Page 58 of California Waves

“I was all ready for the wedding, but just seeing you out there made me all hot and sweaty. Want to work up another sweat before you shower?”

He came forward and kissed her slowly and deeply. His moustache brushed her lips. She could smell the heat on his skin and the healthy scent of perspiration. Then he said, “Better not crease that beautiful dress.” With his gentlest touch, he helped her out of it and the underwear that cost at least as much as Tessa’s wedding lingerie.

He said, “I want you so bad I don’t think I can be gentle.”

She grabbed him and kissed him. “Good.” He took her up against the bathroom tiles. It was hot and fierce and exactly what she needed.

Afterward, she took even more pleasure in watching him soap up and then rinse off. Rubbing himself dry with a fluffy white towel, Hersch said, “I don’t even know where my suit is.”

She grinned at him. “It’s hanging in my closet, of course.”

Wrapped in towels, they scooted across the hall to her old bedroom, fortunately unnoticed. Hersch ran a comb through his astronaut-short hair and, to her delight, even combed his moustache. When he put on his suit, it was her turn to tell him how good he looked. She’d never seen him formally dressed, and she liked what she saw.

Once she’d dressed herself again and fixed her hair and makeup, she was ready.

When she went back downstairs, it was to a scene of organized chaos. Crystal took center stage, her instructions crisp and calm. With only an hour before the wedding, everybody chipped in, putting up decorations and balloons and making sure everything was perfect, from the teal tablecloths to the floral arrangements on each table. Mila’s job was to put out the tiny gifts that Arch and Tessa had chosen for their guests. They were locally made candles. While Archer could have bought everybody something from Tiffany’s, Mila loved that they’d gone with something simple and local. It was perfect.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Margaret Percy was the first guest to arrive, looking magnificent in a green linen trouser suit and high heels. She’d had her hair done that morning and obviously taken pains with her makeup.

When Mila saw the high heels, she said, “Margaret, Tessa will have a fit if she sees you wearing those heels.”

Margaret had been Tessa’s patient before Arch broke his leg and needed a live-in caregiver. The eighty-something-year-old shot her a mischievous look. “Then you’d better not tell her. I wasn’t going to walk that girl down the aisle looking like a little old lady. If I fall, somebody’ll pick me up.”

“I will,” Howie said, coming in to give her a bear hug. “You know I’ve always got your back, Margaret.”

She patted his cheek. “Don’t I know it. It’s a proud day for you, Howard Davenport.”

“You can say that again. Today, I welcome a new daughter into my family. I couldn’t be happier.”

“And to think I introduced them,” Margaret said, not for the first time. Since she’d been sworn to secrecy about this wedding, she hadn’t been able to crow to all her friends about being responsible for the love match. But every time she was with the family, she made sure that they all knew that this day would never have happened without her. The delightful thing was, it was true. Although Mila had to wonder, even without Margaret’s introducing them, wouldn’t Archer and Tessa have met somehow? Wasn’t that what destiny was all about?

And then she thought about Herschel and how she’d seen him at the plein air show, staring at that painting of her, and from that moment, her life seemed to have taken a different turn. That had to be destiny, didn’t it? And on this day, which was all about love and commitment, she had to accept the truth. She’d fallen in love with Herschel Greenfield. Deeply and forever in love. The thought scared her, but it exhilarated her too. As he’d said to her once, he was a man of the stars and sky, and she was a woman of the water. Yet somehow they were magic together.

While she was still having these thoughts, Herschel walked in. She could see him searching for her, and when their gazes met, he gave her a special smile, one she was pretty sure he saved only for her. There was an answering smile on her lips that nobody else ever got either. He came over and stood beside her. She passed him a glass of champagne.

Howie’s brothers and their wives arrived together. Howie had wanted to invite all of his brothers and all their kids and all the cousins, but Betsy had talked him down to just the brothers and their wives. But they were all so big and noisy, they took up as much space as twenty people. Fortunately, the weather was nice, and they all picked up their champagne and headed outside. A string quartet played softly in the backyard, and thanks to Crystal and her staff and Francesca’s caterers, everything went perfectly.

Francesca came and took charge of the food, which Mila knew was a great honor. Sergio and a young woman, both dressed in black and white, walked around with trays of canapés, all of which Mila had tasted. She was pleased to see that the crab cakes with the avocado aioli were a big hit, as were the other goodies she’d sampled.

Arch arrived, looking as good as she’d ever seen him and definitely happier than she’d ever seen him. He hadn’t gone with anything wacky or theatrical for his wedding attire. He wore an elegant tuxedo, as did Nick and Finn. Damien was slightly less formal. His mother had tried to get him to shave, which had made them all laugh. Still, he’d cleaned himself up enough to wear a decent pair of trousers and a crisp white shirt.

Smith Sullivan and a glowing and gorgeous Valentina arrived soon after Arch and his brothers. Smith apologized, telling Crystal in a low voice that they’d taken a detour, as they’d suspected they were being followed by a pap. It happened often enough that Smith wasn’t fazed. “Pretty sure we lost him,” he said. “But he was driving an old blue Honda Civic.”

Crystal nodded and picked up her cell phone. In a minute, she returned. “I’ve alerted security. They’ll keep an eye out for that car, but don’t worry. No one who isn’t on the guest list will get near this house.”

At a nod from Crystal, everyone took their seats. Nobody bothered about bride’s side or groom’s side, they just all sat together. And then Damien picked up his Martin acoustic guitar and began to play, along with the string quartet. It was time.

Crystal had arranged for a white gazebo, and Archer stood under it with the same minister who’d christened all the Davenport kids. He was a silver-haired man of seventy who looked so much the part he could have been cast in one of Arch’s movies.

At Crystal’s signal, Tessa came slowly downstairs, and Betsy slipped out to join Howie in the front row.

Erin, Mila, and Tessa had a final hug and all whispered at once, “Good luck,” to one another.

“You won’t need it,” Margaret assured them. “Big smiles. Take your time.”

“Exactly,” Crystal agreed.

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