“I love you in my arms, Julianna. This is where I want you for a long time,” he whispers and suddenly I realize I’m wrong. This isn’t a summer fling. No, my brother’s right. Cupid has hit both Bentley and me. I pull his arm tighter around me. Surprisingly, I’m not scared because with Bentley by my side, there’s nothing to be afraid of.
***
The band plays a solid hour but I don’t notice anything they do or say. My arms are wrapped around Jules where she fits perfectly against my body. My body. Yeah, my body is responding to her in ways that it shouldn’t in public. Her soft hair teases my chin, I’ve been nibbling on her neck and ear all evening and I want more. Honestly, I want to pick her up and take her back to my bed, but that won’t be happening, not tonight at least.
Beside us, Bri and J.P. stand in a similar stance. I steal a few glances their way, but it feels weird to see my sister and him kissing. Noting the feeling, I try to keep my mouth off Jules, but I can’t stop my hands from wandering all over her body.
When the concert ends, the four of us walk back to the parking lot. I keep Jules close, both out of desire and protection as there’s a lot of drunk guys stumbling around us. At my truck, I open the door and take Jules’s hand to help her in, but she stops me.
“I’m going to head home with them.”
“What?” I ask, not even attempting to hide my disappointment. As much as I want to, I don’t plan on doing anything sexually with her. I just want to keep her as close to me as possible.
She grins and touches my cheek. I put my hand over hers, hoping to coax her to stay. “The bridal shower is tomorrow and I somehow have a feeling if I stay with you, I won’t get my beauty sleep.”
Well, at least she’s not totally blowing me off, but still… “Baby, you don’t need beauty sleep. You’re gorgeous,” I tell her, trying not to sound too desperate.
Pushing up on her tip toes, her fingers graze across my chest, leaving behind a tingling sensation on my skin. She pulls my head to hers and gives me one helluva passionate kiss.
“Night, Bentley. Thanks for the awesome concert,” she says as my sister takes her hand and walks her to their car.
Shaking my head, I laugh and call after her, “Sweet dreams, Julianna!” I know exactly what my dreams will be.
Chapter 17
My knee bounces up and down beneath my turquoise, knee length bubble dress. The top is lace knit and covers my tattoo because I have a feeling that the extended Ladner family would not approve. Bentley, of course, loves it and I love when his lips find it, but his uppity aunts, grandmas, and cousins probably won’t be as fond of it as he is. From the driver’s side of his truck, Bentley reaches over and steadies my leg.
“Relax, Jules,” he says calmly.
Relax? How can I relax? I’m about to spend the afternoon with Bri and her closest family and friends at the most upscale country club in the county for her bridal shower. It’s being catered by a fancy chef who is serving food I can’t even pronounce. Currently, I’m hiding out in Bentley’s truck watching guests arrive, carrying Crate & Barrel gift bags, and wearing designer clothes that I’ve only dreamed of. Bentley’s thumb rubs my thigh trying to alleviate my stress.
“You have nothing to worry about, babe. Be yourself and they’ll all love you,” Bentley says and I know he understands why I’m so nervous. It would be one thing if I was just attending my brother’s fiancée’s bridal shower but I’m not. I’m about to be introduced to Bentley’s family. His family that in my mind, I will never meet their standards.
“Do they know about us?” I ask, my mouth dry as cotton.
Despite my best efforts to convince myself that we were just friends, after the concert I finally gave in to the fact that Bentley and I are definitely more than that. Even more, I decided I want to be more than that and so does he, but I’m new to all this and I want to take baby steps which does not include meeting his family this soon. His deep chuckle fills the cab of the truck.
“My mother knows so I would assume the rest of the family does as well. She can’t keep a secret to save herself,” Bentley answers as he takes my hand and rubs my palm with his thumb. “Want me to go inside with you?”
I glance over at him in his tattered work jeans and dirty white t-shirt. Lucky him gets to go fishing. Never did I think the day would come that I would prefer fishing over cake and punch. Cake! There’d better be cake!
Leaning across the seat, I kiss his cheek and shake my head no. As I start to pull away, his hand slides around my neck and he pulls me in for a deep kiss. Tilting my head to give him better access, I moan into his mouth as he sucks on my lower lip. Slowly ending the kiss, he looks at me and grins. “Hope that’ll tide you over. I’ll be back in a couple hours.”
I laugh and slide out of his truck, carrying my gift that’s wrapped in Dollar Store wrapping paper. I take a deep breath and walk toward the brick building that is perfectly landscaped with bright Cherry Razzle Dazzle Crepe Myrtles. I only know the name of the shrub because Bentley told me his crew did the work.
I smile as I picture him shirtless, completely focused on completing the task at hand. Bentley always gives his best, no matter what the task is—planting trees, fishing, making a fall wreath. The man will do anything with me and I love it. This is the first relationship I’ve been in that isn’t one-sided and I’m slowly getting used to the concept.
When I walk into the banquet room, it looks like Pepto Bismol has been squirted everywhere. I feel like I’m in the middle of the wedding scene in Steel Magnolias. Quickly, I glance around the room to see if there’s an armadillo cake. I see the tower of cupcakes and let out a sigh of relief.
Startled, I jump as someone pinches my backside and turn to see the bride-to-be grinning at me. Linking our arms, Bri walks us toward the front of the room where the gift table is overflowing and women are mingling with mimosas in hand, pinkies out. The tables are decorated with different shades of pink tablecloths, white roses, varying shades of pink lilies, and baby’s breath in real crystal vases as the centerpieces. And this is just the shower…
I glance down at my turquoise dress, hoping it doesn’t stand out, but then I catch sight of one of Bri’s guests and realize I have no worries. Her black and hot pink zebra print leggings and matching top definitely draw the attention away from me. Bri nods in the zebra’s direction.
“That’s Aunt Clea, we’ll stay as far away from her as possible. She’ll inquire about stock portfolios and bore us to death,” she explains. After Aunt Clea, Bri begins describing each woman in the room. I try to make mental notes of everything she’s saying but I can’t take my take my eyes off all the diamonds. Every woman has at least one diamond ring and necklace, some even have on more than that. I think it’s safe to say that the total cost of the jewels in this room is more than the entire cost of my house.
As Bri introduces me to her family, I watch her interact with them. She is truly stunning today in a white halter top dress, her hair swept up into a messy ‘do that I’m sure she spent hours perfecting, and her make-up is flawless. She never discusses herself, only brags on my brother which makes me smile. If one of her aunts or cousins start to even attempt to speak to me about Bentley, Bri jumps in and distracts them with wedding talk. I know she’s protecting me and I show my appreciation each time with a squeeze of her arm to which she pats my hand in acknowledgement. I really misjudged her a few months ago when Paulie sprung the wedding news on me.
I’m listening to Bri explain exactly what Paulie does to her grandmother when Nikki tears her away from me and I’m left to stand awkwardly with no one to talk to. Twirling a champagne flute in my hand, I look for a clock on the wall to see how much longer until I can escape. A dainty pair of hands with a rock the size of Delaware lightly touches my shoulders. I look up into the face of Mrs. Ladner and my stomach drops.
“Hello there, Julian—I mean Jules. Are you enjoying yourself?”
I attempt to swallow the lump in my throat as I nod. “Yes,
ma’am. You’ve done an excellent job with everything.”
I don’t know why I’m so nervous. Every Sunday after fishing, Bentley, Bri, Paulie, and I have dinner with her and Mr. Ladner. She’s is always very welcoming and Bentley doesn’t hide us in front of her. Maybe it’s because I’m not covered in mud and in old clothes that I feel so out of place beside her. She sweeps her arm in front of her and looks around the room.
“All the family is excited to see Bentley’s new girlfriend. You have big shoes to fill,” she comments and I narrow my eyebrows in question. Mrs. Ladner squeezes my shoulders. “I’m sure Bentley will tell you about his past in due time. The family adored her and everyone was shocked when they broke up. But don’t worry dear, I’m sure they’ll all get to know and love you, too. You make my Bentley happy and that’s what’s most important.”
I’m pretty sure that was the biggest backhanded compliment I’ve ever heard. Fighting the eye roll coming on, I flash my pearly whites and bat my eyes in a mocking manner. Bri marches across the room and grabs my hand.
“Mother, it’s time to open gifts,” Bri says and turns to me. “Jules, as the maid-of-honor, you’ll sit with me to help.”
I start to object but she lurches us forward quickly, mumbling an apology about leaving me alone with her mother. We wait for the crowd to find their seats and I turn to Bri.
“Is there something I should know about Bentley’s ex?” I ask. I haven’t had time to fully process all of Mrs. Ladner’s statement but I can’t sit in front of all these women who are scrutinizing me without being clued at least a little bit.
Bri hesitates ever so briefly then shrugs her shoulders. “You have nothing to worry about, Jules. Bentley’s ex fell in love with someone she met on Facebook. She broke his heart but you’re healing it.”
My heart flutters and I feel bad for my reaction. I don’t ever want Bentley’s heart to break. I don’t ever want him to hurt, but when Bri says I’m healing it and I have nothing to worry about, I can’t help but be more than a little excited. Now that I know the ex has moved on, it’s my mission to make his heart whole again.
We take our seats at the head table. Everyone turns their attention to Bri who fawns over every present she opens and exclaims how much she appreciates it. Then she tells them exactly what she plans to do with it. “Oh these towels? I love them, thank you so much! I’ll definitely be putting these in the guest bathroom.”
I’ve held in so many eye rolls that I have a headache. The list of gifts include everything from crystal vases to silver candlesticks and Egyptian cotton bedsheets. She even received a skimpy red lace nightie from Aunt Clea which I think embarrassed Mrs. Ladner more than Bri. Having stared at her registry for hours, trying to find something within my budget, I know everything she’s received today has cost at least a hundred bucks or more. I’m too busy tallying up the estimated price of the items received to notice that she’s pulled my gift out from where I hid it under the table.
“This one is from my future sister-in-law,” Bri reads the tag out loud.
Oh no! My gift is below the price range, I can’t let her open it in front of everyone. I make a swipe at the brown wrapping paper that I decorated with hearts made from a Sharpie and some ribbon I tied in a bow.
“Don’t open that, Bri. It’s really nothing,” I say softly, trying not to make a scene but it’s too late.
Bri carefully slides the bow off the box as to not break it and have multiple children as the old tradition proclaims will happen. The brown paper and ribbon fall to the floor and my gift sits in her lap. Unlike the other presents, she doesn’t say a word. Her hand goes to her mouth and tears fill her eyes. She sits like this for a few seconds before someone asks what it is. Bri’s hand reaches out and takes mine.
She holds up the mosaic mirror that Bentley and I crafted together. In each corner is a picture of the happy couple that I’ve taken over the last few months when they weren’t looking. The shots include a stolen kiss on the edge of lake, holding hands at the dinner table, a forehead kiss to say goodbye, and an embrace as the sun sets behind them. The entire piece is twenty by twenty-four inches and the tiles I used were less than an inch each. After five hours on the project, I was fairly certain that I was going to become the new Hunchback of Notre Dame. That’s when Bentley came to the rescue and we finished the project in half the time, ending in matching hunchbacks for a day or so after we completed.
“Did you make this?” she asks.
I nod and mutter, “Bentley helped me.”
The tears fall down her cheeks and she leans forward giving me an inescapable hug. I move my arms around her and squeeze her back. Softly, she whispers, “Jules, we’re going to be sister-in-laws in more than one way.”
For the second time during this shower, my heart flutters at her words. Bentley, mine forever? Yes please!
***
Standing at the edge of the lake, I cast my pole into the water. The radio in my truck plays softly and a song that Jules likes comes over the speakers. I start to call out for her but remember she’s at the bridal shower. This is the first time I’ve been fishing alone in almost two months, only a few minutes in I’m already missing my partner.
I felt awful leaving her. It’s my job to protect her now, not just from tattooed ex-boyfriends, but from my nosy aunts and cousins as well. Bri and I talked last night at the concert and I feel confident that she won’t let Jules be fed to the wild banshees that the female Ladners can be when given fresh meat. I can picture Jules giving Aunt Clea a piece of her mind and I start laughing. While I feel like I need to watch out for her, Jules is an independent woman which is a turn on, but at the same time, it worries me. I’m scared that at any given moment, Jules will realize she can do so much better. I know she’ll be able to survive without me, but I’m not sure I can survive without her.
Chapter 18
The familiar sounds of SportsCenter drift into my bedroom. The da-da-da reminds me of my high school days when Paulie and I lived in the tiniest two bedroom apartment. He’d fall asleep and wake up with the show, a habit that I’ve carried on and can’t fall asleep without unless a certain Bentley Ladner is holding me in his arms. I make one more swipe of my lipstick then flip off the bathroom light and head to the ESPN headquarters in my house.
Sitting in my brown recliner that was originally bought for Paulie, Bentley has his leg hanging over one side and his arms folded behind his head. When I walk into the room, he turns his attention away from the sports highlights and lets out a wolf whistle. I giggle in embarrassment and Bentley holds his hands out for me as he sits up. When I’m within reach, he takes my hand and twirls his finger, indicating for me to spin around. My turn complete, I stand between his legs and his hands roam up the back of my thighs.
“Mmm, baby, you look amazing,” he says and kisses my bare stomach that is exposed by the off the shoulder “Bride’s Wing Woman” crop top. His hands graze the bottom of the Daisy Duke jean shorts I’m wearing and my body is electrified at his touch.
I pull his head up to look at me and raise an eyebrow. Over the clothes heavy petting is as far as we’ve gone, but from the way our last few make-out sessions ended, I know it’s not long until we take that next step. His hands move from my legs and his fingers skim the sides of my ribcage, venturing dangerously close to my breasts which are more than ready to feel his rough hands. He slides his hands up and down slowly for a moment then he takes me by surprise when he pulls me onto his lap.
My curled lockets of hair fall around both our faces and his beard rubs against my freshly made-up cheek. Messing up my make-up is the last thing on my mind though. As my legs straddle him, I feel his erection fighting to get out of his cargo shorts. I moan into his mouth, our tongues rolling fast and furious against each other’s, and I press my hips harder against him. My hands slide down his neck to his chest and I fist his shirt, pulling him deeper into our kiss. His hands roam up and down my stomach, occasionally over my bra to squeeze my breasts bu
t they never linger. My body is going crazy and in my mind, I’m urging him to push the fabric away.
Breaking the kiss, Bentley leans his head back against the brown chair. Both of our chests heaving as we try to catch our breath, his hands still wander over my torso, turning me on even more with each simple touch. I slowly unclench my fists on his shirt, trying to calm my hormones knowing it’s pointless being this close in proximity to this fine man.
“Jules…”
I bite my lip, worried about what’s about to come out of his mouth. His tone is slow and uncertain, not the normal confident, reassuring voice he usually speaks in. There must be a reason we haven’t gone the next step. This is it, my perfect Bentley world is about to crash all around me. For the first time, I’m scared in Bentley’s presence and start to stand up to put distance between us, but he holds me in place, slightly thrusting against me to let me know just how excited he is. He leans up and kisses me softly.
“We have to be at J.P and Bri’s in about twenty minutes,” he advises and I quickly look away to avoid his eyes. Not missing a beat, he takes my chin in his thumb and forefinger turning my face back to look at him. “Julianna, I’m going to spend a lot longer than twenty minutes when I finally get to pleasure you.”
His dimpled grin reaches his eyes and the effect he was already having on me increases tenfold. I lean forward and let my lips suck on his neck lightly for a few seconds then I move my mouth to his ear and whisper, “What’s been stopping you?” I nip his earlobe and my heart races in anticipation of his answer.
His grip tightens on the back of my short shorts and he looks me in the eyes when he explains. “Because I have this feeling that after I have you once, I’ll never be able to get enough of you. I don’t take this kind of thing lightly, Julianna. Once we go there, there’s no turning back.”
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