Daring Wes: Cade Brothers Series

by Jules Barnard

  To say their bridegroom brother was a touch edgy was an understatement.

  “Jesus, Adam,” Bran said, voicing Wes’s thoughts. “You’re getting married today. What’s with the anger?”

  Adam’s face turned a grayish hue.

  Wes took a mental step back. Adam didn’t look so good. “You okay there, buddy? Never thought you’d get cold feet marrying Hayden.”

  “Cold feet?” Adam said, clearly not getting the joke. “You idiot. I’m not getting cold feet over marrying Hayden. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. If I could, I’d squirrel her away from this”—he glanced around the elaborately decorated ruby- and pearl-studded lobby—“circus.”

  Adam and Hayden were exchanging vows in the center of the island Wes’s father had constructed when he’d first built the place. Guests would watch from the other side of the lazy river that circled it. “And away from you four. You’re stressing me out.”

  Adam’s face went from gray to purple. “If any of you so much as shoots someone else a glare, I swear, I’ll… I’ll take Hayden the hell out of here and never speak to you again.” He tugged at the bottom of his jacket. Adam’s tuxedo matched that of his brothers, with the exception of a red rose on his lapel instead of the ivory roses the rest of them wore. “Moving this wedding forward eight months has taken up all of our time, and I will kill you if you ruin this for Hayden.”

  “Fuck.” Hunt’s lip curled back. “Way to talk to your closest blood relatives on your wedding day. This isn’t a very romantic mood you’re setting.”

  Adam’s hands clenched at his sides. “It is a fucking romantic day. So make sure it damn well stays that way, you cocksucker.”

  Levi carefully placed a hand on Adam’s shoulder, who flinched in return. “Ease up there, Adam. No one’s going to ruin your day.” He glanced pointedly at each of them out of Adam’s sight, as though to say, Got that? “Emily’s in charge, remember? That means everything’s going to be fine.”

  Adam let out a sigh. “Thank fuck or we’d all be fucked.”

  Hunt shook his head. “He’s dropping F-bombs like they’re going out of style. No, he’s not nervous. Not at all.”

  Adam’s head shot up and he stepped toward Hunt.

  Adam wasn’t his cool, polished self today. He’d turned into Levi when Levi was throwing down his alpha older brother shit. Or when Wes was in a foul mood—which was often.

  Only Wes’s foul moods had tempered since Kaylee dumped her fiancé. And even more so since he’d taken the time to consider their breakup, the miscarriage, and how he’d let her down.

  Wes hadn’t been happy with himself after Kaylee had told him the whole story about why she’d left. It was easy to blame her for not telling him sooner, but once he’d thought about it, he realized he’d been a big part of why she felt she couldn’t talk to him, stubborn ass that he was. What he must have put her through… It made him want to tear down the walls of his one-room cabin. But at least now he knew what he’d done wrong and could fix it. Or try to.

  Wes wasn’t the same man he’d been. And he would prove it to Kaylee. Because somehow, proving to her that he’d changed and matured was extremely important.

  He’d apologized, and they were on good terms, but that wasn’t enough. He wanted more with Kaylee.

  This urge to win back his ex hadn’t come to him in some great epiphany. It was a gradual realization since the first moment he’d set eyes on her inside the pro shop months ago. He’d told himself then that he’d get close to her and find out why she’d left him. That the knowledge would enable him to put the past behind him and get back his golf game.

  What a load of bullshit. Wes had wanted to know why she left, because he’d never stopped loving her. Not that he’d admit that to a single living soul, but he wasn’t such a caveman that he couldn’t admit it to himself.

  Okay, it had taken him years to admit it, but he’d gotten there eventually. Cavemen could evolve.

  Levi swept in between Adam and Hunt, effectively blocking Adam from giving Hunt a shiner. “I see the bridesmaids coming.” Levi shoved Adam in their direction. “They’re getting ready to walk down the aisle. We better take our places.”

  “Goddamn,” Bran said when Levi and Adam were far enough away. “Remind me to never get married.” He looked at Hunt. “We should ditch our plan for the reception. Adam is in a beast of a mood.”

  “Hell no,” Hunt said. “Adam’s just got cold feet. Once the vows are over, he’ll be good as new. He’s going to love what we arranged.”

  Wes sent him an incredulous look. “You and Levi started a fistfight in the middle of his engagement party. Can you blame the guy for thinking you might ruin this too?”

  Hunt scrunched up his face. “That was forever ago. And what we have in store for the reception is going to blow his mind.”

  “Or have him killing us,” Bran muttered.

  Hunt stared out at the hundreds of guests finding positions across from the island. “Nope,” he said confidently, “Hayden will love it. Thus, Adam will too.”

  And if she doesn’t, Wes thought, God save them from Adam’s wrath.

  * * *

  It was the first wedding for any of his brothers—which was a scary thought for Wes. Most of them were in their late twenties, but still. Were they seriously nearing the age of matrimony? Would his balls start sagging now too? And where the hell was Kaylee in all this? Now that he’d figured out he wanted to prove to her he was worthy of a second chance, she was nowhere to be found. Typical.

  Kaylee was supposed to attend the wedding, but Wes hadn’t seen her since he’d arrived. Didn’t help that Adam and Hayden had invited five hundred million people to this thing, or that a giant sagebrush blocked his view of the lobby from where he stood on the island, waiting for the wedding to begin.

  Wes shifted his weight. Stupid sand was building up in his shoes. Whose idea was it to get married on the island, anyway?

  The quartet near him struck a chord for the wedding march and everyone in the room grew silent. And then Hayden, dressed in a fitted gown that showed off her curves, started walking across the bridge to the island. She was on the arm of her father, her dirty blonde hair swept up, her warm brown gaze transfixed on Adam.

  And Adam… Dammit, was Adam crying?

  Yep, that was most definitely a tear he’d wiped from his cheek.

  Okay, so it wasn’t the manliest thing to admit, but whenever one of his stubborn brothers got choked up, it tended to make Wes choke up too. Not that Wes was crying. He just needed to take a deep breath.

  And hold the air inside.

  And…ahhh, see Kaylee.

  Finally.

  There she was, across the way in an emerald gown that draped to the floor, her dark, glossy hair tucked behind her ears, revealing sparkly earrings—all of it paling in comparison to how fucking gorgeous she was.

  And now Wes needed to take a deep breath for different reasons. He’d forgotten how much her presence lit up his body like a firework.

  The officiant went through the vows, Levi handed Adam the rings, and then, before Wes knew it, Adam was mauling his new wife like they were alone, not surrounded by hundreds of people. Okay, that was an exaggeration, but Jesus, get a room.

  Adam turned toward the crowd, clinging to his bride’s hand, and gave a shout of triumph.

  Classy. Wes shook his head, a smile on his face. And this was his reserved brother.

  The crowd erupted into cheers and hoots. When the chaos died down and the wedding party walked back over the bridge, Wes sought out Kaylee. But she wasn’t where he’d last seen her.

  Where the hell had she gone to now?

  Wes congratulated the new couple, hugged a thousand grandmothers and aunts, and shook hands with another two thousand friends of the family. When he felt he’d paid his dues as a groomsman, he went in search of Kaylee, to make sure she was okay at a wedding all by herself.

  At the wedding that should have been hers.

>   Jesus, maybe his boneheaded brothers could have thought about that before inviting her. She’d probably felt pressured into attending, since she worked here. Wes wanted her at the wedding, but not if it upset her.

  He picked up his pace and started asking club workers if they’d seen her. But it wasn’t until Adam and Hayden had danced their first dance as a married couple that Wes saw Kaylee.

  The rest of the guests had sat down at the dining tables to watch the new couple, and Wes saw Kaylee toward the back of the room. She was talking animatedly to one of the other guests, likely charming him, her smile bright and genuine.

  Wes’s shoulders relaxed. He hadn’t realized they were tense until he’d seen Kaylee smiling.

  The man next to her leaned in. He was a handsome son of a bitch, with short, dark hair and a designer suit. Kaylee laughed at something he said. And Wes’s initial instinct was to walk over and kick the guy out of the chair he’d scooted too close to Kaylee.

  Wes was possessive of Kaylee, and only Kaylee. Always had been.

  He looked away, attempting to chill the hell out. He even tried to chat with the bridesmaid to his right. But soon, he was staring over at Kaylee again—because he couldn’t help himself.

  Mr. Designer Suit was leaning on his elbow, encroaching on Kaylee’s personal space, as she seemed to be telling a story. The guy waved one of the servers over and had him pour Kaylee more wine.

  Was he trying to liquor her up?

  That’s it. Wes had seen enough. The guy might have been acting out of politeness, but Wes didn’t care.

  He stood and walked over to Adam, who was ogling his new wife’s breasts. “Shall we move this party forward?”

  Adam looked up, startled. “What are you talking about? The wedding’s been great, since you guys have been on your best behavior.”

  “Too true. We should change that.” Wes nodded to Levi, who returned the nod and flagged the DJ.

  Vivaldi’s tranquil “Spring” halted and “Booty Wurk” kicked in.

  Every one of Wes’s brothers, with the exception of Adam, who gaped, eyes struck with terror, immediately stood and moved to the center of the room.

  They spread out into a line facing Adam and Hayden. As soon as the chorus played, Wes and each of his brothers threw out their fists and hip-thrust to the beat.

  It had been Hunt’s idea to dance to a Magic Mike song at Adam’s wedding. Who other than Hunt would come up with something like that? But once they’d talked about it over two—or seven beers—even Bran thought it a good idea.

  They had no living parents. Only each other. The way Wes and his dumbass brothers showed their love might not be typical—fistfights, arguments, Magic Mike-choreographed dances—but no one expected the Cade sons to be conventional. It wasn’t until their father’s death that they’d even begun to clean up their acts and pull their lives together.

  Hayden jumped to her feet and shimmied to the music. She cupped her hands and hooted as they made another hip swivel—fucking Hunt and his dance choreography. Adam shook his head, but he was smiling too. How could he not? The entire room was cheering.

  Catcalling was a perfectly acceptable form of praise to a man.

  Hunt, the jackass, did a backflip, and then Wes and his brothers turned and thrust to the music for the guests seated behind them. For Kaylee. Whose jaw was unhinged.

  Wes feigned grabbing a woman’s hips and thrusting his dick toward her—yet another one of Hunt’s choreographic masterpieces—but Wes was staring straight at Kaylee while he did it, envisioning her naked body against his.

  The entire mental image put him at half-mast, but it was worth it for the look he received from her in return.

  Kaylee’s eyes fluttered and her gaze dropped to his waist. And then she did the most sexy, unaware thing ever. She licked her lips.

  Jesus, yes. I want that.

  Wes had convinced himself all these years that she was the villain. The one who’d ruined his life. But Kaylee had never been the bad guy. Wes had simply never gotten over her, and it was easier to blame her than to admit the truth.

  Kaylee was still the same sweet girl he’d known, only she’d been through a tragedy and had grown stronger for it. She’d never let it change the person she was deep down. She was still kind and generous. Case in point, the way the children at Club Kids loved her.

  Wes couldn’t make up for his past mistakes overnight, but he could start. Who knew where things ended up from there? If only he didn’t have this massive urge to go from zero to one hundred.

  Watching Kaylee lick her lips and lift her sultry gaze to his—she was sexy as fuck. And she was single. His lower brain thought, Why wait? Wes had a lot to make up for if she was ever to let him in again. And that was a big if. But none of that mattered at the moment. Suddenly his lower half seemed the smarter of the two brains, and it was in full control.

  The music ended to thunderous applause and Adam and Hayden rushed the floor, dishing out hugs and patting backs as a new song came on.

  “That was incredible!” Hayden said. “When did you have the time to practice? You’ve had the tournament to prepare for, you crazy men!”

  Levi held tight to Emily, who’d run up to join them. “After hours. Hunt knew the moves. We just followed.”

  Adam shook his head. “Why am I not surprised Hunt was behind this?”

  “You shouldn’t be,” Wes said, glancing to see if he could catch sight of Kaylee. But a woman he’d known for years, and unfortunately, had known intimately, came up and blocked his view of the woman he really wanted to talk to.

  “That was amazing,” she said. The blonde squeezed his biceps and slipped her arm around his back.

  She was beautiful. And Wes felt abso-fucking-lutely nothing for her. And yet he’d slept with her, like he had with so many women. Killing time. Trying to not think about the past or all he’d lost. What he might never have again.

  Wes squeezed out of her grasp. “Excuse me, I need to catch up with my brother.”

  “Smooth,” Bran said after Wes made his way over.

  Wes shrugged. “Not interested. No need to lead her on.”

  Wes wanted to find Kaylee and do a replay of the dance. With her. Naked in his arms. No one else.

  Bran’s eyes widened. “Incoming.”

  For a second, Wes thought the blonde had followed him. But when he looked, a redhead in a black gown was headed for Bran, and she looked like she meant business. “I think she likes you.”

  “She’s been staring at me all night,” Bran grumbled.

  “Pretty.”

  Bran shot him a hard look. “Yeah, well, I’m not interested.”

  “In pretty?”

  Bran shook his head and peered around. “I gotta go.” He darted off before the redhead could make it over.

  She frowned and shifted her direction, walking away, her confidence visibly flagging.

  Meanwhile, Bran had gone up to one of the new waitresses they’d hired and was talking to her shyly. The poor girl appeared thunderstruck.

  Bran was a handsome bastard. Could get any woman he wanted. And that was attraction for you, because the waitress he’d walked up to was on the plain side. Not that looks were all that mattered.

  Wes had slept with plenty of beautiful women, and the one he couldn’t stop thinking about could be dressed in a potato sack with her hair standing on end, and he’d want her. Because Kaylee’s beauty wasn’t only physical.

  Attraction was more than looks. It was that thing that set your body buzzing despite appearances or logic. Call it pheromones, or whatever, but that shit was powerful. And Kaylee’s pheromones had Wes’s lower brain firing on all cylinders.

  He understood now why Kaylee had ended their relationship in college. He thought it would help his golf game to know the facts, but it also brought him closer to the woman he’d loved.

  And it was time to do something about it.

  Chapter 19

  “Care to dance?” Wes grabbed Kaylee’s
hand and practically lifted her out of her seat and onto the dance floor.

  What was he up to?

  Kaylee glanced back and gave the nice man she’d been talking to an apologetic smile. “Do I have a choice?” she said as she stumbled behind Wes.

  He pulled her close and wrapped his strong arms around her waist, rocking to a slow song from the eighties. “No.”

  “Good to know.” She breathed in. God, he smelled good. Why did her ex have to smell so incredible?

  She’d always liked dancing with Wes. And it was a good thing, or he’d have a sore shin right now for hauling her away like that.

  She cocked her head. “Those were some impressive moves you performed out there. Didn’t know your hips could gyrate like that.”

  “There’s a lot you don’t know about me. I’m a changed man.”

  She held back a smile. “With limber hips as proof.”

  He looked up, as though considering. “Proof of my extracurricular talents, yes. But to find out how the rest of me has changed…” His dark blue gaze skimmed down her body. “We’ll have to spend more time together.”

  Her eyes narrowed and her heart hammered in her chest. “I thought we did that at the driving range. You know, all those grueling hours of practice you put me through?”

  He chuckled. “Nah, that was just me laughing while Bella tried to teach you how to swing a golf club.”

  “Hey!” She swatted his shoulder where her hands rested. And tried not to feel him up.

  Wes had always been sexy and handsome, but now he was filled out and rugged, his five o‘clock shadow already showing, though he must have shaved before the wedding. Her single-lady hormones liked the older Wes a little too much for Kaylee’s comfort.

  “Bella’s a golf prodigy,” she said. “And it’s not polite to point out that a five-year-old is better than me.”

  He smirked. “My apologies. But I would like to spend more time with you—outside of the driving range.”