by Katie Ashley
I shook my head. “My mother is a lot of wonderful things, but she is not a good matchmaker.”
Isabel smiled. “If you’re sure I’m not depriving you of the future Mrs. Thorn Callahan, then I would love to go to the wedding with you.”
“You would?”
“Hell yes.” A wicked gleam flashed in her eyes. “Can you imagine the bragging rights I’m going to have back home after this? Most of the people in my town have never been to D.C., least of all to a wedding at the White House.”
“Forget just a wedding—you’ll be staying at the White House.”
Isabel appeared momentarily stunned. “Shut up. Are you serious?”
I laughed. “Where did you think I’d put you? In a hotel down the street?”
“I hadn’t had time to really think about it, but yeah, I assumed all the family and dignitaries would be at the White House.”
“They’ll be across the street at Blair House. I’m pretty sure we can find you a room in the residence.”
“Holy shit—the family residence? Like where the Lincoln Bedroom is?”
I couldn’t help being amused by how excited she was. “Yes. I’m actually staying in the Lincoln Bedroom this time.”
Covering her widened mouth, Isabel shook her head. “This is just too much.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to contain your emotions and make it through the weekend?” I asked teasingly.
“I don’t know, but I’m going to try!”
Chapter Twenty: Isabel
After Thorn asked me to be his date to Barrett’s wedding, there was no way I was going to get any more work done. Once I got back to the office, I made sure all my files were saved before I ducked out. I was too emotionally jangled to go home, so I headed the opposite way.
Since it was after nine, I knew Mila would still be at the theater. When we’d become roommates, she’d given me passes to come backstage. Plus, most of the crew knew me by now, so the pass wasn’t even always necessary.
I waited around in the wings until intermission was over, when I knew Mila would be free. When I swept through the door of the makeup room, she glanced up at me in surprise. “Well, hello.”
“Hey,” I replied as I crossed the room over to her station.
“I didn’t expect to see you tonight.” Cocking her head, she added, “Did I forget we were supposed to meet for dinner?”
“No. You didn’t forget anything,” I replied.
“Then to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”
I plopped down in the makeup chair. “Thorn asked me to go with him to his brother’s wedding this weekend.”
Mila swept her hand to her chest. “You’re shitting me.”
“Yeah, that was the same reaction I had.”
Placing her hands on the sides of the chair, she leaned in and grinned at me. “Holy shit, Bells. That’s amazing! Okay, amazing doesn’t quite capture how truly monumental this is.”
“You’re right. It’s totally and completely amazing.”
“Well, what did you tell him? I mean, you sure as hell better have said yes.”
“I did.”
As Mila did a happy dance around my chair, she exclaimed, “Yes, yes, yesssss. This is so freaking epic!”
“I’m glad you think so.”
“You have to promise to take a million pictures and videos.”
With a mirthless laugh, I replied, “I’ll try.”
After pausing her dance, Mila eyed me suspiciously. “Okay, so what gives?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You’re acting like Thorn asked you to attend a funeral rather than a wedding.”
“It’s not the wedding that’s the issue.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s the fact that we’re going together.”
“What’s wrong with that? It’s not like you two don’t hang out all the time. I’m not going to lie, I’ve been totally jealous of Thorn for getting to spend so much time with you. It shouldn’t make a difference just because you’re crossing state lines.”
“Don’t you get it? This is different. This is a wedding where his family and friends will be attending. This is a…” I swallowed hard. “A date.”
“Is that what he called it?”
“No.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
The truth was I really didn’t know, or I couldn’t accurately put it into words. I just knew my emotions were all jumbled up. “I guess it’s because part of me wants it to really be a date date, and the other part of me is terrified that it is.”
“You really like him, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. We’re good friends as well as coworkers.”
Mila gave me a pointed look. “That’s not what I meant. You yourself just said you wanted it to be a real date.” She squatted down in front of me. “Admit it—you’ve fallen for him.”
I shook my head. “No. It’s not like that with us. I’m just being a girl and wanting it to be a date.”
“Come on, Bells. This is me you’re talking to. You can cut the bullshit façade about you two just being friends or just being coworkers. I’ve seen the way you light up when you talk about him.” She nudged my knee with her hand. “And I can totally see why. He’s a hell of a catch—good looks, money, and a really good heart.”
Yes, he was all of those things. Over the last few weeks, I’d come to see that for myself. I didn’t need Mila telling me. But, in the end, we were screwed by our connection to Callahan. “It’s just too complicated.”
“It doesn’t have to be. You’re a woman, he’s a man—the parts all fit into place.”
I laughed at her summation. “He’s my boss.”
Mila shrugged. “So? As long as you’re consenting and it’s not him trying to take advantage of you, what’s the problem?”
“There’s a no fraternization policy with executives.”
“So be discreet.”
I shook my head. “If I cross the line with Thorn, it could destroy everything I’ve worked so hard for. Any future promotions would be seen as nepotism. Not only would I be fucking the boss, I would be fucking the man whose family owns the corporation.”
“No one who knows you could ever say that. Your work over the years speaks for itself. Who gives a shit if you happen to be dating the boss?”
When Mila said it that way, it really did seem easy, but I knew how fraught the situation actually was. It wasn’t just about tuning out the negative voices around us at work. There was much more at stake. “What about if things didn’t work out between us? How could I possibly stay at Callahan?” I shook my head. “I can’t even imagine trying to find a job somewhere else. That place has been my life—the only thing I’ve ever known.”
Mila rolled her eyes. “Why do you have to be such an uptight worrier? Why can’t you just go with the flow and enjoy the moment?”
“Because that’s not who I am, and may I remind you that overthinking has served me well so far.”
“Well, it’s time to cut loose and just have some fun.”
“Don’t you know how much I wish I could do that?”
“You can, Bells.” She tapped her temple. “You just have to turn off the voices in your head for a bit.”
I sighed. “I wish it were that easy.”
“For right now, the only thing you need to be worrying about is what you’re going to wear.”
Oh shit. In the midst of worrying about how to label Thorn and me, I had totally forgotten about the fact that I was in desperate need of a shopping excursion. Could I possibly be less of a woman for not thinking about a dress? “Oh God, you’re right. What am I going to wear?”
“Something both classy and sexy.”
“And just where exactly do I find that?”
“I might happen to have a few connections to designers.”
Smacking her arm playfully, I said, “And you’re just now telling me this?”
Mila grinned. �
��You’ve never asked.” She pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “I’ll message a few people. We should have you stylin’ in no time.”
“Thanks, Mi.”
She winked. “You’re welcome.” Tilting her head, she said, “You’ll need something for both the rehearsal dinner and ceremony, not to mention casual outfits to wear there and back.”
“Why do I have the feeling my wallet is going to be weeping after you get through with me?”
“Oh, it’ll be weeping tears of joy for how amazing you’re going to look.” A wicked gleam burned in her eyes. “Since I don’t have a lingerie hookup, we’re going to take a trip to Le Perla to make sure you have something smokin’ hot underneath your dresses.”
“I have underwear at home,” I protested.
“You don’t have Thorn-seducing underwear.”
“For your information, I don’t need any Thorn-seducing underwear.”
“Hell yes you do, for your sake and his. You can consider me your fairy godmother for this coming weekend, and I’m going bibbidi-bobbidi-boo you some sex!
Chapter Twenty-One: Thorn
The Wednesday before the wedding found me squeezing in my final tux fitting with Barrett during my lunch hour. Ty was along, not only in his usual capacity, but also because he was going to be a groomsman. Given his attention would be diverted for a lot of the wedding and we would have other agents surrounding us at every moment, he knew he’d be able to relax his guard somewhat on the day.
As I slid on the tailored jacket, I met Barrett’s blue eyes in the mirror. “Remind me again why you needed a new tux?”
Barrett grimaced. “How could I possibly stand at the altar with my future wife in a tux I had potentially banged some other woman in?”
With a snort, I replied, “Only you would have the potential for that problem.”
“So true,” Ty murmured in agreement.
“Whatever. It’s important to remember the past is the past. I’ve been reborn with Addison.”
“Are you trying to say you were revirginized?” I asked.
Cocking his brows at me, Barrett said, “Do you know how long I went without sex while Addison and I were on the campaign trail?”
I tapped my chin thoughtfully with my index finger. “Oh, I don’t know—maybe as long as I went without while I was deployed?”
Barrett weighed my words for a moment before nodding. “Fair enough.” As the tailor appraised the fit of my jacket, Barrett asked, “As for the wedding, you’re taking Friday off, right?”
I nodded. “Yep. The whole day is just for you, the groom-to-be.”
Barrett chuckled. “I’m so touched. Does that mean we can get facials and mani-pedis?”
“Anything for you, little brother.”
“Do you want to fly down with Addison and me on Thursday?”
There it was, the moment of truth. Considering how busy our lives were, I hadn’t yet had a moment to tell Barrett I was bringing Isabel. He was still under the impression I was sticking to our previous plan of me going down to D.C. on Thursday so I could attend a pre-wedding party with him and Addison.
Instead of bachelor and bachelorette parties that might lead to embarrassing headlines for Dad, Barrett and Addison had decided to do a joint party with all the bridesmaids and groomsmen along with close friends, and they’d rented out the drag club Addison’s brother owned. I still found it so ironic that Addison, the daughter of missionaries, had a drag queen as a brother. Thankfully, when the press caught wind of it, they had been as accepting as our family had.
“Yeah, I’m still on for flying down with you guys.”
Ty cleared his throat. When I glanced over my shoulder at him, he gave me a pointed look like, Would you get on with it and tell him about Isabel?! Since we were practically attached at the hip, Ty was privy to the knowledge about me asking Isabel to the wedding.
“Here’s the thing…it won’t just be me on Thursday.”
“What do you mean?” Barrett asked.
“I’m bringing someone with me to the wedding.”
Barrett’s brows shot up so far they disappeared into his hairline. “You are?”
“Is it seriously so shocking that I have a date?”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course not. We’ll be happy to have her along too.”
“Don’t you want to know who it is?”
“It’s Isabel, right?”
Now it was my turn for the high brows of shock. “How could you possibly know that?” I whirled around to stare at Ty. “Did you tell him?”
He held up his hands. “No, I didn’t.”
Turning back to Barrett, I said, “Did Mom tell you?”
“Nope.”
“Then how in the hell did you know I was bringing Isabel?”
Barrett placed both his palms on my shoulders. “Because I knew from that day in your office how fucking over the moon you were for her.”
“But that was months ago.”
“Your feelings haven’t changed, have they?”
“No, they haven’t.”
“And you haven’t done jack shit to try to take things to the next level, have you?”
It was ridiculous just how well Barrett knew me. He rivaled Isabel in that respect. “You know why I haven’t,” I protested.
“Because you’re a pussy?”
While Ty snickered, I growled at Barrett’s remark. “If being conscious of both Isabel’s and my career and friendship makes me a pussy, then yes, I’m a pussy.”
“Come on, you’re classier than that—you’re Mr. Pussy if you’re anything,” Barrett teased.
Jesus, he could be such a dick. “Seriously? Are we back in high school?”
“By the way you’re acting with Isabel, it would appear that way.”
“How am I acting like I’m in high school with Isabel?”
“Because you’re fucking scared of her.”
I narrowed my eyes at Barrett. “I’ve never been scared of anything, least of all a woman.”
“You are with this one, at least with your feelings.” Barrett patted my back. “Trust me, brother, it takes one to know one. I was scared out of my fucking mind with Addison, but I took the plunge, and I’ve never been happier in my life.”
“I wish it were that easy for me. You seem to be forgetting you didn’t have any work-based complications from ‘taking the plunge’, as you call it, not to mention the fact that we’ve built a pretty strong friendship in the last few months.”
Instead of being sympathetic to my plight, Barrett shook his head. “Stop being a pussy.”
I threw up my hands in frustration. “I’m not. I’m being practical and responsible. I’m—”
“Being a pussy,” Barrett and Ty said in unison.
Glaring at Ty, I said, “Et tu, Brute?”
Ty chuckled. “Sorry, Caesar. I’m siding with Barrett on this one.” Traitor.
As much as I railed against them, deep down I knew they were correct. I’d been practical and responsible all my life and it had been reinforced in the military, so it wasn’t like a skin I could just shed upon entering civilian life.
“Just what exactly would you two have me do?”
“Look, I know you’re not an overly verbose guy like me, but you need to tell her how you feel.”
Ty stroked his chin. “You don’t even have to tell her—you could show her.”
“By showing up to her room with a boner?” I asked tersely.
With a roll of his eyes, Ty replied, “I was thinking something more along the lines of a kiss. I mean, the boner isn’t a true representation of how you feel. You don’t just want to fuck her—you want to date her.”
He was right. With a groan, I swept my hands over my face. “How is it I’m thirty-one years old, have been in combat and seen the world, and one woman has the ability to completely emasculate me?”
Barrett grinned as he shook his head. “Man, you’ve got it bad, brother.”
“Tell me about it.”<
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Rubbing his hands together, Barrett said, “Okay, we need to come up with a plan.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re a military guy, so let’s strategize for how to tell Isabel how you feel.”
“Oh hell no. This is way too much like high school.”
“But don’t you want to take things to the next level?”
“Yes, but I don’t want to do so by slipping her a note that says, ‘Check yes, no, or maybe,’ which is what this plan sounds like.”
Ty snickered. “I think in this day and age, the equivalent of that is a text.”
“Better yet, a dick pic,” Barrett chimed in. Jesus, my future sister-in-law was marrying a teenager.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I’m not sending Isabel a dick pic.”
“You’re right. That would come off a little strong,” Barrett replied.
“And it would be physical evidence in a sexual harassment suit when it comes out that she doesn’t feel the same way about me as I do about her,” I countered.
“Well, that’s not going to happen,” Ty said.
“A sexual harassment suit?”
He gave me an exasperated look. “I mean, Isabel won’t deny feeling something for you.”
“Why?”
“With all the time I spend with you and therefore with her, I’ve seen the way she looks at you, the way she smiles and laughs. I might be single, but I know when a person likes someone.” He patted my back. “She does, mate.”
My ego did a fist pump at his declaration. “You really think I ought to pursue her?” I asked Ty.
He nodded. “It would be the best thing in the world for both of you.”
As I turned back to look at my reflection in the mirror, I weighed his words. Maybe he was right—maybe they both were. I wanted her in my life, not just to fuck, and if I was truly honest, not just to date, either. I wanted the mornings and the nights. I wanted it all. It was time to stop being a pussy and pursue Isabel.
