by Cindi Madsen
Tucker groaned, and she lowered her eyebrows, trying to piece together where that reaction had come from. “Don’t mind me,” he said. “I’m just thinking about you in the shower. I was going to hold back the remark about wanting to join you, but I guess it’s out there now.”
Her cheeks flushed. “So you are…attracted to me in that way?”
He stood and placed a hand on her hip. “You underestimate yourself and the effect you have on men.”
“My effect usually involves sending them running in the opposite direction.” She swept the strand of hair that wouldn’t stay out of her eyes behind her ear. “You fled pretty fast last night.”
“Not fair. You can’t compare me trying to be a gentleman to those other pricks who can’t handle you.”
“But you think you can handle me?”
His fingertips skimmed down her sides and her pulse skipped and hummed. “I’d love to show you exactly how well I can handle you.”
She tipped to her toes and gave him a chaste peck. “That’s a polite goodbye kiss meant to help us stay in check, in case you were wondering.”
His hand moved to her butt, and he gripped one cheek. “That’s a polite goodbye squeeze meant to do the opposite, in case you were wondering.”
She braced her hands on his chest, instructing them to remain there instead of slipping up and behind his neck so her body would be flush with his. “Why are we goin’ slow again?”
“You seemed to think that’d make it less of a bad idea, and I’m just tryin’ to be respectful.”
“Said the guy with his hand on my butt.”
A crooked, mischievous grin spread across his face. “Hey, I never said I was succeeding.”
To keep herself from making decisions based strictly on her overactive hormones, she reluctantly pulled away.
Rarely did she feel sexy, but as Tucker did another sweep of her from head to toe, she felt like a damn supermodel.
She wanted to make one of those awesome, confident exits, but then she remembered she’d been dropped off here, and there was no way in hell she was walking all the way into town wearing this getup, everything about her saying “walk of shame.”
Not that she’d be ashamed, but without the great sex to go with it, not worth the gossip for sure. “Can I—”
Tucker tossed her the keys to his truck. “Just come get me before the game.”
Chapter Nineteen
Addie answered the light knock on her front door, and Lexi pushed her sunglasses on top of her head and squinted at her. “Are you hungover? I’m so hungover.”
“That. I’m definitely that.” After coffee and a shower, Addie was feeling much better, but the cringe-worthy memories that continued to pop up didn’t wash down the drain quite as easily. “Come on in.”
Lexi stepped inside and tucked her sunglasses in her purse. While Addie had showered, pulled her wet hair into a bun, and thrown on a T-shirt and jeans, Lexi’s hungover look was pin curls, full makeup, and a summer dress. “Did you, uh, surprise Tucker like you said you were going to?”
Shoot. She hadn’t realized she’d told Lexi her plans.
Hadn’t she decided after she’d climbed in the back seat of the car? Apparently this girl plus alcohol turned her into an open book. “Yes, and for my next trick, I will be dying of embarrassment.”
“Oh no. What happened?”
“He carried me to bed. Not in a sexy way. A gentlemanly way.”
“Which is sexy,” Lexi pointed out.
“True.”
“And…?” A hopeful smile spread across her face as she conspiratorially leaned closer. “What happened this morning?”
Coffee and kissing and sitting on his lap, but Addie couldn’t admit that.
There was no way Lexi wouldn’t tell Shep, and the guys would freak. For a bunch of younger dudes, they sure hated change like grouchy old men. It was part of why they disliked everyone she dated and attempted to bring to poker night.
They’d throw out their opinions and smart-ass remarks, unable to help themselves, and it would create more pressure and drama, and besides all that, Tucker made it clear he’d rather not tell anyone.
Am I his dirty little secret or is he mine?
“Addie?” Lexi waved a hand in front of her face. “Don’t you remember? And isn’t that his truck in your driveway?”
“Last night is a bit fuzzy,” she said, which was at least true. “I made sure things weren’t weird this morning before I left, and he let me borrow his truck. He realizes I was just drunk.”
Lexi frowned. “But you like him sober, too.”
“Can you not mention this to Shep? I don’t want the guys to know. It’d make things weird and throw things off between us and—”
“Say no more.”
Luckily, the arrival of Mom and Nonna made that easier to do.
Addie did quick introductions, even though they’d all briefly met at one place or another, and then they sat and Lexi whipped out her huge guest list and a giant seating chart with tabs to write people’s names on, and they got to work.
“At least the blue pulls some AU color into the mix,” Addie said as she studied the color scheme along the top of the chart.
She hadn’t meant to say it aloud, and she froze, hoping she hadn’t accidentally offended Lexi.
“That’s exactly what Will said. And if he asks, the dresses are garnet not crimson. He doesn’t know the difference.”
“Honey, everybody in Alabama knows the difference,” Mom said.
Exasperation crept into Lexi’s features. “I just like red!”
Mom patted Lexi’s hand. “It’s okay. Your faux secret is safe with us.”
“Plus, you threw in the…” Addie squinted at the text so she’d get it exactly right. “Plum and gold along with the navy. If it was just crimson and gray, the town might revolt, but you’re good.”
“Yes, heaven forbid my wedding be about getting married surrounded by colors I like instead of football,” Lexi said, sticking another tab in place.
Mom and Nonna chuckled and assured her it was going to be a lovely ceremony, and Addie added what boiled down to “ditto.”
The colors were very pretty together, the gazebo would be decorated and all lit up, and the town center would be filled with people she’d known forever. It would be like a super-dressy town festival, and as a kid, she lived for those days.
Part of it was the lack of supervision it afforded her and the guys, and of course the food—no one cooked like a bunch of Southern women who had affinities for things like butter, jams, and pies—but those events reminded her that nosy as they may be, the townsfolk loved celebrating together.
Loved one another.
After a while of sorting through names and shuffling people around, Addie’s eyes refused to focus. She stood and stretched. “I’m gonna go see what I can find for us to snack on.”
“I’ll help,” Lexi said, heading to the kitchen with her.
She glanced around at the decor, from the floral wallpaper to the hanging wooden spoons with sayings like Season everything with love and Life is short, lick the spoon to the shelf of Bundt pans and ceramic pie holders that looked like pie, in case you wanted to get an idea of the dessert before lifting the lid.
“Not what I expected.” Lexi gestured to the wooden sign with a mason jar and the words You’re the moon to my shine. “You’re girlier than you let on. More of a romantic, too.”
“Sorry to disappoint, but it was decorated like this when I moved in. I’m just renting.” Addie opened the fridge and freezer doors and peered inside. “Mr. Sumpter was actually the moon to Mrs. Sumpter’s shine.”
“But what if Tucker said that to you?” Lexi asked with a big smile and swoon-laced sigh.
“Then I’d be obligated to punch him,” Addie said, only half joking.
W
hile she’d appreciate the sentiment, it was way too mushy.
The frozen bag of chicken wings called to her, so she brought it out and bumped the freezer door closed with her hip. “Trust me, he’d thank me later.”
Lexi’s smile fell, and she blinked at Addie. “Oh. Well. For the record, I’m not disappointed. Like I said, I was surprised, is all.”
Addie grabbed the watermelon off her counter to cut up and add to the strawberries and grapes she pulled out of the fridge. “No worries. It means you’re gettin’ to know me. After the club last night, in ways that no one else does, and I’m pretty sure it should stay that way.”
Lexi swiped a hand through the air. “Whatever. You were rocking that dress, and the heels were… Well, they take some practice. But I noticed several men checking you out as we were dancing.”
“Staring in shock, you mean. That was fear. They probably thought I was having a seizure.”
Lexi made a phfft noise. “For someone who’s one of the guys, you know surprisingly little about men. And, sweetie, I mean that in the nicest way possible. If things don’t work out with—”
Addie lifted a finger to her lips, worried her mom and grandma might be listening, and if they caught wind of the Tucker thing, who knew how they’d react.
Probably shocked with a side of telling her not to mess it up, something she was already plenty worried about.
“With you know who,” Lexi said, voice lowered, “then I’ll take you to the city and we’ll land you a man.”
There was that “land a man” phrase again.
Was that what she missed out on by not taking etiquette lessons? The fancy fork goes to the—whichever side, like she said, she didn’t take the lessons—the guy runway is to the right, and here’s how you force them to land there. “I ’preciate you being willin’ to get me a backburner dude if Voldemort doesn’t work out.”
Lines creased Lexi’s forehead before understanding dawned and she laughed. “Took me a second. When I was younger, I used to feel guilty because I had a huge crush on Draco Malfoy—from the movie version, of course—and clearly I shouldn’t, because he was a bad guy. Isn’t that silly?”
“The crush on Draco certainly wasn’t. He was totally hot. Speaking of, if you ever wanna see Shep turn three shades of your wedding color, just ask him about his Harry Potter trading cards.”
“What? My Will has Harry Potter trading cards?”
Addie nodded as she grabbed her biggest knife and sliced into the watermelon. “He has this binder that’s labeled ‘Baseball Card Collection,’ but one day while I was waiting for my turn to play videogames, I opened it up and discovered he has way more Harry Potter trading cards than baseball cards. He claimed it was ’cause it was such a challenge to get ’em all and he was competing against some other kid at his school, but he sure isn’t selling them.” Her laugh was a smidge on the maniacal side. “He’ll probably kill me for telling you, but someone’s gotta let you know what you’re gettin’ into.”
“And I appreciate it. He’s always so mellow, and sometimes when I get all fired up and he’s like ‘whatever, baby, it’ll work out,’ I love it, and sometimes it makes me want to shake some emotion into or out of him.” Lexi gleefully rubbed her hands together. “I can’t wait to casually drop a few Harry Potter references and see how long it takes him to crack.”
“You’ll have to tell me how red he gets.”
No doubt Addie would know when, because she’d probably be getting a DUDE, not cool text.
The spirit of camaraderie filled the air, and Addie smiled at Lexi. She hadn’t felt this level of friendship for anyone outside her group of guys in a long time, and she hadn’t expected it from Lexi, which deepened the squishy sensation in her chest.
“Thank you,” she said. “For your tips last night, and for sticking it out with me, and for caring about me and you know who.”
“You’re welcome. It took me a while to understand your friendship, but I get it now, I swear. Sorry again that I freaked out.”
“Sorry again that you’re getting a non-girlie bridesmaid.”
“Groomsman, you mean.”
Addie grinned.
“Or is it groomsmaid?”
Addie wrinkled her nose. “That sounds a little too much like I clean up after him, and that honor is all yours.”
“Please. That boy can clean up after himself.”
“Amen, sister,” Addie said, holding up the hand not wielding a knife so Lexi could give her five.
“You have a sister, right?” Lexi asked, and Addie nodded. “I always wished I had a sister. What’s it like?”
“A lot of unsolicited advice. But it’s also awesome.” Which reminded her, she should call Alexandria. Only she was a truth detector, and she’d realize something was up if she so much as uttered Tucker’s name.
Man, keeping this a secret is gonna be harder than I expected.
By the time the fruit was cut, the wings were done, so they carried the food into the living room.
Mom frowned at the watermelon wedges. “Why didn’t you cut them up in squares? They’re so hard to eat this way without getting messy.”
Addie grabbed one, bit as far down the wedge as she could, and then grinned at her mom as juice dripped from the rind.
Mom shook her head and sighed. “I’m gonna go cut ’em up and get us some forks. Lexi, if you wanna follow me, I have an idea I’d like to run by you.”
As soon as they disappeared around the corner, Addie pulled the white bakery bag out of her purse and slipped it to her grandma.
“You’re an angel,” Nonna said, kissing each of Addie’s cheeks.
Considering she was lying to her grandma about the cookies inside, she wasn’t sure how well the angel part fit.
Maisy, who’d bought the bakery and revamped it a few years ago, found out about her grandma’s high blood sugar and had concocted these chocolate brownie bites that were low sugar, low fat, and so delicious that Addie could hardly believe either of the former.
And as long as Nonna thought she was getting contraband cookies, she ate them instead of the worse-for-her versions.
She popped a few into her mouth, and Mom came back with the “properly cut” watermelon.
She and Lexi were caught up talking centerpieces, and from the sounds of it, Lexi loved Mom’s idea. She even asked if she’d be willing to arrange them.
“Oh, I’d love to help,” Mom said. “Alexandria got married so long ago, and it looks like this might be the only other wedding I get to decorate for.”
Here she goes. The tragedy of only having one daughter.
“Women can marry other women now,” Nonna said, waving around a hot wing that Mom frowned at. “Get with the twenty-first century, Priscilla.”
“Hey, I’m perfectly happy to plan a wedding for Addie, whoever she decides to marry. But until I get confirmation that’s happening, I’m gonna get my weddin’ fix wherever I can.”
Lexi gave Addie a confused look and she waved her hands like don’t bother going near this mess.
They renewed their centerpiece discussion, and Lexi pulled out a couple of magazines and her laptop so they could talk options.
Thank goodness. Nobody wants me putting together centerpieces.
A positively evil chuckle emanated from her grandmother, who was leaned over the seating chart that’d taken hours to organize.
Addie covered the paper with her hand. “Nonna, what are you doin’?”
“I thought I’d make the reception more interesting. Wouldn’t it be funny to put George Sullivan and his new wife by his ex-wife and his rumored mistress?”
Addie twisted, cutting them off from Mom and Lexi. “That’s a level of deviousness that even the devil would say, ‘Whoa, hold on there. Let’s think about this for a minute.’”
Nonna scowled, apparently offen
ded Addie had dared to call her plan evil, despite it being exactly that. “You used to be more fun.”
Now it was Addie’s turn to scowl. “Hey. I’m plenty fun. I just don’t want to do anything to upset the bride. It’s already complicated enough as it is, trying to be a groomsman and a bridesmaid at the same time.”
Luckily, most of the groomsman duties were easy, and closer to the ceremony. She undid the seating chart damage and told her grandmother to eat her food while she could.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she dug it out.
Tucker: Remember when you showed up in that tiny dress to seduce me last night? Because I sure as hell do.
Keeping the phone low, she typed out her response.
Addie: No idea what you’re talking about. How much did you drink during poker?
Tucker: Not nearly enough. Maybe tonight I’LL be the one who shows up at your place drunk & frisky.
Her body heated as she thought about it, her heart beating that much faster.
Addie: Hardly a threat. Of course I’d have to be a gentleman and tuck you into my bed. Fair warning, I don’t have the good coffee.
Tucker: Guess I’ll have to bring some.
How’s the wedding stuff going? Need me to come & save you?
Addie glanced at her happy mom and the happy bride-to-be. Nonna was shoving the brownie bites from her purse into her mouth, so she was nice and happy as well.
Addie: No saving just yet. I’m finding my own way of helping with wedding stuff.
Tucker: You girl ;)
Normally those would be fighting words, winky face or not. But surrounded by three strong women, she was thinking that she might just pull off being a little bit of a girl yet.
More than that, it didn’t seem so bad after all.
Chapter Twenty
Addie glanced around as she approached the front desk at work Monday morning, watching for her boss.
Early last week, Mr. Watkins told Addie one of their patients needed traction the next time he came in, so she’d followed his instructions, despite it not being the route she would’ve taken.
Then on Friday, he’d asked why Addie had put him in the traction machine, because now the patient was calling in, saying he was too sore to do his other exercises.