Flirty Ever Afters: A Flirt Club Collection

by Tracy Lorraine

The one thing I really don’t need to know about.

  Slamming my car door, I drag my case and suit bag from the trunk and race towards reception. The lady behind the desk looks at me with sympathy in her eyes.

  “I’ve got a room reserved for Freddie Bison. I’m part of the wedding party this weekend.”

  She taps about on her computer and it feels like a year passes before she hands a key card over and points me in the right direction. “Sir, the wedding party are already congregating in the Royal Suite for tonight’s rehearsal dinner. If they’re expecting you, you may need to hurry.”

  “Thanks,” I shout over my shoulder, heading towards the escalator. I look back when I come to a stop and find her eyes running down the length of me. She’s hot, and if the situation was different, she might be someone I’d make a play for. But not here. This weekend I’ve got someone else in mind.

  Her attention reminds me that I’m nowhere near dressed for a fancy meal. My ripped jeans and V-neck t-shirt don’t exactly scream wedding rehearsal attire.

  The second I walk into my room, I begin pulling my clothes from my body as I set about finding the shower. First impressions are everything, and after ten years I don’t want Bryony turning her nose up at the first hurdle.

  My phone’s ringing when I step out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my waist.

  “Please tell me you’re nearly fucking here,” Mac barks into the phone.

  “Yes, I’ll be down in ten minutes. I just need to get dressed.”

  “Hurry the fuck up. Tessa’s about to blow.”

  Chuckling to myself, I hang up the phone. I feel for the guy, I really do. Tessa’s been firmly hit with the wedding bug. She’s usually pretty chilled out, but she’s done a complete one-eighty in the last few months. It’s enough to put me off the idea of a big wedding. Not that I’ve ever really thought much about getting married.

  Making quick work of pulling my clothes on, I run some wax through my hair and put my phone and wallet into my pockets.

  Standing in front of the mirror, I blow out a long, slow breath as I prepare for what’s to come.

  By the time I get to the doors for the Royal Suite, butterflies have taken up residence in my stomach and my hands tremble slightly.

  I don’t get nervous. Ever. But the prospect of seeing her again and what her reaction’s going to be is enough to have me doubting even being here. We’ve managed to keep what was between us a secret all these years. The last thing I want is for her to give away her feelings for me and ruin Mac’s weekend. Although, it’s not Mac I’m really worried about. I think Tessa would castrate me for causing any kind of drama that took people’s attention away from her.

  I shake my head at my crazy thoughts. Here I am assuming she’ll even look twice at me. I deserve to be completely ignored for what I did to her.

  She might as well be the only person in the room because when I pull the door open, my eyes immediately find her. The rest of the wedding party disappears into the background along with any furniture.

  All I can see is her.

  Her dark hair’s curled and resting over one shoulder, her make-up makes her look dark and mysterious, and her dress…fuck me. It hugs every curve she’s developed since I last saw her in the most delicious way. My mouth waters to find out if she still tastes as sweet and sinful as she did back then, and my fingers twitch remembering how soft her skin was.

  “Freddie, thank fuck.” Mac steps up to me and I regretfully have to pull my eyes from Bryony.

  3

  Bryony

  I know the second he enters the room. A shiver runs down my spine and my skin tingles with awareness. Without looking up, I know his eyes are on me. It’s been over ten years yet, I feel like a seventeen-year-old again. It’s crazy and I chastise myself for having such a strong reaction to a man I’ve not seen since he was a kid. I’ve not so much as seen a photograph of him. Although, I must admit that some nights after a glass of wine or two it was seriously tempting to find him on Instagram. I wanted to know I was right, that he’d got fat and ugly. I always managed to stop myself because if his green eyes, full lips, and square jaw line affected me like they did back then, I knew I’d be fucked. The more distance I put between our past and my present, the better.

  The tingles subside and I risk a glance up. I find him instantly, standing with my brother.

  He was the last guest to arrive so now that he’s here, I’ve got to get to work. It’s the last thing I want to do right now, but running to my room to hide isn’t really an option.

  With tonight’s seating chart on the front of my clipboard, I finish my drink and start ushering people towards their seats. I keep my head down and avoid his stare. I know it’s aimed at me, I can feel it, but I’m not prepared to deal with him in front of all these people.

  Walking up to Mac and Freddie, I keep my eyes on my brother. “It’s time to take your seats.” I point out where they’re both sitting before trying to make a hasty escape. Unfortunately, Freddie has other ideas.

  Warm fingers wrap around my wrist and fireworks shoot up my arm. Damn him for still having this kind of effect on my body. All my muscles tense as his warmth seeps into me.

  He steps up to me, his front pressing into my back. His breath tickles down my neck and I noticeably tremble against him.

  “It’s rude not to say hello, Bryony.” The way my name rolls of his tongue has memories of our time together running through my mind and a rush of heat heading south.

  “H—hello,” I stutter. Squeezing my eyes together, I beg for my body to behave and for him to release me.

  “That’s better.”

  “I have work to do.” Managing to get my head back in the game, I rip my arm from his grasp and step away.

  “We’ll catch up later, then.” Another shiver runs through me because that suggestion sounds much more like a promise.

  Just a few moments with him and I know catching up later is a very bad idea.

  I barely taste the five-star food we’re served. I’m too distracted by the pair of green eyes staring at me across the table. Each time I catch him, I harden my stare, trying to warn him off, but his attention doesn’t falter. Thankfully, everyone else is too distracted with the food, wine, and excitement for what tomorrow is going to hold to notice.

  Once the plates have been scraped clean, the entire wedding party heads for the comfortable seating at the other side of the room to enjoy their coffees. I use that as a perfect time to disappear and try to get my head together.

  Grabbing my clipboard, I head into the hotel kitchen to go over tomorrow’s menu and timings for what I hope is the final time. I’m nothing if not a perfectionist. I’m aware it must drive staff at any of the venues where I plan a wedding insane, but it’s one of the reasons why I have such a good reputation. My weddings always go as planned.

  Instead of rejoining the others, I sneak out the back door for some air. The smell of early summer fills the air. It usually fills me with excitement of the nice weather, the barbeques, and the holidays to come, but I get none of that. My head is still back inside that room with his eyes on me.

  I shudder and try to push him from my mind, but I already know it’s pointless. He’s been in there for well over a decade. Pretty much since the day I first discovered boys. He was always the one I wanted, and the very one I could never have.

  Until he kissed me.

  My mind wanders back to my brother’s eighteenth birthday. We’d had a family meal before he went out with his friends. My parents had no idea where they were going or what they were doing, and I think they preferred it that way. I was only a year younger so I had a good idea based on the gossip going around school. I’d also been warned by Mac not to even think about going to the lake that night.

  I didn’t. I did as I was told. The damage was done once they got back to the house. Mac was trashed and had to be carried in by Freddie and another friend. They got him safely to bed and Freddie was coming out of the bathroom
when we literally bumped into each other.

  I sigh and try to put what happened next and the feeling of his lips against mine out of my mind. Remembering those feelings isn’t going to help me get through this weekend.

  4

  Freddie

  My muscles ache to follow her as I watch her slip behind the ‘staff only’ door at the other side of the room. But I can’t follow her. Not yet, at least.

  “Are you okay, honey?” Mac’s mom, Tina, asks, taking the seat next to me. “You look at little lost. Macaulay said you’d recently split from a girlfriend.”

  I almost spit out my coffee at the thought of Jenna being my girlfriend. I made it very clear that was never going to be what we were. Sadly, no matter how many times I repeated it over the months we were sleeping together, she didn’t take it seriously, because when I told her I was done a few weeks ago, she turned into a clinger. Now I can barely go anywhere without her turning up or phoning me just to be a pain in the ass. I’m surprised I didn’t turn up here and find her waiting for me.

  “Oh, she wasn’t my…uh…girlfriend.” Having lost my mom when I was a kid, I always saw Tina as a kind of adopted mother, seeing as I spent most of my time at her house with Mac, so the disappointed look I’m getting from her right now makes me squirm. She doesn’t need to know about this stuff. “So…Mac getting married. Who’d have thought it?” I say, changing the subject.

  “I know. My baby, walking down the aisle. I can’t wait.” Excitement sparkles in her eyes. “I need to make the most of it because Lord knows if Bryony will ever give me another to look forward to.”

  Now that gets my attention. “Why’s that? She loves weddings.”

  “No idea. She’s been telling us for years that she doesn’t ever want to get married. She lived for it as a kid. It was all she talked about, and then something changed almost overnight.” Dread twists in my stomach that this could have something to do with me. “Are you okay? You’ve gone a little pale.”

  “I think I just need some fresh air.”

  I smile politely at Tina, and she returns it, but her concern is clear in her eyes.

  Heading over to the huge doors at the other end of the room, I take two glasses of champagne that are sitting on the bar before quickly pulling a flower from a huge arrangement sitting by the door. I suck in a deep breath, push the solid wood and slip out into the summer evening. I’ve no idea what to expect, I’m just hoping I can prove to her how serious I am.

  She’s standing, leaning against the railing looking out over the hotel grounds. Making my way over, I soon see something else has her attention.

  Glancing over her shoulder, my blood boils.

  “He looks like a douche.”

  Her body stills at my words. The air around us seems to evaporate and I struggle to catch my breath.

  Slowly, she locks the screen, hiding the dating profile of the guy she was looking at and lowers her cellphone.

  “What do you want, Freddie?” Her voice is colder than I anticipated. I know I hurt her, but I hoped time might have allowed her to forget a little. Her tone makes me think it could have just been yesterday.

  “Peace offering.”

  Hesitantly, she turns. She always was too nosey for her own good. It’s how we ended up in this situation after she came out of her room that night to find out what was going on. I’d wanted her for a long time, but it had been even longer when Mac first warned me off her. That night, though, with alcohol buzzing through my system, I did something I never should have.

  I kissed my best friend’s little sister. And from that moment, I was addicted.

  Her eyes hold mine for a moment. They’re dark and clouded with the pain I caused, before they drop to the two glasses I have in one hand and then to the other.

  “Please do not tell me they’re from the arrangements. Tessa will kill you if she finds out.”

  “I’m not scared of Tessa.”

  “You should be. You’ve not been here to experience her new level of craziness.”

  “I’ve heard all about it,” I mutter, thinking of the things Mac’s told me on the phone over the past few months.

  “Here.” Her hand tentatively reaches out for the single rose I plucked from the arrangement as I left the room. She keeps her eyes focused on the flower, but that soon changes when I rub my finger over hers as she takes it from me.

  The spark I remember all too well crackles between us. Her chocolate eyes fly to mine. They darken for a second before they harden. She pulls her hand away. She runs her finger over the thorns, and I’m transfixed.

  “Please don’t ruin anything else I meticulously planned,” she snaps, going to turn away from me. But I’m faster, and my fingers circle her wrist and stop any further movement.

  “I didn’t ruin anything, I just borrowed it.” A couple of silent seconds pass, the atmosphere suffocating. “Bryony?”

  “What?” Her shoulder’s square and her muscles tense.

  “Look at me, please.”

  “Freddie, I don’t have the time or energy for—” Her words are cut off when my palm gently cups her cheek. I’m not sure if she’s aware, but the moment we connect she leans into my touch. It’s the only sign I need that she’s still mine. She can fight all she likes—shout, scream, and deny what she feels—but I know it’s still there.

  “Bry, I’m so fucking sorry.”

  Her eyes narrow and her lips press into a thin line as she tries to pull away from me. Excitement races through me. She’s not going to make this easy and a fucked-up part of me is looking forward to the chase. It’ll only make the inevitable even more earth shattering when it happens.

  “Too little, too late. That boat sailed a long time ago.” I allow her to go when she stands back and pulls one of the glasses from my hand. “I shouldn’t drink this. I’m working.”

  “I think you’re done for the night.”

  “I’m not done until the wedding is over and the guests have left happy.”

  “They all seemed pretty happy in there when I left.”

  She must decide I’m right because she places the glass to her lips and tips the golden liquid into her mouth. My eyes zero in on the movement of her slender neck and my mouth waters to find out if she tastes as sweet as she always did.

  “I made the biggest mistake of my life that day, Bryony. I spent too much time listening to friends and not enough listening to my own heart.”

  “I’m not interested.”

  “But you are. Your body tenses every time I talk, your eyes darken with desire every time you look at me. And if I get too close—” I take a step towards her. “—your breathing increases as your heart pounds in your chest. Just like mine.” Reaching down, I take her hand in mine and press it to my chest. “You feel that?” She swallows and tries to break our connection, but I follow her movement. “You can’t run from me, Bryony. I’ll always find you.”

  5

  Bryony

  My heart pounds in my chest, to the point I start to feel a little lightheaded. I want to believe it’s the champagne I just downed in one gulp and not the man standing before me, staring into my eyes like he knows every single one of my secrets.

  That was once true. The months we had together were the best of my life. Yes, we were sneaking around, desperately trying not to get caught, but it was so exciting. We were young and foolish, but it wasn’t until he left that I truly realized that what we had was real. It wasn’t just a silly teenage fling with someone I couldn’t have. Freddie owned my heart completely, and when he left, he may as well have taken it with him because it’s been useless ever since.

  “I’m not doing this,” I say, pulling my hand away as if touching him physically hurts. “You made your choice over ten years ago and I was forced to deal with it.”

  “Have you?”

  “Have I what?”

  “Dealt with it.”

  Letting out an exasperated sigh, I spin away from him. Being under his intense stare has my traito
rous body reacting in ways it shouldn’t. I need to get away from him. The sooner, the better.

  “Don’t do that,” Freddie snaps, spinning me so my lower back is pressed against the railing.

  “Do what?” I seethe. His breath mingles with mine where he’s so close.

  “Close yourself off from me. I see you, Bryony. I see exactly what you want. What you need.”

  His lips brush against mine with the final few words and my stomach somersaults as need so strong hits me, I’m afraid my knees might buckle.

  “Freddie.” It’s meant to be a warning but comes out like a breathy moan.

  He takes it as the cue he needs, his fingers threading into my hair and his lips pressing against mine. Lightly at first, but then his tongue traces the seam of my lips and they open for him. His tongue sweeps across mine as his all too familiar taste explodes in my mouth.

  My eyes flutter shut. The rose in my hand falls to the ground as I lift my arms and twist my fingers in his shirt, dragging him closer to me. His solid body presses my soft curves into the metal at my back, his erection obvious against my stomach.

  He explores every inch of my mouth, familiarizing himself with me before biting on my lip and sending a bolt of lust straight to my core.

  “I missed you so fucking much,” Freddie moans, kissing across my jawline.

  Those few words are enough to bring reality crashing down on me. I slam my fists against his chest and push with everything I have. “No.”

  “No?” His chest is heaving and his eyes are almost black when he pulls back and looks at me.

  “I can’t do this, Freddie. I can’t. Especially not here. Not this weekend. It’s Mac’s wedding. If he were to—”

  “Freddie, you out here, man?” The sound of my brother’s voice fills the air around us and just proves the point I was trying to make.

  “Oh, hey.” His eyes flick between the two of us. I can only imagine what he’s thinking. “Is everything okay?” he asks skeptically.