“Would it be better for you to walk behind me? Tuck your hand into my belt?”
He instantly imagined her small fingers slipping into the band of his pants and… “Never mind. I’m not asking you to put your hand in my pants.”
Her lips twitched. “Sounds like you were,” she said, her voice light and teasing.
They filled two bags for her parents then Luke led her back to her table where they’d left their cookies. And funny thing, he felt lighter, freer, with her on his arm than he had all day.
“Luke! Hey.”
One of his brother’s groomsmen approached him and Ava back at her table. Big guy, with a head of thick, wavy black hair. Bull, he thought his name was Bull.
“We need you outside, man. Nick said you had more stuff in your trunk.”
“Right.” And in the past thirty minutes he’d completely forgotten about his responsibility on the finishing touches for the bride and groom’s car. “Well…” He scooted his chair from the table, hesitated.
“Go,” Ava said with a wave of her hand. “Please. I’m sure your brother will appreciate the ‘stuff’ you have for him.” She grinned knowingly, then gestured to her cookies. “More for me.”
“Don’t eat them all.”
“I make no promises.”
* * *
As soon as Ava was sure he was far enough away, she dropped her forehead into her hand and took a deep breath. Wow. The man was… potent. And he was her friend’s brother. She shook it off and felt for her bag on the table. Finding it, she pulled her phone.
It had to be getting late. She’d gotten a ride with Hannah from the wedding to the reception, and had tentatively accepted a ride home though she wouldn’t put her friend out. She probably had a million things to take care of and she’d been sure she’d be ready to leave well before that. Though after meeting Luke she wasn’t as ready as she had been.
Ava barely had time to check the time on her phone before Hannah was beside her.
“Ava! Hey. Come on.” She leaned down, a hand on her shoulder, obviously primed to drag her out. “We’re doing the whole send off thing.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I’ll just hold down this table. And hey, I was actually about to call for a ride. You don’t need one more thing to do tonight.”
“What? No, don’t do that.” Hannah sat in the seat Luke had just left. “Nora’s and Zach’s co-workers have volunteered to hang til the end and make sure all the gifts are loaded. My sole responsibility is to get their son home and tucked in without noticing they’re gone. No small task, but we’ll be heading out soon. And come on, you can’t miss this! It’ll be fun!”
It might be, she thought. But it would also be a mass of people moving through doors and over curbs, all anxious not to miss something that she couldn’t see anyway. “I’m good where I am. Honest.”
“I could guide you through it.”
“Thanks, but no. I was just about to check on my dad.” She smiled at Hannah’s sincere offer, knowing she meant it. “Go! You can’t miss seeing them off.”
“Okay. If you’re sure.”
“I am. When she was alone again,” she asked her phone for the time, then the weather for tomorrow. She started to google a place nearby where she could do some indoor swimming for exercise. She loved the horseback riding and would be forever grateful to her sister-in-law for setting that up, but she needed to get in some real cardio.
She could do a local search with voice commands, no problem, but it was still a little loud in here to be getting directions so she dictated a quick text to her best friend, Maddie, instead.
* * *
Eating cookies. Wish you were here.
* * *
Luke stepped back and took an approving look at the finished product. The crowd was gathering, ratcheting up the noise around him with festive chatter and laughing.
“He’s going to kill you when he gets back,” Hannah said, coming beside him.
“Worth it.”
“Okay.” Hannah looked around. “I’m going to give the girls a few more minutes to pass out their petals and then give the signal for Zach and Nora to come out.”
Stephen joined them with his arms full of toddler. “Damn, sorry I missed the finishing touches.” He had Nora and Zach’s son Will on one arm and his own son Mitchell sleeping on his shoulder.
“Where’s Ava?” Luke looked around, realizing she wasn’t there and that he’d expected her to be with his sister.
“She didn’t want to come out. I tried,” she added firmly.
“I’ll get her.”
“I don’t think she wanted to fight the crowd,” Hannah added with a hand on his arm.
“I’ll fight it for her,” he said, already heading back inside.
“Well,” was all Hannah said, sharing an equally curious look with her husband.
There were only a handful of guests still inside. Two women holding babies, a younger man standing over a kid in full out melt–down mode. And Ava. He wasted no time making his way over.
“Show’s outside.”
Ava jumped at the sound of his voice and he cursed himself. He’d often been told he moved like smoke. “Sorry.” He dropped into the seat beside her. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Come on. I don’t want you to miss this.”
“It’s okay, really—”
Nope, it wasn’t okay. And he couldn’t really say why it bothered him so much to see her sitting alone but it did. “Come on.” He stood, pushing his chair all the way in, making sure it was out of her way. “They’ll be coming out any second and I don’t want to miss the look on my brother’s face when he sees his truck.”
“Then you should go. I can’t just run out there. You’ll miss it.”
“Neither of us will miss it. Trust me.” He wrapped his hand around her upper arm, gently, just to give her a nudge.
She stood, feeling around for her cane. He picked it up, held it to her left hand and put her right hand around his arm, again like an escort. He led her faster than she might have liked but time was of the essence. “I’ve got you. I promise. There’s a clear path to the door. I’ll tell you when we get there.”
He pushed out the swinging doors and the cool night air rushed at them. The volume had risen with the anticipation and the crowd had split to make a path down the center for the bride and groom.
“Nice job,” someone called out to him with a nod to Zach’s truck.
The onlookers had split into two sides, leaving a path for the bride and groom. He led Ava right down the center of it and to the left, taking a spot at the end between the decorated truck, and Nick and Mia.
“They’re going to kill you,” someone else said.
“I take it your work was a success,” Ava said.
“I’d say so. I’m particularly proud of the giant, blow–up penis on the roof. And I might have filled his suitcase with condoms, after I zipped–tied them closed.”
“Nice.”
“Yeah. Oh, and we’ve got these.” He reached into his pocket for the paper cone he’d snagged for her, a bit smashed now. He gave the opening at the top a quick reshaping then touched the flower filled cone to Ava’s hand. “It’s rose petals. To throw at the happy couple, I’m told.”
She took it, sniffed and smiled. “I’m not sure I’ll hit the mark, but thank you.”
He looked around at the boisterous crowd, most had come out with drinks still in their hands. “You’ll do as well as anyone here. I’ll tell you when.”
She turned her head, and hit him with a smile so sweet he missed his brother’s initial exit. But the crowd whooped and cheered and Zach and Nora jogged hand in hand under a shower of pink and red petals.
“Okay, now!”
Laughing, Ava flung out petals, missing the happy couple by several feet.
“How’d I do?” she asked him.
“Perfect.”
Zach paused at his truck, threw out some good-natured curses when he saw what had b
een done, then scooped his bride up into his arms and stuffed her into the front seat. With a wave and a couple of laughing threats aimed at his groomsmen, he rounded the hood, joined his bride and they were off.
“Whew!” Hannah said. “Good times, but I’m exhausted. We need to get these little party animals to bed.” Mitchell was now awake and crying a pitiful, weary cry.
“Okay,” Ava said. “I’m ready. I just need to get my purse.”
“I can get it,” Hannah said. “I’ve got to grab the boys’ bags.”
“I’ll get the car.” Stephen strode off.
Hannah touched Ava’s arm. “You want to come with or wait here.”
“Um…” Ava shifted, brushing her arm against Luke’s. “I’ll wait here.”
Hannah’s eyes met Luke’s, silently confirming he’d wait here with Ava and he nodded. Weird, he thought, to be silently communicating with his sister.
“Okay. I’ll be back in five and Stephen will be here with the car. Need anything else?”
“I don’t think— Oh! The to-go bag of cookies. They’re on the table.”
“Got it.”
Luke watched his sister, a mother, a wife, walk swiftly back inside and felt a wave of pride. Then he turned back to Ava and felt something else. She shivered beside him and he angled his body to block hers from the wind. “I should have gotten your coat.”
“I didn’t bring one. Didn’t expect it to be this cold. Guess I should have.”
It’d been a warm day for early March but it had to be in the fifties now. If he’d still had his jacket on he’d have given it to her. “You sure you don’t want to wait inside?”
“No. It’s fine. By the time we get in there it’ll be time to come back out.”
They were so close. Almost as close as they’d been dancing, but they weren’t touching.
“Thanks for the dancing and the cookies,” she said. “It was fun.” Her lips curved a little, but her eyes still focused just beyond him.
“Yeah. It was,” he said, surprising himself that he meant it. He wasn’t even touching her, and his pulse was pounding. Her lips were so rosy, looked so soft. He wanted to find out if they were as soft as they looked. He wanted to taste her.
“And thanks for hanging with me,” she said. “And saving me from looking so pitiful your sister felt she had to babysit me.”
“Me, too. All of it. The hanging, the looking pitiful.”
She breathed out a little laugh and smiled. “I doubt you ever look pitiful.”
“You’d be surprised.” His heartbeat ticked off the seconds. The urge to touch her was so strong, he stuck his hands in his pockets. This was the most he’d felt in way too long. Well, make a plan, Walker. If you want to see her again, make a plan and make it fast.
“Ava!” Hannah yelled.
Luke nearly groaned, nearly suggested they should go for coffee, or… He didn’t know. Couldn’t think of anything that felt quite right. Then Hannah was doing a light jog up to them in her heels.
“Ava. I’m so sorry but I forgot about the extra car seat and we took out the back row so we could help with the gifts.” Hannah handed Ava her purse, phone, and two bags of cookies.
“Oh, that’s okay,” Ava said, completely unruffled. “I’ll call an Uber. I do it all the time.” She already had her phone out.
“I feel awful,” Hannah said. “I really do. Why don’t you let Luke take you home?”
“Oh, no. Really. My parents live ten minutes from here. It’s not a big deal.”
“I’ll take you,” Luke said.
They went through the dance of you don’t have to and I don’t mind, with Hannah there thanking Luke and encouraging Ava to accept.
“I totally vouch for him,” Hannah added.
Ava wasn’t worried about that. Not really. She’d been with him for a while now and he seemed perfectly nice. Definitely wasn’t drunk. And it’s not like she didn’t get into cars with strangers all the time. But she didn’t need him to.
“Please,” Hannah said.
“Okay.” She might not need it but Hannah obviously did. “Well,” she said turning to Luke. “Guess you’re taking me home.”
“I guess I am.”
5
Luke walked Ava to his truck and opened the door for her. He was trying to figure out if she needed guidance getting in, if he should describe it or touch her or… And then she was already in.
He reached up, grabbed the seatbelt and was just about to stretch it across her body when she reached to do it herself. Her hand caught him in the arm at the same time her cheek turned into his hand. They both froze.
“I can buckle myself,” she said, with just the hint of a smile but her eyes were definitely laughing.
“Right. Got it.” Cursing himself, he rounded the hood and got in. The second he cranked on the engine, Luke Bryan blasted through the speakers.
He immediately turned it down. “Sorry,” he said again.
“Like it loud, huh?”
“Well, I was uh… driving to the wedding earlier. Or the pre-wedding photos… I had the windows down and… Yeah.”
“I listen to loud music when I’m nervous.”
“I wasn’t nervous.”
“Oh. Okay. I just thought wedding so…I would have been nervous.”
“You ever listen to Luke Bryan?”
“No. I don’t know this song. I don’t listen to country music really.”
“Mmm. You’re missing out.” He glanced over at her face, noticed her nose scrunched up in an apologetic smirk. Adorable.
He let the music play, let the song finish out between them as he drove out of the lot and turned onto the main rode. “Okay, fine. I was nervous.”
She grinned but didn’t do a told you so. “Country, huh?”
“Sometimes,” he said, lying because it was pretty much all he listened to. “We can listen to whatever you want. The controls are all right here.” Should he take her hand? Guide her to them so she could choose what she wanted for herself? “The music and if you want heat or air.”
“Got it,” she said, and looked like she was trying not to laugh.
He didn’t blame her. He was acting like he’d never had a female in his truck before.
“Well. That was fun,” she said, having pity on him.
“Yeah. A busy day all around, but not too bad.”
“I appreciate the ride.”
“Sure. No problem.” Why the hell was he so edgy? He’d held her in his arms earlier now he couldn’t handle being two feet away. He could still smell her, even over the lingering baby vomit faintly clinging to his shirt.
Her parents’ house was just as close as she’d said and they were there in under ten minutes. He searched the mailboxes lining the quiet residential street for the number she’d given him. He found it, turned into the driveway. The home sat on a medium sized lot, a neat one story, red brick and white siding. He cut the engine, came around and opened her door offering his arm when she got out. Getting the hang of this, he thought to himself.
“Well. Thanks again,” she said as they scaled the three brick steps to the front door.
“You’re welcome.”
Ava turned to open the door and he waited behind her. She wasn’t the sort of girl a guy met and walked to the door a few hours later to cop a kiss. He thought about holding his hand out for a shake but that was ridiculous.
Or did she want him to kiss her? God knows he was dying to.
Ava stepped inside and hesitated, looking back at him. There was something he wanted to say, but he didn’t know what it was and it didn’t come to him fast enough.
“Goodnight, Luke.”
“Good night, Ava.” And with that, she closed the door.
6
“Damn it,” Ava said, tripping over a pile of laundry then banging her knee on the corner of the coffee table. Breakfast dishes clanged in the sink followed by her mom’s profuse apology as she hurried in from the kitchen.
“Are you o
kay, sweetie?”
“I’m fine,” Ava said, forcing a smile through gritted teeth.
“Are you sure? I’m just out of practice since you’re never here. I keep forgetting.”
“Yes. Positive.” Ava rubbed at her knee, ignoring her mom’s subtle mention of her lack of visiting. “It’s okay, Mom.” It’d been three weeks now, and if her mom had picked up the clutter, it had reappeared. Or maybe it multiplied. Even though she’d grown up in this house, it was her parents’ space, and it made her even more anxious to get back to her own.
“Where’s your cane?”
“It’s in my room,” she said stepping cautiously around the table. She wasn’t used to having to rely on her cane in her apartment. She knew where everything was and wasn’t. Could move confidently through the clear paths she left for herself. “Hey, I’m going to grab a shower.”
She counted out twenty–two steps down the hallway to her old bedroom and grabbed what she needed before crossing the hall to the bathroom.
She closed the door behind her, turned the lock. She hadn’t lived at home since she was eighteen. At thirty–one, she didn’t need her mom poking her head in while she was naked.
When she’d been young, her mom had been meticulous about the house and keeping Ava’s paths cleared. A constant problem for her older brother who had a habit of dropping backpacks and shoes where he stood.
She was just coming into her bedroom, her wet hair wrapped in a towel, when she heard her best friend’s ring tone on her cell. Sliding her hand across her dresser, she tapped her phone twice to answer the call. “Maddie. Hey.”
“When are you coming back?”
Ava dropped the towel and grabbed some underwear. “What?”
“I said, when are you coming back? I’ve had the worst two days of my life, beginning with walking out of my apartment without my purse and thus locking myself out of my apartment—”
“Oh, no.”
“Oh, yes, and then having to beg Funky Frank, the landlord from hell, to let me in. Then getting waylaid after work by Nosy Nina to go to Russo’s for a beer, because obviously we’re best friends now after she bummed a tampon from me at work.”
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