There was a beat. A pause and tension ebbed between us.
“Well, congratulations,” I said, kissing him on the cheek. I moved to pass him but he blocked me with an arm. I looked up, eyebrow raised in question, but I only saw heat reflected back at me and in a swift move, Oliver bent down and pressed his lips to mine, kissing me slow and strong. It was the first time I’d felt his lips in two years, and Jackson already had my engine revved. Like a woman desperate for water I dove right in, kissing him in return.
I was breathless when we pulled apart and his chest heaved similarly.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for weeks,” he confessed, rubbing his lips. “Sorry if that was inappropriate.”
“It wasn’t.”
“No?”
A small curve lifted his lips and I ducked under the arm he used to keep me in the hall. Over my shoulder I replied with a final, “No,” and rejoined the others for another round of games.
“We set a date!” Amber’s voice conveyed her excitement. I sat on the couch in my apartment. “May 26th.”
“That’s in a couple weeks!”
“I know. Short notice, but when we started talking about it there wasn’t any real reason to wait.”
“Putting it on the calendar now.” Who was I kidding. There was nothing pressing on my social calendar for the rest of the year. “Have you picked a location?”
“Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
I pulled my knees up. “Oh yeah?”
“When Ginger came to Allendale this last time we did a little sightseeing—more than we had before. I took her down to Oceanside—to the beach.”
“Okay.” I knew where she was headed. “You want to have the wedding there?”
“Ginger just fell in love with it and, well, you know how beautiful it is.” Incredibly beautiful. Especially in late spring like that. “But we both wanted to make sure you were okay with it.”
I’d been back to the beach since that night. Many times. With the boys, with Amber. Oceanside held a lot of memories for me, not all of them good. It was near my father’s church and the judgmental town I’d been happy to flee. But it was also where I’d survived and where love had truly, fully entered my life.
“I think it’s a great idea,” I said. “The ocean is a place of rebirth. Perfect for a wedding.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, but I heard the relieved hope in her voice. “I want you to be honest.”
“I’m sure. I’ve made peace with that time in my life. Oceanside is beautiful. I’m glad Ginger wants a part of your home to be in the wedding.” I picked at the edge of the sofa. “And as long as we’re being honest, I have a few things to tell you.”
“What kind of things?”
“Things like I slept with Jackson and I kissed Oliver.”
“Heaven! When? What? Tell me everything.”
So I told her. I explained how I left her party and slept with Jackson, looking for closure, but instead seemed to have tugged on a thread. And that Oliver kissed me suddenly the night before, and that I was both jealous and thankful for Sabine if it kept Hayden happy.
“Does Anderson know any of this?” she asked.
“I hope not, but I haven’t heard from him in weeks, so who knows. I’m sure the guys are as scared to broach this with him as I am. He’s training hard right now. His qualifiers are coming up, now isn’t the time to bother him with any of this.”
“Well what does this mean?” she asked. “Are you getting back together? Or is this just a
hook up? Or like you wanted, closure?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well you have a month to figure it out before the wedding. I don’t want any drama. Got it?”