Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
T hursday went a lot smoother than Lizzie had expected after the irritating start to the day. True to his word, Renic arranged the ballroom precisely to her specifications. The bare drywall was safely hidden away behind a white lattice screen and plants. He also pitched in with several other last-minute decorating chores, even though they’d had to work through lunch to get it all done.
She was intensely curious about what happened in the ballroom after she left him alone with Della, but she didn't have time to grill him on it, and Della stayed out of sight.
As the sun dipped lower, Lizzie stood near the back door with a binder in hand, going over the master list. Only two items remained without a satisfying checkmark: the twinkle lights, which needed to be placed on the path to Lookout Point, and the blankets, which needed to be stashed in the bench at the Point.
Lizzie picked up the blankets, balancing the binder precariously on top, and went outside. The porch had been transformed into a lush, twinkling forest with plants moved from the greenhouse. Carter and Renic were wrestling a tall stand heater into place near a table on the left.
She caught sight of Della disappearing through the door to the Carriage House and frowned. “Where’s Della going?”
Carter glanced over his shoulder at her. “She said she was tired.”
Lizzie contemplated the closed door. “Maybe I should check on her.”
“She’s fine, Lizzie,” Renic said.
A little too fast, she thought. They must have had quite the conversation. She narrowed her eyes at him, but he avoided her gaze.
Renic shifted the heater over a little and looked at Carter. “How’s that?”
Carter stepped in front of it. “Nah, more to the left.”
Renic gave Carter an exasperated look, but obligingly shifted the heater to the left.
“Too far,” Carter said.
Renic stepped back. “It’s fine.”
Lizzie covered a smirk. “This looks great, y’all. Thanks.”
“Sure,” Carter said with a grin. “And my friends said no problem for tomorrow night. Got two guys for the door, and three of our regular girls lined up to help out with the rehearsal dinner.”
“Perfect, Carter.” She wrote a note on tomorrow’s list to follow up and make sure the girls arrived on time.
“How’re the lights?” Renic asked.
She took time to really look. The porch blazed like a grocery store parking lot. “How many did you use?”
“Don’t worry, we have plenty left. I’m just sad how many other people will have bare trees now that we’ve emptied all the stores.” His gaze locked on hers. “Was the trip worth it?” There was a reminder and a promise in his eyes that she couldn’t look away from. Was it the blankets she held that made her feel overheated, or was it him?
Renic winked and finally broke the staring contest by returning his attention to the next heater.
Carter glanced back and forth between them, and his expression darkened. “Why doesn’t our guest go back to his room. I’ll finish up out here.”
Lizzie stared at him in surprise. The way he’d said the word “guest” was less than friendly. “He’s not just a guest, Carter. He’s a friend, and he’s helping out to be nice, which is greatly appreciated. We wouldn’t have finished everything today without him.”
Carter’s shoulders stiffened. “That’s what you want? Mr. Temporary?” He lifted his chin as if to indicate Renic.
“That’s enough, Carter,” she said, using her no-nonsense event organizer tone of voice. “You can call it a day. Go time’s tomorrow at noon.”
Carter glared at Renic, but finally nodded and shuffled off across the lawn toward the winery building where he, Mark, and Carrie shared a three-bedroom apartment above the tasting room.
Renic stepped up behind her, close enough that she could feel the heat of him radiating along her back. “I think I better sleep with one eye open tonight.”
She snorted a laugh. “Why? Because a teenager got cranky?”
“He has a serious crush on you. I think you just broke his heart.”
“I did not.” She spun around so that her armful of blankets created a barrier between them.
“You really did. From what I hear, you’ve broken a lot of hearts in this town.”
“Who’d you hear that from? Never mind, I know the answer. Carrie has a big mouth.” She couldn’t look at him without remembering what they’d done the night before. It made her blush like a teenager and left her feeling disjointed and flustered. She turned away from his sparkling gaze and started toward the path that lead to Lookout Point. “Can you bring the rest of the twinkle lights?”
Renic followed after her. “They’re stacked up at the top of the steps.”
“Oh. Good.” She kept walking. “Della seemed distant today.”
“Did she?” Renic sounded a little too innocent.
She glanced up at him. “Did you have something to do with that?”
They reached the top of the steps, where a short stack of boxes waited. Renic picked one up and opened it. “I had a little talk with her this morning about the consequences of her current actions. She actually listened, which I took as a win.”
She gripped the blankets in her hand tighter. “I thought we would talk to her together.”
Renic opened the box and pulled out the lights. “She would have felt attacked if we did that. Besides, she’s already heard from big sis. It was time for her to get an outside perspective.”
“You upset her.”
Renic wrapped the strand of lights around the railing, taking slow steps down the walk as he went. “Good. She should be. This decision she’s rushing into is a gut kick to the rest of us. It’s about time she felt it too.”
She huffed out an irritated sigh. “What exactly did you say?”
“I told her the stakes. All of them.” Renic glanced at her. “ I pointed out that her decisions are affecting other people’s lives and jobs.”
Lizzie winced. He wasn’t wrong, but she could imagine how he’d delivered the message. He was straightforward and honest. He wouldn’t have sugarcoated it. No wonder Della had been so absent.
“How’d she take it?”
“She’s at least thinking again, instead of just reacting. It’s progress. The thing is, it’s hard to help her solve her problem when she won’t admit she has one. She says she doesn’t know what’s wrong.” He opened another box and went to work on the next string of lights.
“She told me the same thing.” She bit her lip. “Maybe she really doesn’t know.”
“Oh, I think she does. But for whatever reason, she won’t say it out loud.”
She’d been thinking about it a lot over the past few days. Carrie was right. Della had arrived tired and sad, and though her sister faked happiness during the day when other people were around, at night she stared out the window or at the family pictures on the wall without a trace of a smile.
“I have a theory.”
“Any theory is a good one at this point.” Renic finished the light string, sat down on the landing, and patted the stone next to him. “And if anyone would know, it’s you.”
Lizzie sat, appreciating the chance to get off her feet. It was getting colder, and she was grateful for the blankets in her arms, but the binder was clunky and hard to balance, and it slid off as she sat.
Renic caught it. “Woah, wouldn’t want to lose that. Pretty sure your entire life would implode.”
Her lips twitched. “Not my entire life.”
“So what’s your theory? ”
She thought through her words before she said them. “I think she misses us. The collective us. She talks to me pretty often, but she only calls Mattie once or twice a year. She and Piper haven’t said a word to each other since the breakup. They text insults back and forth, but they don't talk.”
Renic looked thoughtful. “I knew it was rough. Every time I asked about either one of them Della would change the subject or hang up or leave the room. But you really think that’s why she ran?”
Lizzie nodded. The more she worked through it out loud, the more convinced she was that she was right. “Every night since she got here she stares at the picture of the three of them on stage together when they were kids. I think she misses Dad a lot, but more than that I think she misses what they had together.”
She glanced sideways at Renic. He was the one who had talked them into breaking up in the first place, but the anger and pain that used to flare up whenever she thought about it were reduced to resignation. It was done, and there was no way to go back and do it over.
He kept his gaze toward the lake. “Still blame me?”
She studied the lake alongside him in silence, trying to sift through all of the feelings she had for him, old and new. It was a mixed bag of irritation, frustration, happiness, and arousal. All of it together made her feel more alive than she had in years. “Maybe a little. I mean, you were there. You were part of the decision. But…”
“But?” He glanced at her.
It was her turn to keep her gaze firmly on the lake, because looking at him directly right now would derail what she wanted to say. “Della’s young, but she’s not exactly a pushover. She’s got my mom’s stubborn gene. Her joy for life, her willingness to chase after dreams, and her unwillingness to compromise them for anyone wouldn’t be possible without a backbone of steel. So I doubt she would have gone along with the idea of going solo if it wasn’t what she wanted. ” She shivered. Sitting on the cold rock was freezing her behind. “Maybe it hasn’t worked out the way she thought it would.”
Renic said. “Makes sense. Success doesn’t mean much if there’s nobody to share it with.”
“She has friends, but…” Lizzie shrugged. “Far as I can tell, nobody as close as Piper used to be. I think Piper misses her too, but she’s too proud to admit it.”
“So Della wasn’t the only one to inherit a stubborn streak.” Renic smiled.
Lizzie chuckled, then quickly sobered. “I tried calling Piper when Della first showed up here, but she wouldn’t take my call. Said she’d call me back. That was three days ago now. The last text I got from her asked if the spoiled brat was still ruining the vines, which is her way of asking how Della is these days without admitting she’s asking.”
“You should try again. Piper might just be distracted. She has a few things circling right now.”
“Really? Like what?”
He raised his hands. “Ask her. It's not my news to tell, and she'd kick my ass if I spoiled it.”
“She’s been so secretive, now I'm doubly curious. When this wedding is over I’ll get her to spill it." Lizzie shivered again, but whether it was from the cold or the topic, she didn’t know. She stood up and shook out her legs. “It’s freezing sitting here. I’m going to drop off these blankets and then go sit in front of the fire for a bit.”
Renic handed the binder to her and picked up the last three boxes of lights. “Almost done. Hang on a second and I’ll join you.”
She stayed with him as he wrapped the next two strings of lights around the railing. By the time he finished those, the sun had set and twilight faded into full night.
Renic opened the last box of lights. “This should do it.”
“Is that it?” She frowned and tried to do the mental math of how many lights they’d bought in relation to how many they’d put up around the patio. “We haven’t done the Point yet. I was hoping to cover the whole thing. Maybe we should take some off the railing so we can spread them around the edge of the deck.”
Renic winked at her and held out a hand. “No need.”
“Why?” She took his hand and let him lead her down the last few steps and around the retaining wall onto the deck that overlooked the lake. It was filled with comfortable furniture, including a daybed, two loveseats, and crates that doubled as storage and side tables.
All of it, including the railing, the edges of the rocks, the potted plants, and the edge of the deck itself, was outlined in lights. The canopy over the daybed glowed from the sheer amount of lights placed along the top, and a string of them around the back of the bed lit the pillows in twinkling white light.
The effect was magical.
“I guess we had enough after all.” Lizzie hugged the blankets and her binder tight against the chill in the air and beamed at Renic. “This looks exactly like I hoped it would. You did this?”
“You don’t have to sound so surprised,” Renic teased.
“I just thought I’d kept you too busy to sneak off. I must be slipping.” She smiled.
He pulled her close. “If you slip, I’ll catch you.”
The heat of his hands and the intensity of his gaze made her go to war with herself. On the one hand, she longed for him in a way that was almost painful. On the other, she had no trust in her own judgment as far as men were concerned. She’d spent the last three years alone because it was just easier to ignore them altogether than it was to sort out the good ones from the bad.
Renic looked at her with a question in his eyes. She had the feeling that he’d wait like that until she was ready to take what he offered.
She tilted her face to his and leaned into him.
He took the hint and kissed her until she couldn’t breathe. When he was done, his lips lingered on her cheek, then her forehead, tender and sweet. “I want you. Right here, right now.”
She burrowed her face in his chest, crushing the blankets between them. “God help me, I want you too. I shouldn’t, but I do.”
His arms tightened around her. “Why not?”
“You’re dangerous.”
If he held her much longer like this, surrounded by the lights and the night, she might lose herself in him.
If he kissed her again, she wouldn’t care.
“In what way?” She could hear the amusement in his voice. He caressed her back, his hands chasing away the cold wherever he touched.
“You spin my head around,” she admitted. “I’ve spent my life handling things, and usually I’m pretty good at it. Then you came along and suddenly the things I was supposed to be handling fade into the background and I wind up dancing or in the backseat of a car. Not to mention my track record where men are concerned isn’t great.”
He kissed her forehead. “Your ex is a moron. I had no idea what he was doing with the leads I sent his way. I’m sorry I had any kind of hand in that. I mean, I’m sorry you were hurt. Can’t say I’m sorry you dropped his sorry ass. His loss is definitely my gain. In hindsight, it seems like I might have done it on purpose. I didn’t. I swear.”
She laughed.
He kissed her left cheek, and she lifted her chin so he could kiss her neck.
“It…wasn’t your fault…he was—” She sucked in a breath when he teased her earlobe with his tongue.
“Hmm?” The rumble of his voice against her skin tickled. “You were saying?”
“How could…you know he had…oh, Jesus…”
Renic continued kissing her neck and earlobes, lingering over soft spots long enough to scramble her words and make her forget what she’d meant to say.
Her grip tightened on the blankets. She should go. She should retreat before they did something even more insane than last night. “You know…it’s very hard to think…when you’re doing that.”
“What, this?” He massaged the base of her neck, loosening the tension from the day and making her legs feel like rubber.
She sucked in a breath. “Among other things.”
“Good. I like it when you stop thinking.”
His touch woke something inside her that she tried and failed to ignore. She could picture them making use of the daybed in a way they really shouldn’t. This wasn’t the backseat of an SUV with tinted windows. This was outside, in her own backyard, overlooking a lake surrounded by people who could possibly be looking back at them.
Renic reached under her shirt and continued to work on the muscles of her lower back. She swayed as a rush of desire traveled along her inner thighs.
“We can’t…”
“Why not?” He kissed the side of her neck .
“I have neighbors. There are people in my house. And boats. Out there.”
“I’ll cover you.” Renic gently pulled the binder out of her arms and set it on a side table. Then he took the blankets from her and set them down on the edge of the daybed. He took one, shook it out, and placed it around her shoulders.
“This is a bad idea,” she whispered.
She relished the warmth of the blanket, but she wanted his body closer. She leaned into him, her hands now free to explore his chest and shoulders.
He kissed her again, a long, slow, deep kiss that chased away the doubts and left her wondering what they’d been talking about. “You think too much.”
She wanted his touch so badly she ached. “I know.”
She grabbed his shirt and pushed it up so that she could feel his smooth skin, the flex of his muscles, the twitch of his stomach.
Renic groaned and crushed her so tight against him that it lifted her off the ground. The blanket fell off her shoulders, and the sudden rush of cold air made her shiver.
“You’re cold. I should warm you up.” Renic carried her backward until they tumbled onto the daybed. She scooted back from the edge until she was tucked up under the canopy out of the breeze.
Renic crawled in after her to lay stretched out alongside her with one leg thrown over both of hers. One hand supported his head while the other explored her breasts and stomach. “Better?”
She shivered again, but this time it wasn’t from the cold. “A little.”
“Only a little?” He kissed the slight hollow at the base of her neck.
“Oh, that’s…do that again. ”
“What, this?” He undid the top button of her shirt and kissed her again, this time using his tongue to suck at the flesh. His breath caressed where his lips had been, and it was the most sensual thing she’d ever experienced. Her ex had never bothered much with foreplay, and she hadn’t really known enough to miss it. This was torture. Delicious, delectable torture.
Renic undid the second button and pushed her shirt further apart to reveal the center of her bra.
Her hands fluttered around his wrists in a futile effort to stop him. “Someone will see.”
“Nobody’s watching.” He kissed the valley between her breasts.
She buried her hands in his hair. Dear God, how did anyone keep this up without bursting? “You don’t know that. They could have telescopes. You know. For stars.”
He undid the next button. “The prettiest star is right here.”
His kiss teased the area around her navel while his hands dipped into her shirt and squeezed.
“We should—oh, Jesus—go inside.”
He lifted his head to smile at her. “We could do that if you want. Do you?”
She thought about it. Inside was safe. Expected. Out here was wild. Free. The chance that someone might see stoked the fire inside her even higher. Her answering smile felt wicked and conspiratorial. “No.”
His smile deepened. “Good. Because you look amazing under these twinkle lights. You’re like a goddess in her bower.”
She chuckled at that. “I’m a mess.”
“I like a mess.” He reached the last button and pushed her shirt aside. A look of pure satisfaction danced through his eyes and across his lips. He rubbed the tips of her breasts through the fabric of her bra. “Very nice. I like the lace.”
She sucked in a breath. “Me too. But it’s too cold for this.”
“I can help with that.” He sat back and pulled his shirt off. His chest muscles rippled as he threw the shirt into the corner of the daybed. The lights played with the peaks and valleys of his torso, creating shadows that made his muscles stand out even more.
Renic was solid and real. The kind of man a woman could cling to without feeling like she’d break him in half.
When she realized he was watching her while she assessed his assets, she looked away, embarrassed. “Sorry.”
Renic laughed. “I’m not. I love that expression. It suits you. You’re welcome to look anytime.”
She glanced back at him. “What expression?”
“Lust.” He reached for her hands. “Come here.”
He helped her sit up, then pulled her forward until she settled onto his lap, her legs straddling his waist. His arms went around her, and in seconds he had her bra undone.
The straps fell, and he pushed her bra down to reveal her breasts. The cold slapped them awake.
He stared like they were the first pair he’d ever seen. “Finally. You have no idea how much of a tease it was last night, not being able to see you. I mean really see you. Like this.”
A warm flush crawled up her core and settled somewhere in her heart. Between the fairy lights and the night and his hands on her body, she’d never felt as attractive as she did right now, in this moment. She arched her back in silent offering.
He made a strangled sound and cupped her breasts before kissing them one at a time. His lips and breath lingered over the tips for so long she thought she might explode.
“Renic. I didn’t bring…” She gasped as he sucked a little harder and teased her with a gentle nip of his teeth.
“I did,” he mumbled, then moved on to the other side.
She leaned back and gripped his legs for support.
“Mmm. Perfect.” Renic ran his hands down the length of her stomach, sending sparks of excitement to places lower down. “Absolutely perfect.”
His fingers played with the top of her jeans, dipping down into them here and there, tantalizingly close to areas she wished he’d explore further.
She groaned. “You’re a tease.”
He busied himself with pushing the fabric down a fraction of an inch at a time. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Yes. No. Oh God.” She gasped when his finger brushed an extremely sensitive spot.
He chuckled, then moved his hands up her body, pushing her bra and shirt off her shoulders and down her arms. She tugged them the rest of the way off, eager to have nothing between them.
He kissed her, a chaste tap on the lips, then whispered, “Lay back for me?”
“Only if you join me.”
“Count on it.” He flashed a wicked grin that sent another thrill racing through her.
She leaned back. Renic eased her the rest of the way down until she lay with her head on one of the pillows, her back against the cushion, and her breasts exposed for his review.
“This is what I’ve been waiting for.” Renic looked at her with hungry, feral eyes. His hands traveled over her, kneading and massaging and teasing until sparks ignited underneath her skin .
He took her mouth with his. Then he helped pull her jeans off with slow, deliberate movements, punctuated by kisses along the way. She grew impatient with his progress and started to pull off her panties. He grabbed her hands to stop her before she got very far.
“There’s no need to rush,” he said.
“The hell there isn’t.” She didn’t think she could stand it if he treated her underwear the way he did her jeans.
“We have all night. Let’s take our time.” He kissed her again, deep and slow. His hands deftly shifted the thin fabric inch by inch, down, down, down, until he pulled them off and flicked them aside.
She lay naked, exposed, and aching for his touch. The thought that someone across the lake might be watching sent a thrill through her.
The cold, dry air made the night especially clear. She could see stars above and below reflected on the dark, still water. The homes along the edge of the lake sparkled. She could hear distant laughter, and the scent of wood burning in a fireplace somewhere emphasized the fact that they were outside, where anybody could catch them.
Renic’s hand reached her most sensitive area.
She sucked in a quick breath in anticipation.
He paused, his hand resting tantalizingly close but not quite touching where she needed.
She wanted to shout at him to stop teasing and torturing her like this, but the only word she managed to get out was his name. “Renic.”
His eyes twinkled like the lights that surrounded them. “Still worried about being seen? I could stop.”
“No, you really couldn’t.” She pressed down on the hand that refused to give her relief .
His low chuckle was throaty and raw. “So you’d like me to keep going?”
“Renic.” His name was both a command and a swear word.
He kissed her, his lips hungry and eager, then plunged his fingers down into where she’d longed for them to be.
She cried out with pleasure.
The thought that someone might hear, and her inability to suppress her vocal enthusiasm, made her giggle. She grabbed a small throw pillow and held it over her face to stifle the noise while Renic continued to massage and tease her past the point where she could control anything at all. Her body erupted in a cascade of spasms.
He milked every ounce of the orgasm from her before he finally withdrew his fingers and gently pried the pillow out of her hands. “Don’t hide. I like watching you.”
“That was loud. Was I loud? It seemed loud to me.” She couldn’t stop giggling. Doing this out here, under the stars, was intoxicating.
“They could probably hear you the next county over,” Renic said.
“Great. If they weren’t watching before, they are now.” She put a hand on his to stop him. “I shouldn’t be the only exhibitionist.”
“True.” It only took him seconds to remove the rest of his clothing. When he finished, he stood next to the daybed, as obviously turned on and excited as she was. He held his hands out wide in a mock salute to the wide-open space behind him. “Here I am, neighbors. Like what you see?”
She laughed. “How could they not?”
“I am a fantastic specimen of maleness.” He smirked at her, then turned in a slow circle as if he were a mannequin on display .
She took a few seconds to admire the sight of him bathed in moonlight and twinkle lights. He had a scar on his right side that she hadn’t noticed before, but he didn’t have a single tattoo. Everyone she’d ever met in the music industry had at least one, if not several, her sisters included. Her own ink, four small bells entwined with ribbon, was hidden at the nape of her neck.
“No tattoo?”
“Never felt the need. Never had something I wanted to live with the rest of my life.” Renic’s eyes were dark, and his expression was pure need. “But now I think maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”
She wanted to ask what he meant by that, but before she could get the words out he’d rejoined her on the daybed and pulled her close. His skin was cold, but his breath was hot. The combination was delicious, and she couldn’t think anymore.
She explored his body inch by inch until she lost track of time and herself. Then he was inside her and she was wrapped around him and they were moving together in a heated rush that lifted her once again to a peak that came faster than she’d expected.
This time, she didn’t muffle her shouts.