by R. Linda
“I’m so sorry, baby cakes. I was a jerk before.” He cupped my face with his hands, weaving his fingers through my hair and tilting my face up to his. What was he doing now? “Forgive me.”
“Of cour—” I didn’t even finish speaking before Jack’s mouth came down on mine, hard, dominating, intense. Whoa. Who knew he could kiss like that? My knees actually buckled, and I had to cling to him to stop from falling. He smiled. The jerk smiled into the kiss, knowing he knocked me off my feet. His hands travelled down my back, pausing on my butt to give it a squeeze.
He broke the kiss and looked over my shoulder at Linc. “Thanks for looking after her tonight. I owe you, man.” He held out his fist to bump with Linc’s. Then Jack did the one thing I least expected. He gripped my legs and lifted me up, forcing my ankles to lock behind his back so I didn’t fall. Oh my God. It was awful. Horrifying. So awkward and inappropriate. “But, ahhh…we should get going now,” he said, giving my ass a light slap.
He slapped me.
He was a dead man.
I couldn’t look even look at Linc. I was so embarrassed. Instead, I buried my face in Jack’s shoulder and wished the ground would open and swallow me whole.
He carried me to my room, not releasing me until we were at my bed, where he promptly dropped me on top like a hot potato before throwing himself down beside me.
I sat up and straightened my dress, which had ridden so scandalously high it would even make Her Royal Whoreness Christina blush, and that was saying a lot. Christina was a hussy, to put it mildly. She was sleeping with Bailey’s ex-boyfriend when he and Bailey were still together in high school. And to make things worse, she and Bailey were best friends at the time. Couldn’t get more skanky than that.
“What was that?” I seethed at Jack.
“That,” he paused for dramatic effect, “was a lot of fun.”
My lips pinched, and my eyebrows joined. “That was embarrassing, and unnecessary, and—”
“Fun. Admit it. You liked kissing me. I made your knees wobble.” He laughed and threw himself onto the pillow Linc had slept on the previous night.
My eyes widened, and I lurched forward, ripping the pillow out from under him. “Not that one,” I clarified when he looked at me like I’d lost my mind. Maybe I had. But it still smelled like him. I might even pack it in my bag when I left here.
“Okaaaay…crazy pants.” He sat up. “Now, where were we? Oh, yeah!” He snapped his fingers and grinned at me. “Wobbly knees and passionate kisses.”
I shook my head and thought of something to change the subject. “So what did you do today?”
“Nuh-uh. We were talking about us.” He flicked his hand between us.
“There is no us, Jack.”
“I’m hurt, baby cakes. Real bad. Right here.” A pained expression crossed his face as he beat his chest over his heart twice with his fist. Idiot.
“You’ll live.” I rolled my eyes and climbed off the bed to grab my pyjamas.
“Not if I don’t get to experience more of your kisses.” He was smooth. Sometimes.
“Do you sweet talk all your girlfriends?” I laughed because he didn’t have girlfriends or boyfriends. He was committed to playing the field.
“Only you, sweet cheeks,” he called out when I closed the bathroom door behind me so I could dress for bed in peace.
I pulled on the tiny pink “Kiss My…” top and decided to slide Linc’s black basketball shorts on instead because they were much more comfortable than the booty shorts Jack had bought. And besides, they were Linc’s.
I returned to the room, and Jack stared, slack-jawed. “The top looks great. But those are not the shorts to match.”
“I know. I wouldn’t call that scrap of matching material shorts. They were tiny, Jack!”
“So…where did these abnormally large shorts come from?”
“Linc,” I huffed, making Jack laugh again.
“Yes! It’s working.” He clapped his hands.
“It’s not.”
“You should have seen his face after I kissed you. He was insanely jealous. Did he dance with you tonight at the club? He did, didn’t he? I bet he did. He would have been all macho and charged onto the dance floor like…” Jack stood and flexed his biceps, pulling his face into a frown. “Back off, creepy dude. She’s mine.”
I pressed my lips together to stifle the laugh that was threatening to escape, but I couldn’t. He wasn’t far off.
“I knew it! Lincoln ‘I should have been a Greek God’ Andrews saves the damsel again.” Jack threw himself back on the bed and patted the space next to him. I curled up beside him, my eyelids getting heavy.
“I don’t know, Jack. He’s hot and cold. I think this whole plan of yours might be useless.”
“It’s not useless. Trust me. This will work. He wants you. I know it. He just doesn’t want to admit it because you’re Nate’s sister. But no matter what, he can’t stay away from you.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pressed a kiss to my head. “We are going to get you your man, one way or another.”
I smiled into his chest. I was grateful to have him as a friend. He’d do just about anything for me.
“You’re not a bad kisser, you know, baby cakes,” Jack murmured after a few minutes of silence.
“What?”
“Not bad. I mean, the earth didn’t move, and you didn’t make my knees shake, like I so clearly did you, but overall, it wasn’t bad.”
“Not bad?”
“I’d give it a solid C.”
“A C? You’re grading my kiss?” I sat up and punched him in the shoulder. “A kiss, mind you, that I didn’t even want or expect. Are you forgetting one thing?”
“What?” he hissed, rubbing his palm over the spot I hit him. Good. Served him right.
“That I have only ever kissed two people. You…and him.” I pointed at the door separating my room and Linc’s.
“Well, do you want to practice? I’d be more than willing to sacrifice myself, to make sure you sweep the sexy lifeguard off his feet. Take one for the team and all.”
“No! I don’t want to practice!”
“Are you sure?” Jack wiggled his eyebrows.
“Yes,” I breathed. At least I didn’t think I wanted to practice. Did I? Urgh, I was confused. I’d never given any thought to the fact that I hadn’t kissed anyone since Linc on my eighteenth birthday and that I was terrible at it. I was so inexperienced. I should practice so when Linc finally realised…
No, that was stupid. It wasn’t going to happen, so what did it matter that I wasn’t an expert kisser?
“Well, the offer is there if you need.”
“I need to go to sleep. That’s what I need.”
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow. Night, baby cakes.” Jack rolled over, grabbed my face in his hands, and kissed me. On the mouth. Again. “Sorry, couldn’t resist.” He chuckled then pulled away and walked to the door.
“Idiot.” I threw a pillow at his head but missed because he darted out of the room and closed the door behind him.
Reluctantly, I got up from the bed to get the pillow and lie back down when the door handle between the two rooms jiggled.
I went over and opened it a crack.
“Hey.” Linc peered around the door. “Why was the door locked?”
“Hi. Must’ve been the staff,” I lied and returned to my bed. I pulled back the covers and climbed in. What was he doing here? It had to be close to five a.m.
“Just wanted to check you were okay. I heard you shout and the door close. Where’s Jack?” He stepped into the room and looked around.
“He left. I’m fine. Just tired.” I snuggled into my pillow, which wasn’t nearly as comfortable as sleeping on Linc’s chest, but I made use of what I had. It smelled like him, so I wasn’t complaining too much.
“Okay. Well, goodnight,” he said softly, smoothing his hands over his hair.
“Night.” I yawned, closing my eyes.
The bed dipped beside me, jolting me from the brink of sleep only moments later.
“Sorry, just wanted to make sure you had water and painkillers for when you woke up.” I thought I smiled, or at least I tried to, but I was so tired, my eyes drooped closed again. “I’ll go now. Everything is on your side table.”
“Stay,” I mumbled into the pillow and reached for his hand, or arm, or leg. Anything I could grab to stop him from leaving.
“Okay.”
Chapter Twelve
Linc
Nate rang me in the morning, waking me from a restless sleep, to tell me we were playing golf with his dad later. I’d tossed and turned all night. Having Indie sleep beside me made things so much worse. I couldn’t shut my brain off. I needed to figure things out. I either had to make a move, bite the bullet, and tell Indie how I felt, or I had to learn to leave well enough alone. I was of two minds, constantly warring with myself, and it was driving me crazy.
On one hand, I didn’t want to ruin my friendship with Nate. Something I knew without a doubt would happen if I told him I was in love with his sister. There would be no way he’d let me live to see another day. He tied Timmy Fullson, the scrawny kid who lived on the other side of him, to the light pole down the street because he called Indie pretty. And we were friends with that kid at the time.
And besides, he knew exactly what I was like. I’d not had a long-term girlfriend except for the mistake that was Jasmine. What could I say? The body glitter and nipple tassels were intriguing for three seconds when my brain short circuited and I tried to push Indie out of my mind, but I couldn’t marry a stripper. So there was no chance he’d let me date his sister.
And then…what if after all that, Indie didn’t feel the same way? What if she laughed in my face and called me a loser? I’d have lost both her and Nate, and I didn’t want to do that. They were too important to me.
But on the other hand, if Indie felt the same way and loved me as much as I did her, the risk of losing Nate as a friend, and my manhood in the process, would be totally worth it, right? If I had her by my side, nothing else mattered.
I was doomed if I did and doomed if I didn’t.
***
The sun was scorching. I could feel my skin burning. My throat was dry, parched. A cold glass of water or eight wouldn’t go astray. The golf game was taking forever, mostly because none of us was up for it, except Jack and Ryder. Ryder didn’t look like he’d spent the entire night drinking in a club like the rest of us. He had a little black around the eyes, but that was it. Nate’s face was pasty white, and he was sweating profusely and groaned every time he breathed. I was pretty sure Brody had thrown up after every hole, and Jack was his chipper old self. He wasn’t tired at all, or sick. And he was hitting better than everyone else, including Steve, who was mildly impressed. What I wouldn’t give to know exactly what he thought of his daughter’s boyfriend.
“So what happened last night?” Brody asked, coming to stand beside me. He rested one arm on my shoulder for support because I was pretty sure he’d collapse otherwise.
“You were there. A lot of alcohol.” I watched Nate take a swing at the golf ball on the eighteenth hole and miss, silently grateful the game was almost over.
“After you left with Indie.” He groaned and crouched down, holding his stomach.
“Nothing. I walked her back to the hotel, and she went to bed.” I dug the club into the ground, acting like last night was no big deal. I couldn’t tell him I spent the night with her because she asked me to, because that would be stupid. I might as well shoot myself in the foot. But it was a big deal.
I hadn’t planned on staying in her room. I just wanted to give her the water and painkillers to make sure she woke up okay. I intended to leave the door open between our rooms, just in case. I didn’t like it when she drank so much, but she asked me to stay, and who was I to say no? I didn’t the first time she got drunk and asked me to stay, back when she was in high school.
She’d gone to a party at that douche Chace’s house—the one who knocked up Ryder’s sister and cheated on Bailey—and drank too much. I blamed Jayden, Ryder’s friend, for it, whether it was his fault or not. I didn’t know. But she was with him and had too many cocktails, but then he left her there. Alone. When she called me at one a.m. to come get her, I was ready to beat someone up. Unfortunately, there was no one around who deserved it. Ryder had already taken care of Chace. So I found Indie locked in a room by herself—at least she’d had the sense to get away from everyone else—and took her home. I knew Steve and Leanne would have hit the roof had I brought her home drunk, so I took her back to my place, put her in my bed, and was planning to let her sleep it off alone, until she asked me to stay. I was weak. I couldn’t say no to anything that girl asked, so I climbed into my bed beside her and held her all night.
“Fine, keep your secrets, but it’s all going to come out eventually, man. You can’t keep something like that bottled up for too long and not explode.” He pulled himself to his feet and took his shot rather slowly.
“What do you mean?” Brody was way more perceptive than I gave him credit for.
“Tell her how you feel.”
“Who? What?” I acted dumb, trying to pretend I didn’t understand what he was talking about, but I knew it was useless. He knew. Somehow, he knew.
“Indie. Tell her how you feel. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“Uh, Nate would murder me.” I sighed. It felt good to finally admit it to someone.
“Nate wouldn’t hurt a fly, and you know it.”
“Maybe, but he’d definitely kick my ass and never speak to me again.”
“No, he wouldn’t,” Brody argued, stopping short when Ryder came over.
“How’re you travelling, man?” Ryder laughed and slapped him on the back.
“Fine, just telling idiot here to ’fess up to Indie.”
Dammit.
“Will you shut up?” I shoved him in the chest.
“What? It’s not like he doesn’t know.” Brody laughed. I looked at Ryder, and he nodded.
“Really?”
“Kind of hard not to figure it out,” Ryder said and walked off again.
It wasn’t that obvious, was it?
Brody chuckled.
It was that obvious.
“Linc, your shot,” Nate called out.
I teed up the ball and took a swing. It soared through the air perfectly, landing on the green at the other end. I wasn’t half bad at golf when I was in the mood to play.
“Nice,” Nate cheered, getting a little life back in him.
The rest of the game went quickly, for which I was grateful. And then Steve announced he was buying us all drinks at the bar. Nate and Brody groaned. Ryder looked at his watch like he had somewhere better to be, and I was willing to bet that was wherever Bailey was. It didn’t worry me what we did. I could do with a drink. Or a sleep. If things kept going the way they were this week, I was going to end up an insomniac with a drinking problem.
“So, last night?” Nate fell into step beside me as we followed his old man back to the bar. My stomach dropped. He didn’t know, did he? He couldn’t.
“Mmmm,” I muttered.
“Harper,” he said.
I closed my eyes and smiled. He didn’t know. “What about her?”
“She’s fun, right? Seems like a pretty cool chick.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Why?”
“I don’t know,” he said then went silent.
“What happened after I left?”
“A lot of alcohol, man. Too much. I don’t really remember, but when I woke up this morning, I wasn’t alone.” He ran his hands over his face and groaned. “And I don’t remember it.”
“So, Harper?”
“Harper.” He nodded as we walked in the door to the restaurant.
“Nice.” I laughed at his confused expression.
“You boys want to
eat?” Steve asked.
“Yes!” everyone shouted in his face.
“Okay then, table for six. Thanks.” He smiled at the waitress and followed her to a booth in the back.
Steve ordered us a round of beer, and even though we’d all had a pretty big night—some more than others, judging by Nate’s and Brody’s appearances today—the beers went down well, quenching our thirst from playing eighteen holes in the blistering heat.
And food had never tasted so good. I hadn’t realised how hungry I was until my meal arrived. Everyone devoured everything on their plate.
“Big night?” Steve chuckled.
“Could say that,” Nate mumbled through a mouthful of food.
“Well, you boys remember, tomorrow night is the rehearsal dinner, so you need to be sober. I don’t want any hangovers for my wedding the following day.”
“Whatever. It’s not like it’s your first wedding. And besides, you’re remarrying Mum, so it doesn’t have to be perfect.”
“It does. This is what your mother wants, so it will be perfect. We never got a real wedding the first time, so this is it.” Steve wiped his mouth with his napkin and set it on his plate.
“What do you mean, you didn’t get a real wedding the first time?” Nate asked.
“Just that we got married at city hall in front of two random witnesses we met on the street. That’s why this wedding is such a big deal. So, please, stay sober tomorrow night.”
“Sure.” I nodded. I didn’t want to drink anymore, anyway.
“Okay,” Nate agreed, followed by the rest.
“Good. Now, I’m off for my suit fitting. You boys stay here and enjoy ringing everything up on my bill.” Steve stood and clapped Nate on the shoulder. “Oh, and before I forget, Nate. You and Lincoln need to be in the ballroom upstairs in the hotel at four p.m. for a dance lesson.” He smiled and walked out.
“Why?” Nate groaned and banged his head on the table. So much like Indie. “Why? Why? Why? I hate dancing.”
“It’s one dance. Get over it,” Ryder said.
“I can give you some pointers if you like,” Jack offered. He’d been so quiet, I’d almost forgotten he was there.