“Did he say anything at all complimentary about your new look?” Charlotte asked.
The women leaned in, eager for the details.
Mad sighed. “He did say he about swallowed his tongue when he saw me.”
The women exclaimed excitedly over this news. “That’s great!” Ally chirped.
“A very good sign,” Carrie said.
“Get back in there, tiger,” Hailey said.
“He left,” Mad said.
“He’ll be back,” Charlotte said. “It’s early.”
“Just keep it up and be nice,” Hailey said. “And for heaven’s sake, stop curling your lip.”
“Nice, nice, nice,” Mad muttered. “Maybe we should send Lauren over there.”
“Where is Lauren?” Hailey asked, looking around. “Aww, she’s holding your niece.”
Mad looked over to where Lauren was sitting in a chair with Viv curled in her lap, sound asleep, her head leaning against Lauren’s shoulder. She wondered where Alex was.
“Which one of your brothers is a good dancer?” Charlotte asked. “I love to dance.”
“Slow or fast?” Mad asked.
“Fast.”
“None of them.”
“Slow.”
“Probably Jake or Josh. They won’t step on your toes.”
“Hello, beautiful,” Ty crooned, holding his hand out to Ally. “Would you like to dance?”
Ally tittered and took his hand.
Mad stood there with her friends, watching the dance floor. She knew the minute Park returned. He found her dad at the far end of the room, gazing out at the ocean. Her dad turned and clapped a hand on Park’s shoulder. They had a tight bond and she was glad for that, Park needed it. She wouldn’t ask him to dance again, she decided. He had to ask her. But he didn’t. Instead she stood there as dance after dance, Ty came up and asked each of her friends to dance. Every single one except Charlotte. In fact, he went out of his way to look at Charlotte and then ask someone else to dance. Moron.
Charlotte pointedly ignored Ty, instead focusing on coaching Mad, with Hailey enthusiastically agreeing. “Let’s take your flirting to the next level,” Charlotte said. “Touch yourself and it’ll make him think about touching you.”
“Myself?” Mad asked.
Charlotte demonstrated by lifting her breasts, smoothing her hands down her sides, and touching her neck.
“She’s right,” Hailey said.
“Look up at him too,” Charlotte said. “Guys love that.”
“I have to look up at him,” Mad said. “He’s taller.” She remembered how Park always favored petite pretty women. They always seemed so delicate and girly. She wasn’t sure she could ever be girly enough for him.
“Go now,” Hailey urged when she saw Park had moved to sit with Josh.
“No, not now,” Mad said. “Josh will ruin it.”
“I’ll distract Josh,” Hailey said, wiggling her fingers at him. Josh ignored her.
“Forget it,” Mad said. “I’m not ready. I need another drink.”
“No more drinks,” Hailey said. “You’ll look sloppy drunk.”
“I’ve only had two glasses of champagne,” Mad protested. “That’s nothing.”
“Fine,” Hailey said. “I’ll get you one glass of wine and that’s it.” She left.
Ty returned, looked between Mad and Charlotte, and asked Mad to dance. Charlotte bristled at her side.
“Bite me,” Mad said. Ty was purposely asking every one of her friends to dance except Charlotte, which meant he probably wanted to dance with Charlotte most of all. Mad refused to play into his ploy.
Ty looked to Charlotte, who crossed the room to ask Josh to dance.
And then Charlotte danced with literally every man in attendance except Ty. She was an amazing dancer, slow or fast. Mad sipped the white wine Hailey had brought her. It was just her and Ty now, watching Charlotte dance, and she wondered if he’d finally step up. Charlotte had this confident way of tossing her long brown hair that really worked (if only Mad had long hair) and a sensuous shimmy that Mad wasn’t sure she could get away with.
Finally Charlotte returned to where Ty and Mad were standing. She grabbed her water from a nearby table and took a long drink. Ty looked at her expectantly.
Charlotte smiled at Mad. “Hey, girl, you gotta get out there with me.”
“Maybe,” Mad said.
“You looked like you were having fun,” Ty said with a scowl.
Charlotte’s brown eyes narrowed. “I was.” She finished her water in one long swallow and set the glass on the table.
“With every guy here,” Ty said, “except one.”
Charlotte did a head swivel. “And why is that?” She crossed her arms. “Why did you make it a point to ask everyone to dance but me?”
Ty crossed his arms. “I didn’t.”
“Liar,” Mad put in, but they didn’t seem to notice her in their standoff.
“So dance with me now,” Charlotte said.
Ty barked out a laugh. “You asking me to dance?”
“Oh, so you’re playing hard to get.” Charlotte nodded sagely. “That’s your game.”
He grinned. “It worked, didn’t it? Here you are asking me to dance.”
Charlotte lifted her chin. “I don’t play games.”
“Yeah, you do, sweetheart.” Ty took her hand. “Shall we?”
Charlotte pulled her hand from his grip. “I’m also hard to get.” She turned and walked back to Ethan, asking him to dance. He did, pulling her straight into his arms. Charlotte looked over Ethan’s shoulder and gave Ty a smug smile.
Ty grumbled to himself. Her brothers were idiots. And Mad was tired of being in their company. She strode over to Park, who was finally done talking to Josh and heading back in her direction. She put a little wiggle into her hips like Charlotte and stopped in front of him, looking up at him as Charlotte instructed.
He eyed her. “Your ankle giving you trouble? You were walking a little funny.”
She put a hand on his arm. “My ankle’s fine. I can’t help it if my hips move when I walk.” She put her hands on her waist and slid them down her hips. Touching myself. So hot.
His gaze followed her hands and then snapped back to her eyes. “It didn’t look like your hip—never mind. What’s up?”
“Not much. Just standing around at a wedding, watching other people dance.” She swayed a bit in time to the music, her gaze on all the slow-dancing couples. She wouldn’t ask him to dance again.
“Mad?”
Score! She turned and gave him a sultry, inviting smile. “Yeah?”
His eyes locked on her chest. She peeked at herself. Still covered. “What kind of tattoo did you get?”
“You want a peek?”
He swallowed visibly.
“You know you want to,” she said in a low voice, daring him.
His voice was gruff. “Just tell me what it is.”
“I’d rather show you.”
“That’s not a good idea.” But his hot gaze said otherwise.
“Sure it is,” she said gamely. Like this was all just fun and games. Like her heart wasn’t in her throat.
“Mad,” he said gently. He cleared his throat and gazed out at the dance floor. “You’re special. I would never treat you like that.”
“Treat me like what?”
He met her eyes with a pained look. “You deserve better than me.”
“What do you mean?”
He shook his head slowly. “One day you’re going to meet some great guy who can give you everything you deserve.”
She put a hand on his arm, needing to get through to him. “I know what I want.”
His jaw clenched tight. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I won’t break,” she said quietly.
He stared at her for so long her heart swelled with hope. She could tell he was letting that sink in, considering what it meant. That she could handle him.
Someone clanged on glassware. “Gather
around for cutting the cake.”
Park inclined his head. “Better get in on the cake before your brothers finish it off.”
Mad stood there for a moment, torn between wrenching disappointment and very motivating aggravation. She met his eyes directly. “I’m coming for you, Park.”
~ ~ ~
Park stood near the front of the circle gathered around Claire and Jake cutting the wedding cake. Not that he cared about cake. He just needed to get away from the sleek heat of Mad doing her damnedest to entice him. The photographer got in close as Jake and Claire cut into the cake, both of their hands guiding the knife. He tried to focus, but his mind kept tripping back to Mad.
Mad in that slinky black dress pressed against him.
Mad with adoration in her eyes, believing him to be a better man than he ever could be.
Mad coming for him.
That hit him in a double whammy—heart and groin—as his brain translated a very different meaning. It was one thing to deny his own attraction, near hell to deny hers too. The temptation to cross that line battled with his need to keep her from getting hurt.
His gaze drifted across the circle to where Mad stood with her friends. He found it hard not to notice her. He’d spent most of his life making sure she was okay. Even when he was away, he checked in on her, checked in with Josh too, who spent the most time with her. He kept space between them the rest of the night. It was the only way he could think of to keep his hands off her. As soon as the reception ended, he headed back to his room upstairs.
Once safely inside his room, he stripped down to his undershirt and boxer briefs and flopped down on the bed. He turned off the light and threw an arm over his eyes as if that would banish Mad from his mind. Next thing he knew a vision of a younger Mad flooded his brain. The night of his going-away party.
The night she wore his blue flannel shirt with a ripped revealing shirt underneath.
The night he first realized Mad was going to be trouble for him.
Everyone had said their goodbyes and gone to bed. He’d settled on the sofa, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, knowing he was about to leave the only place that had ever felt like home. He was eighteen and it was time to prove himself as a man. To make his dad proud. An hour passed while he stared at the ceiling, and then he heard her soft footsteps padding down the stairs. They had a full house, but she was the only one with soft footsteps. Her brothers and dad were heavy footed.
He closed his eyes, pretending to be sleeping.
“Park,” she whispered.
He didn’t respond. Not going there. Not noticing her. Not touching her.
She jabbed him. “Park.”
He ignored her.
She sat on the sofa next to him and jabbed him in the ribs. “Park, it’s Mad. Wake up.”
He groaned and shifted, his ribs smarting. She jabbed him again.
His eyes flew open. “What?”
She leaned close. So close. Her familiar sweet scent tinged with something else, something dangerously close to sexy. “I’m going to miss you,” she whispered, her lips only millimeters away.
He closed his eyes, shutting out temptation. “Oh, man, the room’s spinning. I drank too much.”
He felt her shift away.
“How much did you drink?” she asked suspiciously.
He waved his hand around, feigning drunk. He knew what it looked like, even if he rarely indulged. “Eight beers. Me and Ty had one last party. So-o-o wasted.”
The light turned on by the end table. He squinted against the glare. She peered into his eyes. “Your eyes don’t look drunk.”
“I’m feeling it, believe me.” He turned off the light and flopped down on his side. “Go to bed, mini.”
Her warm fingers stroked his hair, leaving a tingling trail. “Your hair feels different.” Her fingers trailed to his neck. “I’m not mini anymore. I’m all grown up.”
He knew what she meant. He’d tried not to notice. She was too young and meant for better than him.
He rolled to his back, covering his eyes with his arm. “Let me sleep this off. Seriously. Wa-a-ay too much to drink.” He breathed deeply, feigning the sleep of the drunk, hoping she’d move on. Hoping one day she’d forget him and he’d return to find her with a family man. One who could give her everything she deserved.
He shifted, purposely nudging her off the sofa. She must’ve been standing next to the sofa now because he didn’t hear footsteps walking away and he could still breathe her in.
He heard some movement and held his breath, hoping she was turning away, when soft lips grazed his, jolting him. He didn’t move. He was frozen, yet on fire. She did it again, her lips brushing his and then fitting more firmly against him. Carnal heat rushed through him and he reacted instinctively, kissing her back, and then more, needing to taste. His tongue traced the seam of her lips, and the moment she opened for him, his tongue delved inside her hot mouth. His hand came up, about to pull her on top of him when she moaned and he jerked back to reality. He dropped his hand, broke the kiss, and rolled to his side, giving her his back.
“Park,” she whispered urgently, “I want you to be my first.”
He nearly groaned, honored in her faith in him and wanting what could never be his. Ty would kill him. Her father would banish him from the only family where he ever truly belonged. He fervently wished he’d met her any other way. Or that somehow he’d never been attracted to her.
He could feel her leaning over him. She was only fifteen. He pretended to be sleeping, even as part of him rebelled, angry that he’d never be her first now. She’d find someone else when he was away. Some jerk that didn’t deserve her.
A long moment passed and then she stroked his hair. “Come back in one piece, okay?”
Park let out a long breath. He knew he’d done the right thing back then. He’d left her an innocent girl. Whatever she’d done in the intervening years was none of his business. And now he had to admit she was all grown up, no longer an innocent girl, but a full-grown sexy woman. But that still didn’t mean she was for him.
He was too restless to sleep. He propped the pillows behind him, turned on the TV, and stared blankly at some old movie as visions of Mad kept crashing through his mind. Mad in a towel. Mad working out in nothing but a bra. Mad in a sexy dress, that tattoo playing peekaboo, enticing him. Not going there, he told himself sternly. Off-limits. And then he’d see her again in his mind, sleek and toned, a body that was strong and feminine, sexy, so sexy. He scrubbed a hand over his face.
There was a knock at the door.
He jackknifed upright in bed. Was it her? She’d said she was coming for him.
Another knock, louder and more urgent.
He strode to the door, flipped on the light, and looked through the peephole. His heart kicked up, even though he knew he had to end this here and now.
He pulled the door open a crack. “Mad,” he started and then trailed off in shock as he realized she was standing in nothing but a blue flannel shirt. His shirt. The shirt from his bittersweet memories. She’d kept it all these years.
He suddenly felt like he had a do-over. To change the outcome of that long-ago night the way he wished he could have if the timing had been right.
She pushed the door open and stepped inside, her deep brown eyes never leaving his. He opened his mouth and shut it again as she slowly unbuttoned the shirt, starting at the top. His gaze dropped, riveted to every inch of exposed skin, knowing what she was finally showing him. And then the shirt fell open and he saw it. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, everything around him dimming as his eyes locked on the small hawk tattoo over her heart. A gift that touched him soul deep.
As if in slow motion, he reached out and placed his palm over the tattoo. Her heart pounded furiously under his hand.
The last of his control snapped.
Chapter Ten
“Your heart is racing,” Park told her, his voice gravelly as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her clos
e.
She couldn’t speak; this was the moment she’d been waiting for her whole adult life. Park touching her. Park wanting her.
He traced the tattoo with one finger, staring at it. “What does it mean to you?” His hazel eyes met hers.
Her mouth was dry. She licked her lips, drawing his gaze. “It means be strong, be fierce.” And it means Park stole my heart.
He placed his palm over her heart again, covering the hawk. “I’m honored.” He dropped his forehead to hers. “So honored.”
She couldn’t speak over the lump in her throat. He took a step back and pulled off his undershirt in that two-handed way guys did, shifting to show her his left bicep with a larger matching hawk tattoo. He’d gotten it when he enlisted. “For me it means think first before taking action. The hawk observes and then swoops in for the kill.”
She gave him a small watery smile and finally put it all out there. “It also means Park swooped in and stole my heart.”
His fingers flexed, his hands at his sides. “Mad, this—”
She held his face with both hands. “I’m all grown up. I can handle you.”
“I know,” he said, his voice gruff with emotion. He snagged her wrists, pulling her hands away from his face and back to her sides. “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m not cut out for relationships.”
She met his eyes unflinchingly. She’d always known she wasn’t woman enough for a man like Park. He favored petite girly girls. “Just once,” she said. “Nobody has to know.”
He released her wrists, his eyes searching hers and then drifting down to her mouth and lower to the hawk over her heart. She waited breathlessly, needing him to make the next move, willing him to touch her. Finally, his large hand cupped the back of her neck, drawing her close, and then his lips met hers just as electric as she remembered. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her entire body against his. She expected a quick hookup, a rush of grabbing hands and then hard thrusts against the wall, like most of her hookups, but Park surprised her. His hand slid up to cup the back of her head, holding her as he kissed her deeply, tenderly, like he was cherishing her. She’d never been kissed like this in her life. He didn’t press her up against the wall, didn’t even let his hands roam, merely held her, one hand on her head, his other arm wrapped around her waist. It made her head woozy and her limbs heavy. He kissed her like he had all night, on and on and on, until her lips felt swollen, her entire body liquid heat.
Inviting Trouble (Happy Endings Book Club, Book 2) Page 10