Our margaritas arrived along with enough food to feed all of Tulip. I sipped like I’d just finished running a marathon until the tequila had me a little fuzzy around the edges and made me a little less anxious and angry at the man beside me. There was just enough margarita in me to keep me from doing something stupid and reckless, like demanding answers that wouldn’t change the past or make me feel better.
I stayed in that happy little bubble while Will and Walker inhaled their food.
“Why are you two acting like you don’t know each other?” Will’s question was accusatory and it raised my hackles.
Walker stayed silent, probably terrified I’d tell Will what happened just to force a shotgun wedding. I refused to stay silent. “Because we don’t, Will. Next question.” The table fell silent and I realized I’d had another one of those moments where I said the exact wrong thing and the exact wrong time, increasing the awkwardness at the table.
“Bullshit. You’ve known Walker practically your whole life.”
Since I was nine years old, in fact. He was at the house the day the social worker dropped me off and I thought he was the most handsome person I’d ever seen, what with his friendly smile and perfect hair. “That doesn’t mean I know him or that he knows me. We both know you.” There was a time I thought we were friends but he’d quickly proved me wrong.
Will didn’t like that answer and Walker still hadn’t said anything, so he shrugged. “You can get to know each other as adults. I mean, you’ll see a lot of each other now that you’re back for good.”
Not if I could help it. I finished my drink and slid until my hip hit Walker’s. “I need to go.”
Walker leaned in and whispered, “Don’t leave on my account.”
“I’m not.” He moved and I stood, turning to my brother. “Can I count on you to get Hope home with her panties still on?” He choked and Hope turned a very alarming shade of red. If I hadn’t been in such a hurry to get the hell out of there, I might have commented on it.
“That all depends on Hope,” he said and wrapped an arm around her. “Besides, there’s plenty to do with the panties still on.”
“Good night,” I said and turned on my heels, practically marching an army out of the Tex-Mex restaurant and into the cool night air. Will talked a big game but he was a good guy. I knew because I’d encountered plenty of not-so-good ones before and after foster care. Hope was safe and if I kept up this pace, I’d be home in ten minutes. Maybe less.
“Audrey!”
I knew that voice well. Too well.
Walker.
I walked even faster.
Walker
Damn, but Audrey was walking fast as hell. I should probably take the hint. Should, but I wouldn’t.
“Audrey!”
That time I caught it—the little pause at the sound of her name. Until she recognized my voice anyway. It gave me enough time to catch up with her on the next block.
“Is this how it’ll be between us from now on?” It couldn’t be this awkward forever, not when I practically grew up in her house. Not when her brother was my best friend. Her mother was my surrogate mother while my own parents traveled the world, healing the sick and saving the world.
She turned when I was beside her, blank violet eyes staring through me and lush lips pulled into a tight line. “It isn’t any way between us, Walker. You’re my brother’s friend and that’s all.” She said what she had to say and turned away, putting more distance between us. Luckily, my legs were a lot longer than hers and I caught up to her easily, keeping stride right alongside her.
“So we’re not even friends?”
“No, we’re not.” The answer came so fast it was hard to imagine she didn’t mean it. Audrey wasn’t a hard-to-get kind of girl; she didn’t play the game, which explained why I felt so anxious.
“That was fast.”
She shrugged, still almost running to get away from me. “Truth is easy to remember.”
“Slow down, dammit.”
“Go back to your dinner, Walker.” She shook her head like I was some kind of damn pest she needed to get rid of.
“You’ve been drinking.” It wasn’t what I intended to say but it got her to stop. And glare at me. “It’s dark out.”
“I can take care of myself, Walker. Thanks for your concern.” She said the last word like I couldn’t possibly have any concern for her. With me distracted, Audrey took off, giving me a good long look at the curve of her ass. She was so petite and soft, feminine with curves in all the right places, but I knew from experience she was no shrinking violet. No, Audrey was strong and capable of a good, hard fuck.
“Dammit,” I growled and caught up with her once again. “I’ll walk you home.”
“Not necessary.”
Stubborn ass woman. “I wish you would just call me an asshole so we could fight about this and get over it.” I knew it was the wrong thing to say the moment the words were out of my mouth and I braced myself for the fallout.
“I’m sure you would. That way you could feel better about your behavior. No thanks. Not interested. Good night, Walker.”
She wasn’t getting rid of me that fast. I walked beside her for two and a half more blocks until we arrived at the little farm-style house she bought or rented—not even Will knew which, was a feat in this town. “I’m not a bad guy.”
“Never said you were,” she replied and climbed the stairs quickly, turning with her arms crossed. “You can go now.”
“When you’re inside I will.”
She let out a growl and the sound shot straight to my dick, like she’d struck a match on my zipper. It was sexy and adorable, and it was a good thing I wasn’t looking for adorable.
“Goodbye, Walker.” Her words were final as she pushed in the key and turned the knob and I couldn’t let her say goodbye. Could I?
Hell no. I took the short stairs two at a time until I was on her doorstep, staring down into almond-shaped eyes the color of amethyst. “Not goodbye,” I growled and grabbed her face, lowering my mouth to hers and watching the play of emotion in her eyes. Wariness and fear swam together but underneath was lust and that was what gave me the confidence to act.
Just like last time, Audrey was responsive as fuck, melting into me as her hands clung to my shoulders, the same way she had when I thrust into her and made her come twenty floors above Manhattan. I swallowed her moan and when her hands slid down my abs slowly, my muscles jumped in response. Her knuckles brushed over my cock and I jumped back while she gasped and looked up at me with wide, shocked eyes. Then slammed the door in my face.
I smiled because Audrey might not want to deal with me, but she wanted me and I could work with that. As soon as I found a way to get back to my car without being arrested for the concealed weapon in my pants.
Still, as I retraced my path, there was a smile on my face I couldn’t explain.
Audrey
“It’s just me, Mom!” Walking through the front door of the only house that was ever home to me was like walking through a time machine. The living-room couch looked the way it did when I climbed up on it beside Helen for the first time, shy and wary of everyone. Everything. The same plaid upholstery, green and gold and navy blue, covered the sofa and loveseat, not to mention the matching chair. The end tables were the same but the coffee table was new, unscratched and without a huge crack in the glass.
“Come on. Back here, girl! Don’t dawdle!” I smiled at Mom’s words, the same ones she used when Will or I didn’t move fast enough.
“It’s been awhile,” I told her as I set my bag of goodies on the cluttered kitchen table. “I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t changed anything.”
Mom’s smile bloomed big and bright and full of happiness. “If I change it too much you and your brother might not recognize it. That might make it hard to find your way back.”
“We’re both here, Mom. Not going anywhere.” Because we needed a new topic of conversation, I pulled out the bottle of Jameson—
the expensive stuff because Mom would never buy it for herself. “Perfect to wash down an Irish feast?”
Mom snagged the bottle from my hand with a grin. “I suppose we ought to test it out first to make sure it’s not a bad batch.”
“Just what I was thinking.” She grabbed glasses and poured while I surveyed the sights and scents of the kitchen. “What’s on the menu?”
“Slow-roasted corned beef, colcannon, roast vegetables, bread, mac & cheese and your favorite—salad.” She arched one silver eyebrow in my direction, a sure sign she expected a smartass remark.
“What, no cabbage?” I laughed when she swatted my ass. I skirted out of her reach. “Sounds amazing, Mom, and I’d much rather have your colcannon than salad. But salad sounds good too.”
“Good, then you can peel those boiled potatoes and mash ’em. They should be cool enough to touch by now.”
I gathered what I needed and set up at one end of the table and we worked and sipped mostly in silence.
Mostly.
“I know something happened to you last year.” She held up her hands to stop any denials I had opened my mouth to spout. “I can see you don’t want to talk about it but I know something happened because you finally came home for barely a year before you took off for another six months. I just wish you would talk to me about it. Or someone.”
Talking didn’t come easy to me—never had where emotions and feelings were concerned. “Nothing to say about it, Mom. The contract was one I couldn’t pass up and the money was too good.” That was mostly true, but I was happy Mom didn’t press me on it. I put all the frustration I felt into the potatoes—mashing and whipping until they were airy and buttery.
“Butter, scallions, and cream are in the fridge in the red bowl,” she said and poured more Jameson into our glasses. Raising her glass, Mom shoved the other my way. “To having my baby around for Sunday dinners again.”
“Cheers to that. I missed spending time with you in the kitchen, Mom. They’re some of my favorite memories.”
Her smile softened at my words, but it was the truth. She’d taught me about eating healthy, preparing food, and we talked. Well, mostly Mom did.
“I’m glad to hear that, honey.” Before she could say anything else, the front door smacked open the way it always had when Will stormed into the house as an energetic teenager.
“Ma, we’re here!”
We? What in the hell did he mean by “we”? It was a dumb question because I knew the answer before either of them materialized inside the kitchen. Walker. He’d been to nearly as many Sunday dinners as I had—maybe more since he’d been around before me. I should have expected it.
But I didn’t.
With a bland smile fixed in place, I looked up at both men before turning my attention back to the potatoes. “Hey.”
“That’s all you have for me?” Will strolled over and wrapped an arm around me, smacking a loud kiss to my cheek just to annoy me. “Hey, Audrey. How’s it going?”
“Fine.”
He frowned, still trying to figure out what was wrong with me and unable to figure it out. He shrugged.
“I’m starved, Ma. What are we having?” Thankfully Will’s bottomless pit of a stomach took the attention off me and put it back where it belonged—on the food.
“You boys set the table and we’ll be ready to eat in ten minutes.” Like a drill sergeant, Mom ordered everyone around and we accepted our orders and did her bidding. Seven minutes later, we all sat around the table, Walker’s sparkling hazel eyes staring at me from directly across the table, while I focused keenly on my plate. “It’s so good to have you all here again,” she said, smiling. “Walker, tell me what’s new with you.”
He froze from being put on the spot but recovered quickly. “Not much to speak of. Mostly just work. And the Hometown Heroes headache.”
Mom smacked her lips. “You did good with Percy Hall. Lord knows the man could use some time with men his own size. Just don’t feel bad when Sheila takes him back. Been doin’ it since before you kids turned my hair gray.”
“You know you’re beautiful, Helen.” He flashed that charming smile where one side of his mouth kicked up just a little higher than the other. The same smile that had gotten me to invite him up to my room and then into my body. It was a damn lie.
But Mom didn’t think so; she blushed prettily and patted his arm. “Charmer.” Her gaze turned to Will, who was immediately on alert and running his mouth before she could ask any questions.
“Walker is Mr. Spring Fling and he needs a date. Know of anyone, Audrey?”
“Nope, I don’t.” I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up in Tulip and I had even less now, not that I’d ever betray them by recommending Walker as anything more than a one-night stand.
“You could take Audrey. You grew up together and she won’t get the wrong idea!” Mom clapped like it was her best idea to date, already talking details with Will.
“I’m not going.” I attended the Spring Fling dance when I turned sixteen and it ended, like most things in my life, in disaster. That was enough of dances to last, oh, forever.
“But you could, especially since you’d be doing Walker a favor.”
I sighed, wishing a farewell to my stupid fantasy that this would be a light and easy Sunday dinner. “I could also go to space, but I’m not going there either.” There were a lot of things I could be doing that night but the one thing I absolutely would not be doing was attending the Spring Fling. “Just hire a prostitute. They get paid not to get the wrong idea.”
Will laughed and Mom scolded me while Walker leveled me with his iciest stare that didn’t even make me flinch. I guess that was the one upside to being with your lifelong crush and then being crushed by his rejection—trying to be likable went out the window.
“Very funny, Audrey.”
I shrugged and scooped more potatoes and salad onto my plate while conversation moved on to the funding for new ambulance trucks and other town news I rarely bothered myself with.
“Will, help me with dessert?” Mom asked.
Mom and Will gathered all the plates but mine, leaving me and Walker alone in the dining room.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call,” he said into the silent, suffocating room.
“No you’re not.” It wasn’t like I had delusions of us getting married and having two-point-five kids and a white picket fence. I knew people like me rarely got that, but I thought Walker respected me enough to call. If not me, at least his friendship with Will. Guess I was wrong on both counts. “I don’t need your apology, Walker.”
“But you’re still upset,” he said plainly, the words obviously not a question.
“I’m not upset because I have no reason to be. You owe me nothing and that’s exactly what I got.” Okay, so the words sounded a bit bitter. Because they were, dammit.
“I didn’t ...” He trailed off, unable to finish the lie he was trying to spin in his head.
“Don’t. It doesn’t matter. Not to me.” It took some time, almost six months, but I’d finally made as much peace with the situation as I could.
“Please,” he said, his voice an anguished strain as his hand reached out to mine, looking hurt when I jerked out of his reach.
“No.”
“I hope you have room for dessert,” Mom sang and she and Will returned with rich Guinness cake, ice cream, and bowls.
Mom had worked hard on dinner, and having us all home for it seemed to light something within her, so I accepted the cake and ate it like it, and not Walker, had done me wrong. In minutes, my bowl was empty, and I was on my feet. “That was delicious, Mom, but I really ought to head out. I have some work to finish before a meeting in the morning.”
“Meeting? Where is this meeting?”
“On the computer, Mom, but I still have to be awake, alert, and presentable. Like any other meeting.” Some day she would get the difference between a brick-and-mortar office and telecommuting. Some day.
“Fine. L
et me pack some leftovers for you then.”
That would take too long. “Don’t worry about it, Mom. I’ll stop by tomorrow for lunch and we can eat them together.” She softened and pulled me into a long, comforting hug.
“That sounds wonderful, Aud. Have a good night and don’t work too hard.”
I waved to Will and Walker, barely sparing either of them a glance in my eagerness to get the hell away from one of them. I fumed the whole walk home.
Sorry. He was sorry?
Yeah, well, not as sorry as I was.
Walker
“Are you sure you don’t want any help?” It didn’t feel right to eat and leave, especially after a lifetime of helping Will clean up after Sunday dinner.
Helen nodded and turned me by the shoulders with her kind, maternal touch. “Positive. It was good to see that you haven’t forgotten about me, Walker. Don’t be a stranger.” She winked when I stepped through the door that led to the front porch. “But right now, I’ve got to straighten my boy out if I’m ever going to have grandchildren.”
I laughed as she shut the door, feeling grateful it was Will and not me in the hot seat. Well, at least not in the hot seat with Helen. There was another woman in his family who wasn’t too thrilled with me and I couldn’t blame her at all. But that didn’t mean I had to like it. I didn’t and I aimed my car in the direction of Audrey’s house, determined to make her listen to my apology and accept it.
Things couldn’t stay strained like this between us forever, not with how close I was to her whole family. Besides, if things kept on this way, Will would notice and he would dig until he had all the answers, and that couldn’t happen. He would flip out at best, and at worst, kill me.
Mr Justice Page 3