Piece of Cake: The Wedding Read online

  As it turned out, it sounded as if Kendal could have been hurt even worse than Holly thought possible. And, like an idiot, here Holly stood suggesting they carry on the plans since they were physically attracted.

  She had no idea what to say next. Usually, she was three or four steps ahead of her opponent, but Kendal wasn’t a business adversary. She was the woman Holly had fallen in love with. Was there even a remote chance Kendal might find her more than physically attractive? Cursing herself for screwing this up beyond repair, Holly struggled to find the right words. “Listen. Try to disregard the initial reason for this wedding if you can. Or, at least, attempt to downplay it as not entirely as important as I made it seem. I truly don’t want to call our wedding off. I thought I was doing you a huge favor when I told you we should.”

  “And now you—don’t think so?” Kendal’s face was unreadable. As much as Holly loved Kendal’s brilliant smile, she found her statuesque somberness absolutely stunning. Kendal’s regal, strong high cheekbones, slanted dark eyes, and full, curvy lips haunted her dreams. The thought of having those long, slender fingers explore her body and enter her made her press her hand against her stomach to calm the invasion of butterflies.

  “I never did.”

  “So you were being noble, and I was afraid of coming away from this with a broken heart. We’re quite a pair.” Kendal shook her head. “I know you well enough to be sure you wouldn’t lie to me. This is confusing, though.”

  “For me too.”

  Then Kendal’s hands were on Holly’s shoulders and pressed her against the wall. The few inches she had on Holly’s five-foot-six height seemed more. Holly gazed up at Kendal. Her feral eyes felt like a scorching touch as they traced Holly’s face and neck.

  “One thing’s not confusing,” Kendal said in a soft growl. “This. This is very clear to me.” She lowered her head and kissed Holly. Nipping along Holly’s lower lip, Kendal traced it with her tongue, teasing her lips apart. Holly groaned against Kendal’s mouth. She couldn’t remember anyone else ever tasting this sweet, this intoxicating. Cupping Kendal’s cheeks, she met her tongue with her own and allowed the kiss to deepen.

  Kendal moaned and pressed her gently against the wall. She took both of Holly’s wrists and held them against the wall on either side of her head. Holly allowed it for several moments as they kissed, but then she freed herself and wrapped her arms around Kendal’s neck.

  “Oh, God,” Holly whispered against Kendal’s neck. “I had no idea…no idea at all.”

  “About what?” Sounding even huskier now, Kendal turned her head and pressed her lips against Holly’s temple.

  “That we could be like this. That you would respond this way. I honestly didn’t know.”

  “And now when you do?” Kendal ran a finger along Holly’s lower lip, making her tremble even more.

  “Now when I know, I’m asking you again. Would you please marry me?”

  Kendal seemed to hold her breath. “To save your job?”

  Holly kissed the fingertips hovering before her. “To keep me here in the US with you so we can explore these newfound feelings. And to be brutally honest, yes, that means saving my job. And yours. It’s an unavoidable condition.”

  Kendal looked pensively at Holly, who would have given everything to know what was going on in that beautiful head. “I need to know up front if we’ve scratched the idea of keeping this merely a marriage of convenience.”

  “I think that train left the station long ago. Everything changed the moment we kissed. At least for me.” Suddenly just as uncertain as she’d been moments ago, Holly forced herself to remain confident. “And the way you kissed me back suggests you’re not indifferent.”

  Snorting, Kendal finally smiled faintly. “I’ll say.” She scanned Holly’s face for several moments and then nodded slowly. “Yes. I want to marry you. Just a fair warning, Boss. If you still break my heart, I’ll have Jasmine deal with you. You’ve seen her in action, but that’s just for starters.”

  “Yes, good Lord. Her poor husband.” Holly could finally breathe. She stretched up for yet another kiss, hoping Kendal would welcome more intimate touching now. The way Kendal held her close, kissed her, and ran one hand back and forth across her lower back suggested she would. When they finally came up for air, Holly took a reluctant step back and tried to catch her breath. “What do you say? Ready to make an honest woman out of me?”

  Kendal chuckled, a clear tone of nervousness behind the mirth. “I am. I’ve got to find Dad and see if he’s still up for the task.”

  “Find your dad? You’re joking, right?” Holly straightened her dress and checked her reflection in the full-length mirror. “I’ll be surprised if he and Jasmine are more than two yards from the door.”

  “You’re right.” Kendal gave Holly a lipstick. “I think this is your shade.” She reapplied her own mauve-colored gloss.

  Thinking she couldn’t wait to kiss that gloss away, Holly applied her lighter Bobbi Brown lipstick and wasn’t surprised that Kendal would have her favorite shade on hand. Kendal was always perfect and thoughtful.

  Could she ever be the type of woman who deserved someone as wonderful as Kendal?

  Chapter Four

  Harrison patted Kendal’s hand at the crease of his arm. “You look fantastic. And now you’re beaming.”

  “Thanks, Dad. We talked.”

  “And she reassured you?”

  Kendal didn’t know quite how to explain to her father, but tried as they rode down to the room where everyone was waiting for the second bride to appear. “She showed me very honestly that she finds me attractive and that she cares. I mean, cares more than in a tepid sort of ‘I like you because you’ve always been a great assistant’ kind of way, if you get what I mean.”

  “I think I do.” Harrison smiled at her. “She must have been very clear about it since you—and she, I believe—changed your mind so quickly.”

  “She was.” Kendal’s cheeks warmed as she exited the elevator and saw the double doors to the room where she would become a married woman. If anyone had told her four months ago that she would marry her amazing boss, she would have called it a cruel joke at her expense, but here they were. Despite what Kendal had told her father, a feathery touch of fear that Holly might change her mind again slid along her neck.

  Her sister stood by the door, along with her two best friends from the office, Lorna and Anne. The latter winked at her and held her thumbs up.

  “Wedding jitters? We’re an hour late.” Anne rushed forward and did a full circle around Kendal. “You look amazing. Like Lupita Nyong’o.”

  “Oh, please.” But Kendal had to smile. Anne always said the sweetest things, and she was a good friend. She’d wished she could share what her marriage was really about, but in retrospect, it was good that she hadn’t. Right now, she was very confused about the status of her marriage to Holly. It might turn out to be little more than friends with benefits.

  The music was starting, a recording of Enya’s “Only Time,” and the magical sound calmed Kendal as she began to walk toward the doors behind her bridesmaids.

  Most of their guests were present for the ceremony, looking at her with such joy, many of them with tears running down their cheeks. Kendal gripped her father’s arm harder, and he pressed it against his side. The aisle seemed to lengthen as they walked, which made her fear she actually would faint.

  “Breathe,” her father whispered while still smiling to the wedding guests. “You’re holding your breath, as usual.”

  She was. Feeling silly, Kendal inhaled deeply, which cleared her head. As they neared Holly and her sister Moira and her sister-in-law, whose name eluded Kendal for the moment, she nearly lost her breath again. She had seen, and kissed, Holly only moments ago, but she realized now she hadn’t properly looked at all of her. Here she was now, in her champagne-colored dress and white angora bolero, and with her hair in a beautiful updo. Her skin was luminescent under the ceiling light, and her understated je
welry glimmered around her neck and in her ears. Glancing down, Kendal smiled as she saw the thin gold chain around Holly’s left ankle that she’d given her. Had the correct and elegant woman she was about to marry ever worn an ankle chain in her entire life?

  As the music kept playing, her father stopped at the halfway mark of the aisle and gently let go of her. “You take it from here, right?” he murmured as he kissed her cheek. “I love you, honey.”

  “I love you, Dad. Thank you.”

  “Hey, I have faith in you.” With those words, Harrison ran the back of his hand along her cheek. “And she’s waiting for you.”

  Kendal gave her mother a little wave and was momentarily disconcerted at how red-eyed Celeste was from crying. Was her mother really that much against them marrying? She had been from the beginning, and only when the wedding was two weeks away did she start to warm up a bit. Kendal’s idea of suggesting that her mother take over some of the wedding arrangements together with the planner had helped Celeste find something practical to do. As for the wedding planner, Kendal realized she hadn’t seen her once after exiting her room. Perhaps her mother had stowed her in some broom closet.

  Kendal turned back to the vision that was her fiancé. Holly appeared otherworldly when she smiled tremulously at Kendal. Why did her lips tremble? How was it even possible? Holly McAllister was always in control and rarely gave in to anger or stress. Right now, she looked like a woman who was on the verge of crying…or was she contemplating actually saying “I don’t” instead of “I do”? Just as Kendal was about to lose her nerve, Holly extended her hand. Moving toward her, Kendal finally was within reach and grasped it, holding on a bit too tight, judging from the barely visible wince on Holly’s face.

  “Sorry,” Kendal mouthed and eased up on the grip.

  “Don’t worry.” Holly rose on her toes and kissed Kendal’s cheek. “You look stunning. I’m a very lucky woman.”

  “Me too.” Kendal allowed one of the butterflies in her stomach to flutter with happiness. She just couldn’t help it.

  The priest, Father Fletcher, spoke about love, trust, and commitment, and kept his warm gaze locked on them both. Only when he mentioned the subject of family did he raise his eyes to regard the wedding guests. “We know how long gays and lesbians have desired to be wed but have been prevented because of the legal system in this country. To finally be able to marry people who clearly love each other more than life itself is a gift. Each time I do, I’m elevated and feel closer to God. I know not all my couples are religious, even if they want the church’s blessing, I would never turn them down, no matter who they love.” Father Fletcher cleared his throat gently. “Now, as so many do these days, and it’s a newer tradition that I always cherish, Kendal and Holly will disclose their own private thoughts and vows to each other.”

  They had agreed Kendal would go first. Now her hands trembled when she unfolded her paper. Given what had transpired in Kendal’s room just before the wedding, perhaps Holly might read more into her vows now, and that thought sent shivers through her entire system.

  “Holly. To find a woman like you is miraculous in itself. To marry you is beyond miraculous. I have seen you almost every day for the last two years. During those years, I have relished watching you be my brilliant boss, later my friend, and ultimately my bride-to-be. I admire so much about you, and if I listed all those things here, we’d be standing here until our guests had long gone home. I have to mention a few though. Some are obvious, like your brilliance. Most people recognize they’re talking to someone who is clearly the most intelligent person in the room at any given time. Your kindness and compassion. As cutthroat as the world of business is, you still find time to be a real person who truly sees the people who work for you. I know. Up until now, I’ve been one of them. I’ve never worked for a boss who knew the cleaning crew by their first names.”

  The big smiles on the guests’ faces proved they loved hearing this about Holly. Kendal dared to glance over at her, and Holly merely nodded as if to say “go on.”

  “Your ability to surprise me is pretty awesome. The hummingbird pin you gave me proves that. It’s common for anyone getting married to bestow gifts upon their future bride, but for you to pick a hummingbird proves you somehow took the time to really find out what I love. Now we’re going to spend our days and nights together—”

  Kendal shivered again and nearly dropped her note. Holly’s warm hand steadied hers by cupping them from below, and Kendal coughed gently to hide the tiny sob she couldn’t stop. “Now we’re going to spend our days and nights together, and we will get to know each other in a million different ways. I promise to be truthful and keep what’s best for us in mind. You deserve nothing but true loyalty and my…my affection.”

  Here it was Holly’s turn to gasp. Kendal didn’t dare to look up but forged on. “I love how it feels when we’re together and how I can relax and be myself around you. You always encourage me to reach further and go farther. I want to provide the same support for you. I want you to know my feelings for you are true and honest. These are my vows to you.”

  Kendal lowered her note, which was wrinkled beyond repair. Were the words about love too much for Holly? Kendal watched Holly reach for a note from Moira. She opened it and then hesitated. With quick fingers she folded it twice and handed it back.

  Kendal swallowed hard. What was going on? Was something wrong?

  *

  Holly knew she couldn’t use her first vows. Not after their kisses and the way they’d talked in Kendal’s room. And once she heard Kendal’s words of truth, honesty, loyalty, and love, her old vows would have been an insult…and even hurtful. She would ask Moira to burn them later or, better yet, do it herself.

  Kendal looked entirely panicked, and Holly knew she couldn’t allow any such thing. Damage control. She took both of Kendal’s cold hands in her own surprisingly warm and steady ones.

  “Darling Kendal,” she said. “I had written a very eloquent set of vows that would have suited just fine, but listening to yours, I realized mine didn’t do you justice or truly portray how I feel. So I’m ad-libbing here, if you will allow me?” She tilted her head as she gazed up at Kendal.

  “Sure. Why not?” Kendal smiled faintly, but she also trembled again.

  “You spoke of loyalty, and I think if anyone looked the word up, they’d see a picture of you right next to it. You know I treasure your loyalty, at work as well as in private. Being honest is something to strive for—especially when the truth hurts to say or hear. Today, it doesn’t hurt. Today my truth is this. I couldn’t be happier than I am right now, standing here before our family and friends and hearing you tell them, and me, that we belong together.”

  Holly kept talking, wanting Kendal to know what was in her heart, but unable to say the three words before all their guests. “You have always been there for me, or as you put it, you have always had my back. Now I hope you realize that I have your back also. You’re an amazing woman who has captured me, body and soul. I tremble at your touch, which makes it impossible for me to think of anything or anyone but you. Do you understand my vow to you, beautiful Kendal?”

  Holly didn’t dare hope that Kendal knew how to read between her sentences. She wanted to tell Kendal how much she loved her, but until they were alone and she knew she had Kendal’s undivided attention, these convoluted vows would have to do.

  “Yes, I do,” Kendal answered softly. Her features were relaxed again now and her touch firm, but not painfully tight.

  Holly turned to the priest and nodded. “Please, Father.”

  “Very well.” Father Fletcher smiled warmly at them both. “Rings?”

  Moira and Jasmine handed over their wedding bands to Holly and Kendal and held their flowers instead. The priest placed his hand over theirs as they held the rings and blessed them. As he had them repeat the traditional words, Holly placed Kendal’s ring next to her engagement ring, and then Kendal repeated the motion with Holly’s ring. Kendal’s han
d trembled, and Holly found it reassuring she wasn’t the only one.

  Father Fletcher continued the ceremony. “Holly Cassandra McAllister, do you take Kendal Corinne Moore to be your lawful wedded wife?”

  “I do.” Holly’s voice was a great deal steadier than her fingers as she raised Kendal’s hand and kissed the back of it. Kendal’s eyes held such a vulnerable expression during this moment that Holly nodded encouragingly.

  “Kendal Corinne Moore, do you take Holly Cassandra McAllister to be your lawful wedded wife?”

  Kendal swallowed hard and shifted her grip of Holly’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “I do.”

  “By the powers vested in me and in the name of the Lord, I now pronounce you married under the law of Rhode Island, the US, and in the eyes of the Lord. Go forward in life together in the light of your mutual love.”

  Holly saw tears forming in the corners of Kendal’s eyes. She couldn’t even guess their origin, but hoped they weren’t tears of regret. Right then, Kendal wrapped one arm around Holly’s waist and pulled her close.

  “Hello, wife,” she whispered huskily and then pressed her lips to Holly’s.

  Immediately, the room with all its guests disappeared. Kendal’s lips and the waves of love and desire they sparked were all that mattered. Holly could have remained in Kendal’s arms for the duration of the wedding reception, but the guests’ cheers eventually broke through the haze. She reluctantly let go and cupped Kendal’s cheek.

  “Oh, my.” Holly caressed Kendal’s lower lip with her thumb. “You know how to take my breath away.”

  “No, I don’t. But I’m glad I did, so perhaps I’m learning.” Kendal smiled broadly after a deep sigh. “I think the guests approve.”

  “I’ll say.” Holly turned to their families and friends, who now stood and applauded. As they walked along the aisle, now as wives, Holly could hardly fathom that this was her new life, her new reality. The statuesque woman by her side had gone from trusty assistant to the woman Holly loved and adored. Kendal took Holly’s hand, and they began to move toward the doors.