Secrets of You (20 page)

“So.”
Pete pulled apart a section of sweet roll, slathered it with butter. “This is it. In two hours you’re going to be a married man.”

Ash nodded. “That’s right.” It couldn’t happen soon enough. Since the moment he slipped the ring on Arianna’s finger he’d been anxious for the ceremony. It was crazy and ridiculous, but part of him worried something might happen to keep them apart—again. Pete had spent too much time reassuring him it wouldn’t happen, but what did he know? Since he’d done his part to bring Ash and Arianna together, Caroline thought he was a Superhero. Pete loved it. The more she oohed and
aahed over his “sensitive side,” as she called it, the gooier he became, sending her flowers and poems. It was downright amusing and totally out of character for Pete. Still, it was refreshing to see his brother truly happy, and he hadn’t needed to resort to hair dye or leather jackets to do it.

“I like this town.” Pete took in the high ceilings, the crown moldings,
the ornate woodwork in the doors. “There’s a certain feel about it that’s welcoming. People are that way, too, aren’t they?”

“Yeah.
They don’t have much time for pretense or fabrication. They’ll give it to you straight up and if you can’t take it, you better carry antacids.” He grinned. “I like that about them.” He fiddled with his spoon, looked at his brother. “Arianna and I have talked about buying a place a mile or two from here, in the country. There’s an old farmhouse that needs an overhaul, but we think we’re up to the challenge.”

Pete kept his voice even, but Ash didn’t miss the surprise shadowing his expression. “You’d leave Philly?”

He meant,
You’d leave me?
Ash shrugged. “We’re talking about it for a getaway spot. You know, a week here and there, maybe summer vacation.”

Pete looked away, shoved his hands in his pockets. “You were gone so long that once you came back, I never considered you might leave again.” Pause. “I’ve just gotten used to having you around to bounce ideas off of,” he laughed, “especially where my wife is concerned. Who would I turn to if you left?”

That was as close as Pete had ever come to saying,
I need you. I’ve come to depend on you
. Well, he didn’t have to worry because Ash wasn’t going to let him down. “Endicotte is a six-hour drive. We talked about it, but not as a permanent residence, at least not anytime soon. Maybe after we have a couple kids.”

Pete shot him a look. “You’re already talking about kids? Wow, you really are domesticated, aren’t you?”

Yeah, he guessed he was, but in the past that word had meant
trapped
. With Arianna, it meant a whole new life of possibilities—with her. “Is it a bad thing?”

Pete grinned, smacked him on the shoulder.
“Not at all. Now let’s get you married.”

***

“Aunt Arianna, you look like a princess.”

Arianna smiled at the little girl with the halo of golden ringlets. “Thank you, Sofia.” She knelt and smoothed the tiny creases from her niece’s dress. Vanessa had told her it would be impossible to keep Sofia clean and pressed until the wedding, which was why she’d wanted the six-year-old glued to Grandma Lorna’s side. But Arianna hadn’t wanted to miss one second away from the child, or her nine-year-old sister, Natalie. Now she wondered if any of them would make it to the ceremony without wrinkles and juice stains. Apparently she needed to spend a bit more time around children who were not still in diapers and a crib. Hope
Burnes was the only child she knew and she wasn’t even walking yet. Sofia and Natalie were constant whirlwinds of animation and movement. From the second Vanessa introduced her as their aunt, they’d lunged at her and asked so many questions, Arianna couldn’t finish with the first before they threw the second at her. The constant brain-pinging was exhausting. Ash fell right into the role of uncle, crawling on the floor, playing hide and seek and tag with them.

“Do I look like a princess, too?” Natalie twirled beside her sister, her dark hair piled high on her small head. Vanessa hadn’t said much about their fathers, other than they wanted nothing to do with the girls and were just two
more bad choices she’d blamed on Arianna. But those bad choices had given her Natalie and Sofia.

“You both look like princesses.” Arianna tucked a plump curl behind Sofia’s ear and fluffed Natalie’s bow. “I made both of you a very special necklace.” She reached behind her and snatched two small boxes from the vanity. “These are called wedding necklaces.” She handed a box to each girl, smiled when they squealed their delight and impatience. “Go ahead, you can open them.”

They tore into the boxes. “Beautiful.” Natalie traced the opal pendant with cautious fingers.

Sofia glanced at the necklace in her box and repeated, “Yeah, beautiful.” She lifted it from the velvet lining and dangled it in front of her sister. “Beautiful,” she said again.

Natalie held hers out to Arianna. “Can you put mine on me? I want to stand by the window and watch the sun hit it.”

Sofia thrust hers at Arianna.
“Me, too, me, too.”

Arianna fastened the necklaces on her nieces and sent them to the window to study the effect of sun and color dancing off the opals. She could teach them all about jewels and Ash could teach them about catching beauty through photographs. Quinn could visit and give them painting lessons. Eve might eventually instruct them in the fine art of metal designing. Maybe Quinn’s mother would even spend time here and show the girls how she captured sunsets in her painting.

It was a whole new world, filled with possibilities, joy, and peace. All because of one man—Ashford Lancaster. Her husband—she glanced at the clock on the nightstand—in exactly fifty-nine minutes.

“Arianna?
Can we come in?” It was Vanessa on the other side of the door, her voice anxious and excited.

“As long as my soon-to-be husband is nowhere in sight.”

Laughter bubbled as the door opened and Eve said, “ Quinn has detained him.”

“I’m sure Ash will be…
Vanessa
?”

The sister with the shapeless T-shirts and straggly hair was gone. No chipped nail polish, scuffed shoes, or
scrunchies. This sister wore a burgundy T-length dress with a two-inch band of silver beads under the bodice, shimmery hose, silver sandals, silver and burgundy beads woven in the newly dyed honey-wheat hair piled atop her head. Her face had a bronze tint to it, her lips a shiny pink. Even the bronzed eye shadow and dark eyeliner spoke of elegance and class. But what changed her appearance most was the excitement on her face, a mix of wonder and hope that Arianna guessed had not been there in a long time.

Vanessa’s smile spilled over the room. “Not my usual jeans and T-shirt, is it?” She brushed a wisp of hair from her neck and fiddled with the opal necklace Arianna had given her last night.

“Mommy?” Sofia rushed to her mother and grabbed her hand. “You look like a princess, too!”

Vanessa laughed and squeezed her daughter’s hand. “Aunt Eve and Aunt Annie turned me into one.”

After years without a sister, Vanessa claimed that any “family” of Arianna’s was her “family” too. Now the girls had an Aunt Eve and Uncle Quinn, an Aunt Annie and Uncle Michael, and an Aunt Caroline and Uncle Peter. If Ian Debenidos had been able to attend, Vanessa would have dubbed him an uncle as well. Her sister’s newfound willingness and desire to be a part of Arianna’s life was perhaps the best wedding gift of all. Except for her father’s letter. That had changed her life.

Arianna clasped her sister’s hand. “You look absolutely stunning.”

“Thank you,” Vanessa sniffed, sniffed again. “Thank you for everything.”

When Ash spotted the vision in white moving toward him, floating through the crowd, he not only forgot to breathe, he
couldn’t
breathe. It took three robust coughs and a concerned look from Pete before Ash regained his breath and his composure. She was more than beautiful as she inched toward him on Quinn Burnes’s arm. His future wife was surreal, a vision of elegance and style in a silky concoction with thin straps and a swirl of veil dancing about her shoulders with each step. She wore her hair up, her neck bare except for the opal necklace dangling from a silver chain. In her left hand, she clutched a bouquet of red roses, her favorite. He could watch her forever, this woman he had waited for since before he ever met her. They belonged together; heart to heart, soul to soul.

She was close enough for him to see her eyes: blue, shiny, trained on him. She smiled.

His heart opened wide, burst with love. For her.

After, he would recall the tears that spilled down her cheeks when he placed the ring on her finger and the priest pronounced them husband and wife.
Tears of joy. Tears of love and commitment. He blinked hard and concentrated on the opal dangling from her neck. She’d created a similar necklace for each of the girls in the wedding party—her sister, nieces, Eve, Annie, and Caroline—her family. He liked the sound of that and one day soon, they’d think about adding on to that family.

Arianna tugged on his sleeve and whispered, “The priest said to kiss me, silly.”

He smiled down at her, cupped her face with his fingers and kissed her, long and slow.

The crowd cheered, chanting their names as they deepened the kiss and it wasn’t until Quinn
Burnes nudged his foot that Ash broke the kiss and stepped back. He faced the group of well-wishers seated in folding chairs, sprawling on the lawn, standing against trees. He clasped Arianna’s hand and raised it with his own in a sign of unity. The crowd roared.

***

Ash had just taken a swig of beer and was about to bite into his second slice of pizza when Quinn Burnes appeared. “Some party,” Burnes said. He looked calmer and more relaxed than usual, his tie loose around his neck, suit jacket gone, half-smile on his face.

“Nothing like bringing Philly to
Endicotte. The cheesesteaks are a big hit.” The caterer, a third-generation Philadelphian, had spent the entire two months before the wedding planning the preparation, transportation, and presentation of what he called “Philly specials”—cheesesteak, hoagies, stromboli, soft pretzels, tomato pizzas, and butter pound cake.

“Eve really likes this place.
Said we should think about buying something here.”

Ash spat out his beer. He swiped a hand across his mouth and stared at
Burnes. “Move here? To Endicotte?”
Dear God, no.

Burnes’s
lips twitched. “Sure. Why not? Arianna said the two of you were thinking of buying a farmhouse a few miles away. She said we should do the same, so our kids could grow up together.” He saluted Ash with his beer. “One big happy family.”

“Arianna said that?” He might only be an hour into the married thing, but weren’t spouses supposed to consult with each other before making life-altering decisions?
Or recommendations? And Quinn Burnes as his next door neighbor was damn sure life-altering.

Burnes
laughed. “You are so damn gullible. Do you really think I’d want to wake up next door to you every morning?”

Ash eyed him. “You were joking about moving here.” And then because
Burnes continued to hassle him with that silver-eyed stare, “Weren’t you?”

Burns shrugged.
“Maybe. Unless my wife drives me crazy about it. Then, because I want to keep her happy, I’d consider it.” He paused, rubbed his jaw. “Or we could just visit and stay with you and Arianna. What do you think?”

Ash couldn’t think. Not only that, he was fairly certain he was about to heave his pizza and beer.

“Relax.” Quinn clinked his beer bottle against Ash’s. “
That
was a joke.”

“What was a joke?” Arianna came up from behind Ash and slung her arm through his.
“Ash? Are you ill?” She touched his forehead. “You don’t look well.”

He eyed
Burnes who offered up a full-blown smile seconds before he saluted him and walked away. “I’m fine.” Ash turned to his wife and murmured, “Never better.”

She smiled up at him, brushed her fingers along his jaw. “Thank you for making this day so perfect.”

Ash pulled her close, whispered, “For you, Mrs. Lancaster, anything. And everything.” He kissed her, long, slow, deep. “You own my heart.” He cupped her chin with his fingers and met her bright gaze. “Welcome to the rest of our lives.”

Nineteen months later

“They should be here soon.” Arianna clasped her husband’s hand and smiled. “Are you ready for the invasion?”

“I’m always ready,” he said, pulling her close for a quick kiss. “And this time I’m going to scorch your buddy.
Burnes thinks he can show up with roast duck and make everybody ooh and aah over it? Well, they haven’t tasted my pork tenderloin or lamb stew. I’ll smoke him.”

“Honey, you and Quinn are the only men I’ve ever met who argue over the best place to buy Pecorino Romano cheese. Seriously, you worked together so well at Thanksgiving, I thought it was the beginning of a truce between the two of you.”

“Truce?” His dark eyes turned darker. “We’ll both go down fighting.”