“Me, too,” she whispered. “What’s happening to us?”
Slowly, he shook his head. “I wish I knew.”
“It’s happening to me, too.” She took his hand and placed it over her heart. “Can you feel it?”
“Yes,” he whispered.
“Maggie, listen, this is going to sound crazy.” He dropped his hands as if he needed to put some distance between them and took several steps back.
“What is?”
Glenn jerked his hand through his hair and hesitated. “Do you want to make this real?”
Chapter Three
“Make this real?” Maggie echoed. “What do you mean?”
Glenn couldn’t believe the ideas that were racing at laser speed through his mind. Maggie would burst into peals of laughter, and he wouldn’t blame her. But even that wasn’t enough to turn the course of his thoughts. He had this compulsion, this urgency, to speak, as if something were driving him to say the words. “Steve and Janelle are going to make this marriage a good one.”
“Yes,” Maggie agreed. “I believe they will.”
The look she gave him was filled with questions. Surely she realized he hadn’t asked her onto the veranda to discuss Steve and Janelle. After Angie, Glenn hadn’t expected to feel this deep an emotion again. And so soon was another shock. Yet when he’d seen Maggie that first moment in the church, the impact had been so great it was as though someone had physically assaulted him. She was lovely, possessing a rare beauty that had escaped his notice when they were younger. No longer had he been standing witness to his best friend’s wedding, but he’d participated in a ceremony with a woman who could stand at his side for a lifetime. Maggie had felt it, too; he had seen it in her eyes. The identical emotion had moved her to tears.
“Glenn, you wanted to say something?” She coaxed him gently, her mind pleading with him to explain. He couldn’t possibly mean what she thought.
Remembering the look Maggie had given him when Steve and Janelle exchanged vows gave Glenn the courage to continue. “Marriage between friends is the best kind, don’t you think?”
“Yes,” she answered, unable to bring her voice above a husky whisper. “Friends generally know everything about each other, whether good or bad, and then still choose to remain friends.”
They stood for a breathless moment, transfixed, studying each other, hesitant and unsure. “I’d always believed,” Glenn murmured, his voice low and seductive, “that it would be impossible for me to share my life with anyone I didn’t know extremely well.”
“I agree.” Maggie’s mind was formulating impossible thoughts. Glenn was leading this conversation down meandering paths she’d never dreamed of traveling with him.
“We’re friends,” he offered next.
“Good friends,” she agreed, nodding.
“I know you as well as my own brothers.”
“We lived next door to each other for fifteen years,” she added, her heart increasing its tempo to a slow drumroll.
“I want a home and children.”
“I’ve always loved children.” There hadn’t been a time in her life when the pull was stronger toward a husband and family than it was that very moment.
“Maggie,” he said, taking a step toward her, but still not touching her, “you’ve become an extremely beautiful woman.”
Her lashes fluttered against her cheek as she lowered her gaze. Maggie didn’t think of herself as beautiful. For Glen to say this to her sent her heart racing. She hardly knew how to respond and finally managed a weak “Thank you.”
“Any man would be proud to have you for his wife.”
The sensations that raced through her were all too welcome and exciting. “I … I was just thinking that a woman … any woman would be extremely fortunate to have you for a husband.”
“Would you?”
Her heart fluttered wildly, rocketed to her throat, and then promptly plummeted to her stomach. Yet she didn’t hesitate. “I’d be honored and proud.”
Neither said anything for a timeless second while their minds assimilated what had just transpired, or what they thought had.
“Glenn?”
“Yes.”
Her throat felt swollen and constricted, her chest suddenly tight, as if tears were brewing just beneath the surface. “Did I understand you right? Did you—just now—suggest that you and me—the two of us—get married?”
“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.” Glenn didn’t hesitate. He’d never been more sure of anything in his life. He had lost one woman; he wasn’t going to lose Maggie. He would bind her to him and eliminate the possibility of someone else stepping in at the last moment. This woman was his, and he was claiming her before something happened to drive her from his arms.
“When?”
“Tonight.”
She blinked twice, convinced she hadn’t heard him right. “But the license, and—”
“We can fly to Reno.” Already his mind was working out the details. He didn’t like the idea of a quickie wedding, but it would serve the purpose. After what they had shared earlier, they didn’t need anything more than a document to make it legal.
Stillness surrounded them. Even the night had gone silent. No cars, no horns, no crickets, no sounds of the night—only silence.
“I want to think about it,” she murmured. Glenn was crazy. They both were. Talking about marriage, running away this very night to Reno. None of it made sense, but nothing in all her life had sounded more exciting, more wonderful, more right.
“How long do you want to think this over?” A thread of doubt caused him to ask. Perhaps rushing her wasn’t the best way to proceed, but waiting felt equally impossible.
A fleeting smile touched and lifted Maggie’s mouth. They didn’t dare tell someone they would do anything so ludicrous. She didn’t need time, not really. She knew what she wanted: She wanted Glenn. “An hour,” she said, hoping that within that time frame nothing would change.
The strains of another waltz drifted onto the veranda, and wordlessly he led her back to the dance floor. When he reached for her, Maggie went willingly into his arms. His hold felt as natural as breathing, and she was drawn into his warmth. The past two days with Glenn had been the happiest, most exciting in years. Who would have thought that Glenn Lambert would make her pulse pound like a jackhammer and place her head in the clouds where the air was thin and clear? Just over twenty-four hours after his arrival, and they were planning the most incredible scheme, crazy as it sounded.
“This feeling reminds me of the night we stole out of the house to smoke our first cigarette,” Glenn whispered in her ear. “Are we as daring and defiant now as we were at fourteen?”
“Worse,” she answered. “But I don’t care, as long as you’re with me.”
“Oh, Maggie.” He sighed her name with a wealth of emotion.
Her hands tightened around his neck as she fit her body more intimately to the contour of his. Her breasts were flattened to his broad chest; and they were melded together, thigh to thigh, hip to hip, as close as humanly possible under the guise of dancing.
Every breath produced an incredible range of new sensations. Maggie felt drugged and delirious, daring and darling, bold and extraordinarily shy. Every second in his arms brought her more strength of conviction. This night, in less than an hour, she was going to walk out of this room with Glenn Lambert. Together, they would fly to Reno and she would link her life with his. There was nothing to stop her. Not her money. Not her pride. Not her fears. Glenn Lambert was her friend. Tonight he would become her lover as well.
Unable to wait, Maggie rained a long series of kisses over the line of his jaw. The need to experience his touch flowered deep within her.
Glenn’s hold at her waist tightened, and he inhaled sharply. “Maggie, don’t tease me.”
“Who’s teasing?” They’d known each other all these years, and in that time he had kissed her only once. But it was enough, more than enough, to know that the lov
ing between them would be exquisite.
Without her even being aware, Glenn had maneuvered her into a darkened corner of the dance floor where the lighting was the dimmest. His eyes told her he was about to kiss her, and hers told him she was eager for him to do exactly that. Unhurriedly, Glenn lowered his mouth to hers with an agonizing slowness. His kiss was warm and tender and lingering, as if this were a moment and place out of time meant for them alone. Her soft mouth parted with only the slightest urging, and her arms tightened around his neck.
Trembling in his embrace, Maggie drew in a long, unsteady breath. Glenn’s kisses had been filled with such aching tenderness, such sweet torment, that Maggie felt tears stinging for release. Tears for a happiness she had never hoped to find. At least not with Glenn. This was a wondrous surprise. A gift. A miracle so unexpected it would take a lifetime to fully appreciate.
“I want you,” he whispered, his voice hoarse with desire. His breath warmed her lips.
“Yes” she returned, vaguely dazed. “I want you, too.”
His arms tightened, and Maggie felt the shudder that rocked him until her ribs ached. Gradually, his hold relaxed as his gaze polarized hers. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Should … should we tell anyone?” No, her mind shouted. Someone might try to talk them out of this, and she didn’t want that to happen. She yearned for everything that Glenn suggested.
“Do you want to tell Steve and Janelle?” Glenn asked.
“No.”
Tenderly he brushed his lips across her forehead. “Neither do I. They’ll find out soon enough.”
“It’ll be our surprise.” She smiled at him, the warm, happy smile of someone about to embark on the most exciting adventure of her life. And Maggie felt like an adventurer, daring and audacious, dauntless and intrepid, reckless and carefree. There’d be problems; she realized that. But tonight, with Glenn at her side, there wasn’t anything she couldn’t conquer.
Glenn raised her fingertips to his lips and kissed each one. “I’m not letting you out of my sight. We’re going directly to the airport.”
“Fine.” She had no desire to be separated from him, either.
“I’ll call a taxi.”
“I’ll get my purse.”
The night air brought a chill to her arms, but it didn’t sharpen any need to analyze what they were doing. If Glenn expected her to have second thoughts as they breezed through the streets of San Francisco, she found none. Even the busy airport, with its crowded concourses and people who stared at their unusual dress, wasn’t enough to cause her to doubt.
Glenn bought their airline tickets, and she found a seat while he used his cell to make hotel reservations. When he returned, the broad smile reached his eyes. Maggie was struck anew with the wonder of what was happening.
“Well?”
“Everything’s been taken care of.”
“Everything?” It seemed paramount that they get married tonight. If they were forced to wait until morning, there could be second thoughts.
“The Chapel of Love is one block from city hall, and they’re going to arrange for the marriage license.” He glanced at his watch and hesitated. “The plane lands at ten-thirty, and the ceremony is scheduled for eleven-fifteen.” He sat in the seat beside her and reached for her hand. “You’re cold.”
“A little.” Despite her nerves, she managed to keep her voice even. She didn’t doubt they were doing the right thing, and she wanted to reassure Glenn. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
Rising to his feet, Glenn stripped the tuxedo jacket from his arms and draped it over her shoulders. “Here. We’ll be boarding in a few minutes and I’ll get you a blanket from the flight attendants.” His dark eyes were full of warmth, and he was smiling at her as if they’d been sitting in airports, waiting for planes to fly them to weddings, every day.
His strong fingers closed over hers, and for the first time she admired how large his hands were. The fingers were long and tapered, and looked capable of carving an empire or soothing a crying child. “Are you”—Maggie swallowed convulsively, almost afraid to ask—“are you having any second thoughts?”
“No,” he answered quickly. “What about you?”
“None.” She was never so positive of anything in her life.
“I’ll be a good husband.”
“I know.” She placed her free hand over the back of his. “And I’ll be a good wife.”
His returning smile, filled with warmth and incredible wonder, could have melted a glacier.
“My parents are going to be ecstatic.” Shocked, too, her mind added, but that didn’t matter.
“Mine will be pleased as well,” Glenn assured her. “They’ve always liked you.”
He bent his head toward her, and Maggie shyly lifted her face and met him halfway. His kiss was filled with soft exploration, and they parted with the assurance that everything was perfect.
“After we’re married, will you want me to move to Charleston?” Maggie ventured.
“No,” he said on a somber note. “I’ll move to San Francisco.” The time had come to leave Charleston. Glenn wanted to bury the unhappiness that surrounded him there. The brief visit to San Francisco had felt like coming home. With Maggie at his side, he’d build a new life in San Francisco. Together, they’d raise their family and live in blissful happiness. No longer would he allow the memory of another woman to haunt him.
Maggie felt simultaneously relieved and confused. Her career in art made it possible for her to work anywhere. Glenn’s moving to San Francisco would mean giving up his Charleston clientele and building up a new one on the West Coast. It didn’t make sense. “I don’t mind moving, really. It would be easier for me to make the change. You’ve got your career.”
He slid his hand from her arm to her elbow, tightening his hold. “I’ll transfer out here.” Turning his wrist, he glanced at his watch, but Maggie had the feeling he wasn’t looking at the time. “I’m ready for a change,” he murmured after a while. “You don’t mind, do you?”
Did she? No, Maggie decided; she loved California. “No, that’ll be fine. You’ll like the beach house.”
“I don’t doubt that I will.”
Their flight number was announced, and Maggie returned Glenn’s tuxedo jacket before they boarded the plane. The flight attendant came by a few minutes later, after they were comfortably seated, to check their seat belts. She paused and commented that they both looked as if they were on their way to a wedding. Glenn and Maggie smiled politely, but neither of them opted to inform the young woman that that was exactly where they were going. Maggie feared that if they let someone in on their plan it would somehow shatter the dream. Briefly, she wondered if Glenn shared her fears.
The flight touched down on the Reno runway precisely on schedule. With no luggage to collect, Glenn and Maggie walked straight through the airport and outside, where a taxi was parked and waiting.
“You two on your way to a wedding?” the cabdriver asked with a loud belly laugh as he held the door open for Maggie.
“Yes,” Maggie answered shyly, dismissing her earlier fears.
“Ours,” Glenn added, sliding into the seat next to Maggie and reaching for her hand.
The heavyset cabbie closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side. He checked the rearview mirror and merged with the traffic. “Lots of people come to Reno to get married, but then a lot of folks come here to get unmarried, too.”
A thundering silence echoed through the close confines of the taxi. “There won’t be any divorce for us,” Glenn informed him.
The driver tipped back the rim of his cap with his index finger. “Lot of folks say that, too.” He paused at the first red light, placed his arm along the back of the seat, and turned to look at Glenn. “Where was it you said you wanted to go?”
“Chapel of Love,” Glenn said firmly, and glanced over to Maggie. “Unless you want to change your mind?” he whispered.
“You’re not backing out
of your proposal, are you?” The words nearly stuck in her throat.
“No.”
“Then we’re getting married,” she murmured, more determined than ever. “I didn’t come this far in a shimmering pink gown to play the slot machines.”
“Good.”
“Very good,” she murmured, unwilling to let anyone or anything ruin this night.
A half-hour later, after arriving at the chapel, Maggie had freshened her makeup and done what she could with her hair. They stood now before the proprietor of the wedding chapel.
“Organ music is fifteen dollars extra,” Glenn told her as he reached for his back pocket.
Her hand stopped him. “I don’t need it,” she assured him with perfect serenity. “I’m still hearing the music from the church.”
The impatience drained from his eyes, and the look he gave her was so profound that it seemed the most natural thing in the world to lean forward and press her lips to his.
The justice of the peace cleared his throat. “If you’re ready, we can start the ceremony.”
“Are you ready?” Glenn asked with smiling eyes.
“I’ve been ready for this all night,” she answered, linking her arm with his.
The service was shockingly short and sterile. They stood before the justice and repeated the words that had already been spoken in their hearts. The stark ceremony wasn’t what Maggie would have preferred, but it didn’t diminish any of her joy. This wedding was necessary for legal reasons; their real vows had already been exchanged earlier that day as they stood as witnesses for Steve and Janelle. Those few moments in the church had been so intense that from then on every moment of her life would be measured against them. Maggie yearned to explain that to Glenn, but mere words felt inadequate. He, too, had experienced it, she realized, and without analyzing it, he had understood.
Their room at the hotel was ready when they arrived. With the key jingling in Glenn’s pocket, they rode the elevator to the tenth floor.
“Are you going to carry me over the threshold, Mr. Lambert?” Maggie whispered happily and nuzzled his ear. She felt a free-flowing elation unlike anything she’d ever experienced. That night and every night for the rest of her life would be spent in Glenn’s arms.