Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Tess spent most of the reception standing, although Rory did pull her to the ladies’ room, handing her the slip just before they sat down for the meal.
Although, not familiar with the music that Maggie and Nick had chosen to go along with the vintage theme, she had to admit most of the songs were beautiful.
She danced and smiled for pictures, even going so far as to lay her head against Rory’s chest during the bridal dance as he guided her around the floor to The Way You Look Tonight.
It was wonderful being in his arms and she fought to hang onto her anger.
Patrick and the ever-graceful Molly danced to Fly Me to the Moon and brought the guests to their feet. Bridget and her "flavor of the week," Mike Something-Or-Other, rocked out to Old Time Rock and Roll. All in all, it would have been a lovely day if it hadn’t started so badly.
Tess made absolutely no attempt to catch the bridal bouquet, even though Maggie had all but thrown it at her.
The boys harassed Rory until he went to stand with the other single men and after Rory snagged the garter out of mid-air, she watched in frustration as he slowly slipped it high on the thigh of a perfectly lovely young woman.
The teasing and laughter that followed only made her angrier and she made her way back to the bar, ordering another shot.
Just as she tossed it back, she found herself pinned between the bar and an incredibly hard body.
“You just don’t learn, do you, little girl?” Rory’s voice rumbled in her ear as his arm wrapped around her, his big hand splayed across her abdomen, pulling her firmly back against him.
Tess quivered as sparks shot through her body. In a matter of seconds, she was hot and wet. Why this man affected her so she did not know, but it made her furious. Reaching her hand up behind her she managed to grasp his tie and yank his head down beside hers.
“No, it is you who does not learn, Mr. O’Malley. I am a grown woman, not a little girl and you have no right to tell me what to do,” she hissed.
Rory nipped her ear with his teeth and laughed as he easily extracted his tie from her grip. He pulled her even tighter to him, enjoying her gasp as her soft body sagged in his arms. The scent she wore wafted to him gently and he could feel her trembling as she fought for control.
“Do you know what I think?” he whispered darkly.
Tess snorted. “How could I when I do not even know what I think at this moment?” she replied breathlessly.
“I think you liked being over my lap this morning and having your beautiful bottom set on fire,” Rory murmured before he began to kiss her neck as though he had every right to do so.
Tess’s head snapped up and she struggled to get out of his arms. “I think you are loco,” she spat, praying the bartender could not hear them from the other end of the bar.
She knew her cheeks were aflame, just as she knew there was no way in hell she could make him release her if he did not want to.
“Then why are you trying to provoke me?” Rory asked. “I have given you plenty of warnings and yet you still insist on misbehaving. I can only assume you need some attention and I am more than willing to give it to you.”
For a fleeting moment Tess wondered if he was right. Had she returned to the bar because she could not stand to see him dancing and laughing with another? No! She was back at the bar because she needed another drink and nothing more.
“I am not trying to provoke you,” she insisted, still trying to wiggle out of his arms and plant the heel of her tiny shoe into the arch of his foot, without much success. “I am trying to get drunk.”
“Why?” Rory asked, spinning her around easily. She was no less trapped, but he could look into her flashing dark eyes.
Tess huffed and attempted to put her little hat back in place.
“I am trying to dull the pain in my ass. In fact, I am trying to get rid of two pains in my ass. You and the one you caused. Now, please, let me go so that I may continue with my plan.”
Rory threw his head back and laughed.
“I don’t think so, sweetheart,” he told her smiling, apparently no longer concerned with being overheard. “One you earned and the other may never let you go. Come dance with me before I forget this is a public place and carry you right out of here.”
“Who made you my boss?” Tess asked sharply as Rory released all but her arm and started pulling her towards the dance floor.
“I found you,” he told her firmly. Stopping, he turned her to face him and tipped her head back with a finger under her chin. The look in his eyes was deadly serious and Tess’s jaw dropped when he continued.
“Sleeping on a park bench with no one to care for you, or keep you safe. Anything could have happened to you, and I did give you three chances to straighten up. Even sleeping in that dilapidated tin box you generously call a car would have been preferable to that exposed bench. But did you listen? No. It was obvious to me that someone had better give you a hand, in more ways than one. You needed me,” he whispered as his big hand cupped the side of her face softly, their dark heads touching as he bent over her.
“And it seems I need you too,” he sighed. “Besides, you know what they say?”
“No, what do they say?” Tess asked breathlessly, unable to tear her eyes away from his gaze. The damn man was mesmerizing.
“Finders, keepers.”
Tess’s heart was thumping well out of beat with the slow melody the band was playing as Rory took her into his arms and began to glide across the dance floor.
* * *
The rest of the reception flew by. There was much dancing and laughter and many kisses, which Tess had come to expect whenever the O’Malleys got together.
Caitlin, Lilly, and Rose snuck flowers from every centerpiece and wove them into necklaces, wearing them proudly.
Children ran around giggling and squealing in delight and Tess managed to sneak off to the bar several more times in the confusion.
Everything finally came to an end when Nick marched into a group of chattering females and scooped his bride into his arms.
“I believe it’s time to claim my bride,” he told the women with a grin and carried her out of the hall.
Cheers and good wishes followed them and Tess flopped into a chair, exhausted and slightly drunk.
Within minutes there were only a few family members left.
Mason had taken Rebecca home long ago, against her wishes, but home they had gone.
Patrick and Molly were helping Colleen and Noah get the tired children herded out to their vehicle.
Tess rested her chin on her hand and closed her eyes.
Rory found her there, sitting with her shoes off and her little hat hanging off one side of her head. Grinning, he cleared his throat roughly and one eye peeped open to stare at him tiredly.
“What do you want?” she inquired stiffly.
“Time to go home,” he informed her.
“I will not go home with you. I can find my own way,” she told him defiantly, closing her eye as if she expected him to disappear just on her say so.
“You’re drunk,” Rory informed her, smiling.
Tess thought for a moment. Slowly her dark eyes opened and she looked around at the staff beginning to clean up.
“So?” she questioned, not seeing the point in denying it.
“So, I’m not leaving you here to find your own way home. Damn, babe, you would try the patience of a saint.”
“You are not a saint, Rory O’Malley.”
“Exactly,” he told her, grinning as he put one of her shoes in each of his pockets, picked her up in his arms, snagged her purse and carried her out of the room.
Tess sighed and laid her head on his chest. Mmm, this is nice she thought, forgetting for a moment why she was angry with him.
When Rory opened the door of his truck and almost tossed her onto the passenger seat, it all came back to her.
Her bottom was still sore and the stiff crinoline hadn’t gotten any softer.
Tess groaned and crossed her arms over her chest as Rory buckled her seatbelt.
Laughing, he got into the truck and they headed to his mother’s house.