Over the Fence: Lyssa Layne's Baseball Romances (18 page)

“Oh Meg… you look gorgeous!”

My sister spins around in the room, giving me the full effect of her wedding gown. The beading on the dress sparkles in the light, her hair is sprayed perfectly in place, and her make-up, while thick enough to cover the fading bruise on her eye, is picture perfect. She holds out her wrist and I fasten her charm bracelet. She frowns as she watches me.

“Hey, no frowns on your wedding day,” I say with a smile, although I feel the same way. While we’ve both always looked forward to our weddings since we were little girls, we knew it wouldn’t be quite right without our father to walk us down the aisle.

My big sister forces a smile across her face and nods. “You’re right. No frowns.” She turns and looks in the mirror then back to me as she squeals, “I’m about to become Mrs. Mark Hall!”

I join in her excitement and shriek with her. When we both stop, she pulls me into a bear hug and whispers, “Thank you.” We pull away from each other as the doors open and our moment alone is over.

The other bridesmaids, our mom, Mark’s mom, grandmas, sisters and aunts we barely know, all rush in the room. They exclaim how beautiful she is, ask where she got her dress, who did her hair, and Meg eats up all the attention. Smiling, I step back, letting everyone else get their time with her.

Checking my phone, I see a message from Jace telling me to have a good day and send him a picture. While I’m texting him back telling him I’ll send a pic later, Meg’s phone beeps. It’s a text from the wedding coordinator saying the flowers haven’t been delivered yet.

Maid of honor duty calls!
I quickly delete the text and run upstairs to find her. I’m not about to let my sister’s day be ruined over flowers.

***

The church bells ring and I sprint into the bridal room with my heels in hand. Meg turns around to see me a hot, sweaty mess. Thank goodness the dress isn’t strapless or I would’ve lost it a long time ago as I was unloading flowers. Turns out the florist delivered them to the wrong wedding and was unable to get them back in time for the start of the ceremony. The wedding coordinator and I spent the last two hours hustling around town to find something that worked.

Meg frowns when she sees me. “What’s wrong?”

I shrug as I lean over and pull on my shoes. Grabbing her perfume and spritzing it in the air, I walk through it and wave my arms around me. “Small snafu, but no worries, it’s all taken care of.”

I see her stiffen and I grab her shoulders. With a big smile, I say, “You’re about to become Mrs. Mark Hall! That’s all that matters today.”

She nods and fluffs my hair. “You’re right, Colie. That’s all that matters.” She pauses then says, “Your hair is flat.”

I laugh at her as she relaxes and the doors open for us to enter the sanctuary. I give her one last kiss on the cheek and head down the aisle. Standing at the front of the church, the congregation rises and I hear a collective gasp as my sister comes into view of each guest. When she reaches Mark, I tear up and can’t help but wonder if I’ll ever make the same march. And if I do, with whom?

***

“...so I ask you all to raise a toast to the best big sister in the world and her husband... who now has his hands full with her!”

Everyone clinks their glasses and lets out a cheer as I finish my speech. Meg and I hug while Mark and I exchange a wink. The wedding was beautiful and despite Mark flubbing his vows, the two are officially married. Dinner’s been served, my toast has been made, and now I can relax. Waiting for a glass of wine, I lean forward on the bar in my sequined, watermelon-colored backless dress. With the empire waist and cut-out circles in the back, it’s definitely not my taste, but as a bridesmaid you wear what the bride tells you, no questions asked.

The bartender hands me my wine with a wink. I stick a bill in his tip jar and turn to head back to my seat. He says thanks and nods behind him as he adds, “I think your date is waiting.”

With a confused look, I turn to see where he’s looking. Two steps away from the bar and I stop in my tracks. I’ve never seen him so dressed up before. He looks amazingly sexy in his black Armani suit, red tie, and spiked-up hair. To top it off, he’s giving me one of his smiles that he reserves for something special. My heart beats so quickly I’m afraid I might pass out.

Grant closes the gap between us and holds out his hand. I grasp it and he spins me around to take in my dress in its entirety. He lets out a wolf whistle and nods. “You look beautiful, Colie.”

With my free hand, I smooth out imaginary wrinkles on his jacket, mainly as an excuse to touch his taut muscles. I straighten his tie, although it doesn’t need it, and nod. “And you, dapper as always,” I say, taking a sip of my wine.

He reaches out and he takes a curl of my hair in his hand. I shiver as his fingers rub over the long strands, brushing my arm. “I like your hair down like this, and the headband… ” As if he couldn’t look any sexier, he raises that scarred left eyebrow.

I laugh and say it for him, “Makes me look like a hippie?”

He joins my laughter as he runs his finger over the accessory Meg made us all wear around our head. His index finger drops down my cheek quickly as
Everything I Do
comes on.

He smiles and takes my hand. “It seems appropriate that we dance.”

Setting down my glass of wine, I follow him to the dance floor. One strong, calloused hand rests on my waist, the other holds mine. My body reacts to his closeness although I’m still mad at him—I think. I close my eyes and lean my head against his chest. His grip on my waist gets tighter. I take in his musky, masculine scent, the one I woke up to every day at spring training.
Mmm, I’ve missed it.

I look up at him knowing I should say something but I’m not sure what. I start to open my mouth as the song ends and
The Duck Dance
starts. I laugh and grab his hand, pulling him into the circle.

Normally, Grant Adamson would have balked at this, but tonight he grins and dances along with me. After
The Duck Dance, YMCA,
and the
Cha-Cha Slide,
my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard. Grant gets us both a glass of water and we walk outside to the patio overlooking the lights of New York.

I lean against the railing, my back to the city so I can look up at him. He’s shed his jacket on the chair behind him and loosened his tie. Both our faces are red from dancing as we drink our water.

Nudging his arm, I say, “I didn’t know you were such a good dancer.”

He laughs and sets his glass down. “Yeah, I really know how to spell letters with my arms.”

I giggle and he moves in front of me, his body against mine, hands on my hips. I watch his face closely before I whisper, “What are you doing here?”

He takes a step away from me and grabs his drink. Before he can answer, Meg opens the door and yells, “Colie?”

I look away from Grant and let her know I’m out here. She walks over to us and sees who I’m with. “Grant! Thanks for coming! I need to borrow your date for a little bathroom break if you don’t mind.”

His date?
My sister set me up!
I’m seething as Grant nods and says, “Of course.” She gives him a kiss on the cheek and grabs my hand, dragging me to the bathroom.

Inside the handicapped stall, I squat beneath my sister, holding her heavy wedding gown up so she doesn’t pee on it. I can tell she’s had at least three glasses of wine, as chatty as she is. Interrupting her rant on how Mark’s aunt ate all the wedding cake, I snip, “Why the hell did you invite Grant?”

She rolls her eyes. “Oh Colie, like it’s a big deal? You’re having a great time with him. Grandma’s asked me three times if he’s the one you’re always photographed with.”

I clench my jaw as I wonder what the rest of my family and our friends think about me being with Grant tonight. I hand her toilet paper to wipe and she stands up. I wait until she’s away from the toilet and drop her gown, fluffing it out for her.

We both wash our hands and she turns to me. “Look, little sister, it’s my wedding night and I don’t want any Debby Downers. So go have fun with Grant and get your panties out of a wad. Maybe even lose them, okay?” she says with a grin.

I’m still mad, but seeing the make-up is wearing off to reveal my sister’s black eye, I decide I owe her one so I don’t say anything. Making my way back to my seat, I check my phone and see Jace sent a text.

Hey babe, hope you’re on your best behavior. XXX

That’s an odd thing to say since he knows I’m at my sister’s wedding. I send a text back.
Probably being as good as you ;-)

He responds.
Uh-oh then we’re both in trouble.

Any other man and I wouldn’t be concerned, but this is Jace Richards. Ladies’ man with a sketchy excuse for not to coming to the wedding tonight. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. He loves me, right? He wouldn’t do anything…

A familiar hand touches my charm bracelet. I look up startled. Grant’s eyes are soft as he apologizes. I set my phone down.

“I’m glad you found this.”

I nod and blink back tears. “It’s from my father. Meg has one too. We both have a heart, a cross, and a sister charm, but the rest are all different. He gave them to us when he left for the Gulf War. Mine has a soccer ball. Even in kindergarten I played. And this one,” I point to a bicycle charm and continue, “is the one I picked out for my dad. He had just taught me to ride my bike before he left.”

Grant nods, listening to every word. He touches each charm as I talk about them, and then runs his fingers over the two he gave me. “Your dad sounds like he was pretty amazing,” he comments without looking up at me.

I bite my lip then randomly ask, “Do you want kids?”

He looks at me surprised but then nods. “I do. I want lots of them, a whole houseful.”

I don’t hide my surprise at his answer and he looks at me with a grin.

“Okay, maybe not a whole house full but two or three. What about you?”

Nodding, I answer, “Definitely. Not sure how many, I guess it depends on where I’m at in my life.” I pause then ask, “So I take it you want to get married again?”

Grant nods and replies, “To the right woman, yes.”

I bite my lip trying to figure out how to respond when
I’ll Be
comes on and he takes my hand, guiding me to the dance floor. This time, I slide both arms around his neck and he holds me close. I can hear him humming in my ear as my head rests against his chest. The song ends but he doesn’t let me go. He pulls back enough to look down at me.

“Colie, I didn’t demand or even request you to go to spring training. At the end of last season, George asked me what I thought about you. I told him you were the only trainer who ever had me pitching pain free. That was in October.”

I look down, embarrassed at what I’d implied and how I’d treated him. He places his finger under my chin, lifting it up so he can look me in the eyes. “Nicole, I’d never hurt you—professionally or personally. I hope you know that.”

Moving my head up and down, I pull him against me, giving him a tight hug. Of course I know that, and I was an idiot to think otherwise.

***

Laughing, I watch a multimillionaire baseball player placing empty plates and cups into a trash bag. Barefoot, I walk over to the table he’s clearing and touch his arm. “Grant, you don’t have to do this.”

He laughs and shrugs. “It’s no problem. Plus, the sooner we clean up, the sooner we can get out of here.”

Out of here?
What’s he mean by that? I hope he didn’t get the wrong idea about tonight. I mean I had a great time dancing and hanging out with him but I’m still with Jace.

Grant grabs my hand. “Colie, relax. I’m just giving you a ride home to make sure you get there safely.”

I let out the breath I was holding and roll my eyes. He laughs and talks before I can.

“I know, I know. You can get home fine by yourself, right?”

I start to object but he’s taken the words right out of my mouth.

“Just let me drive you home and you can thank me later.”

He tosses a couple beer bottles into the trash bag. I head to another table to clear it off. Meg walks over to me with a big grin. “If you get lucky with Grant, you have to tell me if he’s got any piercings.”

My eyes grow wide from disbelief. I can’t believe my sister just said that. What kind of hussy does she think I am? She laughs at me and pats my arm. “Relax, Colie. I’m teasing. You’re dating Jace, right? The guy who's not here tonight to make sure you get home okay.”

I narrow my eyes at her but she throws her arms around my neck and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for everything, little sister. I’ll call you when we get back from our honeymoon.”

I see Grant and Mark shaking hands as Meg approaches them and leaves with her husband. Grant walks over to me, taking my trash bag. “That’s the last of it. You ready to go?”

I nod and we walk out to the hallway. I duck into a changing room and come out carrying three different bags. Grant shakes his head. “Geez, all that for one day?”

“It takes a lot of work to look this good,” I tease.

Grant takes the bags from me, his fingers brushing mine and my heart flip-flops. “Colie, it doesn’t take any work at all for you,” he says softly.

He places his hand on the small of my back and guides me outside to his Escalade. I climb inside and he starts the engine, changing the radio to a nineties station. On the drive to Jace’s loft, we sing along together to
One Week
and
Every Morning.

Grant pulls into the parking garage and turns off the car. Wiping away tears from laughter, I feel his hand on my leg. I look at him and our eyes meet.

“Colie…I had a great time tonight,” he says in a deep, husky voice.

“Me too,” I manage to squeak out.

His hand on my thigh is about to set my panties on fire. His other hand goes to my cheek and he leans toward me. In a low whisper, he says, “I want to kiss you so bad right now.”