Devious Wingman: A Cocky Hero Club Novel

by Hagen, Casey

  They were simple and luxurious at the same time and completely lacked the pretentiousness of the card Vera made me carry.

  The best part…there, under the logo, in raised matte black, my name…and under it three titles separated by tiny black diamonds: owner, operator, wedding planner.

  Okay, most would probably see three titles as a bit much, but not me. Not after all the damn years I spent catering to Vera’s vision. All the time invested while being passed over for advancement, the designation on my cards and in Vera’s pea brain being no different than the designation she gave her niece—okay, I was probably still bitter.

  But the time had come to let it all go. I was here, in this car, with two of the best people I knew, holding the gold standard of cards between my fingers. We were on our way to my first big opportunity to establish a business relationship with what promised to be one of the biggest all-inclusive wedding venues in the entire country judging from the research I’d done this morning when I dragged myself out of bed.

  I needed to keep my past from staining my future. I needed to let go of everything from before this moment and focus on me, something I’d been horrible about in adulthood.

  Yeah, I could admit it. I spent so much time worrying about my parents, worrying about clients, and walking on those damn eggshells Vera scattered across the city, I hadn’t taken care of myself. I hadn’t put myself first.

  And if last night taught me anything, it’s I deserved to put myself first because no one else would.

  Another beautifully brutal lesson.

  “You guys, I don’t know what to say. Thank you doesn’t even come close.”

  “You don’t need to say anything.”

  “No, I do. You probably don’t understand, but my job—career, I need to stop calling it a job. It only works if I do. My success is determined solely by my ability to hold it all together and lately, I haven’t been confident in my ability to do that. My job is to come to the rescue, and here you are rescuing me.”

  “Just propping you up a little, honey, while you pivot. That’s all we’re doing. The rest is on you because I plan on mauling this man every last opportunity I get while we’re there so figure out how you’re going to sell two horny friends with no chill because that’s exactly what you’re going to have to do.”

  “It’s an easy sell. You two are the happily ever after. After everything you’ve dealt with where Genevieve is concerned, building a solid relationship with Chloe, and bringing that beautiful boy into the world, the fire between you only burns brighter. You’re the dream. I can sell that, even if you are obnoxiously tacky about it. It’s my job. God, and I’m jealous. I really needed you to have a brother, Graham. What the hell?”

  “See, I’m not so perfect after all.”

  “No, you are…for my best friend,” I said, leaning my head on Soraya’s shoulder.

  “It’s going to happen for you too, Emory. I swear it will,” Soraya said, squeezing my hand.

  I nodded, unable to force hope beyond my lips.

  Would it?

  Not when I was trapped by my own heart.

  What was I supposed to do when I was certain, positive with every fiber of my being, my other half was the one person I couldn’t have?

  14

  “Why are we headed north? Aren’t we flying out of Newark?” Soraya said, digging through her purse.

  “Not today. Teterboro,” Graham said, scratching his chin.

  “What are you up to?” Soraya asked, nudging him with her elbow.

  He laid his palm over her thigh and squeezed. “It’s a surprise. Fifteen minutes and you’ll see.”

  “So you’re confirming, on the record, you’re up to something?”

  “Aren’t I always up to something?” he murmured next to her ear.

  “Will I want to fuck you or choke you when I see this surprise?”

  Graham wiggled his eyebrows. “Why not both?”

  Soraya’s question thrust me right back to last night, to the feel of the wall against my back as Falcon held me there by my throat. The pressure, the way he lifted just enough to have me rising on my toes.

  I needed his anger, his spite. I welcomed it…the tiny glimpse into the demons haunting him.

  At least I could fight something I could see.

  He didn’t think he was good enough for me. He didn’t want me to see what his father had done to him, but I saw it. Every single interaction with him, I saw it.

  The scar under his jaw interrupting the pattern of facial hair there, the faded line along his temple, and the raised jagged ridge on his forearm, concealed now by a tattoo.

  He may have hidden it, but my fingertips recognized every rise of his skin as I clutched on to him for dear life the night before.

  Was this me needing to fix him? I shook my head, rejecting the idea as soon as I thought it.

  Falcon didn’t need fixing; he was as he was meant to be, and every last scar, those horrible memories he carried, they made him the man he was today.

  He just needed to find a way to accept that man.

  And I had to wonder if he ever could.

  He had to realize he had a choice. This wasn’t a one-way street.

  Staring out the window, I forced back the lump trying desperately to climb into my throat.

  He’d taken enough from me. Not maliciously. Never maliciously. The fact that he warred with himself, that the feelings were still there after all these years, it proved he hated what he was doing…and he recognized the effect it had on me.

  He’d reached out before. He reached out again after all these years.

  He just didn’t know how to hold on.

  We slowed to a stop so the driver could speak to security. In a matter of seconds, the gate rolled open. I glanced around as the car turned away from the terminal. “Wait, don’t we need to check in?”

  “Nope.”

  “I’m not sure I like tight-lipped Graham so much,” Soraya muttered.

  “You’re going to love him when the plush seat on the business jet hugs your ass like a long-lost lover,” he said, glancing between us.

  “A long-lost lover, huh?” Soraya said. “Let me think.”

  Graham aimed a finger at Soraya. “No long-lost lover for you.”

  “I wasn’t a virgin when we met you know,” she pointed out, and judging by the smirk on her face and the pink tinge on her cheeks, she was getting way too much pleasure out of this.

  Dark eyebrows slashed over his glare. “Yes, I’m aware.”

  “And neither were you,” Soraya said, covering his hand with her own.

  He turned his hand over under hers and laced their fingers. “Unfortunately no, because I would give you anything in the world and that’s the one thing I can’t.”

  Soraya turned on the seat and reached for his top button. “Aww, you are just—”

  “Still in the car over here,” I said before they decided to start bumping uglies right next to me. “Join the mile-high club if you want, but don’t make me watch you guys get your freak on. I mean, I’m sure you’re incredible naked, Graham. And well, Soraya is stunning, but—”

  Graham leaned forward to glance at me around Soraya’s shoulder. “You’ve seen my wife naked?”

  Soraya slapped his chest playfully. “Of course she has.”

  “Where was I?”

  Soraya shrugged. “I don’t know, does it matter?”

  “Hold up. Is this a woman thing or a missed opportunity on my part?”

  “Woman thing,” Soraya and I said in unison, laughing at the slack-jawed expression, so unfamiliar for a man like Graham.

  We rolled to a stop and the driver circled around to open the door. “Good day, Mrs. Morgan, Mr. Morgan, Ms. Brooks,” he said with a tip of his hat and a smile.

  “Thank you, Angus,” Graham said.

  A red carpet led from the car to the stairs into the gleaming white jet accented with navy and silver streaks shooting from nose to tail.

  I snapped m
y jaw shut and turned to Graham. “We have our own private jet for this?”

  “Yes, we do. We’ll have quiet, privacy, time to discuss business if you ladies so choose, and more champagne. You’ll be ready to hit the ground running when we land.”

  “I’m impressed,” Soraya said, holding her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun looming overhead.

  They took a couple steps, but I couldn’t make my feet move. “I—this is too much. This had to cost an insane amount of money.”

  “My money, my business,” Graham tossed over his shoulder, waving me forward with a flick of his hand.

  Four words heavy with finality. He wouldn’t discuss it. He wouldn’t hear of me questioning the decision. And even if I did have the money to pay him back, he’d never let me.

  I grabbed the man right by the ears, pulled him in, and dropped a smacking kiss right on his lips. “I love you.”

  “Girl, did you kiss my man?” Soraya asked with a hand propped on her hip, all playful attitude.

  “I did, but I didn’t use tongue,” I said, feeling lighter than I had all day.

  Graham grinned over his shoulder and winked at his wife. “I can confirm there was no tongue involved.”

  “Yeah, well, you scoot your ass on up those stairs and keep your hands to yourself,” Soraya said.

  Soraya leaned into her husband behind me and whispered something I couldn’t hear. I snuck a glance to find them grinning at each other, some secret I wasn’t privy to between them.

  Kissing him had been sheer impulse and solely gratitude based. I hadn’t had anyone think about what I needed in a long time. In this moment, after one of the hardest mornings of my life, hell one of the hardest couple weeks, he’d walked me right into the lap of luxury and chased away the hurts, old and new, crowding me at the single most pivotal time in my life.

  The rubber-treaded steps flexed a bit under my feet as I climbed up into the charcoal-gray and ivory cabin. Floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall lush carpets, thick-cushioned captain’s chairs, sparkling lacquer tables, gleaming marble walls, and soft lighting filled the interior.

  Mother of God, it oozed pure luxury.

  Vents whirred as cool air pumped into the cabin, stirring up the light scent of lemon oil. The aircraft wasn’t new. Little tells gave away the use like the uneven creases in the buttery leather seats, but it had been kept meticulously clean.

  Those creases had nothing on the pride in ownership with every polished surface, a balanced and full fresh snack bar and drink station, and God—were those blankets and pillows?

  “Okay, I’m not leaving this plane,” I said over my shoulder as I collapsed in a seat right next to the chocolate-dipped strawberries. “We can stay here and fly forever, only stopping for fuel refills.”

  “I’d eventually have to get the kids and while it might seem fun now, trapped in here with a three-year-old is not what you want. I promise you,” Soraya said, grabbing the champagne and passing it to Graham, the expert of all experts at popping a cork.

  No pun intended.

  But so intended if all the little tidbits Soraya told us during ladies’ night were true.

  “I might be able to manage as long as we can trade the champagne for a never-ending wine tap,” I said with a wink.

  I wiggled, settling down in the seat even more, then leaned my head back and sighed.

  “Don’t go to sleep yet,” Graham said, popping the second cork in twenty-four hours and pouring the golden liquid into a crystal flute.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it. Thank you,” I said, taking the glass.

  He handed the next to Soraya and took one for himself and raised it between the three of us. “To unexpected opportunities and success.”

  With a clink of the glasses, we all took a sip of our drinks and settled in. Graham took a seat behind us while Soraya and I sat facing one another, with an open table between us.

  “So, game plan going in?” Soraya asked.

  “Prove I’m valuable to them. I have connections to some of the most sought-after dress designers in the country. I think those details will be key. My connection to florists, caterers, and other professionals won’t matter in Arizona. So I focus on well-established business relationships, my quick thinking, and the ability to smooth ruffled family feathers. I’m a pro when it comes to defusing a family battle. At least temporarily. I’m not Dr. Phil or anything.”

  “Okay, so what do you need me to do?”

  “Keep being funny and continue to have my back,” I said, leaning forward to take her hand.

  “That can’t be all,” Soraya said, wrinkling her nose.

  “That’s it. Things were rough this morning, really rough, and you guys—”

  I glanced up at the sound of the stairs folding and the jet sealing shut. Bobbling the glass in my hand, I swallowed hard. The rushing sound in my ears muffled the whirring of the jet’s engines.

  I gulped down the champagne, trying to wet my suddenly dry throat.

  “What is it? What’s wrong with you?”

  “More champagne,” I stammered, grabbing the bottle and refilling my glass.

  “Why, what is it?” Soraya said, leaning toward me.

  “Falcon.”

  “What? Where?” she squeaked, sounding like I felt.

  “Flying the plane.”

  “I thought they had a charter company,” Soraya said, craning her neck to see into the cockpit.

  “Hawk Air has several planes, including this one,” Graham said behind us. “I signed a three-year contract with them yesterday. Surprise.”

  “Okay, breathe,” Soraya said, jumping into the seat on the other side of the aisle next to me. “My husband has done something bad and he will pay dearly—uh…” she said, wincing at whatever she saw. “But first, I need to break some news to you.”

  “You have to break some news?” I said, my stomach dancing a jig in my throat. My hot skin pulled tight. “How much worse can this get?”

  “Honey, you’re going to wish you didn’t ask me that.” Soraya shot a glare over her shoulder at her hubby before glancing back at me. “Hawk is up there too.”

  “What?”

  “Why do I feel like there’s something I don’t know?” Graham said from behind us.

  Soraya shot a glare at her husband, her breath rushing out in a huff. “I’ll fill you in later when you’re being properly punished.”

  “Oh my God, this is not happening. It’s not happening, right?” I said, my eyes locking on Soraya. “You think they’d notice if I get off the plane?”

  “Yes, now unclench. Shit. You look like you might blow a blood vessel or something.” Soraya rubbed her temples and closed her eyes. “Honey, this might be my fault a little.”

  “What did you do?” I whispered, hysteria creeping into my voice.

  “I told him about the chemistry with you and Falcon, but I never mentioned Hawk.”

  “That’s a pretty big piece to leave out,” I said between clenched teeth.

  “I know, but in my defense, I never figured Graham would move this fast to put this whole private flight thing in motion, and I didn’t expect a jet. A small charter plane, a helicopter, but not a freaking jet.”

  “It’s only a midsize. It’s not like we're on a 747,” Graham added.

  “Shhhh, you’ve been bad,” Soraya said, letting out a nervous laugh so damn unlike her it made my anxiety shoot up so high I swear I could have punched a hole right in the top of the plane.

  “Okay, okay, I’m not going to have a nervous breakdown. It’s only a handful of hours, right? Then they’ll be gone. It’ll be okay.”

  “About that—”

  “What?” Soraya bit out, shooting a glare at her husband and glancing back at me.

  “They’re staying.”

  “What?” we both said in unison again, our heads whipping around to skewer Graham with scathing glares.

  “Whoa, take it easy, ladies,” he said, raising his palms in surrender. “They’re stayin
g in Arizona for the duration in case I need to take a quick trip back to the city. I’ve two buyouts underway and a lot of balls in the air, so there’s a chance I might need to fly back for the day.”

  Soraya blew the lock of hair falling over her eye out of her face. “Okay, so they’ll be at a hotel. We won’t see them again until Friday.”

  “I made arrangements for them to stay at the venue.”

  “I’m about to fly to an all-inclusive wedding venue with one guy who wants to get in my bed, and the other one who was in my bed last night. All freaking night. A wedding venue, Soraya. I do’s, kissing the bride, honeymoon suites—”

  “Yeah, that sounds pretty bad,” Graham said.

  “Graham,” I growled.

  “Not helping. Got it,” he said, zipping his lip.

  A frantic squeak burst from my lips, but it’s all I could manage. I shot a look at Soraya and opened my mouth, but nothing else came out.

  “It’s okay, I’m going to hurt him. I promise.” She leaned over to catch a glimpse of Falcon. “My God, look at him; he cleans up nice, doesn’t he?”

  I gripped the armrests on my chair, my nails digging crescent indentations into the leather, leaving more evidence of the sheer panic unfolding in this very chair. “Not helping.”

  “I don’t think there’s much we can do to help at this point. Too many things have spiraled out of control. But look at him. How hot is he in all black? Jesus. I’ve never seen a pilot dress like him.”

  “He’s flying the plane. Like really flying the plane,” I said, trying to hold back hysterical laughter percolating in the back of my throat.

  “You knew he was a pilot,” she pointed out with a smirk on her red lips.

  “But he’s flying our plane. I just, I can’t—” I stammered. “He’s really going to fly the thing.”

  Soraya nodded with a knowing grin aimed at the cockpit. “It’s hot.”

  I huffed out a breath. “Yeah.”

  “So, I’m going to need you to stop fucking the pilot with your eyes, thanks,” Graham said from behind them.