One of his colleagues jumped and had a cocktail in his hand this time instead of just another beer before he’d even taken his drink. He flipped me off but immediately picked up with the game and managed to be the first one to call every song from the time we started playing until we left.
From the cigar lounge, we went to a Smashing Party, which had been one of my picks for the evening out of the packages the company had available. We arrived at an empty warehouse and were given sledgehammers on our way in, then rolled up our sleeves before we were escorted to a large area that had been sectioned off near the back.
It was filled with furniture, dishware, drywall, and loads of other stuff for us to break. No one wasted a minute, charging forward to fuck some shit up as soon as the protection was slid over our eyes.
The guys had a great time, and so did I. All I could think about as I swung my way through everything I could find was Colette yelling at me the other day. I pounded out my frustration. BANG. My disbelief. BANG. My hurt. BANG BANG.
Before I knew it, a hand came to a rest on my arm, and I turned to find Ben, a friend of ours from school, frowning at me. “Dude? Are you okay? The buzzer went off, like, five minutes ago.”
I shook him off, taking a second to get my head back in the game. It was only then that I noticed most of the other guys had already returned their equipment and were on their way out.
“I’m fine.” I yanked my safety glasses off and smirked at him. “Just burning off some of the alcohol to get ready for more. You ready for this?”
“Meeting Tierra and her girls at a club?” He cocked a brow at me and clapped me on the shoulder. “I’m fucking ready for it, bro. Have been since you sent the invite. Let’s go.”
“Let’s go,” I agreed, following him out and to the limo where I piled in with everyone else.
When we set off, I really was glad I’d burned off some of the alcohol and a lot of the conflicting emotions that all her yelling had kicked up in me. I hadn’t seen Colette since the parking lot, but I was about to.
And I had no fucking idea how I was going to handle it. I knew I’d have to try, though. For Tierra. For Brett. Even for me.
We needed to keep things civil. In another week, this would all be over, and she’d made it perfectly clear that we wouldn’t be seeing each other after that.
Fucked if I know why that thought hurts so bad, but I have ten minutes to get it sorted.
Another, more realistic part of my brain scoffed at me. Yeah, like that’s going to happen.
“Dan!” I yelled over the music to the guy sitting closest to the booze. “Be a sweetheart and pass me another beer, would you? I need to get my buzz back after that.”
More raucous cheers went up. Dan broke out handfuls of beers and passed them around, and I sagged back in my seat and drained mine in one go. Head in the game, Pax. It’s just a party. Fucking act like it.
Chapter 30
COLETTE
There was nothing quite like a spa day with the girls. We were pampered from head to toe, massaged and slathered in all kinds of heavenly smelling creams and oils. It was divine, and sitting in the hot tub after while sipping champagne was just as good.
All of Tierra’s best and closest friends had been able to make it despite the short notice—which was great—and everyone was having a blast. Some of the girls were friends of hers from college and others from work, so I didn’t know them very well, but there were a few of them I’d met along the way and others I’d also known for a while.
“Dinner and more champagne next, right?” Tasha asked, the expression on her face as she leaned with her head on the edge of the hot tub as blissed-out and serene as I was sure mine was.
She was a couple of years younger than me, a friend of Tierra’s from high school, but we always seemed to end up seeking each other out at their gatherings.
“Yep,” I replied as I signaled to the waiting server to bring out another platter of snacks. “There’s plenty more left to eat here, though. We’re in no rush.”
Outside the window-walled room we were in, the sun was setting, and I knew the guys would be finishing up at the paintball place right around now. I wondered how it was going with them, but I didn’t want to interfere too much.
I’d seen Brett this morning at his suit fitting and my dress fitting. We’d had a big, greasy brunch together to line his stomach after, and I’d packed him a special cooler for the day that I’d made sure Paxton remembered to load into the limo.
My fingers itched to check in with him again, but I didn’t. Whenever I texted him, he came back with a reply that managed to piss me off one way or another. I couldn’t wait to be done with having to work together, but at the same time, I hadn’t gotten over the pain I’d felt the other night after the fight.
I didn’t know if I’d ever get over it. My emotions were such a mess that even I didn’t know how I felt at any given time.
A cheese and fruit platter came past, but I shook my head. “I’m fine, thanks.”
“What’s that all about?” Tasha asked, sitting up straight now with a little plate balanced on the side of the tub. “You love cheese platters. Spill, girl. What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing.” I sighed softly, then managed to flash her a smile. “It’s just been a long few weeks.”
A knowing gleam entered her eyes as she waved a hand around the room. “I can imagine. You did a great job with this, though. It’s been the perfect day so far. How are Brett’s feet?”
“They’re toasty warm.” I laughed, snagging a piece of cheese from her plate and ignoring her when she rolled her eyes at me. “What? I changed my mind.”
“Uh-huh.” She moved the plate so it was between us, then gave me a sidelong glance. “You had a very faraway look on your face when she came around with that platter. Did it have anything to do with having to work with a certain ex these last few weeks?”
I groaned. “Can we not talk about He Who Shall Not Be Named? It’s been bad enough having to talk to him almost every day. I really don’t want to talk about him too.”
“You might not want to, but it looks like it’s only you.” She inclined her head toward the cluster of girls sitting around Tierra on the other side of the hot tub and tapped a finger against her ear.
I’d mostly tuned out all the conversations around me today as I focused on doing what needed to be done, but I zoned in on them now.
“Is your brother going to be there tonight?” one of the girls I didn’t really know asked. “Please say yes.”
“Of course he is,” Tierra replied with a teasing note in her voice. “He’s my brother and my man of honor. If he’s not there, he’s going to wake up tomorrow morning missing certain appendages I know he’s very fond of.”
The girls laughed, but my chest tightened. They kept talking about him on and off until it was time to leave the spa, and then when we got to the boutique restaurant we’d rented for the evening, it started up again.
There was a huge spread of appetizers for dinner, and the champagne was flowing, but the same girls from before didn’t seem interested in anything other than Paxton. “Is he seeing anyone at the moment?”
The girl who asked had gone to college with Tierra, and I knew she’d probably spent more time with him than the rest. Except maybe for Tasha, but she stuck to my side like glue and hadn’t brought him up again after I asked her not to.
The way her head was tilted told me she was listening to them as well, and she shot me a look before giving her eyes another exaggerated roll.
Tierra glanced at me for some reason, but at whatever look must’ve been on my face, she shook her head and focused on her friend again. “Nope. I don’t think he’s involved at the moment.”
There were several squeals of excitement, which made me toss back the entire glass of champagne in front of me. The first girl who’d brought him up scooted forward on her chair, her eyes bright on Tierra’s.
“So he’s definitely going to be there,
and he’s definitely single?” she asked before batting her eyelashes and touching her hand to her chest. “You know, I might finally take a run at him tonight.”
Another girl almost doubled over with laughter. “Finally? You take a run at him every time you see him, but he keeps shooting you down. How about you stand back tonight and let one of us show you how it’s done?”
“Nah, I don’t think I will,” she said snippily. Tierra laughed before putting up her hands.
“Girls, girls,” she said. “Let’s leave my brother in one piece, okay? I still need him to stand with me next weekend, and that’s not going to be possible if you tear him limb from limb while fighting over him.”
“Trust me, I don’t plan on tearing him limb from limb.” The first girl winked. “Just giving him a proper workout a few times in a row.”
As the table roared with laughter, I had to force myself to stay put. All I wanted to do was jump up and run away from hearing other women talk about him like that. I’d been used to it once upon a time, but if the jealousy and possessiveness burning me up from the inside out was any indication, I definitely wasn’t used to it anymore.
Come to think about it, I didn’t only want to run away from them. I wanted to run to him and use my body as a shield to protect him from these vultures. Having all of them hanging all over him all night was going to suck.
The vile bitterness that brought those thoughts crept up on me seemingly out of nowhere. I resented it immediately, but I couldn’t change the way I felt.
It was crazy, really.
On the one hand, I wanted to yell at him in a parking lot and turn my back on him, but on the other, I didn’t want him to be with anyone else. It was terribly unfair and childlike of me, and I knew it, but I felt it nevertheless.
I’m such a mess.
Tasha seemed to sense my need for comfort food. She piled up a plate of one of each of the best appetizers and pushed it over to me. “To quote you, eat up. At the rate you’re going through that champagne, you’re going to need it.”
What I needed was to get my head straight, possibly a night venting to Brett, and to put Paxton behind me for good, but I supposed some of the decadent appetizers was as good a place as any to start.
I gave her a grateful smile as I speared a fork into a cube of bacon-wrapped, fried camembert. “Thanks. You’re right. The bubbles are already going to my head.”
She laughed. “It ain’t the bubbles going to your head. It’s the alcohol you’re trying to drown your thoughts of him in.”
I shrugged. “Potato, potahto. Let’s put a pin in that topic for now. How are you doing? You finished nursing school, right?”
She nodded, a wide smile taking over her face. “Fine. I’ll let you use me to distract you from all those girls drooling over your ex’s tight butt. I finished and I love it. It’s treating me much better than the finance world ever did. I’m so glad I made the switch when I did.”
We traded some stories over people at the hospital we both knew, and she successfully kept me from overhearing any more of the conversation about Paxton. An alarm on my phone reminded me to text him a while later. It was time to get going with the only game we’d be playing all night. When I’d read about it, the article had said it served as an excellent and ongoing icebreaker.
There had been some other games at the spa and some just after we’d arrived here, but Paxton and I had decided not to make the games too corny, too cheesy, or too many. It had taken us some time to choose one that was low-key and could be played throughout an entire evening, but the name of it was regrettable.
Tasha read his reply to my text over my shoulder. I nearly spat champagne all over the table after reading it, but she burst out laughing. “You’ve got to give it to him, he has the ability to make a dirty joke out of anything.”
“It’s not as if it’s difficult to make a dirty joke out of that, though. I predict we’re about to hear a few from the girls when I explain the game to them in a minute.”
Tasha shrugged her agreement, and we both turned out to be right. After drinks and dinner ran late into the night, we headed to the nightclub. It was like an intense fever dream in here. Almost as soon as we walked in, we were swallowed up by loud music and flashing lights.
In the short time it took me to shoot a text to Veronica to check on her and April, the other women spied Paxton. As I slid my phone back into my purse, I saw him lounging against the bar making small talk with a pretty, short-haired girl.
Everything inside me froze up at the sight of him with another woman, but then I remembered that we were over. He could talk to whoever he wanted.
Pulling back my shoulders, I lifted my chin and marched right over to his other side. The bartender caught my eye, and I leaned over the counter before hollering at him. “We’ll have a round of tequila shots, please, and keep ’em coming.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Paxton grinning and shaking his head at me, but I ignored him. If he was going to have fun with other people tonight, then so was I. Screw him.
This was my best friend’s bachelor party. I’d been waiting for it for twelve years, and I was determined to enjoy it—especially now that we were all together. It was a big night for Brett, and as soon as the bartender put the tray full of shots down in front of me, I scooped it up and went in search of the only man I was actually here for.
Brett.
And once I’d spent some time with him, I’d see if I could find myself a dance partner. It would be fun to shake my ass a little, and as from this moment, I was having fun. Paxton had stolen enough of the joy of my best friend’s wedding away from me. I wouldn’t let him steal the rest of this night too.
Chapter 31
PAXTON
People jumped up and down on the dance floor, waving their arms in the air and screaming along with the music. The DJ we’d gotten for the evening was reading the crowd like an open book, and he kept the hits coming.
After getting my buzz back in the limo and getting rid of some of the pent-up feelings back at the Smashing Party, I’d managed to get Colette’s voice out of my head. I was actually having fun again.
More than having fun, really. It had been a long time since I’d partied with my sister, and seeing her this happy made everything else take a back seat. A lot of the guys and girls we were out with tonight were people I’d known for a long time, and I was having the time of my life with them all.
Even having Colette here somehow added to the overall effect. I’d thought her presence would bring me down, but it didn’t. Regardless of how she felt about me, it made me feel better to be able to keep an eye on her.
She hadn’t spoken to me at all, but that also meant she hadn’t yelled at me. Surprisingly, she even seemed to have pulled the stick out of her ass again. It looked like she was having a damn good time.
It might have been the several shots of tequila I’d seen her toss back, but the uptight girl I’d seen on a few occasions now wasn’t anywhere to be seen tonight. She was part of Brett and a group of his other friends who hadn’t left the dance floor in at least an hour.
At least one of the partygoers remembered the game every time the song changed, and someone always yelled out the name or the name of the band. Everyone played along and took their drinks whenever they were nominated. It was as I was tipping my beer back to take my own next drink that my gaze landed on Colette again.
The way her hips were swaying was drawing the attention of several men in her vicinity, and as soon as I noticed them leering at her, I felt that possessive switch flipping in my brain. I knew it wouldn’t go over well if I went over there and claimed her as mine when she wasn’t, but I also couldn’t just leave it alone.
She looked fucking good tonight. I didn’t blame them for wanting her. Especially since with her hands in the air, her eyes closed, and her head dipped back slightly, the shirt she had on had ridden up just a little, exposing a small swatch of the skin on her hips every now and then as she moved.
Her skirt was shorter than the ones she usually wore, but that accentuated the curves of her ass and her thighs. After their day of pampering, her skin was glowing but not shiny, and her loose hair brushed against the small of her back when her head was tipped back the way it was.
I doubted she realized just how damn sexy she looked, but I also doubted I was the only one sporting a semi just from watching her. And okay, imagining her moving like that on top of me.
It didn’t help that I wasn’t only imagining it. I was also remembering it, because I was probably the only asshole in this room lucky enough to have actually experienced it. The thought brought a smirk to my lips, and with that in mind, I walked over to the bar to get her a water.
Her eyes were still closed when I moved in behind her. I shot glares at every idiot who was stupid enough to keep leering at her while I was there. When she felt my front touching her back and my hand coming to rest lightly on her hip, her eyes popped wide open.
She spun around to face me but didn’t swat my hand away immediately. Our gazes locked, and my body started moving with hers of its own accord. As soon as it did, though, she took a step back and broke the connection between us.
“I thought I told you to stay away from me,” she said, but there was no real edge of anger in her voice. She also kept it low enough that Brett wouldn’t be able to hear her from the other side of me. Oh, yeah. I forgot for a second we were pretending that everything was fine between us.
Smiling at her as I held up the bottle of water, I moved my head down so she’d be able to hear my reply loud and clear over the pounding bass of the music. “You need to hydrate.”
“You don’t get to tell me what I need,” she retorted, but again, it lacked any kind of vehemence in her tone.
“Don’t try to refuse water just because you’re still pissed off with me,” I said, so close that my lips brushed against her hair as I spoke. “You’ve been going all day with the girls just like I have with the boys. There’s got to be more alcohol than blood in your system right now.”
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