Wyne and Dine (Citizen Soldier Series Book 1)

by Donna Michaels

  Brandi shook her head and squeezed her hand back. “If anyone deserves it, it’s you. Between putting your life on hold and moving back home to take care of your dad, and the restaurant, and your pain-in-the-ass friend’s wedding arrangements, you must be exhausted, hun.”

  “No.” She smiled and released her. “I’m good.” And she meant it. Mostly. “Your brother has done more setting up than I have.”

  “He’s used to coordinating drills and trainings. He’s practically a producer for the Army.” Brandi laughed. “Helping me put together a wedding was something he could’ve done in his sleep.”

  “Speaking of something he could’ve done in his sleep,” Jordan said, gaze fastened on Lea. “How goes things with you two?”

  “Yeah.” Shayla leaned forward. “Every time he glanced at you, he had this, I don’t know, strange, sad look in his eyes.”

  Her heart rocked. God, she didn’t want him to be sad.

  “I noticed it, too,” Kerri said.

  Even Caitlin nodded. “So did I.”

  “No more action on the blue negligee front?” The long-haired sheriff sipped her wine and studied her.

  Lea laughed, but it sounded sad even to her ears. “Not that I’m aware of.”

  Her best friend with sun-kissed brown hair and warm brown eyes reeled back and frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “I no longer have it.”

  “You don’t? Why?”

  “Because, when we were getting ready to leave the colonel’s house that first weekend, I kind of stuffed it into Ben’s duffle bag.”

  Amongst the coughing and intakes of breath, Jordan’s laugh could be heard ringing the loudest. “Oh my God, I love you,” the woman gushed.

  “So, Ben has your nightie?” Brandi asked, then shoved a hand over her smiling mouth when Lea nodded. “Oh, what I wouldn’t have given to have seen his face when he first discovered it.”

  “Me, too,” she mumbled around a gulp of wine.

  The dark-eyed chef leaned forward. “He hasn’t said anything or returned it?”

  “Nope and nope.”

  Jordan’s smile widened. “You have him, honey. All you have to do is reel him in.”

  “No, I don’t.” She shook her head as she poured more wine. “No one has Ben. Ever.”

  “Maybe in the past, but considering the way he looks at you, that is no longer true,” the redhead stated.

  Maybe she didn’t need another glass. All the wine was going to her head. She could’ve sworn the girls were telling her that Ben was stuck on her. A laugh escaped. “The guy is too afraid to let go long enough to enjoy a few weeks of just sex. He is certainly not going to let himself fall for anyone, especially me.”

  “Why not you?” Caitlin asked, eyeing her over her barely touched wine.

  Lea blinked. “Because I’m not staying. I’m going to be working in New York soon…I hope.”

  “You will.” Brandi patted her leg. “Have you sent out your resumes yet?”

  She shook her head.

  “Why not?”

  “I was waiting to talk to my dad’s physical therapist yesterday to see when she felt he’d be able to go back to work.”

  “And…?”

  “She said he was doing well, and she saw no problems with him going back to Gabe’s for light duty by the beginning of November.”

  “That’s terrific. So did you send them out?”

  “No. Not yet.”

  “Why not?” her friend repeated.

  Truthfully, she had too much on her plate right now, between her dad, the wedding…her sister driving in tomorrow for the wedding. Yeah, too much to deal with, but nothing she could admit to Brandi.

  She conjured up a smile and hoped it read true. “Because my best friend is getting married, and I’m too busy enjoying that and everyone’s company right now.” She shoulder bumped Brandi. “It’s on my Monday’s to do list.”

  Yes, she’d definitely start answering ads and sending out resumes next week.

  “Okay.” Her friend smiled. “Good. I just don’t want you to miss out on your dream, hun.”

  “I know. And I won’t. I’ll send them out next week. I promise. Now, enough about me and my limbo life. This is your time, your weekend. It’s all about you,” she said, then raised her glass for a toast. “So, here’s to Brandi. May you have the best life. The happiest life.”

  “I already do.” Her friend sniffed as she clinked everyone’s glasses then drank.

  And Lea was more than happy to return the attention where it belonged. On Brandi. Her friend was the one with her life pulled together and complete. And it had been a long time coming.

  That was worth celebrating in Lea’s book.

  Thursday evening, Ben sat at one of the tables at the bachelor party he helped Kevin set up for Kade in one of the small banquet rooms at the resort. Brandi’s bachelorette party was going on down the hall in a similar room. Every once in a while, music and laughter could be heard over their own entertainment, which consisted of poker, chicken wings and pizza, and drinking beer.

  Best damn bachelor party he’d ever attended.

  Stripers and porn were highly over rated.

  “I have to admit, I was a little relieved to hear you’d helped my cousin set up this party,” Kade said, sitting next to him.

  He waved his beer at the room. “Kevin supplied me with the itinerary, and I supplied the goods.”

  “And there are no stripers or porn involved?” Connor asked, looking a little green.

  Ben nodded. “None.”

  “I have to admit, Kevin, even I’m surprised.” Cole slapped his friend on the shoulder and smiled. “You all belly dancered out?”

  “As you may recall, I wasn’t the one who had danced belly-to-belly with Charity. Isn’t that right, cuz?” Kevin stared pointedly at the groom-to-be, then quickly glanced at Ben and his brothers. “This was way before he and Brandi got together.”

  “Yeah.” Connor nodded. “Right after he’d gotten back from deployment. Sort of a relieve the tension kind of thing, if you know what I mean.”

  Keiffer clinked his glass with Kade. “Heard that.”

  Then Mason, Jace, Tanner and Ethan all followed suit.

  “Relieving tension is good,” Ben said, bumping his glass off Kade’s.

  He was antsy, and tense, and annoyed for no reason, and was finding it difficult to just sit there and shoot the shit about it. The unusual behavior made no sense. He had no idea of the cause, therefore he had no cure. And that only added to his tension. He put out fires. Acted on issues. Came up with solutions to problems.

  So, why the hell couldn’t he fix himself?

  “Maybe you should’ve gotten that belly dancer for Ben,” Keiffer said, raising his beer in a salute.

  Ah, hell, when was the idiot going to learn to keep his mouth shut. Now the guys all stared at him.

  “Oh boy, who is she?” Kevin asked, leaning back in his chair. “The gorgeous maid-of-honor by chance?”

  “That’d be her,” Keiffer answered, apparently asking for a punch to the face.

  He curled his hand into a fist, but kept it on the table. “Shut it, Keif.”

  “See? He won’t even talk about her.” His younger brother shook his head and continued as if he wasn’t there. “The idiot has the opportunity to enjoy himself with the best woman he’s ever known—beautiful, smart and funny—and he’s blown it.”

  “Really? You and Lea?” Ethan tipped his head to stare at him. “Seems I’ve missed a lot the past two weeks taking guests up on the mountain.”

  “Yep. They’ve had sex, so now he’s all freaked out.” Keiffer glanced at Ryder and had the decency to look contrite. “Sorry, man. I keep forgetting she’s your sister.”

  “No worries. It’s like I told Ben last week, I stay out of my sisters’ love lives, and they stay out of mine.”

  Yeah, Ryder told him that after Ben’s face met his friend’s fist in the back of Gabe’s parking lot once Lea ha
d gone back inside. Now, they were good again; at least, they were until Keiffer open his big fat mouth.

  “Smart man,” Kevin said, then shuttered. “Wish I had known that back when Jen was dating Brock.”

  Kade chuckled. “You paid for it big time. I thought it was funny.”

  “You would. You weren’t the one pimped out to the nursing home.”

  “Ah, quit your whining,” Connor said with a shake of his head, and Ben was happy to have the heat taken off him for a change. “Those little old ladies were harmless.”

  “Harmless? They wanted to play strip bingo.”

  “So?” Cole frowned at his friend. “It’s not like you don’t know how to strip.”

  “Not me, you idiot. Them. They were taking their clothes off, and growing hands faster than I could run. Damn women pinched hard, too. No mercy, I tell ya. No mercy.”

  By the time Kevin was done telling his tale, the whole room was laughing, and Ben had to admit, he’d even felt a bit better.

  “Speaking of striping…” Kevin held a finger to his mouth to quiet the room, then opened the door to listen to the music down the hall. “Yep, I’d say it was time for Magic Cowboy.” He set his Stetson on his head and nodded to the door. “Time to crash the party. Who’s with me?”

  Without waiting for a reply, the crazy man left the room, and everyone glanced at each other.

  “Is he really going to do a striptease in there?” Mason asked.

  Cole nodded. “Yep.”

  “I’m in.” Keiffer jumped to his feet and disappeared through the door.

  Ethan shot to his feet. “Oh, this I’ve got to see.”

  “Me, too.” Mason surprised him by following.

  And before Ben knew it, he was heading down the hall with all the guys about to crash his sister’s bachelorette party.

  Mason held the door open for him, so he snuck in with the rest of the bachelor party attendees and stood in the back of the darkened room, watching eight very beautiful women laughing and clapping as some guy gyrated on a makeshift stage, in what was left of a police uniform.

  It wasn’t Kevin. Or Keiffer.

  Not yet, at least.

  His stomach soured. The only good thing was the classic rock song blaring out of the speakers.

  When a Maroon Five song came on, the stripper looked puzzled…until the cowboy came dancing out, along with his idiot of a brother. The cop had the good sense to leave the stage to his brother and the cowboy, who was receiving hoots and shouts from the girls jumping to their feet.

  Now that the women were standing, he could see they all wore skimpy black dresses, a few of them with a white sash with Bridesmaid on them. Lea’s had Maid-of-honor, and his sister’s said Bride-to-be. Ah, hell, she had a crown on her head, too, with some sort of frilly pink stuff sticking out. Yet, instead of looking ridiculous, Brandi managed to look cute.

  And even though it should’ve been weird to watch his brother and the cowboy shaking their junk in front of a bunch of screaming women, Ben found it vaguely amusing, as did the rest of the guys who all leaned against the wall and snickered.

  On stage, Kevin and Keiffer slowly unbuttoned their shirts then tossed them to Shayla and Caitlin. All the girls whistled and hooted some more.

  How the hell did his brother know to dance that like?

  Kevin continued to shake it, and when his hands when to his belt buckle, Shayla got up on stage and stopped him.

  “Okay, cowboy. Enough,” she told him with a grin. “The rest of you is all mine, and you know I don’t share very well.”

  An unfamiliar tug pulled at Ben’s gut. He didn’t recognize the emotion, but he did recognize the shaft of envy that followed. In all his years, no woman had ever treated him like he mattered more than what he could provide—whether it was sex or help or safety.

  The shared respect and affection he saw pass between Kevin and Shayla was something Ben hadn’t ever realized existed anymore. The one and only time he’d seen it was with his dad and Brandi’s mom, who was an exception. He suspected all four cowboys had found exceptional women, and wondered if they knew how damn lucky they had it.

  Hopefully, for their sakes, it would last more than a few years, because it would inevitably end.

  It always did.

  “Well now, darlin’.” Kevin grinned, pulling Shayla close. “You know you’re the only one for me.”

  The beautiful redhead stood on tiptoe and kissed the cowboy.

  “Smooth.” Ryder grinned, shaking his head.

  Cole nodded. “He wasn’t dubbed the Casanova cowboy for nothing.”

  “I’d say the Japanese triplets helped him gain that fame,” Connor added.

  Jesus…

  “Trip-whats?” Ethan blinked at the tall cowboy.

  “Three women at the same time?” Even Mason got in on the conversation.

  “Yep, and the same night.” Cole nodded. “It was a few years back when we went to Japan for a tradeshow.”

  “Your cousin’s crazy,” he told Kade, who stood there, shaking his head, a small smile tugging his lips.

  “So’s your brother,” his soon-to-be-brother-in-law replied, nodding toward a shirtless Keiffer before taking a pull of his beer.

  Ben laughed. “Yeah, sorry.”

  The man turned to him and frowned. “Why?”

  “Because in two days time, you’ll be related to them both.”

  The Texan threw his head back and laughed, which caught the attention of the bride-to-be…and the rest of the women.

  Ah, hell.

  Ben would’ve been happy to remain anonymous in the back, but now he had no choice but to join the others by the make-shift stage. So much for his comfort zone. The cowgirls claimed their men with rather heated kisses, which left the rest of the guys to congregate around Lea, Caitlin, Jill from the chocolate place, and Gwen.

  The latter he’d already greeted when he’d bumped into her in the hall before the parties had started. He no longer felt the punch to his gut whenever he was in the presence of the beautiful, long-legged blonde. That sensation had disappeared along with his teenage years. Although they couldn’t exactly be classified as friends, they’d both gotten over their past and had no issues tolerating each other.

  As he drew closer, he held back, letting the others go ahead of him. He noted interesting shaped chocolate candy and an assortment of suggestive party favors on the table. Damn. He’d wager the girls were a bit more rowdy than the guys, which surprised him considering he knew they’d spent the day traipsing around New York City. All that walking and shopping and stuff should’ve made them tired.

  Wishing he could sneak out as quietly as he’d snuck in, Ben swallowed his groan down with the rest of his beer, then quickly glanced around for another. That’s when he caught sight of Lea laughing at something one of the cowboys had said. It wasn’t a forced laugh, or little giggle. It was a real, honest laugh that only Lea could deliver with a combination of grace and effervescence.

  Jace and Tanner sandwiched her, looking like they’d…well, like they’d be happy to sample some of her effervescence. His empty hand curled into a fist. If they tried anything, he’d…

  What?

  These feelings of possessiveness and protectiveness over her were not new, and he was beginning to realize that maybe there was a reason. But he had no hold on her. No claim. And it was his own damn fault.

  Feeling as if he’d gotten run over by that damn tank again, he set his empty bottle on the table and blew out a breath.

  She meant something to him.

  That’s what the tight feeling was in his chest, the one that knocked him on his ass.

  How had that happened?

  Lea glanced to him, smile still lingering on her very kissable lips. And instead of her guard coming up and smile fading, her grin increased and gaze warmed until it was hot, blazing hot, and aimed directly at him.

  The tanked reversed and rolled back over him. Twice.

  Then she hit him with a l
ook that said, I’ve had sex with you, and I’d be happy to have sex with you again.

  Shit.

  Chapter Nine

  “Hey, Ben.” Brandi stopped in front of him and stood on tip-toe to kiss his cheek. “I was coming over here to thank you for keeping Kade out of trouble, but it looks like you’ve found some of your own.” She motioned toward Lea with her head. “Although, I’m not sure exactly what the trouble is, Lea looks quite interested in you.”

  “That’s the trouble,” he said, trying not to notice how the cowboys were back to sandwiching the woman again.

  By her relaxed posture and genuine smile, she didn’t appear to mind at all. He glanced at the half-empty glass in her hand. How much wine did she have?

  “You don’t want her to be interested in you?”

  “No.”

  “So, it’s okay then if Jace asks her to be his date for the wedding?”

  That got his attention. “No. Yes. Why? Did he say he was going to ask her?”

  Damn Texans worked fast.

  Brandi laughed and set her palm on his chest. “Relax, Ben. No, he didn’t say a word. I was just curious.”

  Jesus, she nearly gave him a heart attack. His chest continued to feel the weight of that damn tank.

  “Are you still going to help me convince her to come to Harland County with me when I get back from my honeymoon?”

  He opened his mouth, ready to say, Sure, of course…but the words wouldn’t form. There were more cowboys there. What if one…

  Brandi smiled, placing her finger under his jaw to close his mouth. “It’s okay. You’re smart. I know you’ll get it sooner or later.”

  He was glad she was convinced, because he sure as shit was not. All he knew was he didn’t want to hurt Lea. He promised himself he’d leave her alone. He’d let her enjoy her stay in the Poconos with her dad without taking advantage of her.

  But watching her laugh and joke with Jill, her brother and sister and Brandi’s friends from Texas, he realized he enjoyed being around the unpretentious woman. She didn’t put on any airs, didn’t made demands. She just made him feel good. And when her gaze met his again and turned just a little bit naughty, he was hard in an instant, and he had to fight the urge to go to her, pull her close and extract one of her hot kisses.