These thoughts creeps up on me and I shake my head. Am I getting attached? I shouldn’t be, it’s not like me and plus, it’s only been a day. I know she’s leaving in a week but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy our time together until then, doesn’t it? And then she’ll be gone and I’ll be back to business as usual.
It’s almost better that she’s leaving.
Yeah, it’s better!
This way I’m forced to not get attached. We can just have mind-blowing sex until she leaves and then we’ll say our goodbyes. By the time she’s back in town, whenever that is, I’ll have sold the hotel off and moved on.
I shove the spade into the rich brown earth along the front of the building and can’t help but feel that it won’t be that easy to forget about her.
Chapter 21 - Jess
I practically float down the stairs and out the door. The sun is blinding and I squint for a few moments until my eyes adjust. I turn towards Sam’s house and smile as the warmth of the sun soaks into my skin. A bird sings nearby and I sigh in contentment.
That was… unexpected. Unexpectedly great, actually. Definitely not what I thought I’d experience when I came back home. I think of my friends in New York and I can’t wait to tell them all about it. I’ll have to find a photo of Owen so I can show them what he looks like.
I grin as I think about it and almost bump into Mary Hanson as she walks down the sidewalk.
“In a hurry?” She asks in that sickly sweet voice of hers. I try not to roll my eyes.
“Always. It’s the big city thing, you know?”
“You never were one for waiting,” she says with an eyebrow raised. I bristle, trying to hold back the wave of memories that’s waiting to burst through my mind. She smiles but her eyes stay blank and she continues. “What were you doing at the Lex?”
“What?”
“The Lex. You just walked out. What were you doing?”
She leans on every word and I take a deep breath. I forgot how careful I had to be around this town. I paint a similar smile on my own face.
“Gram gave Mr. McAllister some old garden tools and I was just delivering them.”
“You’re pretty happy to be delivering some garden tools,” she shoots back.
“Just glad to be home, Mary,” I respond. “Excuse me.”
I step around her and keep walking without looking back. I can feel her eyes on the back of my head and I force myself to keep walking forward. She may have had power over me when I was sixteen, but she doesn’t have any now. I’m my own woman and I’ve been through worse than being the subject of her wagging tongue.
By the time I get to Sam’s house, I’ve forgotten about Mary. I ring the doorbell and Sam answers within a second. She steps out to give me a hug.
“Gorgeous as usual,” she says with a smile. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and smiles. “Leave some for the rest of us.”
“Oh stop it, Sam. You know you’re a knockout,” I answer with a laugh. She shrugs and another voice pipes up behind her.
“She sure is,” the deep baritone voice says. A head pops around the corner and our childhood friend, Ronnie, appears in the doorway.
“Ronnie!” I say. “I thought you’d moved to Philadelphia!”
“I’m back,” he says simply. He and Sam exchange a glance and - did she just blush? He reaches over to give me a hug and Sam ushers us inside. We sit down in the living room and Sam brings us some water.
“Thanks,” I say as she hands me one and then moves to sit next to Ronnie on the couch. He puts his hand around the back of the sofa and looks at Sam with that same look again. I swallow. “So… what was the big news that you wanted to tell me about?”
There it is - that look again. Ronnie and Sam glance at each other and then at me.
“We’re getting married,” Sam says simply. She shrugs and then a smile spreads across her face.
“What?” I answer. I’m still confused. “To each other?”
Ronnie laughs. “Yes, to each other. God, Jess, for such a genius you can be pretty slow.”
“But… how… when?” I know I should be happy for them but somehow I can’t let myself feel good for them. It seems like everyone in my life is getting married and having children and I’m still single. Both my best friends in New York, Harper and Rosie, are all loved up with kids and now Sam too? I’m still having casual sex with men I’ve just met.
Suddenly I’m not so excited to tell my friends about my escapades.
Sam smiles again. “Ronnie came back last year and I don’t know, it just… happened.”
“Wow,” I say.
Sam frowns. “Are you… are you ok? Are you happy for us?”
I snap back to myself and smile. “Of course I’m happy for you,” I say. I stand up and give Sam a hug. “Of course I’m happy for you. Congratulations.” I turn to Ronnie and give him a hug too. “So all those times you were putting worms down our shirts it was just a long con to bag Sam, was it?”
Ronnie laughs. “Something like that.” They exchange another look and I feel a pang of jealousy in my chest.
“So why didn’t you tell me?! I’ve spoken to you since Ronnie got back, you never even mentioned you were dating.”
Sam wrings her hands. “I didn’t know how to tell you. I don’t know. You were in New York and I didn’t think that you’d really care what was going on in this small town. And then Ronnie asked me last week and I thought I’d tell you in person.”
I wince and I can feel my heart cracking. I try to think of the last time I spoke to Sam and I can’t even remember. “Sam,” I say slowly. “Ronnie…”
My voice trails off and Sam looks at me with tears in her eyes. I swallow and speak again. “I am over the moon for you guys. We should celebrate tonight!”
Sam grins. “The band is back at the Lex tonight. Ma has the nurse over so I’m free to get away.”
“Perfect,” I say. “The Lex it is.”
The two of them are on the sofa and Ronnie puts his hand over her shoulder. She leans into him and I feel that pang of jealousy again.
I want that.
I sit back down and take a sip of water as I watch them and I think it again: I want that. I want to be happy with someone, and feel completely comfortable with them and look forward to sharing my life with them.
Instead, what do I have? I have sex with the new hotel owner that I only met a couple days ago.
Sure, it was incredibly hot sex, and the thought of seeing him again makes my heart jump, but it wasn’t this. It wasn’t Sam and Ronnie, knowing each other their whole lives and looking forward to spending the rest of it together. Ronnie leans over and kisses Sam on the temple and my heart squeezes again. I never thought I’d feel like the third wheel with my two oldest friends.
Sam looks at me again and opens her mouth. It takes a few moments for her to speak. “Jess, there was something else I wanted to ask you.”
“Yeah?”
“Would you,” she pauses. “Would you be my maid of honour?”
The tears start welling up in my eyes immediately and I jump up. I run over to the both of them and wrap my arms around Sam.
“Of course, I’d be honoured. Oh, Sam…”
The two of us have tears streaming down our faces and we hurry to brush them away. “So when’s the date? Have you guys decided?”
“It’s this summer,” Sam says with a huge smile. “July 4th. Oh, please tell me you can make it!”
“July 4th! This year! But that’s only two months away! You’re not…” I touch my hand to my stomach and they both laugh.
“Nope. Just don’t see the sense in waiting.” She turns to Ronnie and they kiss each other sweetly. The jealousy inside me evaporates and I can’t help but feel happy for the two of them. They look so happy and so in love.
“Right, you hungry?” Sam asks, putting her hands on her knees to stand up.
“Starving,” Ronnie and I
both answer at the same time. There’s a pause and then the three of us burst out laughing. My chest relaxes and Sam shakes her head. Even though they’re getting married, they’re still the same as they were when we were seven.
Chapter 22 - Owen
Mary Hanson can definitely work behind a bar, I’ll give her that. She’s fast and efficient and works well with Joe next to her. Maybe my uneasy feeling before was just because I don’t know her that well, and she has the habit of flirting with everyone. This could be a good fit.
I glance around at the room as it starts filling up and sigh.
She’s not here yet.
I check my watch - the band should be starting in half an hour, so the place will be packed in an hour or two. I look towards the door again and jump when I hear Mary’s voice behind me.
“Waiting for someone?”
“What?” I ask as I turn. “No, why?”
“You’re watching that door like the President of the United States is about to walk through,” she says with an eyebrow raised.
“Maybe he is,” I grin. “You never know.”
“Mm,” she says.
Just then, Jess walks in. She’s with Sam and her boyfriend - I can’t remember his name. Jess’s eyes scan the room and find me in an instant. My heart starts hammering against my ribs as we stare at each other from across the room.
Mary makes a noise and then puts her hand on my chest. I lean away from her, frowning. She starts laughing and leans into me, pressing her chest into my side.
“Looks like it wasn’t the president you were waiting for,” she whispers. She laughs again and walks away.
I glance back towards Jess and she looks away quickly, turning her back towards me as she gestures to a table. The three of them nod and head towards the table and away from me.
Fuck.
I glance back at Mary with acid in my eyes but she ignores me. She opens a bottle of beer and puts it in front of a man at the bar, leaning over to show off her cleavage for him before taking the cash he hands her for the drink.
I shake my head and head towards Jess’s table. I’m not going to let her ignore me like that.
The three of them are laughing at something when I walk up to the table. Sam greets me first.
“Owen! How are you?”
“I’m great Sam, good to see you here.”
“Well, I’ll be honest, it’s the only place in town,” she says with a laugh. “Don’t know where else we would go.”
“Ronnie, nice to meet you. I’ve heard all kinds of things about you!” Sam’s partner says with a loud laugh. I like him already. We shake hands and I turn to Jess.
“Hey, Jess.”
My cock throbs as she swings those eyes towards me. Her tongue slides out to lick her lips and she dips her chin down. “Hey.”
“You guys want some drinks?” I ask.
“Sure,” Sam says, smiling.
Jess nods towards the bar. “New barmaid?”
I turn to see Mary looking at us and then face the table again. “Probationary period. Joe said he needed some extra help and Mary overheard us. The locals seem to like her.”
Jess just nods. She glances at the bar and her eyes narrow slightly for a moment. She turns to her friends and then claps her hands.
“Well, we are celebrating the engagement of my two oldest and dearest friends, so I think… champagne? What do you guys think?”
Sam laughs and Ronnie nods. “Sounds good.”
Jess turns to me, brushing her hand against my leg under the table so no one can see. “Mr. McAllister,” she says with a grin. “Bring us a bottle of your finest French Champagne!” She waves with a flourish and then laughs. “Or, you know… some sparkling white wine of some sort. The cheaper the better, I’m not made of money and we won’t be able to tell the difference anyways.”
I grin. “This one’s on the house, guys. Congratulations.”
“That’s very generous of you, Mr. McAllister,” Jess says with a grin.
“Don’t you start calling me that,” I laugh as I turn away. “It’s bad enough that your grandmother refuses to call me by my name.”
The three of them laugh and my heart does a flip as I walk towards the bar. I can feel Jess’s eyes on me and all I want to do is grab her and wrap her in my arms and never let go.
Chapter 23 - Jess
“What was that about?” Sam asks with a raised eyebrow as Owen walks away. I spin my head back towards her, hoping she didn’t notice me staring at his ass.
“What was what about?” I ask innocently.
“Jess,” she says.
“Sam,” I respond.
Ronnie laughs. “You guys got the hots for each other or what?”
“No!” I say just a little bit too loud. They both laugh.
“The lady doth protest too much… or whatever,” Ronnie says again. “It’s ok, Jess. It’s not like it was some secret the way you two were eye fucking the shit out of at each other.”
“Ronnie!” Sam exclaims. She turns to me and adds: “I was wondering whose engagement we were actually celebrating.”
I roll my eyes as I feel my cheeks blush. “Stop it,” I laugh. “Fine, fine! He’s an attractive guy, what can I say? A girl can look, can’t she?”
“Yeah, and a girl does look,” Sam says pointedly. I laugh and shrug just as our bottle of sparkling wine appears at the table.
Instead of Owen holding it, it’s Mary Hanson. She places the bucket of ice and bottle on the table and puts three glasses down. “I’m told this is on the house,” she says, staring at me. A smirk is hiding just behind her lips. “We didn’t have any French Champagne, so I hope this will do.”
“It’ll have to,” I reply with a shrug.
Sam laughs. “It’s perfect. Thanks Mary.”
Mary nods. “So you guys engaged, huh?” Sam nods and Mary continues: “Congratulations. Looks like we’ll have two weddings in town this year.”
“Looks like it, yeah,” Sam responds. “When’s yours?” She was always better at being polite than I was. My eyes scan the room for Owen and I spot him by the bar, talking to old man Howard. Their conversation is animated and Owen makes a big gesture with his arms over his head and they both laugh. Howard claps him on the back and I smile. He seems to have slipped into the fabric of the town seamlessly. They like him - how could they not!
For some reason the thought of my hometown liking him makes my heart grow a couple sizes in my chest. I look at the smile on Owen’s face as he talks with Howard and I can feel my centre heating up. He runs his fingers through his hair in that familiar motion of his and my eyes flick down to the strip of exposed skin at his hips.
My mouth gets dry and my mind jumps back to his bed a few hours ago. My fingertips tingle as I think of putting my hands on his skin again, and wrapping my fingers around his thick cock.
“…Jess?”
I turn to Sam, eyebrows up near my hairline. “Yeah? Sorry, I zoned out.”
Sam purses her lips but says nothing. “I was just telling Mary that you were my maid of honour for the wedding.”
“Right, yeah. I can’t wait,” I say with a smile, reaching over the table and squeezing Sam’s hand.
“Quick engagement,” Mary says with a raised eyebrow as she pours the sparkling wine into our glasses. “Not wasting any time. I’ve been engaged for over a year already!”
“Don’t see the point,” Sam says. She smiles at Mary who nods with a sour expression on her face. She puts the bottle in the ice bucket and nods before turning back towards the bar. I instantly feel more relaxed as she walks away from our table. I turn to my two oldest friends and smile.
The three of us pick up our glasses. “To love, friendship, and weddings,” I say solemnly. We clink our glasses together and take a sip. I smile as the bubbles explode on my tongue and hold the glass up in front of me.
“Tastes like French Champagne to me,” I say with a grin.<
br />
“It’s bubbly,” Ronnie answers with a shrug and a laugh. “That’s all that matters, isn’t it.”
Sam and Ronnie turn to each other and exchange another loving kiss. I smile and look away, wanting to give them a second of privacy. My eyes find Owen’s. His brown eyes bore into mine from across the room and I wonder what I see in them. Desire, yes, but is there something else?
A smile spreads across my face as we look at each other until Sam and Ronnie start laughing.
“You know this is a hotel, right?” Sam asks. “You guys can get a room. He owns the place so it shouldn’t be that hard to organise.”
I blush and roll my eyes, throwing my hands up in surrender. “Alright, alright, alright,” I answer with a laugh. I pick up my glass of bubbly and steal just one more glance towards Owen before burying my nose in my drink.
Chapter 24 - Owen
It’s like there’s a sensor in my brain that can always detect where Jess is in the room. I can sense when she gets up to go to the bathroom, even though I’m on the other end of the bar. She glances at me and our eyes meet for just a second before we both look away. When she gets up to go get drinks I feel myself turning towards her.
She’s still wearing that sheer blue sundress and it’s driving me wild. I steal glances her way whenever I can, and our eyes meet more often than not. All I want to do is go sit next to her, put my arm around her shoulder and spend the whole night listening to her laugh and talk. I don’t remember the last time a woman had me this hooked.
“So you in love now or what?” Mary says to me as she leans against the bar across from me. That same smirk is playing on her lips and my head snaps away from Jess and over to her. The smile on her lips doesn’t penetrate all the way up to her eyes. Instead, I see something in them I don’t recognise. Malice? Or anger?
I shake my head and ignore her question. Old man Howard chuckles beside me.
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