Page 68 of I'll Be There
“Now, we party?” Jed said, just a few steps behind them.
“We reserved Pierre’s Pizza,” Liza said, glancing behind her. “We’ll meet you there.”
Now. She should tell himright now. The words welled up inside her as they entered the foyer, especially when he kept tugging her along until they reached the library. He pulled her inside, then rounded on her.
“What?”
“You,” he said, and she took a breath as he closed the gap between them, pressing her up against the wall.
And then, yes, he was kissing her. Not the sweet church kiss he’d given her on stage but a kiss that bespoke exactly the look he’d worn in his eyes. Desire. Longing. He cupped his hand behind her neck, pulled her to himself, and drank her in, as if desperate for the nourishment of her touch.
He smelled of sunshine, the cool wind of the lake on his skin, and the fresh soap he’d used. She touched his beard, caressing her fingers into it. His breathing deepened and all of a sudden, he broke away, his eyes in hers, something unreadable in them.
“Conner? Are you okay?”
He had braced one arm over her shoulder against the wall, and now he leaned down, touched his forehead to hers. “I can’t lose you, Liza. You’re my family now. My only family.”
“Of course you won’t lose me,” she said, drawing her thumbs through his soft beard. “I’m yours, today...and especially tomorrow.” She smiled.
He didn’t. Just swallowed, such a hollowness rushing over his face, it left her emptied.
“You’re scaring me. What’s going on?”
He closed his eyes, but gathered her to himself. His heart hammered against her body. He buried his face in her shoulder.
So she just held on. “I can’t lose you either,” she whispered. “I fell in love with you the first moment I met you. I just never dreamed you’d love me back.”
He released her then, caught her face between his hands. “I don’t deserve you.”
“Of course not.” She winked at him.
He laughed and kissed her again, this time sweetly, as if she’d somehow swept away whatever darkness had gripped him. “We gotta go. Aren’t we throwing a party or something?”
Okay, so she’d tell him later. Plenty of time—the rest of their lives, in fact.
Of course it made sense to have the rehearsal dinner at Pierre’s Pizza. She’d probably personally kept them in business over the past decade. The hometown pizza joint swilled with the robust aroma of pepperoni pizza, mozzarella sticks, and root beer. Pictures of local football teams, old skis, a moose head, and even vintage fire axes from the first hotshot teams in the area hung on the walls. A tiny bar, closed now, overlooked the private party from the balcony. And at the head of the room, the Blue Monkeys, including Deputy Kyle at the drums and his cute wife, Emma, at the mic, were already warming up when Lizaand Conner walked in to cheers. Kyle looked up at her from the stage and gave her a tight smile.
He then nodded at Emma, and they launched into a cover of “Get Ready” by the Temptations.
I never met a girl who makes me feel the way that you do...
Liza laughed and Conner pulled her into an impromptu dance.
She waved to Ingrid and John Christiansen, who joined them as Jed and the guys pushed tables away to form a dance floor. Darek swung Ivy into his arms. Raina danced with Layla on her hip, Casper grinning not far away.
The guys headed to a buffet line of pizza, with Romeo challenging one of them to a pizza-eating contest.
“Hey, is that Seth Turnquist?” Liza asked as she danced with Conner.
“Yeah. He sort of helped me out of a jam yesterday, so I invited him to the party. Hope that was okay.”
“See, I’m not the only one who can’t say no.” She leaned back to grin at him. “I’m marrying the right guy.”
“Boy howdy, you are,” Conner said, winking.
The bell jangled above the door, and Liza looked over to see hockey superstar Max Sharpe stroll in, holding the hand of his daughter, Yulia. Wearing long braids and a toothy grin, she waved at Liza, then headed over to her mother, Grace, who gave her a one-armed hug.
Grace then leaned over to Max for a kiss. A handsome man, his hair long for the season, Max held himself like a man free of the demons that could chase him someday. Huntington’s disease, the nightmare he couldn’t dodge. For now, he scored goals for the Minnesota Blue Ox and lived life on full throttle.
