Nix set his beer down, his gaze on the cute woman following her friend into the bar. She definitely looked like she was up for some fun. Wearing an outfit that was revealing without being too risqué, Nix noticed that she was built more like his normal bed partners, sleek and toned, which happened to be the opposite of Louise.
Damn, why did his brain keep coming back to Louise? Grabbing his beer to drain it before walking over to his new conquest, Nix was determined to eradicate Louise out of his mind before he became obsessed.
“Hey Libby, introduce me to your friend.” Nix smiled, holding his hand out to the woman he was determined to get to know.
Libby smoothed her hair back and preened. “This is Rose, one of my newest and closest friends. Rose, this is Nix.”
Rose looked startled at the introduction but quickly covered the surprise and propped her hand on her hip, thrusting her breasts out.
One quick handshake, a glance down at some fine-looking tits, and just like that he was trying to move on. For the rest of the night, Nix did things he had never done on a date before. He listened to what his companion was saying, asked questions about more than what kind of breakfast she wanted the next morning, and tried to pay attention more than he ever had.
At the end of the evening, he was clearly invited to her place for some late-night fun.
Previously, he would have taken her up on her offer. Today though, he smiled and gave her the excuse that he was tired. He did however invite her to the party that Winter and Will were having at their house the next day.
After programming her number into his phone, he texted her the address to the party and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. With a nod and a smile good-bye, Nix tried to hide the disappointment he felt after the small peck. It had done nothing for him. Not even a smidge of desire had heated his body, something that was out of the ordinary. Sadly, for a majority of the night, he had to make himself pay attention to the woman in front of him, regardless of how pretty she was. Hoping that a change of scenery for their second date would help keep him interested, Nix glanced around to find his friends. He noticed that the rest of his group was gathering up their belongings on the other side of the bar. Making his way over to Jazz, he reached out and gave her a hug.
“I hope you don’t mind but I’m bringing a date tomorrow. That okay?”
“The girl that was with Libby?” Jazz questioned, peeking over his shoulder at Libby. “God, I can’t stand her!”
“Don’t worry about Libby. Her friend seems nice, and Libby isn’t invited,” Nix assured her, having forgotten that Libby was one of the women that had made Winter cry at her own engagement party.
“If you’re sure…” Jazz looked unconvinced that the two women weren’t cut from the same cloth. “I don’t want to sound bitchy, but normally birds of a feather and all that shit.”
“Well, I’m hoping that she’s the exact opposite of Libby,” Nix muttered, already feeling like this was a bad idea. Jazz had a point about Libby. Even though Nix himself had taken her for a ride, he found it hard to believe she had any good ‘friends’ in the group that she surrounded herself with.
“For your sake, I hope so too.” Jazz knocked back the rest of her beer with a smile. “Winter will throw her out physically if need be…then she’ll come after you.”
Nix shuddered in mock fear. “Believe me, I want to stay on Winter’s good side myself. I’ll keep my date in line.”
“Oh, you’ll keep her in line?” Jazz scoffed.
“What?” Nix questioned, unsure what she meant by that.
“Nix, I say this with love. You can’t control everyone.” Holding up her hands to halt him from speaking, she said, “No, don’t say anything. Just listen. There are times when you come off as kind of an ass. I love ya, but it’s true.”
Nix almost spit out his beer at her words. He would never have expected sweet Jazz to be the one to give him a talking to.
“This isn’t just the liquor talking either,” Jazz somewhat slurred. “You know why we would never have worked? Other than the fact that Leo owns my heart and soul, of course. You’re really bossy. Like all the time.”
“And?” Nix asked, unsure why she was saying what he already knew.
“Strong women don’t need you to tell them what to do. Well, maybe except in the bedroom; that’s always a little bit of fun.” She waved her hand as if to bat that thought away. “You need a strong woman.”
Nix was more amused now than anything, spreading open his arms he gestured for Jazz to keep speaking. “Go on.”
“Admit it. If you had a woman that did everything you said, you would be bored in about two seconds. You need a nice, strong, independent woman who can meet you evenly on the playing field.” Jazz narrowed her eyes on him. “You know I’m right.”
“But it’s so nice when women do everything I tell them to.” Nix lowered his voice teasingly.
“Pffft.” Jazz blew a raspberry at him. “I don’t mean in bed, you hornball. There are times I love it when Leo takes control of what we do in the sack. I can’t tell you enough how much I like it, but do you think I let that shit happen all the time or just when we’re naked?”
Nix barely restrained himself from plugging his ears and saying la la la to cover up what she was saying. A couple months ago, he would have been trying to get into Jazz’s pants. Now, with her engaged to a man he considered a brother and close friend, her bluntness gave him the willies.
“Don’t act all shocked either. I know you guys talk about everything. Leo and Will both like to get a little rough in the bedroom, but that doesn’t mean that we follow mindlessly the rest of the time. That’s what you need. You need someone to stand up to you every now and then, who doesn’t melt into a puddle of goo when you wink at her.”
“Really?” Nix asked, now more amused than ever.
“Yes,” Jazz practically yelled. “Now help me put on my coat. I can’t find the arm hole.”
“You have it upside down, sweetheart.” Nix tried to keep the smile off his face as he helped a tipsy Jazz put on her coat. It took her multiple tries before she was able to get her arms into the correct sleeves.
“Where’s Leo?” Nix looked round the bar, not wanting to leave Jazz unattended while she wasn’t all together.
“He said that he was tabbing out, but that was a bit ago.” Jazz huffed, exerted from the simple task of donning her coat.
Nix looked over the crowd, trying to spot either Leo or Will in the crowded bar. Generally, when you found one, the other wasn’t far behind. Which happened to be the same case when it came to their women.
“I see them.” Nix pointed before he realized that Will and Leo were trapped by a group from Libby’s girl squad. He noted that Rose was absent from the gaggle of women, most likely having already left..
Nix stepped in front of Jazz, effectively blocking her view of what was happening closer to the side of the bar. From what Nix could see, the guys had most likely gone up to tab out and had gotten waylaid by the group of horny women. The men looked extremely uncomfortable, even as the women took turns squeezing arms and stroking chests. The men were not only surrounded, but also trapped by the number of people in the small space.
Honestly, it was probably a fire hazard…which gave him an idea.
“Clear a path!” he yelled loudly with authority.
Shooting the women a glare, Nix gestured for Will and Leo to move toward the door where he planned on shepherding Jazz as soon as possible. “Where did Winter disappear to?”
Jazz shook her head, leaning in to be heard, and burped in his ear before answering, “Will took her home earlier because she wasn’t feeling good.”
“You got your bag?” Nix asked, making sure that they weren’t leaving anything or anyone behind.
“Yep.” When Jazz held the bag up at face level, Nix had to dodge it to avoid getting a bloody nose.
“Jesus, Jazz,” Nix muttered, shaking his head at his tipsy charge.
They moved
steadily through the crowd. His big body cut a substantial path through the weaving bodies.
“Leo!” Jazz half yelled, stumbling into a hug from her man. “Nix helped me put on my coat when the arms kept disappearing. Where were you? I waited forever.”
Leo reached forward and slapped Nix on the shoulder, “Thanks, that took a lot longer than we planned. We ran into a bit of a snag.”
“Yeah, a group of awfully determined snags,” Nix shot a pointed look at the women who were still watching the men from the bar.
“Annoying as fuck is more like it,” Will complained while opening the door and leading the way out. “Well guys, I am going to get home and see if Winter is feeling better.”
“She sick?” Nix didn’t have to fake concern when it came to Winter. Both of his friends had good women who had become more like sisters.
“Nah, she hurt her back a month or so ago, and every now and then it gets stiff on her. It gets worse when the temperature drops too. She’s been exercising more and seeing a doc over on the east side of town, which helps, but she’s not a hundred percent yet. She wanted to get home and rest, so she can be on her A-game tomorrow for the cook out.”
“Makes sense. I’ll be over tomorrow around noon. That work?” Nix asked, unlocking his truck.
“Yeah.” Will waved as he climbed into his vehicle. “See ya tomorrow.”
As the group drove off in separate directions, Nix realized this was one of the few nights he was going home alone.
Funny enough, it didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would.
Chapter 7
Louise couldn’t help but triple check her car before she was ready to head to her friend’s house. It had been so long since she had attended any type of get together that she was sure she was forgetting something.
Banana bread…check.
Ingredients for mimosas…check.
Juice boxes for Junior…check.
“Aunt LouLou, will there be any kids for me to play with?” Junior asked from the doorway into the house.
“I’m not sure, sweetie. Let’s grab a couple of balls from the garage. That way, if there aren’t kids to play with then we can toss the ball around or something,” Louise suggested, smiling when Junior ran to the garage to start digging around. Louise had always been the cool aunt that played with him whenever they had family gatherings, so she had a plethora of sports equipment. Watching him dig in an old bin, she realized now why her family had thrust Junior in her direction when he needed a place to stay. When Junior’s mom split, Louise had naturally stepped in to help out her brother. What was once babysitting every now and then had slowly morphed into much more. Pretty soon, Louise had been school shopping, Christmas shopping and even volunteered at his preschool to help during holiday parties. Louise had taken on the role of a parent long before her brother had left for rehab, something she had never realized.
Louise didn’t have any regrets though, not a single one. She bit her lip to hold back a laugh when Junior wiggled his way into the bin he was looking through, his tiny sneakers flailing comically in the air.
Turning back to double check the car, she realized that she had forgotten to grab the corn dip out of the fridge. “Junior! I’m running into the house for a second! Do NOT leave the yard!”
Once everything had been gathered and loaded into the car, Louise grimaced at the time. “No wonder families are always running behind. Taking a kid anywhere adds at least thirty minutes.”
“I need to go pee,” Junior informed her just as she was getting ready to buckle his belt.
Louise let out a sigh, moved out of his way so he could climb out, and walked him back into the house. While she was standing by the bathroom door, she changed her earlier opinion.
Kids add at least forty-five minutes.
At least.
After asking him if he had washed his hands, Louise hustled Junior into the car once again. Moving fast before her nephew could come up with any other way to stall, Louise pulled out of her cul-de-sac and headed to her friend’s house.
She hadn’t known either of the women hosting the party for very long, but their camaraderie had been almost instantaneous. Winter and Jasmine were both bigger girls who had started taking her yoga class about two months ago. Winter was working on flexibility and general strength, and Jasmine was simply there for moral support.
“Are we there yet?”
Louise gritted her teeth, knowing that to a four-year-old the five-minute car ride probably seemed like forever.
“Not yet, sweetie,” Louise answered, catching his eye in the rearview and winking at him.
“I hope there are kids there,” Junior said, kicking his feet against the back of her chair.
“Me too,” Louise muttered under her breath. Dear Lord, please let there be kids there to give her a bit of a break. She loved her nephew, but holy hell…watching a kid full-time was no joke. She couldn’t remember the last time she had ten minutes alone. Louise was at the point where she was willing to sell a kidney to have a second to herself.
Pulling up to a street that was overflowing with cars, Louise double-checked the address against her text invite. With her luck, she would walk into the wrong house by accident and get the cops called. Grabbing the reusable bag, which she had stuffed everything but the kitchen sink into, she grabbed Junior’s hand and started walking up the driveway.
It was a bright sunny October day and the weather was cool without being cold. It was perfect for a barbecue with friends. Following the balloons to the side gate, she opened it and looked for a familiar face.
The face that she spotted wasn’t the one she expected though. In fact, she was caught so off guard that she had let the gate swing closed in her face without advancing.
“What the fuck?”
“Aunt LouLou! That’s a bad word,” Junior pointed out before covering his mouth.
“Sorry,” Louise started, only to stop speaking when the gate was opened again with Nix holding it wide.
“I thought that was you,” Nix greeted, reaching for the bag that she was holding.
“Oh, yeah. It’s me,” Louise replied weakly, as she kept her grip on the bag, still not understanding what was going on.
“C’mon in.” Nix frowned at her reaction before he reached down and ruffled Junior’s hair. “Hey buddy, want to play some catch later?”
Junior practically levitated he was so excited. It wasn’t that he didn’t have male role models in his life, it was just that a majority of the Pine men tended to be more video game obsessed versus wanting to play outside. “That would be awesome!”
Nix led the way to a long table piled high with different dishes, most of them still covered since the food wasn’t ready yet.
“Let me set this down.” Louise looked back to make sure that Junior was behaving and noticed that he was talking to a group of women in the corner.
Nix helped her unload her bag, opening up the banana bread container to smell the loaf she had brought. “You bake?”
“There’s a lot more to me than what you see.” Louise smiled and winked, feeling flirtatious regardless of turning him down yesterday. Maybe she had acted too hastily letting his order for a date annoy her into saying no.
“I wouldn’t mind finding out more about that.” Nix leaned in, letting whatever cologne he was wearing tease her senses.
“Nix, I was wondering where you went,” a woman with a soft feminine voice interrupted the pair.
It was a voice that Louise was extremely familiar with.
“Maggie, what the hell are you doing here?” Louise snapped, trying to piece together why her sister would be at this barbecue when they didn’t have any friends in common.
It wasn’t until Maggie stepped up and put a proprietary hand on Nix’s arm that Louise put the pieces together.
“Ohhh.” Louise took a step back, trying to keep the disgust out of her voice. “You’re together…”
“Maggie?” Nix asked with his eyebrow
s raised, looking extremely uncomfortable with every second ticking by. “I thought your name was Rose?”
“It is,” Maggie answered nervously. “I go by Maggie to my family and Rose to my friends. Libby thought Rose sounded better so that’s what I go by now.”
“Her name is Margaret Rose, and the only time I’ve ever heard you answer to Rose is when Mom is yelling at you,” Louise interjected.
“Wait. Mom?” Nix froze. By the look on his face, he was putting the pieces together as well.
“This is my sister, Maggie.” Louise raised her eyebrow at her sister. “The same sister that canceled a zoo date with Junior because she was just so busy she couldn’t possibly keep a promise to a four-year-old.”
“Give me a break, Louise! I just wanted to have a little fun this weekend,” Maggie whined. Crossing her arms over her barely there top, she glared at her sister, “And I do go by Rose now.”
Louise rolled her eyes at her bitch of a sister. It was times like these that she wondered if she was adopted.
Seriously.
“Whatever. Just stay away from me if you can, please. I want to have fun with my friends today, and you are annoying me already.” Turning her back on her selfish sister and the man that she had been tempted to give a second chance, Louise looked for Winter or Jazz. Spotting them sitting across the yard with an obese dachshund between them, she made her way toward their chairs without saying good-bye to either Nix or Rose .
The moment she walked up, Louise realized that her words with her sister had not gone unnoticed.
“Making friends already?” Winter teased.
“Pffft. No friends, just ran into my sister,” Louise admitted.
“Rose is your sister?” Jazz asked, her mouth hanging open. “Well…I guess that means we can’t talk about her.”
Both Louise and Winter started laughing at the disappointment in Jazz’s voice.
“No, go ahead. I can tell you some stories as well, if you need more gossip and her name is actually Maggie. Apparently, she thought Rose sounded better so she’s now going by that.” Taking up an empty chair, the ladies looked across the yard to where Nix looked uncomfortable while Maggie stood guard over him.
Taming Fire (Braving the Heat #2) Page 5
