Wade started counting down, and I was acutely aware of the crowd going silent with anticipation.
“Three, two, one.”
The sound of the harmonica filled the air over the rhythm of the drums.
“Holy shit!” I said with a laugh as I watched him fill the air with amazing music.
Cheers and hollers rang across the tent as Wade really got into it. I’d never heard anyone play the harmonica like that. Okay, besides Clint Black. It wasn’t lost on me he went a little longer with the intro.
“Get after it, cowboy!!” Waylynn shouted as Wade held the last note.
“Hell, yeah!” Trevor shouted as the whole band started to play. Wade strummed a guitar the moment he started to sing, and I thought I was hearing Clint Black.
Glancing back to Trevor, I smiled. “Wow!”
“I know, right?” he shouted back to me. “He turned down a record deal!”
My brows lifted before I focused back on Wade. He owned the stage, and I loved how he looked at everyone as he sang.
A strange sensation came over me as I watched him reach down and help Chloe up beside him. She danced around the stage as Wade kept playing and singing, not missing a beat.
Waylynn stood and was singing along before turning back to yell to us. “Holy shit, that man is going to make some lucky woman very happy one day.”
Paxton laughed and shouted, “I know! Chloe adores him!”
I smiled and watched the scene play out. Wade smiled at everyone, and I kept my eyes on him. Watching his every move. Every now and then he would spin Chloe. My gaze felt locked until the last note sounded. Everyone stood and clapped as Trevor headed back up and shook Wade’s hand, revealing a tattoo along his right arm.
To quote Waylynn, Yummy.
Trevor grabbed the mic. “That’s Wade Adams, y’all!”
Wade laughed as he handed the guitar back to one of the band members. He lifted his hand and nodded before reaching down and picking up Chloe and jumping off the stage.
Jesus. My stomach dropped at the sweet gesture, and I stared as they made their way over to our table.
Waylynn was the first to speak. “You killed it!”
Wade let out a soft chuckle. “Thank you. You are?”
“Oh, sorry, dude,” Trevor said. “This is my older sister, Waylynn.” Turning to me, he added, “And my baby sister, Amelia. They just got in from New York.”
Wade shook Waylynn’s hand then turned to me. His gray eyes captured mine, and his knock-me-to-my-knees smile grew wider.
Wow. What is this guy doing to me?
“It’s a pleasure meeting you, Amelia. You’re a very talented writer.”
I pulled my head back in shock. “You’ve read my work?”
He grinned, showing off matching dimples. “Yes, ma’am.” He turned back to Waylynn. “I got to see your first recital, as well!”
Waylynn laughed. “What? How!”
“Mom busted everything out for Wade when he got here,” Trevor said with an eye roll. “Showed him Waylynn’s dance tapes and gave him one of Amelia’s books, bragged about Steed’s ability to beat me at ropin’, and Lord knows what else.”
My eyes scanned the room and landed on my mother. She was laughing at something my father had said. The way she looked up at him with such love made my chest squeeze.
“Wade! Dance with me again!” Chloe said, tugging on his arm.
Steed let out a laugh. “Chloe, honey, let’s let Mr. Wade have a break, okay? He may want to ask another girl to dance.”
Eyeing Steed as he spoke to Chloe, I couldn’t help but cover my mouth to hide my smile. Poor little Chloe looked devastated.
The band started up with a cover of “Banjo” by Rascal Flatts. Wade turned to me. “Want to dance with us?”
“Us?” I asked.
“Me and my girl, Chloe.”
“Yes! Aunt Meli, dance with us!”
I glanced at Steed and he nodded. I knew he had just told Chloe no more dancing so I wanted to make sure he was okay with it.
“I’d love to dance with y’all.” My phone started ringing, and I glanced at it. “Darn it. It’s Liam,” I said to no one in particular.
“Her new guy from New York!” Waylynn added.
“New guy, huh?” Steed and Trevor said in unison.
I shot them both a dirty look as I swiped my finger across the phone and gave Wade a quick glance. “Sorry, I need to take this.”
He winked at me…and my stomach dropped.
What the fuck?
“Waylynn?” Wade asked as he held his hand out. My breath caught as I paused. I’d never been jealous of my sister until this very moment.
“Hello, Liam? Can you hear me?” I shouted into the phone as I watched Waylynn, Wade, and Chloe take off for the makeshift dance floor.
“Yeah. Where are you?”
“Give me a second!” I headed out of the tent and into the house. “Sorry! My parents are throwing a party for my Aunt Vi. There’s a live band playing.”
“Sounds like fun. I got your text. I’m glad you made it home. How’s Waylynn?”
I watched as my sister danced with Wade and Chloe. My smile grew bigger as I watched Chloe having an absolute blast.
“She’s okay for right now. I think she is in pretend mode. She doesn’t want to spoil the party so she’s telling everyone we came back to surprise my aunt.”
“Makes sense.” His voice dropped. “By the way, my cock is hard from just hearing your voice.”
Turning away from the window, I leaned against the counter. “Someone feeling a little lonely, huh?”
“Rough day. The girl I like jumped on a plane and left me too soon.”
Grinning, I shook my head. “What a bitch.”
“I know. She should make herself come over the phone so I can feel better.”
My cheeks heated. “Is that right?” The fact that I was even entertaining the idea surprised me.
“Are you alone right now, Amelia?”
Swallowing hard, I whispered, “Yes.”
“My hand is stroking my hard cock.”
I closed my eyes and pictured what he was doing. “Mmm, Liam.”
“Are you wet? Touch yourself.”
Slipping my hand into my panties, I answered. “I’m so wet, Liam.”
“Fuck. Make yourself come for me. Let me hear you moaning my name as you finger fuck yourself.”
My eyes snapped open. I was standing in my parents’ kitchen with my hand down my panties. What in the hell was I doing?
One quick glance over my shoulder outside proved that everyone was still out there.
“I don’t know, Liam. I’m standing in the kitchen. Anyone could come inside any moment.”
“That makes it even hotter. Oh, fuck. Amelia, I’m so close. Put it on speaker and touch yourself.”
Turning away from the window, I put the phone on speaker and set it on the counter. I slipped my hand back into my pants and spread my legs open. “I’m touching myself.”
“Yes. Go fast.”
Christ Almighty. I’d written scenes like this before, but never in my life had I been part of them.
My breathing picked up as I pushed two fingers inside and played with my clit.
“Liam,” I whispered, eyes closed as I finger fucked myself. My other hand ran over my nipple, causing me to moan.
“Tell me when you’re about to come.”
“I…ohhhhh…oh, my God, Liam, I’m almost there…” I panted through my almost-orgasm, knowing how close I was to ecstasy.
Then it dawned on me. This felt like a scene from one of my books because it was a scene from one of my books. The one that Liam was narrating for audio. The hero called the heroine when she was out of town and talked her into phone sex. A part of me was bothered that Liam was playing out a scene I’d written. My libido quickly took a nose dive.
“I’m so close, Amelia. Tell me how you feel, baby.”
My hand stopped moving, and I swear I fe
lt him before he even said anything. Opening my eyes, I turned to see Wade standing there.
“So sorry!” he whispered and turned to leave.
“No! Wait!” I cried, not really thinking about what I was saying as I pulled my hand out.
“Wait? Baby, I can’t wait,” Liam said.
“No, Liam. I have to go.”
“What?”
I spun around and quickly washed my hands while Wade stood there awkwardly since I had shouted for him to wait.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Liam said in an angry voice.
Fumbling with my wet, soapy hands, I took it off speaker and said, “I have company. Someone from the party.”
“Oh. Well, that made my dick go down. Cock block, party of one.”
I forced a laugh. “I’ll call you later.”
Hitting End before Liam could respond, I turned to Wade. He held up his hands.
“You don’t have to say a word. I’m sorry I didn’t know you were in here…um…doing…yeah. Your mother sent me in for a bottle of wine.”
I was positive my face was as red as the apple in his hand. Why was he holding an apple?
“No, it’s fine. I mean. That’s not something I normally do. I, ah, got caught up in the moment.”
He smiled. “Hey, judgment-free zone. I’m sure it was hot as hell for y’all. Lucky bastard.”
Wade started to walk off in his search for the wine.
My mouth opened, but nothing came out. “It’s not what you think,” I finally said.
He laughed. “Really? I’m not sure what else that could be but phone sex, plain and simple.”
“I’m really embarrassed now. Not the first impression I wanted you to have of me.”
Wade found the bottle and picked it up. Turning to me, his eyes swept over my body, causing my lower stomach to pull. I wished it had been Wade asking me to make myself come.
Wait, what?
“What would you want my first impression to be of you?”
I let out a gruff laugh. “Well, not some whore standing in her kitchen getting off with a guy on the other end of the phone.”
He frowned. “I don’t think you’re a whore, Amelia. I don’t even know you. I walked in on a private moment, and I’m sorry I embarrassed you.”
Okay. Where did this guy come from? First he danced with little girls to Frank Sinatra, then he sang, and to top it all off, he was being such a gentleman in this crazy, weird situation.
“Um, can we pretend this never happened?” I asked.
A strange look moved across his face before he cleared his throat. “Forgotten.”
I grinned, and he returned the gesture. “I better get this out to your mother.”
Swaying back and forth nervously, I replied, “Yes. It’s her favorite wine.”
When he walked out of the kitchen I buried my face in my hands and moaned.
“That did not just happen!” I said as I sank down on a chair.
My heart pounded hard as I smiled at Amelia. “I better get this out to your mother.”
She nodded. “Yes. It’s her favorite wine.”
With a polite nod, I headed out of the house and toward the party as fast as I could. When I had first walked into the kitchen and saw one hand in her panties, the other hand touching her tits, I had to look twice. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. When she let out a whimper, my cock instantly went hard.
Then I realized she was on the phone with, I guess, her boyfriend from New York. The sound of him talking and moaning was ice water across my libido.
I dragged in a deep breath and headed back out to Melanie and John. I couldn’t get the look on Amelia’s face as she made herself feel good out of my mind. The moment I laid eyes on her across the dance floor, I had been instantly taken with her. Then to find out she was Trevor’s little sister…
Damn. This day was starting to suck.
“Here ya go, Mrs. Parker,” I said as I handed the bottle of wine over.
“Wade, if you’re going to be working here, you need to stop calling us Mr. and Mrs. Parker. You’re family now. It’s Melanie and John.”
“That’s right, son, first-name basis around here,” John said.
I forced a smile. He wouldn’t be so friendly if he knew how racy my thoughts had been about his youngest daughter a few moments ago.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Wade! Wade! Dance with me!” Chloe begged as she pulled on my hand.
“Chloe Lynn Parker. You leave this poor boy alone. He has spent enough time dancing,” John said as he picked up his granddaughter.
“Granddaddy, will you dance with me?” Chloe asked, eyes full with hope. Damn, she was a cute little thing. She’d captured my heart the first moment she looked up with those big blue eyes.
“It would be my honor, Chloe.”
We watched as John walked out on the dance floor and started to swing her around.
“We’re so happy to have Steed and Chloe here,” Mrs. Parker said. “And with Paxton expecting a baby this summer. My cup runneth over!”
Turning to her, I smiled. “You’re very blessed Mrs.…I mean, Melanie.”
She nodded. “What about you, Wade. Where is your family?”
My chest ached at the mention of my family. It was something I’d never get used to. I thought for sure Trevor would have told his parents.
“My parents and two younger sisters died in a car accident a few years back. Both sets of my grandparents are gone. I do have an aunt and uncle in San Antonio.”
The empathy in her eyes was clear. “Oh, Wade, I’m so sorry. I had no idea or I would not have asked.”
With a forced grin, I kissed her on the cheek. “It’s okay. Thank you, though, for your kindness. When Trevor offered me the job, I have to admit I was excited to meet y’all. With how he talked about his family in college, I knew I would be happy here. Family business and all. My Daddy had a cattle ranch in Colorado. His dream was for me to run it.”
“Do you still have it?”
I kicked at a rock at the edge of my boot. “No, ma’am. I sold it. After what happened to them, the memories were more than I could take. Trevor knew I was in a bit of limbo and I think that’s why he offered me the job. I’ll be honest, it came at the perfect time. I was a bit…lost…you could say.”
Melanie pulled me in for a hug. “Wade Adams, you are a part of this family, and I promise you that you will never be lost again.”
Tears threatened to build as I wrapped my arms around this amazing woman. Everything Trevor had ever said about his mamma was true. “That means more to me than you know, ma’am.”
We both drew back at the same time. She gave me a wink. “Why don’t you go find you a pretty little thing to dance with? I’m sure you’ve noticed your fan club already beginning to build.” She motioned with her head to a group of young ladies who were all looking my way.
“I believe I’m going to call it a day, if you don’t mind. I’ve got a bit of work to catch up on. I’ve sent out a sample of y’all’s dirt from the east pasture. I received the report back earlier.”
Melanie shook her head. “I like your work ethic, son, but don’t be running off to hide. You stay for a bit longer and enjoy yourself. Why don’t you ask Amelia or Waylynn to dance? They both love to two-step.”
I swallowed hard as the memory of Amelia rushed back into my mind. “Yes, ma’am.”
Turning, I headed over to Trevor. He was surrounded by his siblings. All the Parker brothers, and the two sisters. As I approached, I couldn’t help but feel the heat of Amelia’s eyes on me. She was probably worried I’d say something about what I caught her doing.
As I approached the table, a young woman stopped me. “Wade? Hi, I’m Amanda Poteet. It’s a pleasure meetin’ you.”
I tipped my hat and replied, “The pleasure is mine.”
“Um, do you want to dance?”
My eyes swung over to Trevor. He smiled
big, and I knew that was his way of telling me this girl was safe to dance with. The first night I got to town I got a stage three clinger. Took me three hours of trying to shake her before Trevor finally told her a lie…that I was gay.
“Sure, I’d love to dance with you, Amanda Poteet.”
She giggled and I forced myself not to roll my eyes. She couldn’t have been older than twenty. Taking her in my arms, we started to dance. The poor thing couldn’t really keep up, and we spent more time tripping over each other than anything. When I felt a tap on my shoulder, I turned to see Amelia. Her smile nearly blew me out of my boots.
“Mind if I cut in, Amanda?”
Amanda frowned. “Sure. I guess, if Wade wants to dance with ya.”
Great. She left it in my corner. “Sure, I don’t mind.”
The disappointment in Amanda’s eyes was evident. She forced a smile before spinning on her boot heel and walking off. Amelia held her arms out, and we started across the floor to “No Can Left Behind” by Cole Swindell.
“Listen, I’m sorry I walked in on you in the kitchen.”
Her cheeks blushed. “No, I shouldn’t have been doing that in the first place.”
I lifted a brow.
“Not that I didn’t want to do it. I did. I think.” Her brows narrowed.
“You think you wanted to have phone sex? Forgive me, Amelia, but you either know if you do or don’t.”
She sighed. “Can we please forget that ever happened?”
I looked at her with a raised brow.
“Please?”
“Consider it forgotten.”
“Thank you, Wade.”
Yeah, there was no way in hell I was going to forget that. But, since I knew she was embarrassed, I changed the subject. “Your mother was right, you can dance.”
Amelia laughed. “So can you, cowboy.”
“This ain’t nothin’, darlin’.”
She drew back and lifted a brow. “That right? Why don’t you show me your moves, then?”
“Is that a challenge?”
“Hell, yes, it is.”
“Country swing?”
“Bring it,” Amelia purred.
Smiling, I pulled her tight, and we took off two-steppin’. The girl could dance. After a few trips around the floor we got after it. A few twists and turns led to some dips and even a few lifts. It was like we had been dancing together our whole lives.