The elation I’d been feeling deflated and settled in my stomach like a rock.
Chloe hadn’t called like she’d promised. Instead, she was sitting in the diner, on what looked to be a date, with the town’s favorite eligible Aussie bartender.
Shane must have felt eyes on them, because my friend’s head turned, and when he saw me, he lifted his chin up in greeting.
I nodded back numbly, then averted my gaze and got my shit together, forcing my feet to move from their spot and go toward where my cousin was waiting.
“What the fuck, Rear, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” I heard Dillon saying as I sat down across from him, grabbed his water, and took a long drink.
I mentally told myself to calm the fuck down, which was hard because there was a mixture of hurt and anger currently swirling around within me.
I held up one finger, asking for a minute when he opened his mouth to speak again. Dillon shut it, his eyes surveying the room to try and find the source of my strange behavior. I could tell the moment he zeroed in on Chloe and Shane.
His green eyes shared that he was ready to be pissed off for me if necessary, and he asked, “You guys seemed to be hitting it off at the wedding. You ever tell her how you felt?”
I gave Dillon a sharp nod and found my voice.
“Yeah, uh, some stuff happened that night, and she asked for a little time, so I’m giving it to her.”
“Time to see other dudes?” Dillon asked, his mouth a thin line.
Rather than dignify that with a response, I turned to give Dolores a tight smile when she approached the table.
“The usual, sug?” she asked automatically, then paused when she took in my face. “You good, honey?”
“Yeah, Dolores, I’m good, and the usual sounds great.”
Dolores nodded and turned away, but not before giving me one last questioning look. It was safe to say that the people of Cherry Springs were used to me being in a certain kind of mood, and this wasn’t it.
“Shane know?” Dillon asked, obviously not letting the subject drop like I’d hoped.
“Know what?”
“About the thing you have for Chloe. You guys are friends, brother; he’ll back off if he knows.”
I sighed and leaned across the table, voice low and a little harder than I’d intended.
“I don’t want to have to tell Shane to back off. I want Chloe to make a decision on her own. If that means she wants to be with Shane and go back to being just friends with me, then that’s what will happen. I’m not going to force her hand.”
“So you’re going to let some other guy get there first, again, and not do anything about it? Just walk away?”
“You know what?” I said, seething as I stood. “I’m not doing this with you now. I’m certainly not doing it here … You don’t get it, all right? Things don’t come as easily for me as they do for you, for Gabe. Anything you want, you get, no problems … It doesn’t work like that for the rest of us.”
Dillon stood at that, his face fierce as his legendary temper took hold.
“Don’t give me that poor-me bullshit, Rear. Shit doesn’t come easier for us. We know what we want, and we take it, bottom line. You could do the same damn thing, but you’re always worried about whether you’re pushing too hard, trying to be the nice guy, so stop doing it. You want her, tell her … She’s not going to read your fucking mind, and she certainly isn’t just going to roll over and wait for you to find the balls to finally take what you want.”
“Fuck you,” I replied, so pissed I could barely see straight.
Dillon just shrugged and replied, “You can say fuck me all you want, but you know I’m right. All I was trying to do was to help you out. You want to take your anger out on me instead of on Chloe and Shane, that’s fine, I can handle it … Call me when you’ve cooled off.”
That said, Dillon threw money on the table and walked out.
Even as I watched him walk out the door, I could feel my anger retreating, regret and guilt taking its place.
“Shit,” I muttered, then threw my own money on the table and headed after Dillon.
“Reardon?” I heard Chloe call, but couldn’t bring myself to turn in her direction.
Instead I just said, “Not now,” and walked toward the door.
My hand was on the handle when Dolores stopped me, shoved a to-go tray in my hand, and said, “Here, honey, don’t forget your lunch.”
“Thanks,” I muttered, looking her in the eye even though I was beyond embarrassed at my irrational display of temper.
“No problem,” Dolores said. “Here, give this one to Dillon. You can catch him before he gets to the store.”
I gave her a tight smile and nod, before leaving to go find my cousin and eat crow.
Chapter Twenty-Six ~ Chloe
I kept looking over at Reardon, but he kept his nose buried in his book. Just like he had in the car ride to the airport, while we were waiting in the airport for our flight, and since boarding this plane.
I knew he was upset, and I could totally understand why, even though, when I’d kept the coffee date bet with Shane, it had never crossed my mind that Reardon would be upset by it.
I guess I’d been underestimating his feelings for too long now.
Sighing, I leaned back in my seat, figuring that once we got to the hotel, and didn’t have Christopher sitting between us, I’d be able to pull him aside and talk about it.
The feeling of eyes burning into the side of my head had me turning in the other direction to see my sister staring at me and pointing toward the restroom.
I tried shaking my head to deny her request, but Zoey’s glare had me unbuckling my seatbelt and rising from my seat.
Once we got to the back, I whisper-shouted at her, “We can’t stand up back here.”
Her reply was to open the bathroom door, shove me inside, then follow me in.
“Oh, for crying out loud, we don’t fit in here,” I hissed as her belly forced me farther into the small area.
“What’s going on?” Zoey demanded, undeterred by the fact that we were packed in like sardines.
“Nothing,” I lied, not wanting to mess up her honeymoon.
“Stop,” she said, holding up her hand. “You suck at lying. Just tell me what’s going on with you and Reardon, and I’ll let you out.”
I tried to keep my resolve, but my face crumbled and I asked, “What am I going to do?”
“If you tell me, I can help,” Zoey urged.
“Reardon and I kissed,” I began, causing Zoey to gasp. “We talked and agreed to take things slow … Then, I did those shots at your wedding and jumped his bones.”
“Tune in Tokyo,” Zoey murmured, then covered her mouth so I could go on. I was used to my sister’s bizarre sayings, so I just rolled my eyes and told her the rest.
“I freaked the next morning and ran out, then realized I was at my house and had to go back in. He could tell I was freaked and said he’d give me time to sort it out. But, yesterday I had coffee with Shane and Reardon walked in and got the wrong idea.” Zoey’s eyes widened and I explained, “It was just as friends, and because I lost a bet. Not a big deal. But, Reardon left, mad, and I can tell he’s still upset because he’s been all closed off today.”
When I paused, Zoey shifted her eyes down to the hand on her mouth, silently asking me if she could talk now. I nodded, and she said, “I didn’t even know you changed you mind about him, and now you’ve kissed him and had sex? You don’t tell me anything.”
“This is the whole reason I didn’t want to get serious with him. Now, he’s being weird, and you’ll be weird. What if we don’t work it out?”
“How was it?” Zoey asked, ignoring my rant.
“I think I called out to baby Jesus when I came,” I replied wryly, causing her to snort.
“Talk to him,” she urged. “Everything will be fine.”
“He seems pretty intent on ignoring me. What if he doesn’t want to talk?”
/> “You said he was pissed about Shane, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then he’ll talk,” she assured me. “He was probably hurt. Did you try calling him to explain after he saw you guys?”
I shook my head and sighed at her look of disappointment.
A knock on the door had us both swinging our heads when we heard a stewardess call out, “Excuse me, there’s only one person allowed in the bathroom at a time. I need you to exit the restroom.”
“Maybe they think we’re trying to join the mile-high club,” Zoey said with a giggle.
“Ewww,” I replied. “Incest.”
“They don’t know we’re sisters.”
“Still, you’re obviously pregnant. I wouldn’t diddle a pregnant lady.”
“No, you’ll just diddle a hot drunk guy who totally likes you at my wedding, then run out and not call him.”
“Harsh,” was my reply.
“Talk to him,” she said again, then the banging got louder.
“Ladies, you need to exit the restroom now!”
“Open the door,” I hissed at my sister, then gave the glaring stewardess an apologetic smile as we stumbled out. “Sorry.”
I followed Zoey down the small aisle back to our seats, where Reardon didn’t even spare me a glance as I settled back in.
“Must be a good book,” I said, not quite keeping my frustration out of my tone.
“Yup,” he replied without looking up.
Chris shifted to look at me curiously, then laid back and closed his eyes again.
He can fall asleep anywhere, I thought jealously as I shifted and tried to find some semblance of comfort.
I’d just have to go with my initial plan and wait until we could grab some time alone, then I’d corner Reardon and make him talk to me.
I turned my head, my eyes taking in his profile, before another memory flashed and I closed them before he could catch me staring.
“I’ve been wanting this for so long,” Reardon said, his mouth on my throat. Then he trailed his lips up my neck and across my jawline, before his eyes burned into mine and he worshiped my mouth.
Chapter Twenty-Seven ~ Reardon
I knew I was being irrational. That we hadn’t made promises to each other, or even figured out what the fuck we were doing yet, but that didn’t stop the hurt, which led to me closing off in the hopes of self-preservation.
Of course, I couldn’t stay mad at Chloe forever, at least not without talking it out with her and getting her take on things.
I’d decided to give myself until we reached the hotel to lick my wounds, then we’d talk, and then, we would enjoy our vacation. I, for one, was not going to ruin this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by acting like a little bitch the entire time.
Sensing the tension between myself and his mother, even though he’d slept the entire damn trip, I heard Chris ask Gabe if he could hang with him while Zoey went and met her obligations.
“Of course,” Gabe replied, leaving Chloe and me to trail behind them toward the elevators.
We rode up in silence, then I gestured for her to get out ahead of me when we reached our floor. Gabe, Zoey, and Chris took off in one direction, chatting happily, while Chloe and I both turned to go the opposite way.
I waited until she got inside, shooting a confused look over her shoulder, before letting myself into the room next to hers. Once I’d put my bag on the bed, I strode to the adjoining door and knocked loudly. I heard her make a few attempts to open it, swearing as she jerked on the door, before it opened with a pop.
“Hey,” I said tentatively.
“Oh, you’re talking to me now?” Chloe asked, her tone biting.
“I deserve that,” I admitted, then put my hands in my pockets and said, “I was hoping we could talk.”
“Don’t you want to get to the convention center?”
“There’s time,” I said, freeing one hand and holding it out to her. “This is more important.”
I saw her face soften, which gave me hope, then more tension eased when she stepped over the threshold from her room to mine.
“Here?” Chloe asked, looking around the room, which was identical to hers. “You don’t want to go to the bar or something?”
“Nah,” I said with a quick laugh. “I think it’s best if we do this without liquid courage.”
Chloe nodded and let me lead her toward one of the beds. She sat on the edge, and I sat across from her, on the edge of the second bed.
“I’m sorry,” I began, feeling it best to start with that. “I overreacted, and I’m sorry for shutting down. After I left you on Sunday, I felt great about what had happened, and figured you’d give me a call when you were ready to talk, as we discussed. When I walked into the diner and saw you with Shane, I was totally blindsided. You hadn’t called yet, so we never got to really talk about what happened between us, and, well, shit, Chloe, it killed to see you with someone else.”
Chloe was watching me intently, her hands clasped in her lap, but her face didn’t tell me what she was thinking or feeling, so I kept rambling.
“I know it’s probably too much, more than you want right now, but it’s the truth. I’ve made no secret about the fact that I like you, and I know we said we’d go slow, and we didn’t make any promises, but I was kind of hoping we were on the same page with this. I know we didn’t say we weren’t seeing other people, or whether or not we were even seeing each other, but, honestly, all I want is you, so I kind of lost it when I was faced with the reality that you didn’t feel the same.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Chloe said, stopping my rant. “Shane and I weren’t on a date or anything, we were just meeting for coffee … as friends.” At my look she smiled sheepishly and said, “Not friends like we’re friends, but friends, friends. We’d talked a bit at the barbecue, then again at the bachelorette party, and he’s nice.” Chloe shrugged, and although I had a hard time believing that Shane had female friends, I knew that she was trying to find her place in Cherry Springs. “It never even occurred to me that you would get upset if you found out, because it was totally innocent. I promise, I wouldn’t do that to you.”
Chloe reached out and I grabbed for her hand like a lifeline and held on close.
“We haven’t made promises,” I reminded her, even though her words made me feel much better.
“No, we haven’t, but still, I wouldn’t go out with one of your friends before talking with you about what happened between us and deciding what we were going to do.”
“I appreciate that.”
Chloe nodded, then took a deep breath and said, “Thanks for giving me time, Reardon; I really appreciate it. I’m sure it was hard on you, and the biggest reason for our miscommunication was the fact that we hadn’t talked things out yet.”
“Did you come to a conclusion?” I asked, even though her answer terrified me.
“Well,” she began, tucking a dark strand behind her ear. “I thought about what happened, well, as much as I could remember, and I thought about everything you’ve said…”
“Yeah…” I prompted, about to come out of my skin.
Chloe’s eyes searched mine.
“I’m ready to give us a shot.”
“Really?” I asked, my smile so big my cheeks hurt.
“Really,” she replied, squeezing my hand. “I know it will be hard, and other people, namely your family, might have a hard time with it initially, but I really like you. I want to try.”
I practically leapt off the bed, my hands coming to her face as she tilted her head back and opened up for me.
What was meant to be a happy kiss of thanks and excitement, quickly turned. I don’t know if it was the way her tongue darted out to meet mine, the groan at the back of her throat, or the way her soft tits felt pressed against my stomach, but one second I was standing above her, and the next, we were laid out on the bed.
Chapter Twenty-Eight ~ Chloe
I didn’t worry that things were going too fast.
/>
I didn’t wonder what everyone was going to say when they found out about us.
I didn’t think … I just allowed myself to feel.
His large, long body covered me, the warmth of him wrapping around me like a cocoon, as mine ignited beneath him.
His touch brought pure pleasure; his kiss, utter desire.
I opened for him fully. Mouth, body, heart. Yearning to greedily take everything he offered.
The flashes I’d had of our night together were nothing compared to the reality of having Reardon while I was stone-cold sober. He was everywhere. Hands, legs, mouth … That hair, those biceps, and, dare I say again, that mouth.
I’d never been with someone who was so obviously into what he was doing, or who managed to turn me on to the point of spontaneous combustion.
He was amazing, and we’d barely even begun.
Caught in the moment, I moved my hand up into his hair and tightened my fist, pulling his head back roughly so he was forced to lift it, giving me access to the length of his neck.
I needed to taste his skin, almost as much as I needed to groan in pleasure at the feel of his strong hand at my naked breast.
When did I lose my shirt and bra? I wondered momentarily, then quickly realized I didn’t care. The only thing I cared about was getting Reardon naked.
I needed to see him.
Reardon moaned as my teeth lightly scraped the base of his throat, my tongue darting out to soothe the slight bite. My hips bucked as he rolled my nipple between his fingertips, then rocked against him when he covered me with his hot mouth.
“Take this off,” I begged, grabbing his shirt and pulling it to show him what I wanted. What I needed.
I lost his mouth momentarily as he rose above me and grasped the cotton of his shirt with his hand and pulled it up over his head. I barely had a chance to ogle his magnificent form before he lowered back down and sucked my nipple into his mouth.
Reardon’s hand lowered. I felt my waistband give and his quick exploration of my black lace panties, before his fingers found me, hot, wet, and ready for him.