hood, and a cool breeze came off the Columbia River. Yet, Darcy was a nervous wreck.

Today wasn’t just any tasting, it was the Easton/Stone wedding menu tasting.

Outside of Gage, Rhett would be the first Easton she would reunite with. While things with Gage were going well, so incredibly well she couldn’t stop smiling whenever she thought about their night together—which was every day this week—she wasn’t sure how welcoming Rhett would be.

Gage assured her that everything would work out. That Rhett was beyond grateful for her willingness to work with them on the wedding, the rest of his brothers were coming around, and he’d handled his mother. But when Stephanie showed up with her publicist instead of her betrothed—a strange arrangement as far as Darcy was concerned—she began to wonder if Gage had been too optimistic.

If the chasm between her and Kyle’s family was too painful to overcome. And, if so, where would that leave Darcy and Kylie?

Gage was a man of his word, and she was secure in his promise that she wouldn’t get burned. But he was intensely loyal to his family. And in the end, Kylie might be family—but Darcy was an outsider.

Always would be.

“Rhett was all for the shooters,” Stephanie said, looking at the different types of shot glasses, picking up an elongated modern style.

“I think when you said shooters, he was imagining something a little more leaded than chilled artichoke and avocado soup,” her publicist Anna said. Taking a tentative sniff, she wrinkled her nose and put it back. “Plus, it’s green. Rhett specifically said nothing green.”

Darcy had to laugh, because Kyle also had an acute aversion to anything green. Actually, if it was labeled a vegetable, he’d claim he’d get hives just from looking at it. Kylie had the same reaction.

But since this wedding was a joining of two people, it was Darcy’s job to make sure both sides were represented.

Even if the groom was a no show.

“You could always go with this softened watermelon and mint sorbet if you like the idea of a chilled shooter.” Darcy placed a glass in front of each woman, since it was clear from Stephanie’s book that she wanted some variation of an elegant shooter passed around on trays. “Or, we could have the chef make up a refreshing shaved ice, such as key lime to freshen the mouth and cool the guests as they wait for dinner to begin.”

Stephanie took a dainty sip of the watermelon sorbet and her eyes went wide. “It’s light, refreshing, and delectable.” She downed the rest in a single swallow. “It’s like watermelon sangria.”

“There’s actually a little rum in there. I knew that you loved fruit inspired drinks, so we modeled this after a mojito,” Darcy explained. “There isn’t enough alcohol to be overpowering, and we’d of course have virgin ones for guests who don’t drink, but it’s different and would go well with the rest of the meal.”

“Anna, you should try this.” She slid the shooter Anna’s way, and her assistant took an obligatory sip, and gave a smile. Then she picked up her phone and started scrolling through emails.

The woman wasn’t there as a support for Stephanie. She was there because she was being paid. A bride should be surrounded by family, friends, and if not the fiancée, then at least someone who wanted to celebrate the moment.

Stephanie acted as if nothing was amiss, but the poise and posturing was a defensive tactic Darcy knew well.

“Didn’t I see a cantaloupe one on the list?” Stephanie picked up the menu book and flipped to the second page. She pointed to a cantaloupe and ginger sorbet. “Can we try that one? The color would look great against the bright orange poppies.”

And this was why it was important that both people be present.

The last thing Darcy wanted to do was overstep her bounds, and make the situation any more uncomfortable. But avoiding a possible allergic reaction was more important.

With a bright smile, Darcy said, “It would look amazing, great eye. Anna, could you go ask the chef if he could whip one up?”

If either woman was surprised that Darcy was asking Anna to do her job, neither of them showed it. When Anna disappeared into the house, Darcy gently asked, “I didn’t want to ask in front of Anna, but isn’t Rhett allergic to cantaloupe?”

Stephanie blanched. “He is? I didn’t know.” She gave an embarrassed smile and, not for the first time that day, looked as if she were trying to pass some test, rather than planning her own wedding. And wasn’t that a sad state of affairs. “That’s something I should know, right? I mean we’re getting married. In three weeks and I nearly ordered something that could send the groom to the hospital.”

Darcy put a hand on Stephanie’s arm. “If you wanted to reschedule when Rhett is back in town, I’d understand.” It would create a bigger time crunch on her end, but she was willing to work something out, if anything to save Stephanie from a disastrous wedding menu. “I know you two are both on crazy schedules, and the wedding is in just a few weeks, but I want to make sure both of you love the day.”

Stephanie shrugged. “He was called in last minute to be on the Tonight Show, which is huge for him. He offered to cancel, but I told him to go. Opportunities like that can change a career, especially when he is so close to that tipping point. He gets back tomorrow night and I leave Wednesday morning for LA. I know this probably sounds like a mistake, but we really are good together.”

“I’ve seen a lot of weddings, and it isn’t about knowing someone’s favorite color or sports team that matters, it knowing what’s in their heart.” Something that Darcy had learned after Kyle. She’d known everything there was to know about Kyle, except what really made him tick.

“I thought that dating someone in the industry would be easier, because they’d understand the demands.” Stephanie sat back and she looked tired, more than just the stress of a wedding. No, her kind of tired came from feeling responsible for everyone around her. “But we’re both constantly feeding the demands, and sometimes it feels as if we’re being pulled in opposite directions. We’re rushing the wedding because it’s the only time we both have two weeks free for over a year.”

Darcy was never for rushing a marriage unless it was for love. And not just from her own experience, but from a decade in the industry. Yet, she was the last person to be giving marriage advice. But she was an expert in knowing when to run for the hills. “When you’re together, does it feel right?”

Toward the end, even when she and Kyle had been in the same room, Darcy felt like he was a million miles away. She’d known for months that it wasn’t going to work—it had just taken her heart longer to catch up. Darcy didn’t give up on people, she’d been given up on too many times to do that to anyone else. So acknowledging that her relationship was over was difficult.

Going through with the wedding would have been suffocating though.

“When I’m with Rhett, I feel like I can kick back and be myself. He’s sweet and caring. So easy to be around.” A light sparked in Stephanie’s eyes. “The man treats me like I’m something special, not for anything I’ve done, but just for being me, you know?”

“Yes.” Darcy did know. It was the same way she’d felt with Gage. Back in college and the past few weeks. He had a way of making her feel seen, as if who she was was enough.

Until Darcy had become a mom, she’d never been enough for anyone in her life. Even the people who were supposed to love her unconditionally had found her coming up short. With Gage, she felt as if she exceeded his expectations.

“We might have only known each other for less than a year, but it feels right,” She let out a big breath. “With the media taking bets on how long we’ll last, and Margo putting so much pressure on this wedding being perfect, sometimes I think it would have been easier to elope.”

Darcy wanted to tell her to fly to Fiji, marry her man, and stay as far away from Margo as possible. Then again, she still hadn’t heard Stephanie say a single word about love. It was clear that she loved how Rhett made her feel, but she hoped there was more.

But this wasn’t her friend, it was her client. And she’d hired a planner not a therapist, so Darcy said, “This day is about you and Rhett. And I know how mothers-in-law can be.” She also knew firsthand how Margo could be. “I will do everything I can to make sure the day remains about celebrating you and Rhett.”

“Oh God.” Stephanie covered her mouth, a look of embarrassed horror taking over her delicate features. “Here I am going on and on, and I forgot that you went through all of this. I don’t know the whole story, but Rhett told me enough that I should be thanking you for even letting us get married here, not complaining about Margo.”

“Rhett was always wonderful, so I’m happy he wants to get married here.” If she left out how he’d never contacted her after the wedding, it was the truth. “And you shouldn’t have to miss out on the venue you want because of a situation you had no control over.”

“Which is why this wedding has to be perfect,” Stephanie said, and she sounded so close to tears, Darcy slid her another watermelon shooter. “I want to look back and have it be about us. Not about if one of the warming trays went out, or if the food didn’t reach expectations.”

“Yours and Rhett’s expectations are all that should matter, and if we stick with that, it will be all that you imagined.”

“Although I am hopeful, the follow through is yet to be seen.”

Darcy didn’t have to look up to see who had crashed their tasting. The censure and oversweet scent of Margo’s perfume was enough to have Darcy cringing—and Stephanie turning pale.

Bracing herself to look into the woman’s eyes who made her life a hell, Darcy turned around. And the first thing she noticed was how frail Margo looked. She’s always been a petite woman, but the sorrow she’d worn like a coat all those years had taken its toll. Instead of feeling angry, Darcy just felt sorry for the woman who had buried two men she loved.

“Margo,” she said, standing and offering her a seat. Margo was dressed in a flowered skirt and blouse, perfect for tea—or the mother of the groom. And if Stephanie didn’t ask her to leave, Darcy wasn’t going to. She might own Belle Mont, but this wasn’t her wedding. So it wasn’t her place. “I didn’t realize you were coming today.”

“And miss my daughter-in-law’s tasting?” Margo gave Stephanie a kiss on the cheek, then took her seat. She didn’t kiss Darcy. Didn’t even look her way. “As soon as I heard Rhett was in New York, I drove right on over. No bride should have to do a tasting alone.”

“Thank you, Margo,” Stephanie said, sending Darcy an apologetic look.

Darcy winked at Stephanie, to put her at ease, then picked up the empty glasses. “You’re right on time, Margo, we were just about to go over the options for hors d'oeuvres. If you ladies will give me a moment, I can see where the chef is at with the plating.”

“Actually, I need to use the powder room. Can you show me where it is?” Margo asked, and Darcy momentarily froze. She didn’t know how much the woman knew about Kylie, or how she felt about the information, only that Gage had told her she had a granddaughter.