by Cathryn Fox
The salads were served when Jenny’s maid of honor stood and took her turn to captivate the audience, but Tallulah found it hard to concentrate with the way Garrett was drawing small circles on her inner thigh.
When the maid of honor told the story about how Jenny and Ving met, Garrett leaned in to her. His breath was hot on her neck and his eyes visually caressed her. “I forgot to tell you how beautiful you look.”
She felt heat crawl up her neck. “Thanks. You clean up pretty nice yourself.”
“The thing is…” He paused to rub her silk hem between his thumb and fingers and it was all she could do to stifle a needy moan. “I’m having a hard time concentrating, now that I know what you look like underneath this.”
As they whispered intimately, quietly, someone at the head of the table cleared their throat. They both straightened in their chairs and when she caught Jenny staring at them, a wide smile on her face, Tallulah glanced around the table to find all eyes on them.
“Sorry,” Tallulah rushed out, sinking in her chair and feeling like a school kid talking out of turn.
“Actually,” Jenny said, calling them out. She cast Ving a glance then narrowed her focus on Garrett. “I have two very important men in my life and I want today to be about both of them.”
Beside her Garrett flinched and if she wasn’t mistaken he seemed to be avoiding Ving’s direct glance. “What are you doing, Jenny?” he asked between clenched teeth.
“It’s clear you two are crazy about each other,” his sister responded, and Tallulah didn’t miss the way Kat eyed her, or the way Garrett’s best friend, Brad, glared at Garrett, a worried look on his face. “I think our families here would like to know a little about how this whirlwind engagement happened,” she continued. “Maybe you could start by telling us all how you two met.”
“Forget it,” Garrett said and Tallulah could tell he was uncomfortable, unable to come up with something on the spot. “This isn’t about us,” he growled.
“Come on, Garrett. I’m not letting you off the hook until you tell us how you managed to get a beautiful, intelligent, woman like Tallulah to fall for you,” she teased.
“Did she lose a bet or something?” Ving called out, and laugher erupted around the table.
When Garrett opened his mouth and closed it again, she could feel his tension.
“Well,” Tallulah began, coming to his rescue when the kids around the table gave her a ludicrous idea. “If you really must know.”
Garrett nodded and she could sense his relief. “Yeah, we should let Tallulah tell it. She’s a much better storyteller than I am.”
Tallulah wiped her mouth with her napkin and took Garrett’s hand into her own. “Garrett and I belong to the same health club and one day when I was teaching a ballet class, Garrett came rushing in.” She smiled and said, “You see, his kick-boxing class is right after mine, and he had the times mixed up and thought he was running late.” Everyone around the table nodded, and waited for her continue. She rolled her eyes. “But for those of you who know Garrett the way I know Garrett, you know how much he prides himself on always being right.”
Rumbles of agreement erupted from around the table. “So you know he’d never admit to the mix up. He acted like he knew what he was doing all along and joined the class.”
“Garrett joined your ballet class?” Jenny laughed. “Wow, what I would have done to see that show.”
Tallulah patted his hand and he gifted her with a not-so-amused look. “Yeah, it was pretty special.”
“Did you get him to wear the tutu?” the best man asked.
Just to make things interesting, she said, “Not at first, but when all the little girls surrounded him and demanded he wear one to fit in, he had no choice. And we all know pink is his favorite color.” She exchanged a private knowing look with Garrett. “So we really didn’t have to do much convincing.”
Garrett sat there staring at her, his expression suggesting she was going to pay, and pay big time, for letting everyone around the table think he danced around the studio in a damn pink tutu.
She smiled at Garrett. “But seriously, those little girls were crazy about him and well, we all know Garrett has a soft spot for kids and wouldn’t do anything to disappoint them.”
The muscles in his jaw rippled as he clenched, but she continued anyway. “Of course, we had to piece a few of them together just to get one to fit properly. He’s a little larger around the midsection than most of my four-year-olds.”
When laughter broke out, Garrett cleared his throat and said, “Ah, that’s not how I remember it at all, Peaches.”
At the mention of her nickname, a shiver moved through her and she reminisced about all the ways he tasted her last night. She squeezed her thighs together, but it did nothing to take the edge off.
“Oh really?” Jenny folded her arms and she glared at her big brother. “Then why don’t you tell us your version, Garrett? Not that any of us are going to believe you.”
With that everyone started laughing and Garrett tossed his napkin on the table before saying, “What really happened was I was walking by and saw all these kids running around in complete chaos. You all know how much I hate disorder, and Tallulah seemed completely flustered so I thought I’d step in to help her. I mean, some of these kids are going to be our future soldiers. It’s never too early to start disciplining them.”
“Now that sounds like the Garrett I know,” Ving said laughing. “But I’m still betting Tallulah’s story was the truth.”
“Thanks,” Garrett said, as everyone else around the huge table began laughing and nodding in agreement with him. “Thanks a lot.”
From across the table little Cassie started giggling. She jumped from her chair and began spinning around. “I want to wear a tutu. I want to take dance lessons.”
“Me too,” Jacob added, and then the two of them took off running.
Beside Garrett, Andrew exchanged an exasperated look with his wife who was about to go after them. “I got it,” Andrew said, and turned to Garrett. Without giving Garrett a choice he thrust little Sabrina into his arms. “Here if you’re so good with little girls, hold Sabrina for a second while I go round up the kids.”
The second Tallulah saw Garrett with that sweet baby girl cradled next to his chest, his expression stricken as Sabrina broke out in a loud wail, her heart turned over in her chest and the room went a little fuzzy around the edges.
Her breath left her lungs in a rush and her stomach tumbled, because there was something so disarming, so damn adorable in the way he struggled to pacify the infant that she wondered what it would be like if he were her baby’s father.
Except he didn’t want children she reminded herself, and while the sex might have been fantastic, this thing between them wasn’t real. She’d be wise to remember that.
“Get used to it,” Ving called out. “I know my sister and she’s going to want a brood someday.”
“Tallulah,” he whispered, his eyes pleading, his body stiff as he held the crying baby out to her. “I can’t do this.”
“Sure you can,” she said.
“But she’s so little.”
Tallulah smiled. “Don’t worry, she won’t break.” Instead of taking the baby from him, she adjusted the infant. “You just need to cradle her head in the crook of your arm.” Once he shifted the baby, she said, “Now just rock her gently, like this.” She mimicked the action, showing him how to do it.
He followed her directions exactly, and Sabrina instantly calmed down. Just then the wait staff came with their main courses, and conversation once again centered on the bride and groom. Except Tallulah was too enthralled in watching Garrett to pay much attention to what was being said, because when the little girl looked up at him, her big blue eyes damp from crying, tenderness stole over his face, the hard angles softening as his body relaxed. Tallulah’s heart turned over in her chest. The man was full of virility and strength yet held that little girl in his arms with exquisite gentlen
ess, a gentleness, she expected, he didn’t even know he had in him.
The little girl’s tiny hand curled around one of his big fingers, and her heart contracted as she watched it, the barrage of emotions catching her off guard and turning her inside out. She sat on her hands, because it was all she could do to keep them from shaking as she tried to compose herself.
God, he looked so adorable cradling that infant. She thought more about the man who said he wasn’t father material as Sabrina settled in his arm, snuggling in like it was the most natural place in the world for her to be. She also thought about that scar on his face, and why he needed a pretend fiancée to land a job. The truth was she wanted to know more about this man. She wanted to know everything.
He turned and looked at her, the initial panic gone from his handsome face as he warmed to the baby in his arms, and need and desire surged through her veins in a way that frightened her. She inhaled sharply, and knew this was a dangerous game they were playing, because emotions played no part in this charade and if she wasn’t careful, she feared she could fall for him.
Chapter Six
Garrett rifled through his suitcase and grabbed a clean T-shirt. With his skin still damp from his shower, he struggled to pull it on as he glanced at all the boxes neatly stacked on the bed. “Do you think you bought Jenny enough gifts?”
“Some of them are from Kat too,” Tallulah explained as she touched up her lips with gloss before tying a silk scarf around her neck. “Besides, I haven’t been shopping with my best friend in ages so we just kind of went crazy.”
“Kat seems very nice.” He cocked his head, and took his time to peruse the beautiful woman before him. Warm familiarity moved through him when he thought about how easy she was to talk to, to be with. His glance moved to her sexy curves, and while he admired her in that knee-length, button-down coral dress that brought out the color in her eyes, he couldn’t help but visualize her sexy body out of it. “She’s very different from you.”
Tallulah grabbed her purse off the dresser and dropped the tube of gloss inside. She smacked those sexy lips together and he couldn’t help but remember how they’d felt wrapped around his cock. “Yeah, she’s a real bad influence, that’s for sure.”
He stepped up to her, pulled her against him, and gifted her with an amused look. “Well I think I like the advice she’s been giving you.”
She flushed and Garrett brushed his finger along her cheek. “Do you have any idea how sexy you are when you blush?” Without giving her time to answer he dropped a quick kiss onto her mouth. “I like your family too. They’re all very nice.”
“You didn’t find them a little loud, or a bit boring?” she asked, and he knew in an instant she was referring to her cousin, Andrew.
“Nah, it was only my mom, dad, Jenny and me growing up, so I kind of like the big group gatherings, and the open-door-policy thing you all have going on here.”
“Speaking of gatherings, what time is the bachelor party?”
Garrett glanced at his watch and stepped back. “Two hours. I have some time to kill so I’ll drop you off at your mom’s for the bridal shower before I head over to the The Hop Yard.”
She filled a bag with the presents, and slipped the handle over her arm. “I can make my own way there.”
He feigned a shiver and thought about her overprotective mother. “Are you kidding me? Your mom would fillet me like a fish if I didn’t escort you. She’s pretty damn protective of you.”
“So you noticed?”
“Oh, I noticed all right.”
Tallulah laughed. “I guess you can see why I agreed to this charade.”
“Because it’s a whole lot easier than going to battle with her.”
“She might actually convince me she knows what’s best for me.”
“And that would be staying here and marry Jason?”
She gave a disheartened nod.
“You don’t want that, though, right?” he asked, needing in some strange way to hear her say it again, to know that she hadn’t changed her mind. Not that it mattered to him. It didn’t.
“No.”
“You should never marry someone you don’t love.”
“I know.”
He saw the miserable look on her face and something inside him softened. “It’s only because she cares, you know.”
“I know that too.”
“She just needs to learn to let go. Maybe someday, when she sees you on the arm of the right guy, and she sees how happy you are then she’ll come to understand that only you know what’s best for you.”
She pulled an apologetic face. “I’m pretty sure they don’t think it’s you.”
“Hey,” he said. “What’s wrong with me?”
When she arched a brow that spoke volumes, he gave a sheepish grin. “Okay, never mind.” He grabbed her hand and tugged. “Come on, let me take you to the bridal shower. Besides, if you show up alone it could raise suspicion.”
“Yes, and that’s the last thing we want to…raise.”
Garrett shook his head, his cock thickening as this sweet and sexy girl teased him. “You keep that up and I’ll never make it to Ving’s bachelor party.” As soon as he thought about Ving, the smile fell from his face.
“What’s wrong?”
He shrugged and reached for his leather jacket.
“It’s Ving isn’t it?” she asked, and he noted the way her gaze moved over his old worn jacket, pleasure in her eyes. “I noticed the way you kept avoiding his glance earlier.”
“He’s going to hand my ass back to me when this is all over.” He shrugged his jacket on and ran his hands through his still damp hair. “We weren’t supposed to sleep together.”
“He doesn’t have to know.” She pulled a light cotton coat on over her dress. “Besides, who I sleep with is my business, not his.”
“I know that.” He pulled open the door and gestured for her to exit. “You’re the only one who can make choices that are best for you.” He wanted to say more, like even though he liked that she cared about other people’s feelings maybe it was time to go to battle with her mother, or even Jason. But he shut his mouth instead, because he wasn’t supposed to care.
“And why should he be upset, he’s with Jenny.” She poked him in the chest. “And she’s your sister.”
He rolled one shoulder and said, “They’re engaged,” like it explained everything.
“You can’t tell me they didn’t sleep together before they got engaged.”
“No, but that’s different, Tallulah. He cares about her. A lot. I knew it the first time he looked at her.”
“Oh,” was all she said as hurt registered on her face. Emotions passed over her eyes as she looked pointedly at the elevator, like it was the most interesting thing she’d ever seen. That’s when he realized he’d hurt her, insinuating he didn’t care about her at all.
Shit.
He backtracked. “What I’m trying to say is there is an unwritten rule amongst comrades, an honor in the brotherhood. We take care of each other’s families; we don’t sleep with them. Not unless we care…I mean, not when our intentions are less than honorable… Shit… I mean…”
She shook her head and when the elevator doors pinged open, she stepped on. “Sometimes you’re not very good with words are you?”
He gave a helpless shrug. “I’m a man of action, remember.”
“I remember.” Her mischievous smile lightened the mood. “And I must say I do like that about you.” He pressed the lobby button and when the doors closed she said, “Don’t worry, Garrett. Ving never has to know we slept together. Your ass is safe.”
He grinned. “Ooh, I do like it when you talk dirty.”
“That will be our little secret too, just like sleeping together.”
Garrett shook his head at her naivety, but loved her innocence just the same. “Are you kidding me? You don’t think everyone at dinner this afternoon couldn’t tell what we did last night. It was written all over our faces.
Every time I looked at you all I could think about was hauling you up to our room again and having my way with you. Believe me, we were both easy reads.”
Something passed over her face, a worried look, then she plastered on a smile as her glance fell over him. “Speaking of easy…”
He grabbed her and pinned her against the wall, and she gave a small gasp. “You’ve got something to say, Peaches.”
“No, I don’t believe so,” she murmured, and moved against him, making his cock so hard he had no idea how he’d be able to walk off the elevator.
“Oh yeah, well I think you’ve always got something to say.”
He pressed his lips to hers and her soft moan nearly did him in. Jesus he loved the way she responded to him.
A few minutes later, the elevator jolted to a halt and he inched back, putting a measure of distance between them before he got caught with his hands in the honey pot. In desperate need of fresh air, he slipped his arm around her back and hurried off.
Night had fallen when they exited the hotel, and Garrett called for a cab. They both climbed into the back and she relaxed into him, her warmth and scent doing traitorous things to his libido.
She gave the driver instructions, not that he needed them in a town where everyone knew everyone’s business. Pushing back into the seat, she leaned into Garrett, her hands going to her stomach as a pained look came over her face.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Fine.” She smiled, but he could tell it was forced.
He touched her chin until she looked at him. “What aren’t you telling me?”
She crinkled her nose, and rubbed her stomach. “Just a bit of pain.”
He straightened in his seat. “Pain? Why do you have pain?”
“Don’t worry, Garrett. It’s the endometriosis, and sometimes I get bad cramps.”
Worry moved through him. “It’s not because of what we…”
“No, not at all,” she assured him.
“Should we go to a clinic?”
“No,” she said, giving him such a genuine smile his gut tightened in a strange way.