Mrs. Bonner clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Listen up, folks. We’re about to leave for the reception. There will be more pictures so it would simplify things quite a bit if you remained partnered for a while so I won’t have to look for anyone. That means—” Mrs. Bonner said, smiling over at the bride and groom “—you two will remain together, although I doubt anyone would try to pry you apart.”
Lisa thought so, too, especially with the real serious look on Ronald’s face. He hadn’t let Sheila out of his sight since they had been presented as man and wife. If anything, she figured the wedding planner needed to worry about whether Ronald and Sheila would actually make it to the reception.
“Are you ready to leave for the reception?”
Lisa almost jumped. Myles’s warm breath was close to her ear. “Yes, but I drove my car, so we can meet up there.”
He shook his head as if that suggestion wouldn’t work. “You heard Mrs. Bonner. You and I are supposed to stay together. Besides, if we ride over in one car, that will give us a chance to talk.”
She glanced up at him. “About what?”
“A number of things, but mainly the hard glares I’m getting from your family.”
She raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Really, Myles, when did my family’s attitude ever bother you?”
He met her eyes. “I didn’t say they bothered me. I said we need to talk about it.”
She took a deep breath. First her sisters and now him. Everybody had one thing or another to say. Her parents had tried cornering her before the start of the wedding, but she had dashed off, saying Sheila needed to see her.
“Fine, I figure it’s about time anyway,” she said, walking ahead of him out of the church. In two long strides he caught up with her and took her hand into his.
“Hey, slow down, will you?”
She didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. The feel of her small hand encased in his brought back memories of a time when holding hands had been as much a part of their lives as eating. She almost pulled her hand back but rationalized that he was only holding her hand and it was no big deal.
By the time they made it to the parking lot it was a big deal. It reminded her of all the things she had missed over the past five years; things she had been denied because of him—the companionship of a man who cared about her. What her sisters had said that morning was true. Since Myles had walked out of her life, she hadn’t wanted to get involved with anyone else, refusing to share her heart and risk another heartbreak.
Myles had been quick to kick her to the curb when the opportunity came racing his way, no pun intended. For the past five years she had convinced herself that it was okay; that she had loved him enough to want to see him chase after his dream, even if it had meant leaving her behind. But there was one thing that teed her off each time she thought about it…which was the reason she tried not to dwell on it.
Not once had he returned to Chiefland. He had left without looking back. He hadn’t called her on her birthday, Christmas, New Year’s Day or Valentine’s Day. It was as if once he had left town he hadn’t felt he’d left behind anything of value.
She pulled her hand from his, no longer wanting to feel the warmth. He looked at her, but her attention had moved to the car they had approached. It was a beautiful steel-gray convertible.
She glanced at him. “Is this your car?”
He opened the car door for her. “Yeah, it’s my personal wheels.”
“Nice.”
“Thanks.” He closed the door and walked in front of the car to open the driver’s door. He hesitated before starting the engine. He waited until she was buckled in, then said, “Tell me something.”
“What?”
“Just now, why did you pull your hand out of mine?”
Lisa frowned as she thought about the answer to his question. She also recalled something else that bothered her. The comment one of her sisters had made about her being a country bumpkin compared to the city treats he’d been sampling.
“Lisa?”
She turned to face him and tilted her chin. “You want to know why I pulled my hand out of yours? Why don’t you tell me the reason you were holding my hand in the first place?”
Myles met her gaze and asked softly, “Do you really have to ask me that, Lisa?”
“Yes.”
He frowned. “Why?”
“Why not?” she shot back.
“I like touching you, Lisa. I always have.”
Lisa’s heart began pounding in her chest as she remembered his touch. She inhaled deeply and quickly decided they were memories she could do without. Memories she needed to make off limits around him.
“That was then, Myles. This is now. I’m not your girlfriend anymore, remember? I don’t mean anything to you.”
Seemingly annoyed with what she had said, he started the engine and replied, “You only got that partly right, Lisa. You aren’t my girlfriend, but you do mean something to me. You mean a lot to me, in fact.”
“Yeah, right.”
His frown deepened and he glanced over at her, giving her an incredulous look. “You don’t believe me?”
“Why should I? As I recall, you’re the one who broke things off. You wanted a clean break and that’s what you got. This is the first time I’ve seen you in five years. You left town and didn’t stay in touch. I could have died for all you know.”
He stepped on the brakes and brought the car to a screeching halt. “Don’t say that.”
He was angry. She could tell. The only thing she didn’t know was why; especially when everything she had said was true. “Why are you upset? Does the truth hurt, Myles? If so, then good. Now you get to feel my pain.”
She quickly looked away from his penetrating stare, wishing she hadn’t said that. The one thing she didn’t want him to know was how his leaving had affected her. Even when he had said goodbye, she had held back her tears, refusing to let him see her cry. Just like she was fighting to hold them back now as she remembered that night.
“Lisa, I—”
“No,” she said, quickly turning back to him. “It’s Ronald and Sheila’s wedding day. Let’s not ruin it for them by bringing up our past when it doesn’t matter anymore. You moved on and I survived.”
While the car began moving again, she brushed aside the thought that she had been holding her feelings inside for so long that she was beginning to believe what she’d just said about surviving.
He turned into the parking lot of the civic center and moments later brought the car to a stop. Without wasting any time she unbuckled her seatbelt and was about to get out of the car when he touched her arm. She came close to jerking back but didn’t. She looked over at him and met his intense eyes.
“We won’t talk today, but we will talk, Lisa. You can count on it.”
CHAPTER FOUR
LATER THAT EVENING Myles entered Ronald’s apartment alone. The newlyweds were on their way to Jacksonville where they would spend the night before catching the cruise ship tomorrow for the Bahamas.
Myles couldn’t stop the smile that touched his lips when he thought of the intensity of his best friend’s desire for the woman he had chosen for his wife. Later tonight, behind closed doors, Sheila would find out whether putting Ronald off for six months had been such a good idea. She had been a beautiful bride and Ronald a hot-and-bothered groom.