Jared kissed her forehead. “He could have told me what he had to say.”
“I guess so,” Alix said. “But, actually, that day was very nice. It was only later that I was upset. Did I tell you about the dress I was wearing?”
“He had you put on some historic monstrosity?” Jared sounded like he was about to get angry again.
“No,” she said. “It was a beautiful white cotton wedding dress.”
He calmed down. “The skirt’s kind of folded?” He made a motion with his hand. “And it’s packed away in a green box?”
She drew back to look at him. “That’s the one. Who wore it?”
“No one. It was Aunt Addy’s wedding dress. She showed it to my mother one day when I was there. They were trying to get some cousin to wear it at her wedding,
but she wanted something with big sleeves and shiny.”
“Well, I would wear—” Alix began, but stopped herself. It wasn’t good to talk of your bridal gown with a man you weren’t engaged to, who you hadn’t even exchanged “I love you” with.
“Would you mind telling me exactly what happened on Sunday?” he asked. “I want to hear every detail.”
Alix started at the beginning, from the rainy morning when she woke up with an overwhelming urge to go to the attic, to when the vision of the wedding disappeared.
Through it all, Jared listened intently, nodding as she told of the people she’d seen at the wedding.
“I felt like I actually saw them, but now I’m not sure I really did.”
“Who else was there? Where was Valentina?” Jared asked.
When Alix told him the story of how Captain Caleb and Valentina met, she couldn’t help laughing. “It all sounded so much like something my mother would do. Caleb told me about that meeting. He didn’t show it to me.”
“Granddad would have been too embarrassed to let someone see him being bested by a girl,” Jared said. “And he’s never told anyone that story before. That certainly would have been passed down.”
“He said I was the first one he’d told.” She snuggled her head on his shoulder. “Did you see Mom?”
“Oh, yeah,” he said, and told her of the trucks and bikes and men who’d shown up. “Even Roger Plymouth sent flowers.”
“Oooooooh,” Alix said.
“I need to meet this guy,” Jared said.
“Can I go with you?”
With a groan, he rolled over on top of her. “You deserve punishment for that remark.”
“I agree completely,” she said as she opened her mouth under his.
This time they made love leisurely, savoring each other’s bodies, kissing and caressing, exploring. An hour later, when they lay in each other’s arms, sweaty and sated, Jared’s stomach growled.
“I forgot to make anything for dinner,” Alix said.
“That’s all right. I raided Victoria’s fridge before I left. I have meals from the best restaurants on the island.” He got out of bed and headed toward the bathroom.
“My mother does believe in eating well.”
As he stood in the doorway in all his naked glory, their eyes met. They didn’t have to say what they were thinking. Now that Victoria was there, things would change. If nothing else the big old house would no longer be theirs alone. Jilly was so quiet, and spent so much time with Ken, that her being in the apartment hadn’t bothered them. But Victoria would be in the room across the hall, and she always had people around her. As a teenager, Alix had been the one to complain that the music was too loud and on too late at night.
Jared gave a sigh, then smiled. “We’ll be all right. She wants Valentina’s journal so maybe if we give it to her she’ll …” He shrugged. “Want to take a shower with me?”
“Love to,” Alix said and threw back the covers.