Reckless: A Small Town Marriage of Convenience Romance (A Wildrose Landing Romance Book 3)

by Abby Brooks

  “Uh-oh. Did something go wrong?” Amelia leaned forward. “Don’t tell me Jude’s bad in bed.”

  I shook my head and opened my mouth to tell her I wouldn’t know anything about how good or bad he was in bed, then shut it, sucking in my lips. I was a terrible liar, and it wasn’t something I did on a whim.

  “Oh, no.” Evie swallowed another sip of wine and set her glass on the counter. “Something went really wrong.”

  “Let’s just say that Jude had an ulterior motive for paying attention to me that night.”

  My friends gasped. Evie covered her mouth, while Amelia put a hand to her heart and whispered, “No…”

  “Jude?” Evie furrowed her brow. “I mean, I can see him using his sexuality as a weapon with other women, but with you? You guys have known each other forever, right? And he’s Alex’s best friend. I can’t imagine him being anything but sweet to you.”

  I wondered if she’d feel the same if she knew what happened between us when I was in high school. A night of conversation had led to a kiss. My first kiss. Which then led to us in my bed, Jude’s hand skating along my stomach as my chest heaved and my body burned. Just as I realized I was totally prepared to sleep with him, he’d lurched away, spewing something about his friendship with Alex being too important to ruin. This whole ‘fake wife’ situation was so much like that one, I felt like a fool twice over. When it came to Jude, I was too ready to fall into bed and he was too likely to break my heart. If I was smart, I’d keep my distance for a while. Maybe a long while.

  Though, I couldn’t put the image of his half-brother out of my mind. I hated the thought of anyone growing up in a troubled home. If there was something I could do to help, maybe I should consider it…

  “So you…” Evie cocked her head.

  Amelia bit her bottom lip. “Did you…”

  Thank goodness for my friends and their curiosity interrupting that particular line of thought. Was I really considering fake marrying the guy I’d been in love with forever?

  Taking a deep breath, I pushed the idea into the back of my mind and refocused on my friends. “Jude and I slept together. And it was amazing, okay? He lived up to every promise he’s ever made with all those cocky grins and the so-charming-it’s-gross swagger. He knew his way around my body like it’d been made for him.”

  “Maybe it was made for him. The universe never fails.” Amelia gave me a grin that said she was about to launch into a list of signs that proved my higher self planned the whole thing.

  “My body most definitely was not made for Jude Malone.” I ran a finger through the condensation on my glass. “However good he was in bed, he finished the night by proving he’s much better at making an ass of himself.”

  And maybe the story would stop there. Maybe that was enough. Maybe the conversation could move on and we could talk about anything else.

  “I’m just saying,” Amelia said, shrugging breezily, “maybe your story isn’t over. I mean, if you try to tell me it wasn’t a sign that you guys hooked up at your brother’s wedding, I’ll call you flippin’ flappin’ ridiculous.”

  “Call me ridiculous then, because there wasn’t a sign to be found—other than the one that said, ‘Hey Izzy! You made a massive mistake by sleeping with this guy.’”

  I could tell it was eating them up not to know what happened just like it was eating me up not to get the whole ridiculous story off my chest.

  “It sounds bad.” Evie wrinkled her nose. “I’m sorry.”

  Amelia nodded, cocking her head. “Like ruin a friendship bad?”

  “Like make it awkward as hell bad.” I let out a long sigh. “He proposed. Like, as soon as we finished, my head hit the pillow and he said, ‘Marry me, Izzy.’”

  My friends laughed and I held out my hands, almost relieved I wasn’t the only one to react that way. “See! I thought it was a joke at first, too. Only it wasn’t. He really, genuinely asked me to marry him because he’s…uh…in need of a wife.”

  Evie and Amelia stared at me with identical looks of shock.

  “He needs a wife?” Amelia scoffed. “Who even needs a wife?”

  “And he asked you right after you guys had sex? Like, you’ve been crushing on this guy forever and he has sex with you just to fake propose?” Evie furrowed her brow and chewed on her bottom lip.

  “That’s about the long and short of it.”

  “Why…? How…? But when…?” Amelia stared at her empty wine glass then poured herself another serving. “I’m not even sure which question to ask first.”

  “I know what to ask first,” said Evie. “Why in the world would he ask you to marry him out of the blue like that?”

  Time to start dodging again. I had no right to share this part of the story. “He has his reasons, but he should be the one to tell you. Though honestly, I’d feel best if we just never talked about it again.”

  Evie wasn’t going to let the topic drop; I could see it in the way she angry-poured herself another glass of wine.

  Time to shut the conversation down.

  “It was awkward and embarrassing, but it’s over and that’s what matters. Please, for me, don’t make a big deal of it, okay?”

  Amelia nodded while Evie pondered. As she finally nodded her agreement, the front door cracked open and a slew of masculine voices gathered in the foyer.

  “Oh, ladies!” Alex’s baritone bellowed down the hallway. “The loves of your lives are here!”

  The girls turned to me with identical looks of dismay. “Maybe he didn’t come with them,” Evie whispered.

  “It’s fine if he did,” I replied, rubbing my forefinger across my thumbnail as I stared over her shoulder at the doorway.

  Alex and Jack pushed into the kitchen to wrap Evie and Amelia in hugs. Austin stepped in behind them with Jude on his heels. Our eyes met. He lifted a hand and gave me a tentative smile. I let out a long sigh and returned his greeting.

  I’d spent years pretending it didn’t bother me to be around him.

  Surely, I could pull it off for…oh, you know…the rest of my life.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Jude

  Well, shit. There it was. Izzy could barely look at me. If there was a way to go back and kidnap myself before the reception, I’d do it. How in God’s name could I let this happen? I knew better than to sleep with her. Not only had Alex made it clear from the start that his sister was off limits, but she was…well she was her. Izzy Prescott was so much more than a casual one-night stand and I’d gone and messed everything up by letting my dick do the thinking.

  “What are you guys doing here?” A massive smile broke across Amelia’s face and she beelined for Jack, stepping into his arms and kissing him like he’d been gone for months.

  Shit, man. I could stand being greeted like that every day.

  Crossing my arms, I leaned on the doorframe, smiling like there wasn’t an invisible line of tension running between me and Izzy. “We didn’t want you ladies to feel jealous about missing out on our awesome company all night. So we brought the party to you.”

  “Right.” Evie scoffed. “Because your company is so spectacular.” She took Alex’s hand and pulled him close. “Yours is pretty amazing, for the record,” she whispered to her husband.

  “Back atcha, kid.” He grinned, then kissed her, which left me, Izzy, and Austin standing awkwardly in the kitchen.

  Iz rolled her eyes and gave Austin a hug. “How ya been, big guy?”

  A surge of jealousy shot through me, which was ridiculous. For one, between the tattoos and the constant smell of motor oil, Austin wasn’t her type. He was big, bulky, and grumpy and that just wasn’t Izzy. For two, what right did I have to be jealous? None. Zero. Zip.

  He patted her on the back and pulled away. “Not bad, not bad. You?”

  “Just living the dream. You know how it is.” Izzy’s eyes met mine and shit, there it was again. An even bigger than usual iceberg between us.

  She offered half a smile, then gave me the quic
kest, weirdest, creepy uncle hug I’ve ever gotten from her. Barely an arm around my shoulder. A quick pat and then woosh! She was halfway across the kitchen, refilling a wine glass with water.

  Austin raised an eyebrow and quirked his head, a silent, “What the hell was that?” I shook my head and hoped he’d drop the topic. Somehow, by the grace of God, Alex had missed the part where I disappeared from his wedding reception with his little sister, and I intended to keep him in the dark for as long as possible. Some might call that a dick move, but I called it self-preservation. Over the years, Alex had made one thing clear to all of us…he’d personally murder anyone who touched his sister.

  I’d broken that rule once and almost lost two friendships over it. If he found out I’d slept with her after his wedding? I raked a hand through my hair. What a fucking mess.

  The lovebirds pulled apart and drinks were poured. The seven of us sat around the table and someone suggested we play poker, but damn if the atmosphere wasn’t tense. The women were uncharacteristically quiet and I could have sworn Amelia kept shooting me dirty looks.

  That had to be my imagination. Amelia didn’t have a mean bone in her body.

  Time to lighten the atmosphere.

  “So, uh, how’s everyone been?” I shuffled a deck of cards, then reached for my whiskey.

  Amelia shrugged and pursed her lips. “Life is good here.”

  With anyone else, the response would have seemed fine. With her? That was downright curt. Even Jack put down his beer to give her a funny look.

  “Honeymoon was great.” Evie took a long drink of wine and wouldn’t meet my eyes.

  Okay. What the fuck? Something was definitely off.

  I dealt the cards, working hard to catch Izzy’s attention, but she was working even harder to avoid mine. The guys didn’t seem to notice anything strange but every joke I made landed with a resounding thud with the women. That was when I knew something was truly wrong. Making women laugh was my superpower and that didn’t stop just because they were in love with someone else.

  Izzy must have told them what happened. Could things get any messier?

  A few hands later, Izzy pushed her chair back. “I’m so sorry, guys. This headache isn’t getting any better. I’m gonna say goodnight, but you have to promise to have fun without me.”

  She carried her glass to the sink, passed out hugs to everyone except her creepy uncle, then headed for the door.

  “Oh, shit,” I said, scooting back from the table. “I need to talk to her about…the thing. It’s a bar thing and she knows about it.” Five pairs of eyes hit mine, squinting in confusion, but I hightailed it for the door before Izzy could leave.

  Smooth, Malone. Real smooth.

  I burst into a clear fall evening, almost startled by the brisk air stabbing at my skin. A crescent moon danced with the clouds and Izzy hunkered into her coat as she reached for her car door.

  “Iz! Wait.” I took the porch steps two at a time, then sprinted across the driveway to meet her.

  “What is it this time, Jude? Do you need me to buy a house with you? Help you move? Maybe you found a timeshare and you thought I’d be the perfect person to split it with.” She laughed wryly and leaned against her car.

  “Very funny.”

  “I thought so.” Folding her arms over her chest, she lifted her chin, looking proud of herself. Her dark hair framed her face, her red lips looking more kissable than ever now that I knew what they were capable of. But shit, I wasn’t here to think about stuff like that.

  I was here to try and make things right.

  “We haven’t really talked since last weekend. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”

  “Oh, no. What now? Don’t tell me…” Izzy put a hand to her heart, feigning shock. “You really are gonna ask me to help you move, aren’t you?”

  I shook my head, laughing lightly. “I deserve that.”

  “You really do.”

  “My timing with bringing everything up could have been better and I’m really sorry for that. You mean the world to me and I hate to think I jeopardized our friendship.”

  Izzy frowned, her eyes bouncing across my face, so many thoughts ticking away behind them I didn’t know what to do…so I just kept talking to fill the silence. “When I decided to take my lawyer’s advice on the whole marriage-slash-wife thing, I was so focused on how good it would be for Brennen, I didn’t even think about the fact that there really wasn’t anything in it for you. You’d be sacrificing a lot, giving up the chance to actually fall in love because everyone would think you were married—”

  “Even worse, I’d have to marry you. That’s a pretty big sacrifice.” Her eyes gleamed with humor and I shook my head.

  “Sure. Go ahead and have all the fun you want. I’ll wait while you get it out of your system.”

  A gust of wind had Izzy burrowing deeper into her coat. “I’m sorry. You just make it so easy. You were saying you asked me to make this massive sacrifice, but there isn’t anything in it for me…” She rolled her hand for me to continue.

  “Which, as I said, got me thinking…” I paused for her to hit me with another joke at my expense, but all she had was a sweet smile. “What do you do for a woman who owns a home, a car, and a business? What can I do for someone who has everything she wants?” Izzy looked like she wanted to protest, but I hurried forward. “What if I bought you a new car? And paid your mortgage while we were married. And then after Brennen turns eighteen, we could get a divorce. That way, you’re not stuck married to some guy you don’t love, and you’ll get a sweet new last name and a fancy set of wheels out of the deal.”

  She stared for several long moments. “Sometimes I wonder what it’s like in your head,” she finally replied. “Is it just circus clowns and portraits of yourself in there?”

  I ran my hands through my hair. “Come on, Izzy. I’m trying here.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. The whole thing’s just such a shock. I’ll think about it, okay?”

  “You will?” I grinned so wide I almost didn’t feel the cold anymore. “You would be so good for Brennen. Such a good influence. You’re smart. And kind. And you always crack me up. You’re one of the strongest people I know and having you as a role model might make all the difference for him.”

  A strange look flickered across her face, but she dropped her gaze to her feet before I could figure out what it was. “I can’t promise anything, but it’s not like people are lining up to ask me out, so what’s another three years of being alone?”

  “Except you won’t be alone. You’ll have me. And Brennen. The Malone family.” That sounded so bizarre I had to laugh.

  Izzy chuckled as she met my eyes. “I must be crazy for considering this.”

  “But you are considering it. That’s all I ask.” I pressed my hands together and gave them a shake. “I can’t thank you enough.”

  “I didn’t say I’d do it. Just that I’d consider it. I need that to be clear.” Izzy smiled and patted my cheek.

  Her touch sent a jolt of need through me and I captured her wrist, pulling her close. My other hand cupped her face, and I leaned in, lightly brushing her lips with mine. Her soft curves pressed against my body and I drew her tightly against me, angling my mouth to kiss her once, twice, a third time. She moaned, gripping my shoulders, then slid her arms around my back, hooking them behind my neck. Her lips parted and our tongues danced and the heat building between us chased away the cold.

  Izzy sighed into me, then froze.

  She pulled away.

  Her hand covered her mouth like she couldn’t decide if she wanted to take it all back or jump my bones.

  “I like this so much better than being the creepy uncle,” I murmured, then nibbled at her ear.

  Confusion knit her brows, and she cocked her head. “Did you say something about a creepy uncle?”

  I shook my head. “Never mind about that.” I reached for her again but she stepped away.”

  “Jude…” She swallowed hard a
nd licked her lips. “We can’t keep doing that…”

  I stepped towards her. “But it feels so good when we do.”

  “If you want me to marry you, then divorce you three years later, we can’t get romantically involved. We just can’t. It wouldn’t be good for either of us.”

  Nodding, I shoved my hands into my pockets as a strong wind bit into my skin. She was right. I hated it, but she was right. “Okay, then. No more kissing,” I said, stepping away as she reached for the car door. “Thank you for considering my crazy idea.”

  “Like I said, I think it’s noble. Crazy. But noble.” And with that, she climbed into her car and drove away, leaving me to stare after her for several long minutes. How the hell was I going to go back into Amelia’s house and pretend everything was fine?

  Because it wasn’t.

  I wanted Isabelle Prescott and I’d royally messed things up by asking her to be my wife.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Izzy

  October became November. The temperature dropped. The leaves officially fell from the trees, leaving bare branches to zigzag across gray skies. An early snowfall dusted the ground that first weekend, and the entire world gleamed and glittered while Evie and I were at Amelia and Jack’s, setting up for his daughter Charlie’s birthday party.

  “I can’t believe she’s gonna be seven.” I laughed, shaking my head as I hung a hot pink streamer from the ceiling in the living room. “I remember when he brought her home. She was this tiny little thing with a perpetual scowl, and he was so, so proud.”

  Amelia paused in blowing up a balloon to grin. “I wish I could have been around to see him like that. From everything I’ve heard, he was such a proud papa. I mean he still is, but the way he talks about their early days…”

  I pulled a piece of tape and stuck it to a streamer. “Proud papa doesn’t even begin to describe it. He carried those kids around like they were treasure. You would have melted if you could have seen him.” The memory tugged at my heartstrings, and I swallowed past a lump in my throat that surprised me. “I thought I’d never seen a person as happy as Jack was when his kids were born, but then he met you and…” I swallowed again, baffled to find tears pricking at my eyes. “And he’s even happier now than he was then.”