A Wild Ride

by Vivian Arend

  His brain ached. His cock ached. His body ached from how hard he’d been clenching his muscles to stay in control as he’d kissed Nicole. Kisses only, and nothing else.

  Yeah, he was a fucking hero.

  It was his own fault he was suffering, yet Troy couldn’t help but accept the pain as a badge of honour.

  They were going to do this—and they were going to do it right.

  Except now he was in a quandary. Somehow he needed to convince Nicole they were the perfect couple. In spite of his own worries regarding the future.

  The kid thing?

  An icy chill raced up his spine. Yeah, that idea was still enough to make his blood freeze, but it wasn’t as shocking as it would’ve been a few weeks ago. He’d always considered he’d have his own family off in some foggy, nebulous future.

  It seemed the future had begun to arrive.

  Frankly, all the other things worried him more. The secrets he’d kept that she needed to know to see him as the right partner for the future.

  Only he had no idea how to go about spilling the beans without hurting his family. It wasn’t as if he could just up and list what he’d done. Not without sounding egotistical, or seeming to condemn the people he loved.

  Maybe he hadn’t thought this out as much as he should have.

  Troy jogged up the stairs of the second-floor apartment he shared with Mike, dropping his keys on the table inside the door as he headed into the living room.

  His step faltered as he discovered his best friend leaning against the back of the couch. Mike’s arms were crossed and he was staring at where the ceiling and the wall met, breathing heavily, as if he’d been running.

  The whole keeping-secrets thing ran far too deep when it came to his friend. “Hey.”

  Mike tipped his chin briefly, lips pressed into a narrow line.

  Troy stopped. “Did you end up—?”

  His best friend exploded off the couch, lunging forward with his arm swinging forward—hard. His fist connected with Troy’s face, spinning him around.

  Troy raised his hands as he scrambled for a safe position. “What the—”

  “You shit. I can’t believe you have the guts to come marching back in here after what you’ve done.” Mike swung again, fury in his voice.

  He was too angry to do more than flail, and Troy ducked under his swing, catching hold of his friend from behind with a death grip over both his arms. “Goddammit, Mike. What the hell is wrong with you?”

  An elbow jerked free, and Mike rammed it into his ribs. Troy gasped in pain as Mike whirled and tackled him to the floor. He got in another couple of solid punches before Troy used his heavier weight to get the upper hand, holding Mike down without fighting back, because he knew what this had to be about. Defending himself was one thing—but he wasn’t about to beat up his best friend.

  He ended up kneeling on his friend’s arms to keep from getting his eyes poked out.

  “I got word you were being an asshole to Nicole. Something about getting in her face during a social event at Traders,” Mike said, fury in his voice. “I said no way. I said Troy would never think of bugging my sister. So I go over to Nic’s, just to see if she needed a little TLC, or something, because obviously the story got twisted by the local gossips.”

  He heaved his body upward, trying to break free from Troy’s grasp.

  “I wasn’t being an asshole,” Troy insisted. “And if you stop trying to plant your fist in my face, I’ll let you up so we can talk about this rationally.”

  “There is no rational. I saw you at Nic’s place. You were kissing her, you bastard, so now I’m going to rip your throat out.”

  So much for sitting and talking this through. Troy adjusted his position, leaning more weight on his friend until Mike’s attempts to buck him off grew more futile. “There will be no throat ripping, and you know the only reason you landed a single punch is because you got the jump on me.”

  “Maybe it won’t happen tonight, but you’re dead,” Mike snarled. “Somehow, sometime, when you don’t expect it—”

  “Oh, stop being a fucking drama queen. What are you? Twelve? Yes, I was kissing your sister. We’re dating.”

  Mike’s eyes widened, and his face grew even redder. “No. Fucking. Way.”

  Sudden exhaustion rolled over Troy. After the rest of his evening, this was the last thing he needed.

  Troy rose to his feet, extending a hand to his friend. “I really don’t want to have this conversation with my junk being bashed every time you move. Get up, and stop being a jackass.”

  Mike glared, but he slapped his hand into Troy’s, pulling hard to get to his feet. “There’s nothing you can say that will make this okay to me. I know what you do with women.”

  Troy had reached the point of physical exhaustion and mental weariness where everything was bound to set him off. Still, he knew it was a bad idea to let out a snicker. “Really. The same thing you do?”

  “Fuck off. Not the same thing.”

  “I haven’t heard any complaints from the women I’ve been with, and hey, you’ve done a few of them with me at the same time, so what’s your problem?”

  “Jeez, Troy. Don’t you dare talk about sex and my sister in the same breath.”

  “You think she doesn’t know about the birds and the bees yet? You are a dreamer.”

  “Stop talking,” Mike ordered, fists clenched again. “The discussion is not going there. Ignoring the fact you’ve been with dozens of women, you can’t date my sister. You’re not good enough for her.”

  Troy understood Mike was pissed, and that he was trying to score hits, but the comment still burned. “I’m good enough to be your friend even though I’m a rotten piece of shit, but I’m not good enough for her?”

  “Yes.”

  Jeez. “If I’m not allowed to date your sister, then who the hell is good enough?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s not you.” Mike shook out his arms, wiggling his fingers as if his knuckles hurt from smashing into Troy’s face. “She said she wanted to get serious, and you’re about as serious as a…as a… Hell, I don’t even know what to compare you to, because you’ve never been serious.”

  “Fine. You think I’m dirt. Great. Then you have no choice but to go back to the basics. Like you told me in the café the other day.”

  Sheer suspicion smeared his friend’s expression into a tangle. “What the hell does that mean?”

  Troy shrugged. “You said she’d figure it out. That Nic was smart enough to know who’s good for her.”

  “Not if she wants to get involved with you,” Mike shouted.

  They were talking in circles. Enough already.

  “Not your decision.” Troy deliberately looked his friend in the eyes. “I’m not doing this to be a jackass. I really like Nic, and I think this can work. But you’ve got to stay out of our hair, and you’ve got to give us a chance.”

  “All sorts of bullshit,” Mike muttered. “You’re talking out your ass.”

  “You really think I would do this without having thought about it, hard?” Troy demanded. “I figured I was going to get all sorts of grief from you, although the punch to the jaw surprised me.”

  “I was aiming for your nose,” Mike admitted. “Figured if I broke it, you wouldn’t be so pretty anymore.”

  They both collapsed into chairs by the table, groaning as they settled. Various parts of his body tingled with lingering pain.

  What a fucking fantastic evening this had been so far.

  “You sure you want to do this?” His friend shook his head at Troy’s instant yes. “You know if you hurt her, I will kill you, and that’s not me being dramatic.”

  “If I hurt her, I’ll take myself out,” Troy promised. “But we’re going to give it a try, and I honestly think I can make her happy.”

  Mike shook his fingers again. “Great. Then I guess this means you’ll be there tomorrow night at the family dinner.”

  Troy’s stomach fell all the way to the
floor before bouncing back up into place. “Tomorrow?”

  “Yeah.” His friend’s eyes gleamed with unholy glee. “Didn’t Nic tell you? Birthday party for Dale. Everyone will be there. Birthdays are big family events, you know. It’s a great place for Nic to introduce her new boyfriend.”

  Facing all of the gossipmongers at Traders seemed a whole lot safer. “I’ll talk to Nic. Sounds great,” Troy lied.

  Mike shoved himself to his feet. “Don’t do anything stupid. You treat her right, you got that?”

  “Of course.”

  Troy found himself thinking back to when his little sister Katy had dropped a bomb and announced she was pregnant, then Gage had insisted he was the daddy. That night he would have done more than just punch his future brother-in-law in the face if he’d been given a chance.

  Mike was being fairly reasonable, all things considered.

  Troy put his hand up to his jaw and rubbed. With any luck, he would avoid having a black eye or too-obvious bruises for tomorrow’s family dinner.

  “By the way,” he mentioned casually. “You’re pulling your swing when you punch. That’s why you hit my jaw.”

  “Shut up.”

  “Seriously, the force behind your leverage is good, but you messed up your trajectory.”

  “Go away, before I take a practice swing or two.”

  Mike stomped toward his bedroom, but he’d cooled off enough Troy figured it was safe to go to sleep without hiding the butcher knives.

  Then again…

  He took a quick detour through the kitchen before heading to bed.

  Seemed dating Nicole was going to be exciting for so many reasons.

  Chapter Nine

  Troy: morning, babe

  Nic: Hey

  Troy: what time should I pick you up for the party?

  Nic: ???

  Troy: you know, your BILs birthday

  Nic: shit

  Troy: lol, right?

  Nic: wait. that’s Sat

  Troy: Mike says 2nite.

  Nic: Oh shit

  Troy: time?

  Nic: want to skip it?

  Troy: are you kidding? I looooooove birthday parties

  Nic: this is a bad idea—OMG

  Troy: we’ll deal

  Nic: MIKE told you

  Nic: what happened?

  Nic: do I need to kill him?

  Nic: fuck. I’m so sorry

  Troy: lol chill. We’re cool

  Nic: was there blood involved?

  Troy: not much

  Nic: OMG

  Troy: only a few stitches

  Nic: WHAT?

  Troy: the scar should be barely noticeable

  Nic: are you being an ass?

  Troy:—

  His phone was snatched out of his hands, and he scrambled to grab it back. “Hey, I’m in the middle of something.”

  Clay held the phone to one side, blocking Troy with his other arm as he checked the screen. “I noticed, but what you’re supposed to be in the middle of is getting a tune-up done on the Chev. Not flirting with…Nic?” His brother turned back, surprise in his eyes. “Since when?

  Troy shoved Clay’s arm out of the way, lunging wildly to return his phone to his possession. “Just happened.”

  “Wow. Nope, didn’t see that one coming.” Clay stepped back and folded his arms over his chest. “Whatever. Stop wasting time when you’re supposed to be working.”

  Jeez. “Me taking a few minutes to figure out my plans for tonight isn’t any different than you answering your phone and chatting with Maggie.”

  “Totally different,” Clay said.

  “Bullshit.” Troy raised a brow at his brother. “Why’s she been calling so often, anyway? Is she bored because she’s got no school stuff to do?”

  “She’s not calling that often.”

  Changing tactics was the best way to get Clay’s mind off Troy’s business. He’d been doing it for years—distracting his big brother, usually for Clay’s own good. It made his big brother happy to have someone to take care of, and most of the time, it didn’t hurt.

  But it was still as necessary as breathing to get in some digs while he could. Troy considered everything he’d learned in the last while and made a calculated guess. “Now that I think of it, the last time she called, you hightailed it out of here like your pants were on fire. I wonder what was so urgent that you needed to go at that very minute…”

  Clay’s eyes narrowed, his lips pressed into a thin line.

  “And if I remember correctly, you were smiling pretty damn hard when you came back after lunch.”

  His brother shuffled uncomfortably.

  Oh, this was too good to resist. “Must’ve been a pretty tasty lunch—”

  “Shut up now before I break your face.”

  Troy tucked his phone away and turned back to the open hood of the truck he was working on. “Don’t mind me,” he said cheekily. “I won’t tell anyone.”

  “Troy.” A world of warning in the single word.

  “What?” Troy grinned at his brother. “How come your face is so red, bro? You wouldn’t be skipping out on work to get busy, would you?”

  “Stop it. I don’t know how you figured it out, but yes, we’re…trying to get pregnant. And chances are higher if she pays attention to her temperature and all kinds of crazy shit I had no idea about. I figured we’d fool around more, so it’s not like I mind getting called to come home in the middle of the day…” Clay stuttered to a stop, swearing lightly. “I have no idea why I told you that, and I will rip your head from your shoulders if you dare mention a word of this to anyone, especially Maggie.”

  Troy laid a hand over his chest and let his jaw drop slightly as if he were shocked by the accusation. “Me? Tease my sweet sister-in-law-to-be? Never. You, on the other hand…”

  Clay let out a mighty sigh. “I guess it was too much to hope that no one would notice.”

  “Around here? I’m surprised the rest of them haven’t already clued in.” Troy escorted his big brother back to the car Clay had been working on earlier. “All teasing aside, I’m thrilled you guys are going to start a family right away. Tanner needs cousins.”

  “It’s a big step, but we’re pretty excited.”

  “Of course you are. You guys are going to be fantastic parents.” Troy patted Clay on the shoulder. “Now, we should both get back to work. No more fooling around, I promise. And if you need me to pull a little extra time, let me know.”

  “Appreciate that, but it should be fine.” Clay was beet red in the face. “Just might need to run out…”

  Somehow Troy kept a straight face, giving his brother a two-fingered salute before turning and heading back to the truck. He glanced down casually at the phone he’d swiped from Clay’s back pocket. It took less than fifteen seconds to change his brother’s password, and another forty-five to upload a new ringtone for Maggie’s number.

  Troy left the phone on one of the tool chests. Clay would probably figure he’d forgotten it there, at least until the next time Maggie called.

  He whistled as he made a big production of grabbing the tools he needed, slipping his own phone out of his pocket to check if Nic had left any more messages to their interrupted conversation.

  Nic: you are being an ass

  Nic: Troy?

  Nic: I’m headed into a meeting. Deadzone

  Nic: if you really want, see you @ 5

  Did he really want to face the entire Adams family at the same time? Of course he did. Tonight was going to be a total blast.

  And maybe if he kept telling himself that, it would end up being true.

  Nicole had stewed all day, but it seemed there was no choice but to brazen this out. Family night at the Adams’. She and Troy would sink or swim from the start.

  He showed just before five, jogging up to her back door. He looked a little worse for wear, but none of his limbs were in a cast, and all of them seemed to be accounted for.

  “What does Mike look like?” sh
e asked.

  “He’s fine,” Troy assured her. “Let me get that.”

  She stepped back and let him pick up the enormous box waiting on the counter.

  He frowned at the weight and shook it lightly.

  “You won’t be able to tell what’s in it.” She motioned him out the door, closing it behind her. “You know this. Family tradition—all gifts are wrapped in completely deceptive ways to keep the giftee guessing.”

  “Is it safe to put it in the back of the truck?”

  Nicole crawled into the passenger seat, holding out her arms. “I’ll keep it in my lap.”

  He ignored her hands, propping the gift on the edge of the truck bed so he could step closer, leaning into the cab and offering a flirtatious smile. “I didn’t get my hello kiss.”

  She’d been so distracted, worrying about where they were headed. “You’re right. We definitely need to do something about that.”

  She twisted on the spot, and he stepped between her knees, pulling her to the seat’s edge to put their bodies in full contact. He leaned down and pressed their lips together in a brief, intense connection.

  “Hmmm, nice.”

  He flashed a heated glance her way. “There’s more where that came from.”

  “We should stay here,” she suggested, stroking her hand down the front of his body. “It’ll be a whole lot more fun.”

  “No can do. We’ve got a party to enjoy,” he reminded her. He gave her the package then sauntered around the truck and climbed behind the wheel.

  Her sister and brother-in-law’s was a ten-minute drive on the opposite side of Rocky Mountain House. The rest of the family had already arrived, judging from the cars in the driveway, including Mike, who had just pulled in to park directly in front of them.

  They met on the front walkway.

  Mike shook his head as he looked them over, Troy carrying the gaudily wrapped present in his arms. “I expected so much more from you, Nic.”

  “Don’t even try it,” she ordered. “I’m not in the mood for your bullshit.”

  “If you’re really stuck on playing with him, why not keep him as a pet for a while?” Mike suggested. “He’s pretty much housebroken.”