Chapter Ten
The hall was crowded and filled with music and laughter. Jim held Diane in her carrier in one hand and placed the other against the small of Heather’s back.
“I’m sure our table is over there,” Heather said, pointing to the far side of the room.
“Are you two looking for us?” a familiar voice called.
He and Heather both turned in that direction and saw Flo, Brian and several other employees, along with their dates, seated at a large round table.
Heather looked at him and grinned. “Or our table could be a lot closer,” she said, not looking the least big chagrined by her mistake. “Did I ever mention I had trouble reading maps?”
“You don’t have to mention it,” he said as they approached their friends. “It’s obvious. I’ll have to remember not to let you navigate on a road trip.”
“We might not get where we’re going, but we’d have a really interesting time getting wherever we end up.”
Her laugh was unrepentant and he couldn’t help grinning in return.
He hadn’t thought he would enjoy attending Rick and Lupe’s wedding, but so far the day had turned out well.
While the formal Catholic wedding mass had lasted a long time, he’d found himself caught up in the ritual and the beautiful ceremony.
Even Diane, who’d been awake, had stayed quiet, cooing softly during the prayers.
There was something strange about being in church with a woman, Jim thought as he settled Heather in her chair, then took the last empty seat which just happened to be next to hers.
It made a man think about long-term commitments and what he wanted in his life.
Not that he was thinking about getting involved with Heather, or any other woman, for that matter.
“About time you two made it,” Flo said, leaning forward and speaking loudly to be heard over the music and talking around them. “Did you get lost?”
“No, I had to feed the baby.”
Flo raised her eyebrows. “I’ll bet that was real interesting.”
Heather shook her head. “You are bad. I used the ladies’ room at the church. Jim waited until I was finished, then we came here.”
“Okay. So is this like a date?”
At her question, the table went quiet. Jim glanced around and saw all his employees staring at him. “Heather and I are friends,” he said. “I asked her to join me as my friend. Anything else you’d like to know?”
“As a matter of fact, yes,” Flo began.
Jim shot her a look and she pressed her lips tightly together.
Heather unbuckled Diane and lifted her out of her carrier, then held her in her arms. “Wow, tough crowd,” she teased as she smiled at him. “I didn’t realize I was risking my reputation by coming here with you.”
“I think you’re safe.”
She winked. “Maybe not. Maybe someone will lock us in a closet together to see what happens.”
“Not unless they lock Diane in with us. Your daughter’s on a pretty regular feeding schedule.”
“I suppose you’re right. Saved by the baby.”
Then Flo said something and Heather was distracted. Jim listened to the conversation around him but didn’t join in. He had too much on his mind.
While he wasn’t angry about Flo’s well-meant comments, he could have done without them.
He didn’t want his employees matchmaking.
For one thing, he and Heather had come to terms with their relationship and neither of them wanted to change things.
For another, he was having enough trouble forgetting their passionate kiss the previous weekend without being reminded of it at every turn.
Not that anyone knew about the kiss, but talk of men and women and the things they could do in private together brought the kiss to mind and left him in a very uncomfortable physical state.
He glanced around the large hall Rick’s family had rented for the wedding.
Streamers, balloons and big white paper bells hung from the ceiling.
Round tables had been covered with white tablecloths and decorated with floral centerpieces set on small mirrors.
The fine crystal reflected the overhead lights.
To the far right was a dance floor, to the left, the low platform where the wedding party would sit and dine.
Heather laughed, drawing his attention back to her.
She was wearing a pretty pink dress that shimmered and swayed with her every movement.
She’d pulled the sides of her hair up and held it in place with fancy combs.
Pearl earrings and a matching necklace hung around her neck.
She looked fresh and lovely. To his mind, she was the most beautiful woman in the room.
Flo turned her attention back to Arnie, her longtime boyfriend, and Heather looked at Jim. She smiled. “What do you think?”
“They’ve done a great job with everything. I’m sure it took a lot of work.”
She looked at all the people still milling around. “This represents my childhood fantasy.”
“A big wedding?”
“No. A big family. I always wanted lots of brothers and sisters.” She smiled ruefully. “I think I missed them as much or more than I missed having a father. Not that I told my mother that. She would have been heartbroken.”
“I didn’t have a big family, either,” he said, but wasn’t sure he’d missed it. At times, he’d wished there was someone else to help out with his mother, but mostly he’d prayed that she would be healed.
“I wonder if Diane will feel the same disappointment,” Heather said, staring down at her baby daughter. “Sorry, little one, but a big family isn’t in the cards for you, either.”
“You shouldn’t say that,” Jim told her. “You don’t know what’s going to happen. You could still meet someone and want to have a family with him.” He made the statement sincerely, ignoring the stab of pain at the thought of her with another man. Living with him, making love with him, marrying him.
“I’m reasonably confident that I—”
The sound of fanfare cut her off. Everyone turned and looked toward the large double doors at the front of the hall. They opened and Rick and Lupe swept inside.
“She’s so beautiful,” Heather breathed. “And he’s so handsome. This is great.”
Jim nodded in agreement. Lupe wore a traditional white gown covered in lace and tiny beads.
A train trailed after her while a frothy veil tumbled down her back.
Rick looked tall and sure in a gray tuxedo.
The young couple walked toward the platform.
As they reached their chairs, Rick leaned over and kissed his bride. Lupe blushed and the crowd cheered.
“Did you have a big wedding?” Jim asked over the calls of the crowd for another kiss.
Heather shook her head. “We eloped, mostly because there wasn’t any money for a wedding.” A wistful look crept into her green eyes. “Something like this would have been nice.”
“Mr. Dyer, I want to thank you.” Jim looked up and saw a plump middle-aged woman sniffing into a tissue. “I’m Rick’s mother, Sonia, and I’ve wanted to speak to you for a long time.” More tears flowed. She waved her hand. “Oh, this wedding. I knew I was going to cry.”
He rose to his feet and awkwardly patted her shoulder. Dark eyes continued to fill.
“Thank you for sharing this day with us, with Rick and Lupe. But more than that, thank you for all that you did for my son. For so long I was afraid of the path he’d chosen.
We all tried to get through to him, but he was a boy who thought he was a man.
He didn’t want to listen. But you…” She waved her arms in the air, then pulled Jim into a bear hug.
“There are no words. So I thank you from the bottom of my mother’s heart. ”
She kissed him firmly on the mouth, a fairly surprising thing considering she was all of five feet and he didn’t remember bending down to help, and then she was gone.
Jim swallowed uncomfortably, then dropped back into his seat. Fearing the worst, he glanced around the table and saw that every one of his employees had witnessed the emotional scene. Flo was wiping away a few tears of her own and Brian’s redheaded girlfriend looked awestruck.
“Great,” he muttered under his breath.
“Maybe you’d better wear those red plastic boots after all,” Heather said in a low voice.
“They’ll look a little funny with the suit.”
She grinned and put her hand on his forearm. “It could be worse,” she told him. “His whole family could be lining up to thank you.”
Apparently, Heather was also a prophet, he thought thirty minutes later as the line in front of him dwindled to a few cousins and an older woman who had no clue who he was but had thought this was the line for the buffet.
Practically every relative Rick had ever known was familiar with the story of how Jim had helped one of their own, and each person wanted to thank him individually.
The band started a new song, something slow and romantic. “Enough of this foolishness,” Flo said as she rose to her feet and came around the table. “Give me that darling baby of yours and go dance with our boss.”
Jim glanced over at Heather, who shrugged. “I have my orders,” she said, getting up and holding out her hand. “Want to dance?”
“Absolutely.”
They walked out to the dance floor and joined the other couples already there. Rick had Lupe in his arms. When he saw Jim, he gave him a thumbs-up gesture of approval.
“When all this is over,” Jim growled, “I’m having a talk with that young man and explaining that there are some things he needs to keep to himself.”
“Afraid everyone will figure out the truth?” She slipped into his arms. “You are an amazing guy. You can run, but you can’t hide.”
“I don’t feel very amazing,” he said, although she did. Heather fitted perfectly in his arms. Knowing the crowd around them would help keep his desire under check, he pulled her close until they were touching from shoulder to thigh. He inhaled the scent of her perfume. “You smell good.”
“Thanks. So do you.”
He tucked their linked hands close to his shoulder and wrapped his free arm more firmly around her waist. “Did I tell you how beautiful you are today?” he asked.
“About five times, and I appreciate every compliment more than you can imagine.”