Muttering under her breath, she twisted around and marched out the door, anger evident in the pronounced sway of her sweet hips and sweeter ass.
Damn, he’d missed her.
A familiar, deep chuckle sounded behind him. “Still causing sparks with that woman, I see.”
Matt turned to find Ethan Wyne, his former neighbor and old high school buddy, striding across the lobby, sporting a wide grin across his face.
It was great to see his friend so damn happy. Apparently, living with his gorgeous movie-star-Broadway-sensation fiancée agreed with him. The guy deserved to be happy, especially after what his late wife did to him.
“Ethan. Great to see you, man.” He initiated a back-slapping hug, but refrained from congratulating him while they were in public. No one knew better than him how quickly news traveled to the paparazzi.
“You, too. Stone.” Ethan drew back and grinned. “Or should I call you Matthew?” The idiot had softened his tone at the end in an attempt to mimic Audrey.
He laughed. “Actually, why don’t you call me Matt? It was good enough while we were growing up. Stone is my racing persona.” Something the press had dubbed him because of his immovability in the final lap. He’d never corrected his buddy before and wasn’t exactly sure why he did now but was too damn tired to try to dissect it all.
“Sure thing, Matt.” Ethan grinned.
Grabbing his duffle bag, he fell into step as his buddy led them from the lobby down the long hallway toward Timbers, the resort’s bar and grill. Matt slowed his steps, his shoulders suddenly tight with tension. “Is the bar crowded? I’m not really up for it.”
The price of fame.
Normally, he was okay with autograph seekers and posing for photos, especially with excited children. But there were no children in the bar, and tonight, he just wanted anonymity.
“We’re not going to the bar. The guys are waiting with pizza and beer at my place.”
Ethan winked and headed for the locked door that led to a private wing within the resort, and Matt felt the tension instantly ease from his body.
“Come on inside, and you can tell me why you decided to piss off Audrey.”
“You think I made her mad?”
“Yeah. Didn’t you see the steam rising from her ears?” His buddy chuckled, opening the door and standing back to let him enter. “Although, anger wasn’t the only reason for the steam. You seem to evoke an entirely different reaction from her. Maybe you’ll stick around long enough this time to find out. Or are you going to run off to Florida to keep away from her again?” Ethan glanced sideways at him as they passed the living room and continued down the hall toward the open concept kitchen. “It’s only a temporary fix. Trust me, I know. I tried it with Phoebe last year. Only made it worse.”
“Worse?” Matt jerked his head back. “Seems to me it worked out fine. You’re engaged to marry her.”
His buddy halted just before the kitchen and raised a brow. “You looking to get engaged to Audrey?”
“What? No.” Yeah…maybe.
Jesus, what a crazy-ass thought.
“Face it, Matt.” Ethan cupped his shoulder and grinned. “You’re as drawn to that woman as you are to the track. Audrey’s in your blood. Always has been.”
True. And wasn’t that the problem. The one woman who never strayed far from his thoughts, who provoked the same fierce adrenaline rush he got when he gripped the wheel with the roar of tires echoing around him, was the one woman who couldn’t tolerate the track.
Matt had no business sniffing around Audrey again.
And yet, their brief meeting, the quick beat in time he held her in his arms was enough to wake up long buried feelings and make him realize what was missing in his life.
Passion.
Chapter Two
Just when Audrey McNeil Watson convinced herself she had everything she could possibly want in life…a steady job in her family’s realty business, good friends, cozy house near the lake, trustworthy car, walk-in closet full of hot shoes…he had to drive back into her life and remind her what was missing.
Passion.
All these years, she’d been doing just fine without Matthew Bennett. “Just fine,” she repeated out loud, because everyone knew that made it true.
She parked her car and got out in front of Confection Connection, her friend Jill Wyne’s original shop of delectable chocolate morsels located a block from Audrey’s realty office. If the wind blew just right she could smell chocolate in the air…like now.
Inhaling deep, she let the aroma fill her senses while the cold snapped her out of her Matthew fog. The unexpected rendezvous with her ex made her late for the impromptu get-together with the significant others of the local Wyne brothers—Jill, Lea, and Phoebe—initiated by the latter.
Waving to the trio through the glass storefront, she noted the women were already enjoying a cup of Jill’s orgasmic hot chocolate.
Dammit. Why hadn’t she left that stupid business mixer sooner? Then she never would’ve bumped into Matthew, and thus, she wouldn’t have been late. Then again, you also wouldn’t have made the business connections the mixer provided, her mind pointed out.
With luck, those new contacts would net McNeil Realty a few sales in the coming months. Business was down this quarter, as well as last quarter. If Audrey didn’t figure out something soon, she’d be forced to let one of her employees go. Considering the three other agents had been with the company longer than her, she hated to let any of them go. Her only other option was to land a big client. Soon.
Yesterday.
“Hey, Audrey.” Jill opened the door with a grin.
She smiled. “Sorry I’m late.”
The cold November wind ruffled the pretty chocolatier’s dark brown hair as she moved aside to let her in. “No worries. I just finished cleaning the kitchen and sat down.”
“Hi, Audrey!” Lea Wyne waved from the table where the party had already started, her blue eyes a stark contrast to her rich brown hair. “Come on, the hot chocolate’s getting cold.”
Phoebe Weston, Broadway star, fiancée to the oldest Wyne brother, Ethan, and the one who called the impromptu gathering, patted the chair next to her. “You’re just in time.”
“Sorry I’m late,” she repeated as she shrugged out of her coat and set it on the back of the chair. “I ran into an old friend.” Literally.
“Who?” the women asked in stereo.
“Matthew Bennett.” She took her seat and got acquainted with her hot chocolate. Intimately. A moan escaped while she sipped.
“Wait…Stone Bennett?” Leah’s brows rose.
Phoebe glanced sideways at her. “Ethan’s buddy? The guy who just won the NASCAR championship this past Sunday?”
“Yep.” The drool-worthy poster boy for racing. And her ex.
Once upon a time, he used to be drool-worthy to her for a whole different reason.
“Didn’t you two use to date?” Lea asked, adding a little more liquid chocolate to her hot chocolate.
“Yea.” She nodded, pretending her stomach didn’t knot up tighter than a wet cat’s fur at the thought of Matthew and their past. “In high school and little bit of college.” She was no longer a part of his life. She gave up the right years ago. “It was a long time ago.”
And he never came after her.
Funny…just a little while ago when she’d been plastered against his hot, hard body, it hadn’t felt like fourteen years had passed. Everything had come crashing back the instant they’d touched. His heat. His strength. His scent.
God, he smelled great.
No one ever smelled like Matthew. Male and outdoorsy like a warm summer breeze on the lake. Everything inside her had immediately perked up. Even now, just recalling it had her body awakening in anticipation of his touch.
Foolish body.
“Well, I hope it doesn’t make the wedding awkward for you this weekend.” Phoebe lifted her mug and sent her an apologetic look.
“Awkward
for me?” Her heart dropped to her feet then bounced back up as the rest of her friend’s words hit her brain. “Wait…wedding? What wedding? Yours?”
Phoebe grinned. “Yes. That’s why I wanted to meet with you all tonight. Since Ethan’s sister, Brandi, and her husband are coming in for the holiday weekend, Ethan and I decided to get married this Saturday, and I want you all to be in the wedding.”
Audrey’s cheer echoed with Jill’s and Lea’s as they all jumped to their feet and took turns hugging the bride-to-be. A more perfect match could not have been found for Ethan and his young son, Tyler, or for the kind and talented star Audrey had befriended through Jill and Lea, then bonded with over a mutual obsession over a television show about a time traveling doctor.
Once they settled back down in their chairs, Phoebe turned to her again. “Ethan is asking the guys now, including your ex. I hope that’s okay?”
“Of course,” she replied and meant it. “We get along.” For the most part.
The bride-to-be released a breath and smiled. “That’s good to hear, especially since you’ll probably be standing up together.”
Audrey’s insides knotted, but she kept her expression neutral. “Is Matthew going to be around that long? I don’t think he usually stays much past Thanksgiving dinner.” At least, not according to her mother who was still good friends with his.
“Yes.” Her friend looked at her kind of funny. “I’m not sure if this is a secret or not, but the way Ethan spoke, I think Stone—Matthew—is retiring and moving back here.”
He…what?
“Oh wow.” Lea’s brows rose like Audrey’s pulse. “That’s great news. I bet Ethan will be thrilled to have his buddy back.”
Phoebe nodded. “Yes, he’s excited. Said something about driving one of Stone’s Oldsmobiles.”
A bittersweet warmth spread through Audrey. Some of her most memorable moments happened with Matthew in his first Cutlass. Their first date. First kiss.
“Yeah.” Jill set a plate of mouthwatering chocolates on the table.
Audrey immediately helped herself to a truffle…or three.
“I recall the guys talking about an Olds Keiffer and Greg were fixing up for him,” the chocolatier continued. “And Keiffer stating it was even better than Stone’s first car.”
Nope. She’d always have a soft spot for that first car.
And Matthew.
Shoot. Thoughts like that were dangerous.
So were Jill’s chocolates. Damn, the melt-in-your-mouth goodness wasn’t doing her hips any favors.
She pushed thoughts of her past aside and focused on her friend. “What do you have planned for the wedding?”
“Yeah, tell us what you want and we’ll make it happen,” Lea added.
“Absolutely,” Jill agreed.
The bride-to-be smiled. “Thank you. Ethan and I just want simple and private. So we’re keeping this very low key. We’re going to get married at the resort.”
“In the gazebo like we did?” Jill pointed to herself then Lea.
“No.” Phoebe shook her head. “Unfortunately, it’s too public, and I don’t want to give the paparazzi any opportunity to ruin the day for Tyler.”
Ethan’s seven-year-old son had been hounded by the press a few times, so Audrey could certainly understand why the couple wanted to avoid somewhere unrestricted.
“We decided to just hold a simple ceremony in Ethan’s back yard.” Phoebe beamed as she popped a chocolate in her mouth.
“That sounds perfect.” Lea smiled. “Do we need to go gown shopping?”
The glowing brunette shook her head and swallowed. “No. I already have mine, and I’d just like you all to wear a black dress. I’m sure you have one in your closet. Like I said. We just want it simple and private.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “What about a bachelorette party?”
“Yeah.” Lea laughed. “You already know someone who makes these killer chocolate penis pops.”
Jill smiled. “And now, just like the real thing, they come in all shapes and sizes.”
Audrey laughed with the others and tried her best not to visualize that treat.
“It’s one of my best sellers.” The chocolatier chuckled. “But I don’t keep them in the case for obvious reasons.”
“Obviously.” Phoebe snickered. “A delicious melt-in-my-mouth treat I remember from Lea’s bachelorette party last year. But, this here, now, is a good enough get together to celebrate, although Brandi and Gwen don’t arrive until late tomorrow night.”
“I can’t wait.” Joy lit Lea’s gaze, and Audrey could feel the woman’s excitement over the prospect of seeing her older sister and her childhood friend.
“Yes.” Phoebe jiggled in her seat, the excitement obviously more than she could contain. “Ethan and I Skype’d with them on Saturday. Brandi and Kade were already coming in for the holidays, so now, Gwen and Tanner will be joining them. We wanted to give them a chance to rearrange their schedules. But we asked them not to say anything.”
“No worries. I get it.” Lea winked. “It’s going to be a great Thanksgiving weekend.”
“Well, all these extra people should make the after-Thanksgiving-dinner football game even more exciting.” Jill grinned at her. “I hear Mason and Ben asked you to play.”
Audrey nodded. “Yes. They mentioned it at drill last weekend. Said they needed to even out the teams.”
At one time, all four Wyne brothers were in the National Guard with Audrey, as well as their father, but now, only Mason and Ben remained. Growing up on the same block as the Wynes had been very easy on the eyes, but there was only one man capable of driving her to distraction, and until tonight, she hadn’t had physical contact with him in nearly a decade and a half.
Once again, she found it funny how those years had melted away with a single touch. She sipped her hot chocolate as her mind strayed to the past.
Not long after she’d returned to Pennsylvania to start her second year of college, she told Matthew she couldn’t take the racing lifestyle—the constant travel, overzealous fans, lonely hours alone in a hotel room—but within the first two weeks without contact with him, she’d had a change of heart. God, she’d missed him dearly, but didn’t know how to tell him.
Then the towers fell, and her love life seemed unimportant in the scheme of things. Her priorities changed. The world had changed, and she needed to step up. Had to step up. Did step up by joining the National Guard. Within eight months of finishing basic training, she deployed, and two years later, married one of the soldiers.
Jim was a great guy. Handsome, a hard worker, kind, reliable. She’d had a good life with him…until their second deployment when she accompanied his body home a week before their third anniversary.
That was eight years ago. Two great relationships with two great men…but neither worked out.
“Don’t you think, Audrey?” Leah’s voice drifted through her conscious.
She blinked and glanced at her friends…all staring expectantly at her. “I’m sorry. I missed that. What did you say?”
“We were discussing if it were possible for you to play football in a pair of your killer high heels,” Jill replied. “Like the ones you’re wearing now.”
A smile tugged her lips as she glanced down at her ankle boots. One of the perks of being a realtor was her closet full of shoes. “Sure, if I want to break my ankles.”
Realty hadn’t originally been her first choice…heck, it hadn’t been her job choice at all, but when her father had suffered his first stroke—not long after walking her down the aisle—Audrey quit college, which she was behind on due to deployment, and stepped in to help run her parents’ realty business. Instead of studying for final exams, she studied for the real estate exam and passed on the first try. By this time, her dad suffered a second debilitating stroke, and two years later, the third took his life.
Phoebe grinned. “Heels have many uses, but football isn’t one of them.”
Jill straightened
in her chair. “You’re really going to play?”
She laughed. “Yes. I’ve played with the Wynes before, during the winter, overseas. Touch was a great way to keep warm and active between missions.” And good for comradery. Something as simple as a football game kept people sane. Reminded them of home and why they were fighting.
“I can’t wait to see you kick their butts.” Lea faced her. “Athletic shoes don’t have heels. Do you own a pair?”
Audrey laughed along with the women. “Yeah, I own a pair.”
“Good. Although, maybe you won’t need them.” Phoebe popped another truffle in her mouth.
Audrey sipped her hot chocolate as she waited for the woman to explain.
“With Kade and Tanner coming up from Texas, plus Ethan asking Stone to play, it might even out the teams.”
Matthew’s going to play?
Her heart beats increased. “Maybe.”
Damn. She didn’t want to play if Matthew was in the game. The man fogged her brain when he was near, and forget about her stupid body. An hour ago, had it mattered that they hadn’t been together in over a decade? No. Her overjoyed body eagerly pressed against his hard muscles and tried to wrap around him and purr like a kitten. She’d been close…so damn close to humiliating herself in the Wynes’ lobby.
Pathetic.
Audrey set her mug down and sat back in her seat. “I’m sure Mason or Ben will call to let me off the hook, then.”
She hoped.
Playing touch football with a man she longed to touch was dangerous in a personal foul kind of way. She couldn’t afford to make any passes. Or touches. Or any type of contact.
“Even if it does even out, I hope you still play.” Phoebe’s gaze sparkled with delight.
“Me, too.” Jill nodded.
“I can’t wait for this game.” Leah rubbed her hands together with a wicked grin curving her lips. “Audrey and her very hot, very single former high school sweetheart taking the same field…”
Memories of her very hot, very single former high school sweetheart taking her flashed through Audrey’s mind, and a tremor rippled through her body, pinging off all her good parts on its way to her toes.
Wine and Hot SHoes Page 2
