The Wests sat in the middle of the church, piousness practically oozing out of them, while inside, the ugliness of their souls made him want to have them expelled from the church. He had made a promise never to divulge their secrets, and he wouldn’t, but he had every faith that God’s justice would be waiting for them, just as it was for him.
He had pretended to be unaffected by Willa, leaving her with a brief goodbye. However, all the while, he had wanted to take her with him to the clubhouse and barricade them in his bedroom until he had found out everything he wanted to know about her.
How soft were her breasts? Did her mouth really taste as good as he remembered? Would her pussy open to him in need or be tight with trepidation at the pounding he wanted to give her?
Lucky dragged his mind away from the lust-filled images trying to overtake the holier images that he was trying to convey to the parishioners. He was willing to bet the bike he loved he would gain a more rapt audience if he were to describe the impure desires for Willa he constantly had to fight. Then he concluded the service, motioning for the organ to begin playing. Leaving the podium, he went to Willa, reaching out to take her hand. She shook her head yet rose from her seat.
“Come stand with me. Leanne, you bring Chrissy, and Charlie, you hold onto Caroline.” The small group went to the doorway and stopped.
“I can’t do this,” Willa murmured under her breath.
“Yes, you can. Just smile and I’ll do the rest,” he reassured her.
The congregation began lining up to speak to Lucky, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Willa give each parishioner a hesitant smile.
Drake Hall with his son Jace and Jace’s friend Cal were the first ones in line. Drake bent down, giving Willa a kiss on her cheek. “I heard the good news. Congratulations to you both.” Drake reached out, shaking Lucky’s hand. Then the two younger men followed his example. “Willa, why didn’t you tell me you two were seeing each other?”
“She wanted to make up her mind about continuing to see me. Willa was a hard woman to convince, but I finally managed to get her to admit I would make a good husband.” Lucky winked at Drake, giving the impression that Willa had kept him dangling like a fish on a hook.
“She’s worth the trouble; that’s for sure.” Drake’s hand tightened on Willa’s, pulling her closer for a hug.#p#分页标题#e#
Lucky’s mouth tightened into a grim line, his arm going around her waist and tugging her away from Drake to his side. “Yes, she is.”
Drake took the silent hint, moving away with Jace and Cal.
The women of the congregation moved in next, swarming Willa in a rush of hugs and well wishes.
“Have you set the date yet?” Winter’s voice could be heard over the rest.
“No—” Willa began.
“Yes. November sixteenth. We want to celebrate Thanksgiving Day as a family.”
The women stared at him in dismay at the close date.
“That doesn’t give us much time to do any planning.” Beth bit her lip then gave Willa a determined look. “We’ll get it all done. If we can arrange Lily’s wedding on forty-eight hours’ notice, we can make a wedding that you’ll always remember with two weeks to work on it.”
Lucky frowned. “We don’t want anything too fancy. We were thinking of going to the courthouse then having a reception at the church.”
The women stared at him as if he had grown two heads. He expected Willa to have the same expression; instead, she was nodding her head in agreement.
“Neither of us want a big church wedding,” Willa said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
“Are you sure? You cried your eyes out during Lily’s wedding.” Beth’s reminder had the women rallying around her, trying to convince her to have a more formal wedding.
Finally, Willa raised her hand so the group would listen.
“I cried because Lily’s wedding was absolutely beautiful, not because I wanted one like it for myself. I would actually prefer a spring wedding, but Lucky and I want to spend the holidays together with the children.” It was the most Willa had spoken at one time and she had inserted a firmness in her voice so it would be more believable.
“I can understand her feelings. King and I didn’t have a big wedding, either.” Evie pushed herself to the front of the line. “We’re holding the whole line up. Since we’re having a wedding, we need to at least give her a bachelorette party.”
Willa shot that idea down. “My business is so busy right now. I wouldn’t be much fun.”
Evie went on as if Willa hadn’t spoken. “We can do it next Saturday at King’s restaurant. That way, all you have to do is show up. I’ll handle the food and the booze.”