by Cindi Madsen
Keep your eyes to yourself, he wanted to growl at them all. But then the guy working the bull asked if she was ready, and he couldn’t really talk, because he was staring right along with the rest of them.
…
Now that Dani was straddling the mechanical bull, her palms were sweating and she was questioning her decision to tell the guy to put it on the same level he’d used for Wes.
All she had to do was rock with it instead of fight against it. Right? She focused all her thoughts toward holding on, squeezing her thighs around the contraption and trying in vain not to think about how her boobs would be jiggling for everyone to see.
With a screech, the beast lunged, bouncing in a way she doubted a real bull would. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes; it was easier to feel the movements that way. Moving the way she’d seen cowboys on TV ride bulls—well, all of one time ever, when she’d been staring more at how cute the guys were than the riding—she thought this wasn’t so bad.
Then the movements got faster. More bouncing. Wishing for a sports bra. Fingers slipping.
Shit.
She tumbled off the side onto her back. Although riding the thing couldn’t be much cardio, she was breathing heavily like she’d just run, her heart thumping fast. She quickly rolled over to see her time.
Happiness bubbled up in her. Forty-nine seconds.
She’d take it.
As she made her way to where Wes was standing, it felt like the ground under her feet was still moving. “Okay, that was fun. And I’m not just saying that because I beat you, which I did, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
It took Wes a few seconds longer than usual to smile.
“Everything cool?” she asked.
He ran a hand through his hair and swallowed, his Adam’s apple slowly moving up and down. “Super cool.”
She noticed two girls just down from Wes and leaned in. “Those girls are checking you out.”
“They were totally objectifying me while I was riding the bull, too.” He rubbed a hand across his chest. “I feel so violated.”
Dani rolled her eyes but couldn’t help smiling. “Yeah, I’m sure you weren’t eating up every second of the attention.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “The blonde even looks like your type. Why don’t you get her number?”
“I seem to remember you being annoyed in college when I got a girl’s number and didn’t call. False hope or something.”
“So call her.”
He glanced at the blonde and she beamed at him. Dani should probably be offended the girl was flirting so blatantly with him when, for all she knew, Dani could be his girlfriend. He gave the chick a small smile, then turned back to her. “I’m good.”
He jerked his head toward the table and they started back. “So how long am I going to have to hear about how you beat my time?”
“Oh, probably forever.”
“Do I need to remind you who won the dance-off in college?”
“A video-game dance-off, and I still think my machine wasn’t reading my stomps right. I rule at dancing.”
They settled back at the table.
“So what about you, Paul?” Dani asked. “You going to see if you can beat my or Wes’s time?” She lifted a hand and stage-whispered, “Mine was better, in case you didn’t see.”
Paul shook his head. “I think I’ll sit this one out. Probably all the other ones, too, actually.”
Dani smiled at him, and he returned it. She glanced at Wes, and he offered her the last onion ring without her even having to ask. She took it and leaned back, soaking in the buzz from riding the “bull” and being out actually doing something. It made her think that her new goal of getting back out there—back into the dating game—was a good one. She’d been just floating through life for far too long, and being around Paul and Wes gave her hope that maybe there were still good guys out there. She’d doubted it recently, but it was good to know. The question was, were there any in Arkansas? And how was she going to meet them if there were?
Wes glanced at his phone. “Hey, if we’re going to pull off this engagement thing, we better go drop the bomb on my family.”
Chapter Three
Wes’s phone chirped as he and Dani pushed out of the restaurant. It was a text from Audrey, recommending a good hairdresser. He rolled his eyes. Audrey was the girlier one of his sisters by far, and she was crazy bossy over all the wedding stuff. In the end he’d shave and get his hair trimmed, just so he didn’t have to hear how he’d ruined her special day—and okay, because it’d make her happy—but he was going to torture her by not giving in quite yet.
She immediately sent a follow-up text asking if he’d had his suit dry cleaned yet and when he was going to be at Mom and Dad’s, because they were all waiting for him, and she needed everyone there so she could go over the pre-wedding schedule for the next few days.
Weddings. What a pain in the ass. And to think if things had gone differently, he and Sophie would be getting married in a month. A strange mixture of regret and relief rolled through him.
He shook off those thoughts, turning them to what he and Dani were about to announce. He’d talked about her enough that his family all knew who she was, and Audrey had even met her before, a few years back. If it weren’t for that, they’d probably tell him it was too fast to be engaged again. Just like they’d been telling him for the last three months that he should try to move on.
As Wes rounded the hood of his car, he sent a text back saying that he was on his way, purposely leaving out that he was bringing someone.
“Ready for the craziness?” he asked as he settled behind the wheel.
Dani swiped her hair behind her ear and it immediately fell forward again. “Well, when you put it like that…”
“You’ll be fine. My family’s going to love you.” Now to put the final touch on his plan. He took the ring box Paul had given him out of his pocket. The streetlight caught the diamond as Wes lifted the ring. It was much bigger than the one he’d given Sophie, and he was sure when she saw it, she’d take note.
“Talk about a rock,” Dani said. “Five bucks your family notices it before we can officially announce anything.”
Wes tossed the box into his center console, keeping the ring pinched between his fingers. “You’re on. But no flashing it or it doesn’t count.” Not that money ever exchanged hands anymore. They bet five dollars over everything, but they both won and lost so often, it was just assumed they broke even.
Dani extended her hand, and he was pretty sure it was trembling a bit. His fingers were shaking, too, and his throat was suddenly dry. Maybe it was because he’d done this before and it’d gone to hell, or maybe he’d turned into more of a commitment phobe than he wanted to admit. If he felt nervous slipping it on Dani’s finger, he didn’t want to think of how bad it would be if this were for real.
The ring took a little work to get over her knuckle, but then she lifted her hand in front of her face and stared at the diamond, scrunching up her nose.
“What?” he asked.
“I don’t know. It’s just…odd. To have it on my finger. This whole thing.” She looked at him through the fringe of hair hanging over one of her eyes. “Are you sure this isn’t crazy?”
“Oh, I’m sure it is crazy. But isn’t that our thing? Or have you gotten boring now?”
That defiant expression that meant she’d not only go along but also go all out crossed her face—man, he loved goading her. “You better strap yourself in, Wes Turner. I’m not sure you can handle being engaged to me.”
Already this was way more fun than it should be. “Bring it on, sweetheart. But remember, you have to act like you’re in love with me.”
She raised an eyebrow. “If you think I’m the doting kind of girlfriend, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“And when they ask why I fell for you, that’s exactly what I’ll say.” He lifted his chin. “Well, you see, she’s kind of mean and tells me I look like Paul Bunyan and a hobo. Ho
w could I not fall for that?”
“Then I’ll say, but despite all those things, once I learned he was a pilot and heard him play guitar”—she threw a hand over her heart and gave a dramatic sigh—“I was a goner. That and his crystal clear blue eyes, of course.”
Wes started the car and readjusted his rearview mirror. “Don’t forget my rock-hard body.”
“And your humility.”
He laughed. Over the phone they always joked around, but having her here in person was a hundred times better. If there had been any romantic chemistry between them at all, he’d propose for real, just so they wouldn’t have to live so far apart anymore.
His mind flashed to the image of her riding that bull, moving against it. He’d been unable to look away the entire forty-nine seconds, his heart pounding in his chest like it was about to explode, thinking about things he so shouldn’t be thinking about.
Suppress that image, Turner. Never happening. While there was no denying it’d been much hotter watching his best friend ride that bull than he’d expected, there was a difference between attraction and romantic chemistry.
And as he and Dani had learned one hazy mistake of a night, that was a line they were better off staying far, far away from.
A short drive later, they pulled up to his parents’ house in Huntersville.
“Whoa,” Dani said, peering up at the three-story stone and brick house, eyes wide. He’d grown up on the other side of town in a much smaller home, so he still wasn’t fully used to it, either.
“After my dad sold his business, they bought this place.” If she thought the front was impressive, she’d be floored when she saw the grounds out back, especially after all the wedding preparations. Honestly, it struck him as ridiculous to do so much landscaping for a ceremony and celebration that would last a couple of hours, but voicing that to Mom or Audrey would earn him the Look of Death.
Wes got out of the car and met Dani in front of the hood. “So, do we hold hands when we go up or…?”
She shrugged. “You’re the one who’s done this before, not me.”
“Well, at least you don’t rub it in or anything.”
“I’m sure it’s one of our biggest fights now that we’re engaged.” Her dark eyebrows drew together. “Girls pick fights over that stuff, right?”
The reason why Dani had always been practically one of the guys was that she didn’t act like most girls. Not only did she like the same things he liked, she also told him exactly how she felt—blunt to the point of being harsh sometimes. In fact, if he didn’t clarify that she was a girl when he talked about her, people assumed she was Danny, a guy. “Girls can pick fights over anything, I’ve found.”
She gave one sharp nod. “Got it. Pick little fights to show everyone we’re legit.” She cracked her knuckles and neck. That noise always made his own joints hurt. They just weren’t supposed to pop like that. “Now hold my freakin’ hand and let’s do this.”
“Geez, you want to throw our hands together and yell out, ‘Go team!’ too? Relive the glory days playing college basketball?”
“Ah yes, the glory days when I worked my butt off and constantly got yelled at by my coach. Good times, good times.”
The curtains moved, and Wes had a feeling his arrival—and the fact that he was with someone—was being announced throughout the house. His family was the nosy type, always in one another’s business, expressing their opinions even when you didn’t ask. But that was why they were so close, too, with frequent family get-togethers filled with stories and good-natured teasing.
Introducing his entire family to Dani was long overdue, something he would’ve done for sure if she hadn’t moved to Arkansas. He’d never planned for it to go down quite like this, though.
He grabbed Dani’s hand. They stumbled for a second, not sure whether to go with the simple hand clasp or fingers intertwined. “Shit, we’re bad at this.”
She laughed. “I’m rusty, but I expected you to be smoother after all your experience with the band groupies.”
“I do not go for groupies, thank you very much.” Wes clamped onto her hand, forgetting about trying to lace their fingers, and dragged her toward the front door. His heart beat faster and he couldn’t help but smile at how crazy this night was going to be. He probably should’ve prepped Dani for the fact that his extended family was going to be here, too, but it’d be so much more fun this way.
“Five bucks my mom offers you a guest room after she finds out about the engagement, so that we’re not sleeping in my apartment together.”
“I’ll just tell her we’re waiting,” Dani said. “Five bucks she likes me more than you by the end of the night.”
Wes opened the door, grinning when people scurried away like cockroaches from a light, trying to pretend they hadn’t just been hovering around the door watching him and Dani. All but his nephew and niece. They charged.
“Uncle Wes!” they cried out, wrapping themselves around his legs.
He let go of Dani’s hand to hug them as his sisters came into the room with their significant others. Grandma Turner entered the foyer, his uncles, aunts, and cousins close behind her. Mom came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron, the sweet scent of whatever she was baking following her.
All eyes slowly moved to Dani.
She reached for his hand, and he felt a little guilty for not warning her just how huge his family was. The deer in the headlights look reminded him that she was an only child.
He squeezed her hand. “Hope nobody minds, but I brought along a guest for dinner.” Audrey stepped forward. “Dani, hi! I almost didn’t recognize you.”
Murmurs went through his entire family, a variety of “Who’s Dani?” and “That’s her?”
Audrey’s eyes shot to the ring on Dani’s finger and her mouth dropped. Wes meant to wait—but Dani had been right about them noticing the diamond. No way he was going to let his sister blurt it out, like he could see she was about to.
“Everyone, I’d like you to meet Danielle Vega. My fiancée.”
…
Dani inched closer to Wes. So much for waiting until she’d met everyone before announcing their engagement. She should’ve known he couldn’t wait—impulsive was his middle name. Usually it was what she loved about him, but now she had…she didn’t even know how many people staring at her, like they expected an explanation. At least none of them looked appalled.
“You’re engaged?” Audrey shook her head, turned around, and stormed out of the room.
Okay, so apparently she’s appalled.
The lady wearing an apron looked from Wes to Dani. Then she threw her hands over her mouth and tears gathered in her eyes.
Dani pulled back, ready to bolt back out the door.
A high-pitched squeal came from the woman and then she was rushing forward and hugging Wes. She slung one arm around Dani, too—the woman was surprisingly strong. That seemed to be some kind of signal for everyone else to do the same, and soon Dani was being hugged and congratulated by people whose names she still didn’t know.
Wes started pointing and telling her names she desperately tried to assign to faces. This wasn’t the intimate dinner with his parents and siblings she’d envisioned when he’d brought up this plan.
As soon as she had a couple of inches of personal space back, she leaned into Wes and whispered, “I don’t know how yet, but I’m so going to get you back for this.”
Wes grinned. “Aw, thanks, hon. I love you so much, too.”
I’m going to kill him. I’m actually going to kill him.
Wes’s mother—Kathy or Kathleen, Dani couldn’t remember—patted Wes on the shoulder. “Could you go help your dad and uncles set up the table and chairs outside?”
Dani tightened her grip on Wes’s hand. “I’ll help, too.”
His mother grabbed her other hand. “It’s okay, dear. The boys will get it. You come chat with us girls. I’ve recently become an expert on weddings, and we should start talking about y
ours as soon as possible.” She tugged Dani toward the kitchen. After one quick glance at Wes, who had an amused smile on his face, she reluctantly followed.
A moment later, she found herself in a room full of girls. Wes’s older sister, Jill, and some nameless aunts and cousins were huddled around Audrey. As soon as she looked up, though, she stood and gave Dani a tight smile. “I’m sorry; I was just so shocked. It’s good to see you again.” She ran her French-manicured nails through her perfectly highlighted blond hair. “So how’d this happen?”
Heat crawled up Dani’s neck into her cheeks. When it came to being out on the gym floor, she loved the spotlight. Without a ball in her hand and only her conversational skills to rely on, though, she couldn’t help but squirm under the scrutiny. “How’d what happen?”
“Hello? You and Wes are engaged! For years I’ve heard over and over again, ‘We’re just friends.’”
The other women in the room nodded.
Crap. She and Wes should’ve discussed this. Why hadn’t they thought up a good story? That was the problem with them both jumping in without fully thinking things through. She figured the more truth she could weave in, the better. “Well, I’ve always loved Wes.”
A collective sigh went through the room.
“But we recently realized we needed each other, and things sort of progressed from there.”
“Tell us about how he proposed,” Jill said, scooting forward in her chair.
Yet another story we should’ve come up with. Something told her they weren’t looking for He gave me an almost-used ring in his car after bull riding at Whiskey River. “Um, we went for a hike. We stopped to look over the valley, and Wes pulled out the ring and asked me.” Yeah. That sounded okay. And they’d been on a hike recently, so that worked—not that she thought anyone would be demanding evidence.