Jaimie: Fire and Ice (The Wilde Sisters 2)
He was not interested. Period. End of story.
Lissa sighed. So did Caleb.
Sometimes, the best thing you could do for someone you loved was leave them alone.
* * * *
Jaimie’s lips hurt from smiling. Her feet hurt from wearing stilettos dyed the same color as her gown.
Her heart hurt because she couldn’t stop thinking about Zacharias.
Especially now.
Emily and Marco were so happy.
She was happy for them, but seeing Em look into her groom’s eyes as she repeated her vows, seeing the way Marco had taken his bride in his arms to kiss her when the ceremony ended…
And that bridal bouquet. That miserable bunch of flowers…
Catching it had been a reflex. What else could you do when a thing flew straight out you? Giving it away had been a reflex, too.
Now, she was acting on reflex again, making her way through the crowd. People were laughing and talking; they spoke to her and she smiled and said yes, it had been a wonderful wedding, and yes, the lightly falling snow was the finishing touch until, finally, she reached the back of the house.
She needed a break. Needed the cool night air.
She slipped through the kitchen. The staff was busy; she moved past them, grabbed an old barn coat from a hook near the back door, slipped it on and stepped outside.
The snow was, in fact, beautiful, feathery and lovely as it drifted over the dark hills.
It was cold out here. She shivered, drew the edges of the old coat together. She was wearing silk shoes; she’d probably ruin them in the snow and she’d probably ruin her gown, too, the long hem of it, anyway…
“Jaimie.”
Her heart leaped into her throat. She stood absolutely still. No. She hadn’t heard anything. It was the wind…
“Jaimie.”
Ohgod. Ohgod. Ohgod…
Zacharias stepped out of the shadows. Beautiful Zacharias, dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, wine-colored tie. Except, it couldn’t be him. It couldn’t be—
“Jaimie,” he said, in a voice so raw and rough and filled with pain that when he opened his arms, she didn’t think, didn’t wonder, didn’t ask questions. She simply said his name and flew into his arms.
He gathered her hard against him. Said her name, over and over and over, just as she was saying his.
He lifted her to him, bent his head to hers, claimed her mouth as if she were a pool of cool water and he were a man dying of thirst. He cupped the back of her head. She dug her face into his chest; he buried his face in her hair.
There was so much to say.
But, in the end, three words said it all.
“I love you,” Zacharias told her. “I adore you. With all my heart.”
“I love you,” Jaimie said, looking up at him, her eyes shining with tears, with hope, with love. “I’ve always loved you.”
He kissed her. She kissed him back.
They spoke at the same time.