His Sister's Wedding (11 page)

A white, ruffled canopy bed sat waiting against the far wall. An ornate antique vanity
was topped with crystal perfume bottles. A trail of ivy decorated the top of the eyelet-curtained
windows.

Her scent was everywhere.

Luke tried not to breathe too deeply. He even thought briefly of trying to sleep on
the couch.

He didn't need to be drenched in her enticing smell, didn't need to crawl between
her soft white sheets. The woman lived in a fantasy world, one that was too dangerous
to consider. She wanted things he couldn't offer and she offered things he couldn't
have. Unless he managed to convince her to try things his way. Hell, he knew he was
right. He'd be saving her from major heartache down the line.

Sleeping in her frilly bed without her would be torture, but the couch was damned
short.

Forcing himself to be sensible, Luke crossed to an upholstered chair beside the bed.
He had to get some sleep and this was the only bed in the house.

He undressed slowly, careful to drape his clothes over the chair. A porcelain clock
on the bedside table ticked gently in the silence.

His stint in the tiny bathroom gave his system another shock.

Pantyhose dangled from the shower rod. A delicate lavender bra hung from a hook over
the tub.

Luke averted his eyes, swearing under his breath. Being with Lillie without touching
her was bad enough when he didn't know what she wore underneath her clothing.

He knew that pale, lacy bra was going to haunt him for a long time.

Finishing in the bathroom, he went back into her bedroom and heard a soft yowling
at the window. The cat.

Luke went to the front door, feeling like a fool as he called out "Here, kitty, kitty,"
to the dead of night. Just as he was about to close the door, the cat bedamned, Tiger
came strolling around the corner in the lazy manner of a beast who counts no one as
his master.

"Get in here, fur ball," Luke growled, as the cat hesitated on the threshold.

With the door shut and braced with a kitchen chair, he went back to the bedroom and
stoically climbed into the bed. Her bed.

It was just as soft and sweet smelling as he'd anticipated. Luke felt his body tense.
He was in for a very long night and only five hours of it were left.

Switching off her bedside lamp, he stared grimly into the darkness. Tomorrow he was
going to install the strongest deadbolt he could find on Lillie's front door, whether
she wanted it or not.

The only thing worse than sleeping alone in her bed, was worrying about her here by
herself.

*   *   *

Luke slammed the van door and sprinted toward the church, not sparing more than a
glance at its ornate exterior. He was already late, having taken the time to unload
some stock from the van. With the heat, the shrubs would have wilted beyond redemption
if left locked up in the van.

He hoped Lillie hadn't been waiting long. She'd scheduled for them to meet with the
music director to choose the music for Melanie's wedding. No matter how he dragged
his feet, the plans for the dratted event were marching forward.

He knew Lillie was hoping to talk him into using this old, ornate church as the wedding
site instead of the garden. She'd mentioned hearing of a cancellation in December,
a rare occurrence for a chapel normally booked two years in advance.

Luke had to grin as he jogged up the steps. She was a persistent little witch. Persistent,
stubborn and altogether too enticing. Just the thought of her wearing the lavender
bra he'd seen hanging from her shower gave him a heat rash.

As he opened the heavy church door the rich sound of organ music swelled out. Stepping
inside, Luke felt engulfed in it, awash in song as the dark, cool chapel surrounded
him.

He was halfway down the aisle before his eyes began adjusting. The jewel tones of
stained glass gave the light an unreal glow. Rich wood, carved and stained, adorned
every surface but the floor. The carpet felt thick and cushiony beneath his feet.

Peering through the dimness, Luke strode further into the empty church, the gently
swelling chords of organ music welcoming him. Searching for Lillie in the faint light,
he immediately spotted her in the second row...and felt his footsteps falter on the
thick carpet.

Lillie wasn't alone in the pew. His mother sat next to her.

Luke walked forward slowly as his gaze rested on their anxious faces, turned toward
him. Even in this light, he could see Lillie gnawing nervously on her lower lip.

Beautiful, idealistic, luscious Lillie. She just couldn't leave it alone. Her Pollyanna
tendencies made it hard for her to accept reality. The breach between his mother and
him had solidified years ago.

Some transgressions couldn't be wiped away by a smile and an apology. Not after ten
years of silence. He might not be Lillie's ideal of a sensitive mate, but Luke did
believe family came first.

That being so, how could he forgive a mother who'd walked away from hers in the name
of love?

Lillie watched Luke's stern face with growing trepidation as he walked up the aisle
toward them. Maybe allowing Janet to come along wasn't such a good idea after all.

As she'd lain awake in his bed several nights ago, she'd envisioned the tender look
in his eyes as he comforted her after the robbery. That was the man she wanted to
help, the man she was sure couldn't be happy estranged from his mother.

Clutching the music selection sheet in her hand, unable to tear her eyes from his
rigid face, she wondered how she could have misjudged the extent of his anger.

He stopped at the end of the pew where they waited, his face the blank emotionless
mask she hated. Where was the protective man who'd reassured her so gently, the man
who'd installed a deadbolt lock behind her back to make sure she was safe?

Luke's detached gaze rested on Lillie as he stopped at the pew where they waited.
"Just couldn't keep from meddling, could you?"

Impulsively, Lillie stretched out her hand to him. "I couldn't say no. I don't know
what the problem is between you, but won't you at least give her a chance?"

His eyes grew heated on her face before dropping to stare at her outstretched hand.
"This is none of your business."

Lillie felt slapped, the raw bitterness in his tone tight against the soft background
of organ music She let her hand fall, struggling with a miserable sense of failure.
She'd only wanted to help, but it seemed she'd made things worse.

"It's not Lillie's fault," Janet interjected, her words agitated. "I begged her to
help make you listen."

"What exactly am I to listen to? Seventeen years ago you 'fell in love' with a man
who wasn't your husband, so you up and left your family to be with him. There's nothing
to discuss."

Surprise gripped Lillie, holding her immobile. His mother had run away with another
man?

"That's not true," Luke's mother protested, tears glittering in her eyes. "Things
weren't so black and white. You were only ten years old when your father and I broke
up--"

"Melanie was only three." Luke's statement rang with accusation.

"--You weren't old enough to understand what went on between your father and me."
Janet hesitated, her hand clenching a tissue. "He wasn't a very giving man."

"You didn't get roses on your birthday and he didn't write you poems," Luke jeered.

"It was more than that," his mother said, her lowered voice barely audible above the
hymn. "He shut me out, took me for granted. Night after night I cried myself to sleep,
longing for some sort of emotion from him."

"So you just found someone else? It was that easy?"

Lillie looked down at her trembling hands, unable to bear the condemnation and pain
in his face. Luke's voice held a harshness that grated her nerves. How wrong she'd
been in the beginning to think him emotionless. How painful the loss of his mother
must have been.

"No!" Janet cried. "It wasn't easy and it wasn't right. I admit that. When Bob came
along, he was so crazy about me, so happy and free. He made me feel...young and beautiful."

"And where is good old Bob now?" Luke asked sarcastically.

Janet shrugged. "Off chasing some other woman. It was over between us years ago. Bob
is great at sweet words and big promises, but he isn't the type of man you can rely
on."

"It didn't turn out the way you planned," Luke finished, no victory in his face.

His mother looked up, determination visible in her posture. "I was wrong to leave
your father. I should have stayed and worked on our problems instead of chasing after
an easy answer. We might have ended up divorced, but at least I would have given it
my all."

"Well, I'm glad you learned something from the experience," Luke said, the hard note
still in his voice. "But I don't see how it has anything to do with me or Melanie."

"Luke, I love you," his mother begged while the organist in the loft played away,
unaware of the family drama unfolding in the empty church.

"You used to say that seventeen years ago, too," Luke said, "right before you left
us with Dad."

Janet flushed. "I know I haven't been a good mother--"

"You just stopped calling, stopped seeing us," Luke interrupted flatly.

The tissue in Janet's hands shredded. "I tried to stay in touch. For seven years after
the divorce, I kept hoping your bitterness would change. Finally, I just gave up.
You were seventeen years old by then and still so angry with me. You told me to go
away, that you didn't need a mother anymore."

"So you went," he said ironically. "It only took one angry, hurt seventeen year old
to kill your maternal instinct."

Janet broke into sobs, her hand to her face.

"I'm sure you sincerely regret everything," Luke said without expression. "But it'll
take more than an apology and a few tears to wipe the slate clean."

With one last searing glance at Lillie, he turned and walked out.

Lillie watched him go, torn between comforting the sobbing woman beside her and chasing
after Luke to give him a piece of her mind. Yes, he'd been hurt as a child, but adulthood
was supposed to bring some maturity, some concern for others.

But adulthood had brought its offenses to Luke, as well, she remembered, wondering
again about the fiancée who'd left him.

The image of Luke's cold, emotionless expression floated in Lillie's mind. Like the
slam of a door, he shut away his compassion, his kindness and even his anger. How
horrible it would be to be his lover when he pulled himself inside and shut her out.

Suppressing a shiver, Lillie led Janet Howard out of the sanctuary.

He'd been hurt badly twice in his life. What were the chances he could ever really
love again?

CHAPTER SIX

It was moments like these when Lillie almost wished she'd been an only child.

Climbing the steps to Luke's office, she thrust aside her reluctance to face the lion
in his den. He was probably still mad at her for interfering, but she had to fulfill
her promise to Scott and Melanie. The wedding plans couldn't wait.

In the days since their disastrous morning at the church a week ago, Lillie had puzzled
things over and over in her mind. It was very clear to her how Luke had turned against
love. Being rejected by his fiancée must have only underscored a belief he'd held
since childhood. Romantic love eventually brought pain. His mother falling in love
with a man other than Luke's father had resulted in her leaving Luke.

But that admittedly wrenching experience didn't justify shutting himself off from
love for the rest of his life. She just couldn't accept that Luke was too scarred
to take another chance on love.

Would he ever see that? It didn't take any effort for Lillie to recall the searing
anger in his eyes when he'd told her to mind her own business. No matter how much
he wanted to talk her into his bed and his way of thinking, Luke wouldn't cut her
any slack for interfering with his mother.

Pushing open the office door she paused, engulfed in a blast of cool air. Two desks
occupied the functional office space, islands in a small sea of tiled floor.

Luke sat at one desk, a litter of papers serving as a coaster for a Styrofoam cup
of coffee.

"Good morning," Lillie offered.

He looked like trouble personified, she thought, sitting there in the chair with
his feet propped negligently on the desk.

With his jeans snugged against muscular thighs and his dark hair boyishly ruffled,
he brought back all her fantasies of tangled sheets and slick skin.

The man looked like he had a bullet with her name on it.

"Good morning," Luke drawled, his feet dropping to the floor.

"I hope I'm not interrupting your work." She sank into the chair across the desk from
him, trying to interpret his expression.

"You're never an unwelcome intrusion," Luke said smoothly.

"Thank you. I think." Lillie eyed him warily, not quite able to judge his mood, but
suspecting she'd been right. He was still angry with her. It showed in the tightness
behind his smile and the hardness in his eyes. "I have to admit that I'm coming with
bad news. Your sister has decided you and I should choose the bridesmaids' dresses."