“I wanted it too,” Topaz admitted without hesitating. “I don’t regret it,” she added.
Alex bowed his head and grimaced. “But ... to—to cling to whatever enjoyment it brought us would just make it all more complicated, you know?”
“You’re right,” Topaz managed to say once she swallowed past the emotional lump in her throat.
Alex gave a curt nod and grabbed his keys off a small message desk. “I’m goin’ to find Scott,” he muttered as he headed for the door.
The following evening, Scott and Cicely celebrated with their family and wedding attendants at the rehearsal dinner. A local R&B group had been hired to perform at the party. The soulful ballads set the stage for romance and love. The performers took a short break to give the bride’s and groom’s fathers a chance to make their respective toasts. Damon Grays had the crowd laughing hysterically during his bodacious speech. Sanford Woods’s words were a bit more prohetic.
“I think we can all agree that couples today have a lot more hurtles to jump than most of us older folks did back in the day,” Sanford began amid a round of nods and soft clapping from the crowd. “Because of this, they got it a lot tougher than we did. But that’s when love and trust come into play.”
“Amen,” someone called.
“See, these two things go hand in hand in marriage,” Sanford continued. “You gotta depend on each other,” he said, clenching a fist for emphasis. “This is what gets you through those tough times. You two remember that,” he ordered his son and future daughter-in-law as he raised his champagne glass. “To Scott and Cicely!”
“Scott and Cicely!” the crowd roared.
“All right, y’all, we payin’ these people good money to entertain us, so let’s dance!” Damon Grays ordered.
Although Sanford Woods’s wise words were directed toward Scott and Cicely, Alex and Topaz listened reverently. Neither could deny the truth of those words and how closely they related to their own relationship. The best man and maid of honor were seated side by side. They were the only two remaining at the table after Damon Grays ordered everyone to the dance floor.
Alex eventually offered his hand and Topaz accepted the unspoken invitation. On the floor, she decided it would be best to keep a measure of distance between the two of them. Her partner had other ideas. Alex’s hands skirted her hips and he pulled her close. He toyed with the buttons at the base of her spine, before his fingers played a sensual dance across her skin left bare by the backless formfitting gold satin dress.
Alex relished the feel of the woman in his arms. He bowed his face to the crook of her neck and let his forehead rest on her shoulder. His wide hands cupped and molded to her hips and back as though he hoped to memorize her shape.
Topaz was just as affected. Her fingers skirted the lapels of the tailored silver-gray suit coat that emphasized the stunning breadth of his shoulders. He wore no tie with the crisp black shirt beneath the coat, and Topaz’s gaze focused on the powerful cords of his neck. She allowed the intoxicating aroma of his cologne to carry her away on a cloud of sensation. The pleasure of his embrace was her undoing. She stood on her toes and brushed his earlobe with the tip of her nose. The soft sound Alex uttered in response brought a smile to her lips.
“Pathetic, huh?”
“Who? Your girl?”
“Your boy.”
“Both of ’em fools.”
“I agree.”
“I thought that room mix-up might help.”
“Obviously not. I think we’ve done all we can, husband-to-be,” Cicely sighed as she arched closer to Scott on the dance floor.
“I guess you’re right,” he agreed with a grimace clouding his handsome caramel-toned face.
Cicely shook her head while studying the couple on the other side of the dance floor. “So much hurt in their relationship. If only they could work through it,” she mused.
Scott gathered her small frame closer. “How ’bout this weekend, we pull out all the stops?” he suggested.
Cicely focused her wide, expressive gaze on her fiancé. “I thought we were already doing that.”
Scott made a face. “I mean with the lovey-dovey stuff.”
“I’m confused.”
Scott lowered his head and pressed a kiss to Cicely’s ear. “I suggest that we go overboard with all the kissing and hugging and makin’ goo-goo eyes at each other. Maybe them fools will get the message.”
Cicely smiled, even as her eyes twinkled with playful doubt. “I don’t know if that’ll work, but it’ll be so much fun to ‘go overboard’ and show everybody how much I love you.”
Scott’s expression turned serious. “I love you too, Cice,” he whispered, sealing the words with a kiss.
The wedding was a beautiful event. Every carefully planned detail came through without a hitch, including the last-minute arrival of the very broom Cicely’s great-grandparents jumped when they married in 1900.
Everyone had a marvelous time and constantly complimented the newlyweds on knowing how to throw a party.
Topaz had been trying to find Alex ever since Scott and Cicely announced they would be cutting the cake shortly. She finally caught sight of him on one of the balconies that skirted the second floor of the lodge. He was easy to spot, since no one else had ventured out into the nippy, overcast weather.
On her way to the glass double doors, Topaz stopped midstride. “Damn it, girl,” she hissed, closing her eyes as though she had just remembered something, “do you have a fetish for letting the man hurt your feelings or something?” she whispered fiercely.
I never thought I did before, she admitted silently. It was then that she recalled her last conversation with Alex’s mother. He was a man worth saving, they had both agreed.
“Well, I certainly can’t save him, but that doesn’t mean I can’t care about him,” she decided, determination flavoring her steps as she headed out the doors.
“Alex?” she called, noticing him turn his head just slightly when he heard her. He sat in one of the cushioned armchairs facing the gorgeous expanse of the wooded property.
