Page 33 of On the Fly
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Nothing in her life had ever sucked as much as having to wear this dress. Emma stared at herself in the floor-length mirror, lifting her hands to one of the layers of ruffles. She lifted the material and watched it float back in place. She’d managed to dodge the bullet of actually being in the wedding party, only to now be sitting with everyone else in attendance, dressed as if she should be standing by her stepsister’s side. At least near the altar her dress would make sense. In the audience, they’d assume the attire had been completely her choice.
Thank goodness she’d not seen hide nor hair of Ander since that morning. She was already mortified enough that she had to wear this fluffy thing. She didn’t need Ander to have this mental image of her to hold over her head. Just like every time she thought of the man, a smile blossomed and her face flushed. She closed her eyes as warmth surged through her. Ander even made wearing this dress better.
Thoughts of last night flooded her head, this time it was the gentle way in which he woke her this morning. Who knew the stern Ander Jorgensen could be so sweet? He’d brought her breakfast. Her heart melted as she looked in the mirror at the tray of half eaten food. He’d brought her a little bit of everything, most likely trying to guess what she liked. It was a kind gesture all the same. Pretty high on the romantic scale and something she’d never had happen to her before—a man bringing her breakfast in bed.
There was no denying how well they got along either, both in and out of the bedroom. Maybe Ander experienced it too? There was no way to know, though. He was a complicated, complex man who seemed to know exactly how to make her body hum with passion. A full flush heated her cheeks. She turned away from the mirror, lost in the gentle way Ander had last made love to—Whoa, slow down.
Sex. That was all. Really, really great sex, butnotmaking love. It was a game for Ander, one he was very good at, but still a game.
But he was so sweet.
No, he was a big jerk who’d won at their game of cat and mouse which meant she’d lost by succumbing to his charms. She hated losing. No one went through everything he had just to have sex, though. Right? What was his end game with all this attention? She didn’t have a clue, but at least she had stopped trying to make him into her own personal Romeo. He certainly performed a disappearing act for the entire morning. Emma grabbed her phone, tucked it into a small purse, and refused to have another thought about Ander Jorgensen. It was noon. She had family pictures and a family lunch—ugh—and then a wedding, and all the possible landmines to navigate.
Chapter 16
Ander trotted down the front entry staircase, hoping to avoid his sneaky mother while adjusting the knot of his silk tie. He was late for pictures and had probably missed lunch, but the wedding didn’t start until two. Surely, he hadn’t missed the nuptials. He looked down at his wristwatch at the same time the music began to play from the front courtyard, where the wedding was set to happen. At the bottom of the stairs, near the front entrance, the bridesmaids formed a line, preparing to take their walk toward the altar. Ander ducked around the ladies—not an easy feat with all that fabric blocking his path—and out the front door seconds before the wedding guests shifted to watch the processional. He scanned the rows. Emma was easy to spot as the lavender puff sitting in the first row.
Before the first bridesmaid made it down the aisle, Ander had rounded the outside of the seating area and edged his way down the first row of chairs to stand beside Emma in front of the empty chair no doubt reserved for him. She didn’t notice him until she turned to take her seat after the wedding march had played and Julia stood at the altar with her soon-to-be husband.
“Shoot, you scared me,” Emma said as she clapped a hand to her chest. Ander tried to hold back his grin as a collective swish of heads showed everyone’s attention shifted to the front row at Emma’s not so quiet remark.
“Sorry I’m late,” he whispered apologetically, taking the seat beside her. “You look pretty.” He’d uttered those words a little louder for the benefit of Ms. Chadwick who had a death glare trained on Emma for disrupting the services. He lifted his hand to Emma’s mouth to save her from whatever words she planned to follow up the exaggerated eye roll she gave. She looked like she might bite off his finger at his attempt to silence her, but then noticed all the attention on them and nodded once. She gave him a little glare again before turning to face the front, her attention focused on the minister and his words as he kicked off the ceremony.
The nuptials went off without any further drama. He watched Emma tear up during the vows. He couldn’t understand why anyone would want to tie themselves to another human being for the rest of their life. But even he could admit the couple looked incredibly happy.
Emma shifted in her seat, her hand grazing his leg, her fingers inches away from his. She sniffled and dabbed at her eyes with a hanky that must have come with her outfit as it matched the lavender fluff ensemble perfectly. He moved his hand to hers to offer her his support. She squeezed his fingers in what he thought of as a thank-you. But when she attempted to release his hand, he kept her in his grasp.
She eased him in some way he couldn’t really define. Since entering his bedroom to be ambushed by his family, he hadn’t had a moment of tension-free breathing. Not until he’d caught sight of her in that ridiculous dress when he’d came out the front doors. His tension had vanished. He felt more himself when he was around her, as if everything would work out. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on the ceremony again as cheers and catcalls rang out. The groom had the bride bent backward in a lip lock and all the guests stood to celebrate them.
The minister spoke above the clapping crowd. “For friends and family gathered to witness their union, allow me to present to you, for the first time anywhere, Mr. and Mrs. Walters.”
Julia took her bouquet from the woman standing next to her, and hand clasped in Brian’s, they walked back up the aisle to lively music.
Emma seemed to have forgotten she wanted him to stop holding her hand as she gripped his fingers tighter. She turned back to Ander with her eyes brimming with tears and the widest grin he’d ever seen on her face. That look settled into his soul in an uncomfortable way, and he released her hand as they followed the family out behind the wedding party.
He wouldn’t deny his infatuation with the little social media guru, but he wasn’t interested in more than sex, especially with all his family had added to his plate this morning. Besides, they had to work together in order to get social media projects off the ground to assist in stabilizing the company. He wouldn’t jeopardize that, but she did live near his home in Georgia. They could get together whenever he was in town. If she could agree to that, maybe they could have more than this one weekend. But even that small commitment sent internal jitters coursing through him.
When they made it back up the aisle, Emma grabbed his arm and tugged him over to the right side, near his mom’s favorite rose bushes. The other guests turned left and veered around the house, toward the reception set up on the expansive back patio.
Emma smacked his arm. “What the heck happened to you? You missed the photos and the lunch. I thought Patty was going to have a conniption when I didn’t have asatisfactoryanswer as to where you were and when you’d be there.”
God, he loved her fire. She’d probably wring his neck if he smiled at her right then, but it was a close thing.
He leaned in to her a little bit. “The conference call took longer than I thought it would. They sideswiped me early on.” He shook his head at the memory. “We’re apparently keeping the company in the family.”
She drew in a sharp breath and stood up straighter. “Wait. You planned to sell?” The incredulousness in her voice made it clear she had no idea of the current state of the airline. How his father had kept the bottom-line issues a secret, Ander had no idea. Though, now that he’d agreed to band together with his family to save the company, he couldn’t be more grateful to have that stumbling block hidden for the time being. Ander ticked back over the conversations they had shared. Surely, he’d alluded to something before now. But her complete look of disbelief showed how wrong he was.
A snap caught their attention before he could reply. They both looked over to see Mrs. Chadwick beside them, snapping her fingers at them as if they were small children.
“You disrupted the start of the ceremony with your lateness, young man. You will not barge in on the reception late as well. The newlyweds will make their entrance soon. So shoo.” She waved her hands at them, encouraging them back to the path. Ander couldn’t help but grin. But Emma, though she followed her stepmother’s directive, still had a concerned look on her face.
Patty, apparently having caught sight of another person out of place, headed off full steam the other direction, muttering about incompetence. Her distraction gave Ander an opportunity to talk to Emma a little more.
He placed his hand on Emma’s arm to stop her forward momentum and pulled her slightly to the side to avoid causing any traffic jams. He leaned in to whisper close to her ear this time. “Emma, I thought you knew. I’m here to assess the risks in continuing to move forward with the company versus selling it. It’s what I do.” Ander pulled back enough to see her reaction, not prepared for the flush that crept up her neck or the goose bumps springing up along her arms. Clearly, he’d done his job well last night if whispering business in her ear created such a visceral and sensually suggestive reaction. Ander smiled, feeling himself stir at her responsiveness.
Then Emma scowled at him, which annoyingly didn’t dampen his interest or discourage his stiffening body parts.
