Chapter 17 #3
But Jess’s chuckle died in her throat, because Vivienne …
Vivienne looked like she’d just rolled out of bed.
The only makeup she had on was mascara smudged around her eyes.
Her hair was wild, like the tide tossed against a rocky shore in a storm, and she was wearing …
well, not much at all. Small, soft-looking, low-slung gray cotton shorts, and a loose pale pink tank top with, evidently, no bra underneath.
Vivienne raked a hand through her hair, flashing a shadow of cleavage and the curve of her breast. And exposing toned golden abs.
Vivienne scrunched her nose. “It’s way too early. ”
Jess’s gaze bounced around, wondering where it was safe to settle it. She went with Vivienne’s plump lips. Which turned out to be a mistake. “Who knew florists got started so early in the morning?” she asked, heart thudding.
“Not me. No flowers at my wedding, I guess.”
That was too bad, because if Jess were to imagine Vivienne at her wedding, she’d be showered in pink rose petals—
“You ready? We’re supposed to be there right at six.”
Jess grabbed her keys, grateful for the distraction. “I’m ready.” She locked the door and followed Vivienne down the stairs to a black SUV.
“No Mercedes today?” Jess asked.
“Not ideal for flower delivery. This is Locke’s mom’s.” As they got in, Vivienne nodded at the cupholders in the middle. “I got you an iced coffee.”
“Oh, perfect. Thanks.”
The drive was quiet, both of them mostly focused on sipping their drinks and trying to wake up. They collected the flower order—a dozen buckets of roses in red, pink, yellow, orange, and white, plus greenery—then drove to Locke and Shay’s place.
Locke, Shelly, and Lewis were waiting outside and helped them carry the buckets into the shop.
“So…” Locke displayed her flowery sketches on her tattoo table. “We’re making an archway, centerpieces, and bouquets. Jess and Viv, can you two work on the arch? I’ll do the bouquets and centerpieces with Shelly and Lewis.”
“You bet.” Vivienne toasted her with her coffee. “Don’t worry about a thing.”
Locke started sorting roses while Jess and Vivienne hovered over the table and studied the drawings.
“Have you ever made a flower arch before?” Vivienne muttered quietly enough that Locke couldn’t hear.
“Nope.”
Vivienne rubbed her forehead. “How did we get stuck with flowers again?”
“Well, we didn’t want to cook.…”
“Oh. Right. I remember now.” Vivienne whipped her phone out and leaned on her elbows. “There’s gotta be something on YouTube.…” The curves of her breasts were visible down her top.
Jess glued her eyes to the phone screen as the video began to play.
“We can do this,” Vivienne said when it was done. “Build the arch, attach the foam, and then, you know … stick a bunch of roses in.”
Thank God for Vivienne’s confidence.
They put the arch together with minimal trouble, but had a brief speed bump when they discovered that soaking the florist foam before attaching it to the frame meant it dripped all over them. Vivienne squawked when a drop fell in her eye. Rubbing it only smudged her mascara further.
They got back on track starting with the greenery base, then moved on to the roses.
But Jess struggled. She struggled, because every time Vivienne stretched up to jam a stem into the foam block, she revealed abs and hip bones and the hint of a nipple through her thin shirt as her breasts moved under the fabric.
“This looks pretty good, right?” Vivienne asked about an hour and a half in, stepping back to examine their work, hands on her hips. Jess was sitting on the ground, working on the bottom. She looked up at … Vivienne towering over her.
Jess’s face heated while a throb of desire pulsed between her legs. Are you fucking kidding, Jess? You’re getting horny now? For Vivienne? You’ve gotta get it together, this is the dumbest—
“Jess?”
“Yeah?” Jess gasped through her dry mouth.
“I said, do you think yellow here, or pink?”
“Pink,” Jess said, eyeing Vivienne’s tank top.
Vivienne studied the arch. She shifted, jutting a hip out. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Definitely.”
They paused their work here and there to help with deliveries—folding tables and chairs, ice, grandparents—and, when the arch was finally done, eased it out to the garden and down the flagstone path, setting it against the backdrop of palm leaves and weeping shrubs.
They stood under it, adjusting roses here and there, then turned to look at each other.
Vivienne had a smear of dirt on her nose and leaves stuck in her hair. “I’m ready to go back to bed.”
“Going to bed sounds good.” Jess cleared her throat. “Unfortunately, it’s not time for sleeping quite yet. Um … You’ve got…” She took a step closer and pulled the leaf gently from Vivienne’s hair.
“Thanks.” Vivienne looked up at her.
Everything slowed. The garden beyond Vivienne blurred into green with smears of pink and orange. Vivienne’s long lashes fluttered around wide, dark eyes.
“I…” Jess trailed off, unable to look away, not even sure what she had started to say. Her heart thudded against her rib cage.
“You guys, this looks amazing!” Locke squealed, appearing next to them. “You absolutely nailed it. Thank you so much!”
Vivienne smoothed her hair as the garden snapped back into focus. “It was no problem.”
Jess nodded, wordless.
“Do you need help with anything else?” Vivienne asked.
“I don’t think so. You two should head home to get ready.”
“Yes,” Jess said, relieved she managed to say a coherent word. “We should.”
Vivienne dropped her off with a promise to pick her up again for the ceremony.
Jess had a shower and found a message from Tania waiting when she got out.
If I never see another mini taco …
Jess grinned. How did food prep go?
It was fine, actually. Lee is an amazing cook. How were flowers?
Good. I think the archway turned out really beautiful.
Nice! Want me and George to pick you up?
Vivienne said she’d give me a ride.
All right, see you there!
This time when Vivienne knocked on her door … the transformation was, to put it mildly, dramatic. Vivienne’s hair was down in loose, rippling waves and she wore the yellow sundress, ruched around her breasts, legs glowing, lips shimmering.
“You look…” Jess’s brain searched for the right words, but “so hot it hurts” seemed inappropriate. “… beautiful.”
“Thank you. So do you.”
Jess smoothed her blue dress. “Uh … not really. Not compared to you.”
Vivienne took a step back and dragged her gaze up Jess’s legs. “Nah, you’re good.”
Jess flushed as she locked the door behind her.
The wedding was a small affair. Shay’s side was mostly SoCal VL friends, and Locke’s side just her family, and they all fit in the garden around small tables draped in white tablecloths.
Chrissy stood up with Shay as their best mate.
It was unlike any wedding Jess had ever been to.
She’d never wanted a marriage like her parents, all business and schedules, and after Phoenix, it was hard to imagine having a future with anyone.
But if she could have a wedding like this …
The couple looked gorgeous underneath the flower arch, Shay in khaki shorts and a cream short-sleeved dress shirt, Locke in a light, lacy dress in the same shade.
When they said their vows, Toni started sniffling, baby bump now gently visible under her flowered dress.
Lee patted her hand. Jess’s eyes slid over to Vivienne.
She was sniffling, too. The corner of Jess’s mouth curled.
She reached into her bag and handed Vivienne a tissue.
“Thanks,” Vivienne whispered, and dabbed at her eyes.
When Shay and Locke sat to sign the register, Jess leaned over to Vivienne, whose eyes were still wet. “I didn’t take you for a wedding crier.”
Vivienne delicately wiped at another tear. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Jess.”
Yeah … I’m beginning to realize.
And she wanted to know more.