He regarded her with a curious expression.
She laughed and shook her head. "Never mind."
Somewhere behind her Julie heard the sharp tink of metal on glass and turned to see Skye tapping her champagne flute with the tines of her fork. Her husband, Jake, mirrored her actions, then several other guests joined in, all turning to look at Julie and Luc as if they were waiting for them to do or say something.
She heard Luc mumble something under his breath, and asked him in a hushed voice, "What are they doing?"
"They want us to kiss."
Julie blinked. "Kiss?"
Luc shrugged. "It's tradition."
And he couldn't have warned her about this? So she could at least prepare herself. "I've never been to an American wedding. You're saying we have to kiss? Right now? In front of all these people?"
"If we want them to stop."
Considering the rising decibel level, if she and Luc didn't kiss, someone was bound to shatter something. Besides, it had been so nice kissing him the first time. One more time wouldn't hurt, right? Who was she to question the tradition.
"Well, if we have to," she said.
Luc bent his head and brushed a very brief and chaste kiss across her lips, but the tinking didn't stop.
"You can do better than that," someone shouted.
Her heart did a back-and-forth shimmy in her chest. Oh boy, this could wind up being a very long evening.
Luc gazed at her questioningly, his eyes saying it would be best if they appeased the crowd. Julie shrugged, whispering, "We have to make it look real, I guess."
She tried to play it cool, but on the inside she was trembling as Luc cupped the back of her head, his hand sliding through her hair, fingers tangling in the curls. And if that didn't feel nice enough, his kiss nearly did her in. When his tongue swept across her lower lip she felt it like an electrical charge, as if every cell in her body came alive all at once. But then it was over and she had to fight the urge to toss her champagne glass aside, grab the lapels of his jacket and pull him in for more.
It must have been sufficient for the guests, because the tinking faded out, only to start up again a few minutes later, instigated this time by Paige Richardson, who stood beside her brother-in-law Colby.
Colby was Aaron Nichols's partner in R&N Builders, which was almost single-handedly responsible for rebuilding the town after the tornado. And though Julie knew him to be a friendly and outgoing, all-around nice guy, the deep furrow in Colby's brow said something was troubling him.
The tinking rose to an unreasonable level and Julie could swear that every single guest had joined in.
She looked up at Luc, who appeared as amused as he was apologetic. "I have the feeling we're going to be doing a lot of kissing today."
"So do I." And what a hardship that would be. Not. And even if he was the worst kisser on the planet, her citizenship depended on it. It was her obligation to make this marriage look as real as possible. Because if she were to be discovered, and someone proved the marriage was a sham, she would go down hard and take Luc with her. That was not an option.
Before he could make a move, to change things up a bit, she set her empty champagne flute down, slid her arms around his neck and kissed him first. A no-holds-barred, knock-him-on-his-butt kiss that jump-started her pulse and made her tingle in places she didn't even know she could tingle. His arms went around her and he tugged her against him. He cupped her behind and rocked his pelvis against her stomach. She gasped against his lips when she felt the thick ridge behind his zipper. Obviously he was just as into this as she was, and not at all shy about letting her know it. If not for his suit jacket, everyone else would probably know, too.
This time when they parted he was wearing a wry, sexy smile, and whispered, without a trace of contrition, "What can I say. I'm a guy."
This was a side of him she'd never seen before. Playfully sexy and a little risqué. She wanted nothing more than to be alone with him, and at the same time felt thankful for their guests. Until they both had time to settle down, being alone together might be a bad idea.
No, not might, it would be.
As the evening progressed, each subsequent kiss was more brazen and more ardent than the last, his touch as bold as it was scandalous.
It went on like that for a good hour before, to Julie's disappointment, the kiss requests finally began to taper off until they stopped altogether. People began to leave, until only their core group of friends remained.
Though Julie had already had far too much champagne, she headed to the bar for another drink and Beth followed her. "This has been so much fun," she told Julie.
"I think so, too."
"Your sister couldn't make it?"
Julie had texted her, called her and sent her a detailed email about the situation, but still no reply. Her husband traveled extensively for business and Jennifer often accompanied him, occasionally for weeks at a time. "I couldn't get ahold of her. They're probably out of the country."
"That's too bad."
Julie shrugged. "It was awfully last-minute."
"It certainly was. Which brings me to my next question. What was it like making out with your best friend?"
Julie just stood there, mouth agape. Did she mean-?
"Drew told me. We don't keep secrets from each other."
Now Drew, Beth, Luc's mother and her sister all knew the truth?
"Don't worry, I won't tell a soul," Beth assured her. "And for what it's worth, you gave a very convincing performance."
And Julie had relished every moment. Much more than she meant to, or should have. "He's a good kisser."
Beth grinned. "So I gathered. I'll bet he's good at a lot of things."
Her suggestive grin left no question as to what she was implying. And Julie knew she was probably right. She was dying to know how it would feel, their bodies intertwined, his weight pushing her into the mattress...
A ripple of heat coursed through her veins and she could feel her cheeks growing hot. Definitely not something she should be thinking about. "I'm sure he is," she told Beth. "But I'll never find out."
"The way Luc looks at you, I get the feeling you won't have a choice."
No choice? "What is it you think he'll do? Tie me down and make passionate love to me?"
Beth's smile widened. "One can hope."
Oh God, she was right. If Luc wanted Julie in his bed, restraining her wouldn't be necessary.
Ugh, no. She was not going to sleep with him. The combination of champagne and all that kissing was screwing with her brain, flooding it with hormones, or pheromones, or some other kind of mones. They were friends and that's all they would ever be.
"Where are you two going for your honeymoon?" Beth asked.
"Nowhere. Luc has a new patient to evaluate this week. A little boy who needs spinal surgery. Besides, you know how he is about leaving the hospital for any extended amount of time. Or his mother. She's still weak from her last hospital stay."
"Most new brides would expect to be put first."
Julie shrugged. "I guess I'm not like most new brides. I can't expect him to rearrange his whole life just because we're married. I wouldn't want him to."
Luc's ex-fiancée had been one of those women. Like any young resident, Luc had been required to work insane hours. It was part of the job. Amelia demanded more attention than he was able to give, which was what ultimately caused their split. The way Luc described her, she was spoiled and snotty, always wanting things her way. Even if she had married him, Julie doubted it would have lasted.
"A lot of women go into a marriage thinking they can change their spouse," Beth said.
"That's ridiculous. If you don't love the person for who they are, why marry them in the first place?"
Beth grinned. "Luc is a lucky man."
Julie wasn't sure what she meant by that, and she didn't ask. Drinks in hand, they rejoined the others. Luc, Colby and Whit Daltry, owner of Daltry Property Management, were discussing the hospital, and how much money it would take to rebuild the damaged portion. Stella and her husband, Aaron, were discussing baby formula options with Lark and Skye, who both had plenty of information on all things baby. Paige, who Julie noticed had been avoiding her brother-in-law like the plague all evening and pretending not to see the looks he kept shooting her way, sat silently.
Beth took her seat at the table where they had all congregated, and for a minute Julie stood there watching everyone, soaking it all in, a feeling of peace and happiness warming her heart. The town, the people...they were so familiar to her now and so accepting. This was, without question, home.