When she’s finished, she looks up at me and licks her lips. I swear it the most erotic sight I’ve ever seen.
“You’re overdressed,” I say, propping myself up on my elbows. “Get it all off and come and ride me.”
“But your ribs—”
“Are perfectly fine. Especially if you do all the work.”
26
Danni
The rest of our Sunday was spent quietly at home. Carter cooked both lunch and dinner, and both were as incredible as everything else he’s made. He seems to amaze me at every turn, and I can’t help that I’m enjoying him being here more every minute.
His fight might have been scary as hell, but it taught me something, something I’d been refusing to admit to myself for days, if not longer. I was falling for Carter, and falling hard.
So what he’s not what I said I wanted? He doesn’t wear a suit to work, and his exercise doesn’t involve a calm game of golf. Who cares? He’s got so many other things that were on my list. He’s dedicated, passionate, hard-working, talented. He’s just… him. And my heart is tumbling for him faster than I can control.
I fiddle with my necklace and glance at the clock, wishing I could go home in an hour or so and spend the evening with him.
Our lives run on totally different schedules. While I usually work eight in the morning until whenever I’m too tired to do so, he works mid-afternoon to often late at night. It’s only been five days, but I’m already missing him not being around.
He might insist on getting up with me in the mornings and making me breakfast, but I feel awful because he should be sleeping, then when he comes back after his shift at the studio I’m usually falling asleep on the sofa.
If this is going to work, then we need to figure out how we’re going to spend time together. If we’re going to make a go of this then I want it to be for real, not a part-time thing where we only manage to fit time together around work.
It’s Friday night, and all I want to do is go home and spend the night eating some of Carter’s incredible cooking and chilling out on the sofa with a little Netflix, but he’s working and he’s already warned me that he’s going to be late after rescheduling his weekend appointments so we can attend this charity thing for Biff.
Of course, I want to go and support Biff and Zach. Equally, I want to be there to experience her parents’ reaction to her new tatted-up husband, because they are going to lose their shit.
I sigh, thinking of my parents. Biff and Zach visited them the day they got back to break the good news. From how Mum sounded on the phone when she called me immediately after, I would say that breaking the news was a suitable description. She sobbed and asked me why her kids feel the need to run away to get married without them. Guilt like I’d never felt hit me like a truck. I didn’t have it in me to be anything but supportive. The last thing I wanted to do was shatter her already broken heart. Thank God Zach and Biff kept our drunken nuptials to themselves. For now at least.
As well as making me a healthy breakfast every day, Carter has ensured I have a good lunch too. I have never eaten so well in all my life. I’ve always tried to curb my snacking habit, but prior to meeting him it was a battle I always faced. Well, no more. He’s successfully keeping me filled with healthy, incredibly tasty food every day, and the last thing I want to do is snack.
Thinking that I might cheat tonight, when I push my way through the front door of my flat, I’m fully prepared to pull up the Just Eat app and order something naughty. I’ve been so good all week; why not?
That is, until I find a note on the side. Finding my name scrawled across the front of the folded piece of paper, I open it up to see what’s inside.
I gasp. I thought it was going to be a handwritten note, but what I find is so much more than that. It’s instructions for dinner, only they’re in sketches, not words.
Following his drawings, I open the fridge and find a foil-wrapped tray waiting for me.
‘Cook Me’ it says on the top, but the writing is beautiful, showing just how talented an artist he really is.
I follow all the instructions, put the salmon in the oven, and plate up the side salad he’s already prepared before going through to my bedroom to change out of my work clothes. I pull my phone from my bag and send him a text.
Thank you so much for dinner. Wish you could join me x
I’m disappointed when he doesn’t immediately reply after seeing that he’s read it, but I know he’s busy. Zach and Biff had already sorted his clients for tomorrow before Biff even called about her parents’ thing.
With a sigh, I dish up my dinner. I pour myself a large glass of wine and curl up on the sofa for a night alone.
I end up falling asleep after the wine, and that’s where Carter finds me when he eventually gets home later that night. I’m woken when I’m lifted and pressed against his warm body as he carries me to bed. He deposits me in the cold sheets but soon strips down and joins me. His arm wraps around my waist, and he pulls me back into his body.
“Hey,” I say the next morning, finding him looking at me.
“Hey, doll. Did you sleep well?”
“Y-yeah. Did you have a good night at work?”
“Meh… I missed you.”
I swoon. “I missed you too. I hate that we don’t get more time together.”
“Careful, people will start thinking we’re a married couple, hearing you talk like that.”
“Who’s listening?” I ask, looking around the room like we might have an audience. “Are you ready for this thing this afternoon?” I have a feeling that he’s going to hate it. It’s going to be full of rich pretentious people, just like Biff’s parents. I’m sure they’ll all shit bricks when Zach and Carter turn up, both with tattoos, and Carter still sporting the lingering evidence of his fight last weekend.
“Can’t wait. If Biff’s parents are as interesting as she says they are, then I’m sure it’ll be heaps of fun.” His voice is full of sarcasm.
“They’re really going to hate you two, you’re aware, right?” I ask, needing him to know that their presence is not going to go down well.
“And you think I give a shit? I spent most of my life in a place where no one wanted me, doll. Biff’s parents will be a walk in the park.”
“Wha—” My question is cut off when he places his fingers to my lips.
“Not the time. I promise I’ll tell you everything but… not today. Let’s just deal with Biff’s dysfunctional family before we start on mine.”
“Okay,” I whisper, not all that happy about him keeping things from me, but equally, I understand.
We spend the morning at his boxing gym. It takes a little convincing on his part to get me there and a lot of promising that he won’t step into the ring. Helpfully, Mickey isn’t there and the others just greet him when they pass. No one even mentions him fighting, which is a relief.
By the time we get home to get ready for Biff and Zach to pick us up, my muscles are aching. I have a long bath before pulling a floral dress from my wardrobe, straightening my hair and applying my makeup in a way I know Biff’s parents will approve of. I’ve attended a couple of events with her in the past when she’s needed a buffer, so I know what they expect: nothing short of perfection. It’s exhausting, and I’m not even their daughter.
Bang on cue, my phone rings, telling me that they’re waiting at the curb.
“Carter, it’s time to go,” I call from the kitchen.
His footsteps fill my ears, but nothing could prepare me for what I find when I turn around.
His hair is styled in a way I’ve never seen, he’s given his scruffy face a good trim, and he’s wearing a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, exposing his tattooed and muscular forearms, with a slim pair of black trousers that hug his thighs in the most incredible way.
“Whoa, what happened to my bad boy?” I say with a laugh.
“Don’t worry, doll. He’s still very much here.” And to prove his point, he walks to m
e, runs his hands up my thighs and lifts me onto the kitchen counter.
“We don’t have time for this, Carter.”
“That’s a real shame, because you are looking fine right now.”
“Let’s go and spend a few hours supporting our friends and then when we get back, I’ll let you do whatever you want.” I lift my legs around his waist and dig my heels into his arse, successfully pressing him harder against me.
“Anything?”
Biting down on my bottom lip, I nod at him in a way that I hope is sexy. It must hit the mark, because he growls and dives for my lips.
“Nope, I’ve just done my lipstick.”
“You’re joking?”
“Nope. And hear that horn?” I pause for a moment so he can. “That’s my brother getting impatient. So if you want to get out of here without getting another fist in your face, then I suggest we get moving.”
“Fuck’s sake. I never cockblocked him with Biff. I think me and him need to have words.”
“Good luck with that,” I say over my shoulder as I rearrange my dress and head for the front door.
Biff smiles and waves when we eventually emerge, but Zach’s face is set hard. He glances at me before looking over my shoulder and directly to his best friend.
“What took so long?” he barks.
“Sorry. I was screwing your sister in her kitchen,” Carter says flippantly.
Biff barks out a laugh while Zach turns tomato red.
“For your sake, I fucking hope you’re joking.”
“For me to know, man.” Carter winks at Zach and pulls the back door open for me.
“He’s kidding,” I whisper to my brother as I pass. “Cool your jets, asswipe.”
“Thank you so much for doing this with us,” Biff says once we’re both settled and Zach’s pulled away.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“You think they’ll allow us to stay?” she asks. She says it light-heartedly, but I can see the concern in her eyes when she glances back at me.
She tries so hard to let go of what her parents think about her life, but it’s so deeply ingrained that sometimes she struggles to do so.
“Only time will tell. If they boot us out, then we’ll go and have our own fun.”
Silence descends on the car. It’s a little awkward, what with our impending day out and the fact that none of us have really talked about what happened in Vegas. Thankfully, Carter breaks the tension.
“So what is this thing today?”
“Ugh, it’s some kind of charity event. Silent auction, I think. I want to say it’s raising money for a library or something, but to be honest, I stopped listening once she told me the date. I’d been waiting for the right time to introduce Zach, so I thought, why not?”
“You think doing this in public is the best way to go?” I ask sceptically.
“We both know that no matter how this happens, it’ll be a disaster. At least this way we’ll get some amusement out of it.”
“I really hope so.”
“Jesus, please don’t tell me this is your parents’ place,” Carter says as Zach turns the car into a massive driveway that leads towards a giant house on a hill.
“No, don’t be silly. My parents live in a town house in Chelsea. Whoever is organising this thing probably hired it. Holding a charity event is like the ultimate opportunity to show off. Each one gets more glamourous and expensive than the last. It’s exhausting.
“Riiight,” he agrees.
Whenever I’ve attended something like this with Biff, or even met her parents, it only makes me more grateful for my own. Yes, they are part of the same group, I guess, but their close group of friends are much more down to earth. They’ve never dragged us to anything like this. I’m pretty sure it’s equally their idea of a bad day out.
We park alongside an array of fancy cars before climbing out.
“It’ll be fine,” Zach whispers to Biff before pulling her into his side. They’re both dressed similarly to us. Biff is in a pretty summer dress, although I notice when she turns around that it’s almost backless and clearly reveals her ink, and Zach has his sleeves rolled up to ensure his is on display too.
“Let’s do this shit,” Carter announces, although I suspect he has no idea what he’s about to walk into.
As we follow the handmade signs that lead us around to the garden, the scent of the rose garden surrounds us.
“I feel like I should be going to a wedding, not an auction,” Carter mutters beside me.
It would be a beautiful place for a wedding. I keep my thoughts to myself, not wanting to worry about my own issues when we’re about to walk headfirst into Biff’s.
The garden emerges, and, much like I imagined for a wedding, tables litter the grass area. There are marquees with lights strung up and a band over in the corner.
“Christ, I think I may have underestimated this,” Carter whispers, but none of us get to respond because there’s a high-pitched squeal.
“Tabitha, darling. It’s so good to see you.” Her mum walks towards us with her arms held wide open, her eyes firmly fixed on her daughter. Her hands land on Biff’s upper arms before she leans in for a double air kiss.
The three of us watch as she totally ignores that Biff has company and her mother begins roasting her for not being in touch.
At one point, her mother glances up at us all, but her lip curls as she looks to each of us before turning and lacing her arm through Biff’s and attempting to lead her off into the mass of people loitering on the grass, waiting for whatever’s going to happen next.
“Wait, Mum. Is Dad about? I need to introduce you both to someone.” The quiver in her voice is clear.
“Um… okay.” She once again glances back at us nervously. If she has any recollection of who I am then she doesn’t show it.
She turns and calls to her husband, who was busy talking to a group of men in suits, no doubt trying to drum up some business associates.
“Honey, Tabitha would like to introduce us to someone.”
“Hello, sweetheart. So nice to see you at last.” Anger seeps into my veins as they stare at their daughter, getting impatient already that she needs their attention, despite the fact they’re moaning that they’ve not seen her for a while.
“Yeah, um… This is…”
“Hi, I’m Zach. Tabitha’s husband,” Zach says, stepping forward and helping Biff out.
The looks on Biff’s parents’ faces makes whatever is going to happen next totally worth it. I just really hope that Biff got to see the shock before both they turn red with anger.
“Haha,” her mum laughs, but it’s anything but amused. “Nice try. But I think the house party you’re looking for might be in a different part of town.” She barely gives Zach the time of day before looking back to her daughter. “Tabitha, who are these people?”
“Mother, do you ever listen?” Pride swells within me as I watch her stand up for herself, probably for the first time. “This is Zach, he’s my husband. And you know Danni, she’s attended events with me before, and this is… Carter, Zach’s friend and Danni’s…”
“Husband,” I answer for her, and I’m so glad I do when Carter’s hand squeezes mine tightly. It’s the first time I’ve really acknowledged what we really are, and it feels good.
Biff’s father stands there with his lips pressed into a thin line while her mother’s mouth hangs open.
“I think it might be better if we discuss this in private, don’t you?”
“There’s nothing to discuss. We got married last week. He’s my husband. You either accept that, or we’ll leave.”
“Inside the house. Now, Tabitha.”
Her parents storm off, leaving us all a little shell-shocked.
“Well… that went well,” Carter muses.
“Did you see their faces?” Biff asks, spinning to look at us. The smile on her face is wide and triumphant.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you only
married me to piss off your parents,” Zach jokes.
“Just an added bonus,” Biff quips.
“So what now?” I ask.
“We go inside, tell them how it is, and leave if they want us to,” Zach announces before Biff gets a chance to make a decision.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course.”
“Okay.” Biff shakes her arms at her sides, steeling herself for what’s to come before they walk off in the same direction her parents had, hand in hand.
“Is it just me, or are you kind of gutted they’ve taken the show inside?”
“It’s not just you. Shall we see if we can find alcohol?”
“Yes. There’s no way I can put up with these snooty fuckers without it.”
We make our way through the people towards what looks like an outside bar. When we get there, we find they’re only serving one drink. I guess it should have been obvious.
“Pimm’s, darling?” Carter sings at me.
“Oh my god,” I mutter. “Was this a huge mistake, bringing you here?”
“Probably.”
We’ve both got a glass each and we’re hovering on the sidelines of this event when an unfamiliar, deep and slurred voice hits my ears.
“Well, well, well, who have we here?”
“Oh fuck,” Carter mutters, turning to look to the man who the voice belongs to. I follow his lead as my eyes fall on the approaching figure. My breath catches.
“Holy shit.” Carter’s hand slips into mine and squeezes. I return the gesture, assuming that he needs the support right now.
“Well, I can honestly say this a surprise. Who the hell invited you to an event like this?”
My chin drops, I can’t help but think I must look just like Biff’s mum not so long ago.
“That’s enough,” Carter barks, not even bothering to answer the question.
Trick You: A Brother's Best Friend Romance (Rebel Ink Book 2) Page 20