Forbidden Best Friend's Brother (Forbidden Small Town Bad Boys Book 5)

by Holly Jaymes

  Her blue eyes watched me. I let my gaze drift from her eyes down to her plump pink lips. I still remembered how they tasted, and I desperately wanted another hit. I looked into her eyes again, wondering what she’d think or do if I indulged in my need to kiss her.

  Taking a chance, I leaned forward, brushing my lips over hers. Her breath hitched, but she didn’t pull away. Her sweetness radiated out, and I moaned and started to reach for her to pull her in and fully consume her.

  “Victoria.” A woman's voice called through the darkness.

  Victoria jerked back. She looked up at me a little stunned and then stepped away, turning to the voice. “Is everything okay, Allie?”

  “Oh, there you are. They’re getting ready to cut the cake. Lily is looking for you.”

  Victoria kept her head down as she turned to me. “I’ve got to go. Take care, Pax.”

  No! It screamed inside me like a feral beast. My sister ruined things again. But then I remembered Victoria was going to Vegas. She’d be there while Lily was off on her honeymoon.

  I looked out over the water, wondering what I was thinking. Well, I knew what I was thinking. I was thinking I could have Victoria again. Busy or not, I could find the time. But that was a fool’s idea. It would be better to avoid her. To let the past stay in the past. Of course, now that I’d had another taste of her, being a fool seemed like a good idea.

  5

  No Escape

  Victoria

  Oh my God. My brain was in a freefall. What was I doing kissing Pax? I started to leave him but remembered his coat. I shrugged it off my shoulders, handed it to him with a curt, “Thanks” and then made my way up to the reception.

  I didn’t look at Allie as I passed her on the front area of the building. I couldn’t look her in the eyes if she’d seen my liplock with Pax. I headed into the reception and to Lily.

  “Hey girl, where have you been?” she asked.

  “Why?” God, can she tell? Was the deliciousness of his lips showing on my mouth?

  She frowned. “Just curious. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, great. Are you cutting the cake?” I wish I could get my brain to work right.

  Lily and Wyatt cut the cake, and served each other then kissed. It was exactly like one would expect it to go. So lovely. So sweet. So romantic. Especially when Sasha did the countdown to New Year, and everyone welcomed the turn of the year with a cheer and kissing the one they were with. Except me, of course. Pax was nowhere to be seen, and if he’d been there, he and I wouldn’t have kissed. Even if I was craving one more taste. Kissing him was off-limits. Not in front of Lily.

  After the cake, Wyatt made a show of removing Lily’s garter although I thought he had one eye on the sheriff as his hands slid under her dress. Then Lily threw the bouquet and I was careful to be as far away from it as I could. The entire time, I wasn’t sure where Pax was. I wondered if he’d left.

  Soon, Lily and Wyatt were making their exit to spend one night in the cabin where it all started, or so she said, and then they were headed off to Europe. I hung around until the guests left, and only me and Sasha remained, along with the caterers and cleanup crew.

  “Whew,” I said, taking a seat as the caterers clanged around in the kitchen and the cleaning crew cleared the tables.

  “I feel like I haven’t earned my fee,” Sasha said, sitting across from me.

  “What are you talking about? This day went perfectly. Lily is over the moon.”

  “I know, but a big part of that was you. Maybe I need to pay you some of what I earned.”

  I waved her comment away. “Nah. I’m just overinvolved. I’m lucky you didn’t tell me to butt out.”

  “If that cosmetics thing doesn’t work out, you have a future in wedding planning.”

  I laughed. “Good to know.”

  “I tell you; I’ve seen celebrities around Eden Lake, but I’ve never been in a situation to spend so much time with them. I mean…Lily Maddox. And holy crap, Pax Ryder. I hadn’t realized they were related.”

  “I think he did that on purpose,” I said, trying to forget the kiss, which was hard because his taste was still on my lips.

  “I thought he’d be different.” She had a wistful smile on her face. “But he’s really nice. Down to earth.”

  “He is. Do you want me to introduce you?” See, the kiss meant nothing, except my insides screamed, she better say no, or I might have to scratch her eyes out. Damn it.

  “Oh my God, that would be great, but no.”

  “Why?” I asked and then questioned my sanity. Take the no, I told myself.

  “I’m just a girl from a small town. That life isn’t for me. And my life isn’t for him.”

  “He’s not one to change his life for a woman,” I agreed.

  “Really? I guess you know him pretty well.”

  “Well enough,” I said simply. Not wanting to talk about Pax, I asked, “Is there anything I can do to help you finish up here?”

  “No. You’ve done so much already. I’m sure some of the guests are off celebrating in a cabin. You should join them. It’s the New Year!”

  “I’m beat. I’m heading to bed.”

  We both rose from our chairs.

  “Thank you again, Victoria. This was such a great experience and you helped make it so.”

  “Careful, I just might ask for a commission after all.”

  She laughed. “Have a good evening.”

  I headed back to the cabin. Tonight, I’d be by myself. For a moment, I wondered what would have happened if I’d invited Pax back here. Then I pushed it away. It was best not to go there.

  Still, when there was a knock on the door, I wondered if maybe he found me.

  I opened the door. “Allie.”

  “Were you expecting Pax?”

  I put on my best confused expression. “What?”

  She arched a brow and then walked in past me. “I saw you by the lake.”

  I huffed out a breath. “I’ve got some of Lily’s tea if you want.” I was going to have a giant glass of wine. I poured my glass and made Allie some tea.

  She and I sat on the couch where the night before, Lily and I had sat.

  “Are you alright?” Allie asked me.

  “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” I wondered if maybe I should haven’t brought the bottle to the couch with me.

  “Because you kissed Pax.”

  “He kissed me. I was taken off-guard.”

  “Hmm.” She sipped her tea.

  I gulped down half my glass. “I don’t need you giving me a hard time about this, Allie.”

  She jerked back. “I’m not giving you a hard time-”

  “Yes, you are. I don’t know what happened tonight, but it was a fluke.” A mistake, his words came back to me.

  “I’m just worried about you, that’s all.”

  “Well don’t be.”

  “He couldn’t take his eyes off you, Victoria. He watched you all night.”

  I couldn’t deny a small sense of satisfaction at that.

  She continued, “But he’s still Lily’s brother and unless she’s changed her mind, you and him being together-”

  “That’s not happening. It was just a moment. Mostly we cleared things up, but now he’s heading back to London and I’ll be going to Vegas, so you really didn’t need to step in.”

  Allie studied me. “If that’s true, then why are you so upset?”

  Grr. “I’m just tired.”

  She nodded. “Me too.”

  “Where’s Josh? Why isn’t he taking you home?”

  “He’s down at Tucker’s. They had a little gathering tonight for New Year’s with Mason and Willa.” She pulled out her phone. “I’ll text him to come get me.”

  “I’m being rude.” That was the problem with Pax. He brought out the worst in me.

  “No. I get it. I just want you to be happy and okay.”

  “I am. I’m totally okay.” I gave her a hug and when Josh arrived, I walked her out.
I shut the door, grateful for the silence and solitude. I was going to go to bed and then get up early to head to Vegas in the morning.

  The next day, I woke up feeling like last night with Pax along the lake was a dream. That was good because I could pretend it didn’t really happen. I packed up my stuff and loaded up the car. I was glad I decided to drive from Eden Lake to Las Vegas instead of flying. By the time I drove back west to San Bernardino and then flew east to Las Vegas, it would take about the same three hours. The drive gave me time to push Pax out of my mind, and get my head into the game in dealing with Lisbeth.

  I was excited to have been able to set up the meeting with her. She was an up-and-coming star who gave the appearance of being real and grounded. In her interviews, she spoke about her concerns about the environment and healthy living, which fit perfectly with my skincare and cosmetic line.

  At this point, most of my customers were mid-twenties to mid-forties in age, but I wanted to appeal to the younger crowd. Lisbeth was twenty-three, but her fan base included many college-age women. I wanted her help in reaching them.

  Three hours later, I drove into the city of Las Vegas and to the Bellagio Hotel. Pulling in, I couldn’t help but think of the Ocean’s Eleven movie which then made me think of the old standards played last night at the wedding, which then reminded me of dancing with Pax and of course the kiss.

  “Knock it off, Victoria,” I said as I exited my car and entered the hotel. Ten minutes later, I was in my room with a view of the fountain. I kicked my shoes off and lay down on the bed, taking a short rest before I had to meet Lisbeth. Then I took a quick shower, put on a professional yet chic short black skirt, a white silk camisole shirt, and a tailored jacket that flared out over my hips. I combed my hair, deciding to leave it down so I looked less severely professional. I wanted to relate to this young woman.

  Checking myself out in the mirror, I decided I was ready. I checked my purse for the samples I’d put in them, and then headed down to the conference room where I was scheduled to meet with her.

  “Ms. Sinclair,” Lisbeth’s manager, a man around my age greeted me.

  “Victoria, please.” I shook his hand.

  “I’m Ethan Garner.”

  I arched a brow. “Garner? Are you related to Lisbeth?”

  He laughed. “Probably somewhere back in the family tree, but not directly.”

  “Huh. How interesting.”

  He shrugged. “I think that might be why she chose me to help her. Anyway, she’s expecting you.” He opened the door.

  Lisbeth was twenty-three but looked barely twenty. She had an earthy quality to her with her natural light blonde waves and freckles across her nose.

  She looked up, and her eyes lit up and a joyous smile spread on her face when she saw Ethan. I couldn’t help but wonder if there was more than a starlet-and-manager relationship. She pulled back on the smile wattage when she saw me.

  “Oh. Ms. Sinclair.” She set some paperwork aside. “I’m trying to catch up with business stuff.” She stood and shook my hand.

  “Call me Victoria, please.”

  “Would you like coffee or something?” she asked.

  “Actually, if it’s not too much trouble.” I realized I hadn’t had any coffee in the morning. No wonder I had to lay down when I arrived.

  “No trouble,” Ethan said. “I’ll get it.”

  I was surprised that he left her alone. After all, as her manager, it was his job to help vet projects like mine. But being a savvy businesswoman, I decided to forge ahead.

  “Thank you so much for meeting with me. I’m very excited to show you our Radiance line. The products are made from all-natural, organic, fairtrade ingredients-”

  “Are all your lines like that?” she asked, taking the sample of hand cream I handed to her. “I mean, so many companies have a clean line to get that market, but then have other lines that are polluting the Earth and making people sick. It sort of defeats the purpose.”

  I nodded. “I know what you mean. Yes, all our lines are organic and fairtrade materials. Plus, you’ll note that we don’t use any plastic. All our products come in glass or stone-based containers. We also use recycled paper, water-based glue, and vegetable ink for our labels.”

  “Wow. Did you hear that, bab…Ethan?”

  Ethan glanced at me as if he was wondering if I’d caught that she’d nearly called him babe. I feigned ignorance and took the coffee he set in front of me.

  “Thank you.”

  He gave a nod. “I did hear it. It sounds right up your alley. Of course, there are other considerations.”

  I smiled. Even earthy, tree-hugging, up-and-coming stars needed to make money. We spent the next hour with my showing her the line, focusing on the benefits, as well as going over my vision and how she could help. The next half-hour, we talked money.

  We were finishing up with a preliminary deal that we’d each have our lawyers look at when there was a knock on the door.

  Ethan looked at his watch. “That’s probably Dane.”

  Lisbeth nodded. “I wonder what the surprise is that he said he had for me?”

  “There’s only one way to find out. But we should finish here.” Ethan glanced at me.

  “I think we’re done for now,” I said. “I’d love to meet with you again before you go. Perhaps we can have dinner at some point?”

  “I’m doing a small show tonight. After that, we can eat. There is a great vegan place near here.” Lisbeth turned her attention to Ethan. “Can you get her a ticket?”

  “Done,” he said.

  I stood. “Enjoy the products. Test them out. Let me know what you think.”

  She rose from her chair. “I’ve been following you on Instagram forever. It’s so exciting to meet you.”

  “Thank you.”

  Ethan went to open the door. “Hey, Dane.” He paused. “Holy crap…you’re Pax Ryder.”

  My gaze snapped to the well-dressed man entering the room, and following him was indeed Pax. His eyes zeroed in on me.

  “Victoria.”

  “Oh my God, Pax Ryder,” Lisbeth gushed.

  The well-dressed man, I took to be Dane, patted Pax on the back. “Pax, meet Lisbeth Garner.”

  It took a moment but Pax’s attention finally left me and turned to Lisbeth, who he smiled warmly at. “I’m a big fan, Lisbeth.”

  Seeing my opportunity, I excused myself.

  “Thank you, Victoria,” Lisbeth called after me.

  I waved. “See you later.” When the door closed behind me, I sank against it. What cruel bit of fate was working against me that I had to see him again?

  6

  Serendipity

  Pax

  It took all of my willpower not to follow Victoria out of the room. I was surprised to see her even though I’d known she was in Las Vegas. On my way here, I’d decided I’d look for her despite the fact that she didn’t seem to want to be around me and that Lily would flip out if anything came of it. Victoria was like a drug for me. Now that I’d had another little taste, I had to have more.

  To my mind, it was a good omen that she was meeting with Lisbeth. It was a sign that I was meant to find Victoria, right? I just wished I knew if she was staying in the Bellagio or just meeting Lisbeth here while staying somewhere else.

  “Oh my God, Pax Ryder, I can’t believe it.” Lisbeth’s young exuberant face lit up.

  “I told you I had a surprise,” Dane said, clearly liking the brownie points he’d earned for bringing me along.

  “Are you performing here too?” she asked.

  I motioned for her to sit at the head of the table where she’d been before, and then I took the chair that Victoria had vacated. I inhaled, taking in her sweet scent that lingered.

  “No. I’m here to see you.”

  “Oh my God, Ethan…can you believe it?” She took a deep breath. “Sorry. I’m fangirling.”

  “It’s okay,” I laughed. To be honest, it did an ego good when another artist got excite
d about seeing me.

  “I’m just… I’ve loved your work for so long. Cripes, the poster of you shirtless in your jeans, holding your guitar in the rain is still on the bedroom wall at my parents’ house.”

  Okay, so that was a little embarrassing. That whole photoshoot had been embarrassing. “No decent artist is going to take their guitar out of the case in the rain,” I remembered arguing with the photographer.

  He rolled his eyes. “It’s not your guitar and it doesn’t matter. We’re creating rock star porn here.”

  That was weird too. The idea that women would get off looking at the poster. I wondered if Victoria had seen it. Did she get off to it? I shook my head. She probably fantasized about my getting a painful disease, not orgasms.

  “Lisbeth is playing a small venue tonight to test some of her songs for her album,” Dane said.

  “Can you come?” Lisbeth’s eyes lit up with hope. “Victoria will be there. It sounded like you knew her.”

  I’d have likely gone to her performance regardless because that was why I was here. But knowing Victoria would be there insured my presence.

  “I wouldn’t miss it,” I said.

  “Who is Victoria?” Dane’s expression turned serious. I supposed as the record label CEO he didn’t want Lisbeth to be selling her soul to the wrong person.

  “She has this awesome line of organic, fairtrade skincare,” Lisbeth answered.

  “We’re exploring an endorsement deal,” Ethan added.

  Dane frowned. “That’s something you should talk to me about first. We don’t want you getting involved in something that could hurt your career.”

  “Victoria will be fine,” I said.

  Dane looked at me and arched a brow. “What is she to you?”

  The one that got away. “She’s my sister’s best friend. I’ve known her a long time. She’s a shrewd businesswoman. Knowing you’re interested in a natural lifestyle, it’s a good fit.”

  Dane wasn’t convinced but he didn’t say more. We stayed for another half-hour and I agreed to attend her performance that night.