But that doesn’t happen.
Instead, he jerks away from me and hops off of the bike like it’s on fire.
What. The. Hell.
“You should probably get going, Em. You’re going to be late for the barbecue.”
Other than the slight flush of his cheeks, his expression gives absolutely nothing away about how he’s feeling. It’s like the past minute never happened at all.
I nod slowly. “Um, okay. I thought you were coming with me?”
He looks down at the ground and runs a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I have some stuff I have to take care of here first.”
Okay, then.
I slide off the bike and lay the helmet on the seat. If he wants to pretend this never happened, then fine. That’s what we’ll do.
“Will?”
He shifts his gaze back to me. “Yeah?”
“Thanks for that. I had a blast.”
“Sure,” he says, casually waving his hand. “That ride was long overdue.”
I retie my ponytail and give him a sharp look. “Yes, it was. Maybe a lot of things are long overdue, Mav.”
His jaw flexes as he looks down at me, and I can tell he knows exactly what I mean.
“Text me the address, okay? I’ll meet you over there.” He turns and walks toward the house, and I watch until he disappears from view.
If I were anyone else and not Emmy Sullinger, his best girl friend and Sully’s sister, I’d be in his arms right now, kissing him senseless.
I’m dying to know what those strong arms feel like wrapped around my body. I want to lose myself in his kisses and surrender to all of these new feelings.
But I can’t, and it totally sucks.
I walk down the driveway and turn in the direction of Jackson’s cottage, feeling more confused than ever. This back and forth, push and pull between us is twisting me up inside.
I need to forget all of this and stick with my plan: let loose, have fun, and find a guy who wants to hook up with me.
Obviously, that guy isn’t Will, no matter how much I want it to be.
Chapter Seven
WILL
Pacing around the living room is accomplishing absolutely nothing. I can’t get Emmy’s sweet, begging-to-be-kissed face off of my mind.
We’d had so much damn fun riding around on the quad. It took me right back to being a teenager again—to days that were carefree and easy.
She’d looked so damn cute sitting there on the bike, with her hair a total mess and her cheeks flushed with joy. You couldn’t miss the happiness radiating from her, and that made me happy. Happier than I’d been in a very long time.
But that quick, I nearly fucked it all up.
Our faces had been so close that I could smell the sweet cherry scent of her lip gloss. It was like she was wearing magnets, and I was pure metal. Resisting that pull was nearly impossible.
When she’d looked up at me with those beautiful green eyes? Fuck, I was a goner. I didn’t want to resist her anymore. I wanted to fucking claim her. To claim those sweet lips as she melted into me.
When she’d leaned forward and closed her eyes, sweetly begging for that kiss, I’d had to throw myself off of the bike to avoid contact.
You know, because I’m smooth like that.
Fuck.
Her disappointed, slightly embarrassed expression had wrecked me.
I drag my hands through my hair and sigh. After what just happened, I’m not sure if I should follow through with the second half of my surprise for Emmy. It’s only going to set me up for more temptation.
But my need to see her smile wins out over everything else—not that I’m surprised. I trudge out to the backyard and spend half an hour getting everything set up for later.
Temptation or not, I’m doing this.
“Well hello there.”
A short, petite blonde in a teeny-tiny skirt stands in the doorway, looking me up and down.
“Hey. I’m Will. Emmy’s friend. She invited me over.”
She wrinkles her little nose and inhales, pushing her huge boobs forward until they’re practically touching me. “Um, sorry. Who?”
“Emmy Sullinger? I saw you hanging out with her at the lake earlier today.”
She gives me a flirty smile. “You saw me at the lake, huh?”
I stifle a sigh. “Yeah. Is she here?”
“Who?”
Good Lord.
“Emmy,” I repeat patiently. “Is Emmy here?”
“Oh. You mean Sunshine. Yep, she’s here.”
I raise an eyebrow as she steps aside. To my knowledge, I’m the only person who calls Emmy by that name. “Sunshine?”
“Yeah. She goes by Sunshine Sullinger on her ZeeTube channel, where she does all those video makeup tutorials and stuff. I knew who she was from her channel before Jackson even introduced us.”
Huh. This is all news to me.
“Everyone’s out back,” she says. “Beer is in the kitchen, and there’s more in the coolers outside. I’m going to use the little girl’s room.” She gives me a flirty wink and heads upstairs. “I’ll see you soon, Will. That’s a promise.”
Wonderful. I roll my eyes and walk through the cottage, stopping to grab a beer from the fridge in the kitchen.
Outside, the party is jumping. Chicken and hot dogs sizzle on a big grill, and twenty or so people mill around the large deck, eating and drinking.
Emmy stands near the grill, holding a plate with a hot dog and potato chips. She sees me and lifts her hand in a greeting. She whispers something to Crew Cut, who puts down the grill tongs and follows her as she walks toward me.
“Will, you made it.”
Emmy looks tipsy, and that’s not good. She can’t hold her alcohol for shit. I glance down at her red-colored drink, which has real cherries floating around in the glass. Punch, maybe.
“Will, this is my new friend, Jackson Bailey. Jackson, my old friend, Will Maverick. Will plays professional hockey for the Toronto Smoke.”
Jackson sizes me up, and I do the same right back. Finally, he nods and slings an arm around Emmy’s shoulders. I don’t miss the possessiveness of the gesture.
“So you’re a hockey player, eh?”
I pop the top on my beer. “Yep.”
“What position do you play?”
“Left -wing.” I take a swig of the beer and give him another scrutinizing glance. “What do you do?”
“I go to University in B.C. Electrical Engineering major.”
“You’re from British Columbia?”
“Yeah, I’m just here visiting my old man for a few weeks.”
If Em does hook up with this douche nozzle, which I pray doesn’t happen, at least I know their relationship isn’t going anywhere permanent. I can’t see her doing the long-distance thing with him if she lives in New York City. Then again, I can’t see her with this guy, period.
The blonde I met earlier comes up behind me and wraps her arm around my waist. “Sunshine, why didn’t you tell us about your smoking hot friend here?”
Emmy pauses. “I did earlier, remember? I told you he was working on the cottage while we were swimming. Brooke, this is Will. And vice-versa.”
“Oh, we’ve met. Sunshine, you didn’t say he was a total babe.” She grins up at me and places her hand right above my ass. She’s about as subtle as a tornado.
“And guess what, Brooke? He plays hockey,” Jackson adds.
Brooke lets out a low sound of approval, and I do my best not to cringe.
“She really likes athletes,” Jackson confides. “Especially hockey players.”
Lucky me.
“Catch you later,” Jackson says dismissively. He leads Emmy away to talk to another group of his friends.
I manage to extract myself from Brooke’s iron grip and take a seat at an empty patio chair, but she snags another chair nearby and drags it over.
There’s going to be no escaping this girl. If I want to stay here and keep an eye on Em, Brooke’s
part of that package.
For the next hour and a half, I eat a few hot dogs and listen to Brooke ramble on endlessly. She’s gorgeous and totally stacked, but all she does is talk about places she wants to go and stores she wants to shop at whenever she visits Toronto. It’s clear she wants me to be her tour guide, too.
When she introduces me as a professional hockey player to some of the other people at the party, her eyes light up like she’s hit the jackpot. It’s not long before I’m surrounded by more of her attractive friends, and they keep trying to outdo each other by flirting with me. Brooke, however, keeps one hand on my arm like she’s staking a claim.
My patience begins to run thin. I’m sure most guys love being surrounded by gorgeous girls who are all competing for their attention, but in a situation like this, I’m not one of them. They’re not interested in me. They don’t see me as a person; they just see me as an athlete. And I’ve never been interested in women who reduce me down to what I do for a living.
Jackson keeps one arm firmly around Emmy as they move from one social circle to the next. Emmy’s always been great with people, so she fits in with this group easily. She’s also gotten more than her share of appreciative glances from some of the guys at the party. Not that I blame them.
She’s talking with a short, blonde-haired guy when I see Jackson catch the eye of one of his friends. Jackson nods toward Emmy and gives his friend the universal hand signal to indicate he’s getting a hand-job later tonight.
I narrow my gaze. Oh, hell no. Not in a million fucking years am I going to let that happen. She’s tipsy and can’t consent. I didn’t think it was possible for this guy’s stock to tumble further, but this seals the deal.
He leans forward and whispers something in Emmy’s ear. When his hand drops down just above her ass, I’ve seen enough. I excuse myself from Brooke and her friends and quickly make my way over to Emmy.
“Em?”
She turns and gives me a tight smile. “Hey, Will.”
“Listen, I have something I want to show you back at the house. I set it up after you left. Want to take off?”
Emmy frowns. “Oh. Right now?”
“C’mon, Maverick. You guys can’t leave now. The party’s just getting started,” Jackson says. He shoots me a glare and takes a long swig of his beer.
I give zero fucks about his opinion, so I ignore him and concentrate on Emmy. “Yeah, now. I promise you’ll love it.” I hold out my hand to her, and to my relief, she reaches for it automatically. This pisses Jackson right off.
“C’mon Sunshine, it’s way too early to leave,” Jackson cajoles. “Besides, I thought we were going for a walk together.” He gives me a meaningful look. “Alone.”
Hearing my nickname for Emmy come out of his mouth infuriates me. It takes every ounce of my restraint not to tell this fucker he can chew glass.
“I’m sorry. We’ll go another time,” she assures him.
“Are we at least still on for breakfast tomorrow?” he asks, irritation lacing his voice.
“Of course,” she murmurs. “I’ll see you around ten.”
He gives me a smug look, then bends over to kiss her cheek. “Good. I’m really looking forward to it. We need to be alone, you know?”
The look he gives me now is one of open hostility. He’s staked his claim, and he expects me to back off.
He can go fuck himself.
I narrow my eyes. “C’mon Em. Let’s get going.” I tug her gently toward the side of the house and down the stone walkway.
Once we’re back out on the dirt road, she glances over at me. “Do you really have something you want to show me?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have asked you to come back with me if I didn’t.”
The silence between us is uncomfortable as we walk back to the cottage. I try to make small talk, but she only gives one-word answers. It’s not like Emmy to be so quiet.
“Are you pissed at me or something?” I ask finally.
“You don’t like Jackson.”
“No,” I tell her. “Not really.”
“Well, you seemed to have a great time talking to Brooke.”
I snort. “Brooke’s a nice girl. Gorgeous. But she’s superficial.”
“Jackson said he could tell she was into you. Anyone could tell. She was attached to you all night. So were her friends.”
Is that jealousy I hear in her tone? “I have a feeling Brooke is into a lot of guys, Em,” I say gently. “Especially if they’re athletes. She’s not my type.”
I give her hand a squeeze as we approach the cottage. She looks up at me then squeezes back. Just like that, all is right in my world again.
Once we reach the house, I flick a light switch near the front door.
“So, what do you want to show me?” she asks.
I cover her eyes and lead her around to the backyard, praying that she’ll like what I’ve done. There’s nothing more I want than to see that brilliant smile again.
“Ready?” I ask.
She nods. “Ready to find out why my crazy friend led me away from a party that was in full swing? Yes.”
I drop my hands from her eyes.
Emmy gasps as she peers around the back yard. “Oh my God. Will, what did you do?”
Slowly, she looks up at me, and BAM—there it is. That beautiful smile.
Score.
Chapter Eight
EMMY
Will ushers me further into the backyard. “What do you think, Em? Do you like it?”
“Do I like it?” I manage, gaping. “Will, I love it!”
Tiny, twinkling blue and white lights hang in the trees above a large tent. On the picnic table, plastic bags holding all of the ingredients for s’mores are waiting next to jars of fresh fruit, a loaf of bread, and two sandwich irons.
A lantern softly illuminates the inside of the tent, and through the zipped screen, I see two sleeping bags and a big stack of pillows.
“You did all this after I left?”
He nods.
“Oh, Will.” I blink back tears. “I love it. Really.”
When we were kids, Will, Sully, and I set up this same tent for one night during our vacations. Our parents would stay in the house and leave us alone for the evening, and we took full advantage of it. We’d stay up late telling ghost stories and making s’mores and hot fruit pockets. Sometimes we’d go for a dip in the lake after they fell asleep. Tent Night is one of the best memories I have from our vacations at the cottage.
I’m overcome with gratefulness and nostalgia as I turn back to Will. For the second time tonight, he’s gone above and beyond to bring back a lovely childhood memory.
It’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.
I wipe my tears as they begin to fall. “I can’t believe you remembered. Actually, that’s not true. You never forget a thing.”
“Hey,” he says softly. “It wasn’t supposed to make you cry.”
I fling myself into his arms. “I’m just happy. Seriously, I don’t deserve this, Will. You’re so sweet.”
“Em, you deserve everything that’s good.” He kisses the top of my head before releasing me and guiding me over to the picnic table.
“Figure out what you want to eat while I get a fire going, okay? I’ve got popcorn and other snacks in the tent for later.”
Most people would start with s’mores, but I always save them for last because they’re the yummiest. I set about making a strawberry fruit sandwich to put in the sandwich iron. Ten minutes later, we sit in front of the little campfire, waiting for our food to cook.
“Em, do you remember when Sully decided he was going to put corn chips, chili powder, peanuts, and cheese into his hot sandwich?”
I burst out laughing. “That was so disgusting. He ate that mess, too.”
Will grins. “He had to. He bragged so hard that it was going to be awesome. Remember his face when he bit into it?”
I snicker. “He looked like he was going to throw up. I thi
nk he might have later when no one was looking.”
I sigh happily as we watch the fire crackle and spark. After a moment passes, I say, “This is so perfect. I can’t even begin to tell you what this means to me. Words won’t do it justice. I feel just like a kid again.”
“Me, too.” He glances over at me and smiles, but there’s a sliver of sadness in his eyes.
I put my hand on his arm. “As lovely as this is, I don’t want to make things difficult for you. We don’t have to do this. I know memories can—“
He presses his finger to my lips. “I’m okay, Little Miss Worrier. This is fun for me, too.” He shrugs. “Even good memories are going to be a little rough sometimes, but it’s better to have them than to forget. They’re bittersweet, you know?”
“That’s true. And we can make new, good memories like this one.” I lean my head on his shoulder. “Lord knows I haven’t made any good ones in a long time.”
“None?” He sounds surprised.
“Everything’s been so difficult lately. My parents are barely talking to each other. And when they do, they speak through Sully or me. Like, ‘Tell your father this’ or ‘Tell your mother that.’ It’s so ridiculous.”
He shakes his head. “I can’t believe they’re getting divorced. I always thought they were really happy,” he muses. “They used to be.”
“My Dad’s already got a new girlfriend. She’s in her early thirties and owns a chain of yoga studios. Dad thinks she’s perfect. She’s even started emailing me because she wants us to be friends. Can you imagine?”
He laughs. “No, I can’t.”
“My mom cheated on him, Will.” The words rush out, fast and furious. It’s the first time I’m able to say it out loud. “I’ve known for a while, now. Even Sully doesn’t know. But I accidentally found the emails.”
He rubs my shoulder and gives me a sympathetic look. “That sucks, Em. I’m really sorry.”
“I thought Dad would be the one to cheat, you know? All of those business trips and times he left her alone. I guess she was lonely, but that’s not an excuse. He’s still really pissed about it. Sometimes…”
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