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“I can’t think of another possible combination left to do,” Emma agreed.
“What about Stacey and Jake?” Celia offered.
“I’m sure he’s gotten plenty of pictures of us going down the aisle,” Stacey suggested picking up the bouquets sitting on the bench.
“No, she’s right,” Emma said with a laugh that made her stomach churn with trepidation.
“Really Em, it’s not like you’re going to be able to see anything in the picture, he’s like a foot and a half taller than me.”
“Quit complaining,” Emma stated pushing her towards Jake who had an old familiar gleam in his eyes. “I know you hate having your picture taken so stand still, smile, and it’ll be over in two shakes.”
“Fine,” she conceded. She stood next to Jake and smiled towards the photographer who was adjusting his lens again and again.
“You know,” he said poking his head out from behind the camera, “she really is right about the height difference. Why don’t you sit on the bench, and she can stand next to you.”
Once he sat, she stepped just close enough to smell his light hint of aftershave, the same one she’d picked out for him years ago hating the one he used before she made the switch.
“No closer,” the photographer said, and she obliged stopping just before they made any contact.
Emma looked at the pair of them and shook her head. “That looks like a bad prom pose.”
“What do you want me to do?” Stacey asked jokingly. “I can’t grow another ten inches instantly.”
“I don’t know…why don’t you stand behind him?” she suggested. Stacey walked around the bench and stood behind him thankful to be an entire width of the bench away from him. “No that’s no good either. Anyone else have any ideas?”
No one said anything and the photographer clicked off a few photos, looking to Emma whose brain was churning.
“I can’t not have pictures of my maid of honor and best man,” she half whined.
Stacey could feel herself giving in, but she tried to resist. She and Jake had figured out long ago that decent photos of them took a while to get because of their differences but she couldn’t let herself go there. Although it seemed that she wasn’t going to have a choice, as she walked around the bench to go over and console Emma, Jake’s hand snaked out and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her onto his lap and firmly held onto her hip.
“Smile Cee,” he told her as the photographer seeing the beauty of the shot began to capture their images.
Stacey tried to smile but then couldn’t breathe, an entire mountain of feelings bombarded her, and she closed her eyes for a moment to keep everyone else from seeing them. She reopened them and found Emma and Miles looking on in approval of the pose and Jake being Jake, grew more courageous.
In an instant, she went from sitting on his knee to swept up in his arms, forcing her to grab onto his shoulders for support. Moments, that seemed like hours to her, later he slowly put her down onto her feet letting her slide down his body and feel every muscle he possessed. Their eyes met and she saw the same hunger in his eyes that had been there eight years ago, the night he’d asked her to marry him.
“You haven’t changed at all Cee,” he whispered to her before she could stumble out of his hold and head over to Emma’s side. She was acutely aware of his gaze on her and heard Miles laugh at something he said.
Emma giggled. “Maybe it’s a good thing Nick’s not here. Jake looks like he could gobble you up in a single bite.”
“All the more reason to stay away from him,” Stacey stated calmly, forcing her mind to go blank.
“Really, this coming from the girl who can’t get past date five with a guy?” Emma asked with an eyebrow raise.
“Maybe seeing you and Miles actually go through with the wedding changed something for me?”
“Yeah, and I raise proper British piglets who can fly,” Emma argued back with a horrible English accent.
“Alright then maybe it’s because I know a total player when I see one?”
“That one I’ll give you,” Emma dropping her voice to a whisper. “Miles told me that ever since he’s known him there’s a new girl every week, sometimes every other day. How a guy can date so many women and still be successful in a sport as grueling as his, I don’t know? Besides he and Lisa sure do make a striking pair.”
Stacey glanced back over to Jake and drank in her fill, she purposely hadn’t seen him in eight years, in person or in print, and she was amazed at the changes that were so obvious to her eyes.
His shoulders were wider than they’d been, and they’d felt ten times as strong she mused. His waist was still trim, but she’d felt the rigidness of his six-pack through the suit jacket. His legs were harder to judge but the cut of his suit let her know that they were well defined, and as they moved past the others to get into the car, she caught a sight of his butt. Her breath caught again, despite the flow of his suit, she knew it’d be just as firm as always.
“Everything okay?” Emma asked while she straightened the dress to prevent wrinkles.
