by Cindi Madsen
“That’s so gross,” Mason said, his lip curling. “You’re going to have girl cooties.”
Wes’s arm tightened around her. “You’ll understand someday, little man.”
Jill shook her head, but she was staring at Wes and Dani like they were adorable. “I’m going to see if Mom needs more help with the centerpieces.”
“Wes and I are having bulldog centerpieces at our wedding,” Dani blurted out.
Jill’s mouth opened, closed. Then she just turned around and went into the house.
“You owe me five dollars,” Dani said to Wes. She ran a hand across her skin, where she could still feel the aftereffects of his whiskers against her mouth. “Your beard is seriously so scratchy.”
He burrowed his head in her neck, rubbing his stubble there.
She tried to shove him away, but he wrapped his arms tighter around her and moved the assault to her shoulder. She laughed, trying to get a hand between his face and her skin. “Okay, that’s enough. I’m going to look like I made out with a porcupine.”
A prickling went across her skin, not from the whiskers but from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and felt the full impact of Sophie’s stare. It was heavy and laser-beam-like, with lots of bitterness and loathing thrown in.
Wes grabbed her hand, apparently not noticing the dirty looks. “Come help me unload the chairs. We’ll clean off the mud and you won’t have to hear talk of centerpieces or flowers.”
On the way to the truck, she noticed Audrey was also glaring at them, lips pursed.
Looks like we’ll have pissed off the entire wedding party by the end of the day. Dani didn’t want to care, but why couldn’t Audrey accept their engagement? Did she think that Sophie was a better choice?
The thought sent a twisting, burning sensation through her gut. She didn’t want to analyze what that meant. She needed to just relax and enjoy being around Wes without making a complicated mess out of everything.Wes and his dad unloaded the tables and chairs, and Dani got to work cleaning them off with a soapy bucket of water and a sponge. Every time Wes passed, he would brush his face across her bare skin. He even placed a few scratchy kisses on her cheek.
The next time he came around, she lifted her dripping sponge. “Stay back.”
“Or what?”
“Don’t you see I’m armed?”
“A sponge? You’re going to have to do better than that.”
She tossed it at him, but he dodged it and came at her. She picked up the bucket of soapy water and launched it at him. The stream hit him right in the face, a full blast she hadn’t expected to land.
For a moment, he stared, water dripping from his hair.
Then he lunged, wrapping his arms around her waist. They fell to the ground, sliding on the wet grass. Wes straddled her and rubbed his wet hair in her face.
“Stop! Stop it!” she squealed, but she was laughing too hard for the words to have much power.
“Wes!” yelled a much angrier voice. Audrey stood above them, arms crossed. Wes glanced up, and Dani could see the wheels turning, some kind of smartass remark forming on his tongue.
“You might want to reconsider whatever you’re planning on saying,” Dani whispered. “She looks pretty pissed.”
Wes pushed himself up and helped her to her feet. His gaze dropped to her chest, and she realized that the neckline of her shirt had shifted, revealing quite a bit of her red bra. He quickly looked away, a guilty expression on his face.
Well, at least I know the reason we don’t have chemistry isn’t because he thinks I’m hideous, she thought as she readjusted her clothes.
“Can I talk to you?” Audrey’s eyes flicked to Dani, then back to Wes. “Alone.”
“Hint taken.” Dani backed away. She widened her eyes, flashing Wes the same look she gave him when they used to get busted in class for talking, and she could see he was trying not to laugh. Then she spun around to leave them alone.
And came face to face with Sophie.
Chapter Seven
“What are you thinking?” Audrey’s nostrils flared, something Wes wanted to tease her about, but decided he’d better not—she was already angry enough. It wasn’t easy not to laugh, though, especially since Dani had been shooting him a face that said, You’re so screwed, sucker.
“Come on. Did getting engaged ruin your sense of humor?”
“It certainly hasn’t ruined yours. In fact, I’d like you to take it down about a hundred notches.” Audrey pinched the bridge of her nose. “What are you thinking, Wes? You show up the other night, tell us you’re engaged, and now you’re all over Dani every second with no care for what it’s doing to everyone else?”
He folded his arms and leaned his hip against one of the dining room chairs. “Everyone else? Who am I hurting?”
Audrey tilted her head. “Like you don’t know.”
“What I know is you kept telling me I should move on. I thought this was what you, Jill, and Mom wanted. Hell, even Sophie apparently wants it. That’s the message I got.”
“Sure. We wanted you to move on. Not go and get engaged days before my wedding. Do you know what this means?”
“That I’m happy.” As he said the words, he realized it was true. He’d spent hours in the same vicinity as Sophie, and he was still happy. In fact, he’d forgotten she was even there.
Audrey gave an exasperated sigh. “It means more drama between you and Sophie.”
“Hey, you’re the one who invited her to be part of your wed—”
“This isn’t about you!” Audrey’s voice pitched up, the way it did when she was angry or about to cry; Wes wasn’t sure which one right now. The wedding mess had seemed to cause tension between him and his sister lately, and it sucked. It was like he was always walking on eggshells, and he missed how things used to be. He and Audrey had always been close, always teasing each other and joking around. Of course they’d fought plenty growing up. But they had each other’s backs when it came down to it, and seeing her upset was a punch to his gut.
She shook her head. “That’s what you’ve never gotten. You can’t just let me have a moment in the spotlight, can you? Now everyone’s buzzing about you and Dani and the fact that you’re engaged now and… Ugh!” A deep crease formed between her eyebrows.
He hadn’t thought of how his fake announcement and fake fiancée would affect his sister’s big day. She’d definitely be even angrier if he admitted it was all a big sham. Maybe he hadn’t been as supportive through all the wedding stress as he should’ve been, he realized, and he decided that he’d do better, even if he didn’t understand why things like flowers and decorations were such a big deal.
“Tell you what. To make up for my stealing your thunder, I’ll try to hold back the fart jokes at your wedding. I’m classy like that.”
The corners of her mouth quivered, but she lost the fight and broke into a smile. She shoved him, and the chair he was leaning against knocked into the table. “I hate you,” she said.
“You’re crazy about me. I’m your favorite brother.”
She sighed, and the last of her anger faded. “I know you didn’t do this on purpose, because you never think things through. And I am happy you’ve moved on. I’d freak out over how fast it was if it were anyone but Dani, but you two have been dancing around this for years anyway.” She lifted her eyes to his. “But can’t you guys tone it down a bit? It’s like you’re rubbing Sophie’s face in your new love, and she’s all broken up about it.”
He almost denied the “dancing around this for years” comment out of habit, but it was what had helped sell the engagement ruse so easily. And lately he’d felt like they were doing some kind of dance—one he didn’t know the steps to. He pushed those thoughts away and focused on the Sophie issue. “I don’t know why she’d care.” Especially since she was the one who showed up with a guy shortly after their breakup, rubbing how little she cared in his face.
Audrey tilted her head. “Of course she cares. You two might’ve
broken up, but I don’t think she quite got over you, either. I thought that maybe you two might eventually work it out, but now… Well, now you’re with Dani, and that’s fine, but just think how you’d feel if it were Sophie doing all the kissing with another guy.”
Wes waited for that image to bother him, but it didn’t. He didn’t exactly want to see it, but he could handle it. His thoughts bounced back to Dani and how she shrieked every time he rubbed his whiskers against her bare skin. Then his mind replayed the image of her red bra. He’d tried not to stare, but it was hard not to. He wasn’t immune to breasts just because she was his best friend.
When he looked up, Audrey’s eyebrows were raised, like she was waiting for something. “I get it. Less kissing Dani.”
“And less making a mess of my wedding decorations with your water fights.” She eyed him.
“You got it. But remember to have some fun, too. This is supposed to be a celebration, not a cause for an aneurism.” He nudged her. “A little fun goes a long way to relieve some stress. Or you could go all out and do something really fun so you and Matthew don’t turn into a boring married couple.”
“You don’t think he’s bored, do you?” Audrey asked.
Wes bit back a laugh, afraid she’d take it as him thinking it was the case, when really he knew it wasn’t true at all. “He’s crazy about you. It’s kind of disgusting, actually.”
She grinned.
“You know you can still call me, whenever, for whatever. And if you need to get away for a bit, I happen to have a helicopter at my disposal.”
“Thanks, Wes.” She gave him a quick hug before going back outside.
Well, that conversation went much better than he’d expected, especially after how rough it started out. Kind of funny he was getting scolded for kissing Dani when he hadn’t kissed her—not really. Wanting to avoid any weirdness after, he’d given her more of a lip-smashing assault, all for show. He hadn’t wondered in years what it would be like to really kiss her. Not since that drunken night in college. All he remembered was her leaving and all of the awkwardness that came after.
“Pull it together,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head. No kissing her. Not for real.
No matter what.
…
“I knew it.” Sophie’s lips twisted as she looked Dani up and down. It was the way Wes’s girlfriend—ex-girlfriend now, thank goodness—always used to look at her, even when she was pretending to be nice.
Dani froze in place, wanting to flee, yet needing to stand firm, no matter what insults this girl was about to hurl at her. But then she saw something on her face that wasn’t normally there—a hint of sorrow just underneath the irritation.
“He denied it so many times, but I knew he was in love with you.” Sophie sniffed and—oh, hell—tears were gathering in her eyes.
Dani wasn’t sure if talking to her would make it better or worse, but she figured the girl should at least know she hadn’t been cheated on. “He wasn’t in love with me when he was dating you, Sophie. We were living in different states and never even saw each other.” And you were taking up all of his time.
Sophie shook her head so violently some of her hair came out of her updo. “You don’t have to keep denying it. When he went to Arkansas to take care of you after your surgery instead of coming to my parents’ with me for their anniversary party, I knew he’d always choose you.”
Dani didn’t realize Wes had canceled plans in order to help her recover from her knee surgery. All she knew was he’d shown up just when she needed him and stayed with her until she was back on her feet—or foot, as it were. She’d used crutches for a while.
“That wasn’t because he was in love with me,” Dani said. “I told him I’d be fine, but he knew my mom couldn’t come and that I didn’t have anyone else to help me out. If he hadn’t done it, I honestly don’t know how I would’ve survived those awful days after, when I couldn’t even move.”
“Well, it doesn’t really matter when he fell in love with you, does it? You always came first, and now he’s yours.” Her gaze moved to the diamond ring on Dani’s finger. “Actually, I’m glad this happened. Now I don’t feel so stupid for dumping him. I knew I was right, but it’s nice to really know, instead of having to question over and over if I made the right decision.”
You still love him, Dani thought, but she didn’t dare say it out loud, not sure what it would mean for her or Sophie. Or Wes.
Sophie sniffed again, then turned away and strode to the house, no doubt going inside to have herself a cry.
Dani’s mind whirred over everything she’d just discovered. She had told Wes he didn’t need to come help her after her knee surgery, even though she’d known she was going to be screwed with no help. When he’d shown up in time to take her to the hospital, she’d almost turned into a crying mess. The selfish part of her was glad to know he’d blown off Sophie and her family to be there, because she did always want to come first in his life.
But now that she knew he and Sophie still had feelings for each other, and that her being there was only making their reconciliation more unlikely, she felt like she should back down.
A hand on her shoulder made her turn. “So Audrey thinks we’re rubbing our love into Sophie’s face too much.” Wes grinned. “Guess we’re better actors than I thought.”
“Sounds like we’ve got everybody fooled.” Here was the part where she should tell him to go get the girl he was actually in love with and forget about this ruse.
But a small voice whispered, He’s supposed to be mine.
Her phone rang, and she slid it out of her pocket. Yes, she was stalling, but when she saw it was the office, she was glad she hadn’t ignored it. She held up a finger and took a couple of steps away from Wes.
“Mr. Halifax just said he wasn’t sure our marketing plan was the best for his company. This is why I told you that you needed to be here for this!” Bill was the pompous jerk with the fancy-pants marketing degree who had gotten promoted over her two years ago. Unfortunately, her junior exec status meant she had to take too much of his crap.
She worked to keep calm. “I already took care of everything. All you had to do was present it to him. It should’ve been an easy sell.”
“Well if that were the case, he would’ve signed the contract, wouldn’t he?”
Frustration was rising through her, bringing her blood pressure up with it. She rubbed her forehead, trying to figure out the solution. “I’ll call him. I’ll fix it. I’ve just got to get back to my computer to access the presentation. I’ll call you back when I’m done talking to him.”
“You know Wayne will have both our jobs if this deal falls through.”
She bit back her Yeah, asshole, I know comment and hung up. She turned to Wes. “Work emergency. I’ve gotta get back to the apartment.”
Wes dug into his pocket and took out his keys. “Take my car. I’ll get a ride home from someone.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sophie watching them. And she thought, whether or not Sophie and Wes eventually got back together, the girl should at least have to suffer a little longer by seeing what she missed out on. So she stepped forward and kissed Wes’s cheek. “Thanks.”
Dani stared at her phone, finger hovering over the last digit she needed to push. She’d fought hard to be able to work on Mr. Halifax’s account, and if it fell through, she could forget about a promotion, no matter what happened at the company retreat.
But if I pull this off… She was always looked down on because she had a degree in history instead of marketing—like that really mattered. She’d had a crash course in real-world marketing, starting out as an assistant and clawing her way up to junior account executive. And though it might sound cocky, she was smarter than half the people at that office, and her social skills were definitely better.
I can do this. I can do this.
She made the call, her heart in her throat.
Spending an hour on the phone with their cli
ent was slightly torturous, but she managed to remind Mr. Halifax of all the reasons why she was right about his marketing campaign. By the end of the call, she’d convinced him to sign the contract and fax it to the office.
“From now on, I’m dealing solely with you,” Mr. Halifax said. “I don’t want to bother anymore with that idiot I talked to earlier today.”
Dani smiled. Hearing Bill called an idiot was worth the long phone call and going over every detail twenty times. Which just proves a degree in marketing or the fact he’s now married doesn’t make him any better at this job than I am. But as much as she would love to bash him, it was important to remain professional. “I took point on this account, and again, I’m sorry I wasn’t there to clarify everything. My fiancé’s sister is getting married, and I’m down in North Carolina for the wedding.”
The lie was getting easier to tell now, though the guilt was still there, hanging heavy in her stomach.
“Well, family is important. You have fun, and tell that fiancé of yours he’s marrying one smart cookie.”
After she hung up, she called Bill to tell him the news, trying to keep the smugness out of her voice. Of course he’d probably take credit, especially with her out of the office. All her life, she’d asked Mama to relax and not take work so seriously. Now here she was, worrying she shouldn’t have taken time off, understanding the pressure her mom had been under all those years. As she thought over the last few days, though, she wouldn’t trade them for the world.
Days she hadn’t had to think about everything that’d been stressing her out for months.
I should call and check in. The last thing she wanted was to get on the phone again, but she still dialed her mom. The second Mama answered, she could hear the exhaustion in her voice.
“I hadn’t called in a while and thought I’d say hello. How’s Abuela doing today?”
“Oh, feisty as ever. Her spirit’s there. If only her body… She thinks she can still do everything, but I see her clutching her chest. We fought over the oxygen like we do every day, and finally I got her to sit down and breathe with it on for a while. The doctor wants to put her on a new medication.”
