It simply wasn’t a bachelorette party without a male stripper.
The guy, probably about Susie’s age, wasn’t that bad looking. Muscular and tan, he had some decent dance moves but honestly he looked like he was doing it for the money and not because he particularly enjoyed it. His efforts were half-hearted and it kind of ruined any aura of sexuality he might have had.
Amanda handed Susie another Cosmo and plopped down next to her at the table. “Is it just me or are strippers getting younger? I think I might be old.”
Susie looked with amusement across the room to where Seb’s elegant and stately mother Lucinda Eleanor Montgomery Gibbs was stuffing a hundred dollar bill down the man’s g-string and trying to dirty dance with him to the ear splitting music.
“You’re not old. Not even close. But can I say that I could have lived my entire life and not seen your future mother-in-law do that,” Susie sighed. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look her in the eye again knowing where her hands have been.”
Laughter bubbled from Amanda’s lips. “That’s my mother-in-law. I love her to death. She’s a real ball-buster and I admire that. But I think we can keep this a little secret from Seb. He’d shit twice and die if he saw her right now. He might be a sexual man but he doesn’t want to think of his mother having sex at all.”
“Can you blame him? No one wants to think about their parents having sex.”
The other bridesmaid Tracy began dancing circles around the stripper and waving bills in the air. Amanda sipped her Cosmo but smiled at her cousin.
“Let’s just hope that Seb doesn’t hear about this stripper at all. I doubt he would be amused in the least.”
“Do you think the guys have a stripper at their party?”
The men were having a get together at the mansion while the ladies were at the resort. Amanda giggled and leaned in close so only Susie could hear over the pounding music. “I think they do. I know they were talking about how they didn’t want one and they were too cool or something like that but I think one of Seb’s friends flew one in on the same plane as this guy. I have it on good authority there was a female on board.”
The thought of Chris ogling a stripper gave her a twinge of jealousy but she pushed it away. There was a stripper at her party and she didn’t give a rat’s ass. Chris was a thousand times sexier just standing there than this guy was doing his performance. Hands down.
“Do you mind?”
Amanda waved away any concern. “I totally trust Seb. He can look all he wants. I know he loves me. I’m fine with it.”
Someday Susie wanted to have that kind of relationship with a man. Complete love and trust.
“It’s hot in here. I’m going to get some air.” Susie stood and tugged at her neckline, damp from the stagnant air in the room.
“I’d go with you but I’m getting called over.” Amanda nodded toward a table of women, their hands in the air beckoning to the bride. “I’ll join you in a few minutes, okay? Fresh air sounds good.”
Heading out to the pool, Susie sighed as a cool breeze lifted her hair and caressed her overheated skin. She was glad to be out of the noise and the crush of people. Lying on one of the chaise lounges, she closed her eyes and listened to the sounds around her. The rustle of palm trees and the tinkle of wind chimes were somewhere off in the distance. The heady aroma of hibiscus teased her nostrils along with just a hint of suntan lotion.
“I’m glad I found you.”
Dane’s deep voice was unexpected and at first she thought she’d dreamed it up. But as she gazed at him for long moments, it finally dawned on her that he was real. And he was standing there as if he’d been looking for her.
She sat up quickly, alarmed at why he would be here and not at the bachelor party.
“Is everything okay? Is Chris alright?”
He held out his hands as if to stop her train of thought. “Everything is fine. All the guys are at the party. I slipped out to come speak with you.” Reaching for her hand, he pulled her to her feet. “Let’s go someplace where we can be alone. There’s something we need to talk about.”
Susie couldn’t imagine what they had to talk about, but the earnest expression on Dane’s face was enough to convince her to agree and they walked side by side down to the boat dock.
“The owner of the island has a boat down here. We can sit on deck and no one will bother us.”
Dane pointed to what looked more like a yacht than a mere boat but she didn’t correct him. He helped her climb on board and they settled on the bench sofa on the deck. They were up high enough that she had a clear view of the resort and the lush tropical grounds surrounding it, the full moon making it almost as bright as day.
“So what did you want to talk about?” Susie asked, still worried that something had happened to Chris somehow.
Dane leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his gaze looking out over the bow. “I’m not sure how to say this actually. However I say it is going to come out wrong and I don’t mean it to. For a lawyer I’m having a tough time finding the right words.”
This was not the arrogant and smug Dane Braxton that she knew well. This man seemed unsure and even sad, his shoulders hunched and his mouth a thin line.
“I’m not some shrinking violet. Just say it and we’ll deal with how it sounds.”
His lips quirked up slightly. “No, you’re not. You’ve got life by the balls, Susie. I like that about you.” He rubbed his chin and she waited for him to explain what the hell this was all about. “Lately everything is changing and it’s happening so fast. First, Seb getting married to Amanda. And now…”
“Now?” she prompted.
“Now you and Chris.” He held up his hands in surrender. “Now before you start in on me, I adore Amanda and she’s been the best thing for Seb. I’ve never seen him happier. Despite my reputation against marriage and commitment, I really am thrilled for them.”
“But?” Did Dane think she was bad for Chris? “But you aren’t as happy for me and Chris—is that it?”
“I want to be happy for both of you. It’s just that…shit, this is the part that’s going to come out wrong.”
“Dammit, just say it.” Susie was losing patience for this and knowing that Dane objected to her wasn’t fucking helping. Couldn’t he see how much she adored Chris?
“One week ago you had a crush on me.” Dane’s gaze swung to her. “Now you’re googly-eyed over Chris. I just don’t want to see my best friend get hurt. He’s too good of a guy to be somebody’s second choice, Susie. Don’t do that to him because you’re not his fall back plan. You’re his plan A.”
Her mouth fell open and she didn’t have the words to express her shock that anyone would think she was “settling” for Chris.
“Is that what it looks like?” She barely managed to get the words out. “That I’m just using Chris because I can’t have you?”
“I don’t know shit about love so how would I know? All I see is one of my best friends in the entire world falling hard for a woman and not five days ago she wanted me. I know that makes me sound like an egotistical asshole but I don’t care as long as Chris doesn’t get hurt.”
Susie stood, too restless to remain still and her anger made her next words come out nasty. “It does kind of make you an arrogant asshole.” Taking a deep calming breath, she tried again. “I’ll admit that I’d harbored a crush on you since I was a teenager. As Amanda and Chris made me see, you represented all the fun, carefree things I didn’t do when Mom was sick. It wasn’t you per se that I had a crush on, Dane. It was what you symbolized. Once I realized that, and that I could have those things without you, well…the crush went away. It left me open to feel something new. Something real.”
Standing, Dane came over to where she stood and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Then you really love Chris? Because I can tell he’s in love with you.”
“Yes, I do love him.” This was the first time she’d admitted it, but saying the words made her heart b
eat fast and hearing that he loved her in return made her stomach flutter with joy. “I won’t hurt him, Dane. I want to make him happy.”
His fingers held her tightly but he was smiling. “That’s what I wanted to hear. I just want Seb and Chris to be happy. I don’t really understand all this love stuff but if that’s what they want, then that’s what I want for them.”
“You’re a good friend. Not too many men would drag a woman from a bachelorette party and interrogate her about her feelings.” She tilted her head and gave Dane a smile. “I actually think it’s pretty cool.”
“You’re not mad?”
“No, I’m not mad.” Susie shook her head. “No hard feelings. Let’s hug and be friends again, okay?”
Dane enfolded her in his arms and they hugged tightly before he stepped back. “I guess I better get you back to the party.”
“Before we go…maybe we should talk about you.”
“Me?” Dane’s brows pulled together. “What about me?”
“Since we’re friends I want to tell you that I don’t want you to be alone. You deserve to have love in your life.”
Dane shook his head and turned to look out on the water. “I don’t even know what love is, Susie. I don’t think it’s for me.”
*
“We shouldn’t be spying on the girls,” Chris laughed as he and Seb exited the vehicle and headed for the boat dock, their arms full of supplies for a romantic night.
“I’m not spying, I’m kidnapping. The wedding is tomorrow and this bullshit about me and Mandy sleeping apart the night before is…well, bullshit. We’ll just get the master bedroom of the yacht set up with roses and champagne, then you can help me lure Amanda out of the bachelorette party and then I’ll grab her and take her out for a moonlit cruise.”
Seb held up the magnum of Dom Perignon as they walked down the weathered boards of the dock. Stopping in his tracks, Seb grabbed Chris’s arm and pulled him back.
“On the other hand, women like to have their traditions. We should just go back to the mansion and forget all about this.”
Chris shook his head in confusion. Five seconds ago Seb had been all gung ho and now he was ready to turn around and forget the whole thing. What the hell?
“You’ve dragged me all this way to help you–”
Chris never finished his sentence. Words were impossible when he caught sight of Dane and Susie silhouetted by the light of the moon.
On the deck of the yacht.
In each other’s arms.
Son of a fucking bitch.
“I’m sure it’s not what it looks like,” Seb said, but Chris barely heard him, his brain buzzing with anger and betrayal. Susie’s crush on Dane hadn’t completely disappeared from the looks of things.
The woman Chris loved and the man he called his best friend moved apart but not in time to stop the pain that had bloomed in Chris’s heart. The entire week with Susie had been too good to be true, obviously. She still wanted Dane.
“And what does it look like? My best friend putting the moves on my girlfriend? And her liking it? Because that’s what it looks like from here.”
“Dane would never do that,” Seb stated, a hard tone to his voice. “And Susie wouldn’t either. Get a hold of yourself and think this through. This is Dane and Susie. They wouldn’t do this.”
But all Chris could see was the two of them wrapped in each other’s arms.
“We both saw it,” Chris argued. “Are you going to tell me that it wasn’t Dane or it wasn’t Susie?”
“It was them.” Seb sighed heavily. “But I don’t believe for a second that they were doing anything wrong. Look at them now. They’re three feet apart, for Christ’s sake, not headed to the bedroom.”
Chris stared at their figures and wanted desperately to believe Seb’s words. But there was that niggling insecurity about Dane that Chris couldn’t quite overcome. Susie had wanted Dane for years. She’d wanted Chris for a week.
“I’m going for a walk.” Chris turned on his heel and strode toward the beach. He needed to calm the hell down and clear his head. Jumping in between them and losing his temper wasn’t something he wanted to do.
He wanted to believe Susie loved him and that Dane was his best friend.
Chapter Ten
‡
“Of course love is for you,” Susie urged. “You just have to open yourself up to it, Dane.”
“I don’t think so.” He shook his head and walked a few more steps away. “You’ve met my parents. You’ve seen what their marriage is like. It’s an unholy alliance.”
“True,” she conceded. Dane’s parents had done some really evil shit to each other just because they could. “But look at Seb and Amanda. That’s real. It doesn’t always have to be like your mom and dad. My parents adored one another.”
He turned back around and shrugged. “A woman that wants me for myself? What are the odds? How would I ever know whether they want me for me or money?”
“You’d know,” Susie answered softly. “When it’s real…you know.”
“I hope you mean that,” Seb’s brusque voice interrupted and both she and Dane swung around in surprise. They’d been so caught up in their conversation they hadn’t heard Seb come aboard.
“I do mean that. What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at your bachelor party. Is Chris with you?”
Seb dumped some brown paper bags and a bottle of champagne on a table. “I was planning to kidnap Amanda and take her for a moonlit cruise but then Chris and I saw you and Dane in each other’s arms. Holy hell, what the fuck are you two doing? I could kick both your asses right now.”
She cringed at the anger and scorn in Seb’s voice. She’d heard that he had a temper but had never witnessed it until today.
“Oh shit. Shit. Shit.” Susie chanted, her mind whirling with the damning possibilities of what Chris had thought about something that was truly innocent.
“Yeah, shit just about sums it up,” Seb agreed. “Now Chris is off thinking and you two haven’t explained. Somebody better start talking. And fast.”
“I need to see Chris.” Susie hurried toward the gangplank but Seb caught her arm.
“Not until I hear what’s going on. Dane?”
Dane groaned and scraped his fingers through his hair. “It’s all my fault.”
“That I believe. Keep talking.”
“I brought Susie here to talk to her. Just talk,” Dane said, conviction in his tone. “I was worried she was playing Chris since she had a crush on me and then seemed to move quickly to him. I thought she might just be settling for second best and I didn’t want that to happen to Chris.”
Seb’s shoulders seemed to relax slightly. “That sounds like something you’d do. Then explain why she was in your arms.”
“I wasn’t in Dane’s arms,” Susie cut in desperately. “We hugged and said we were friends. That’s it. Nothing going on here that shouldn’t be. I swear.”
“I believe you.” Seb held up his hand. “But Chris saw what he saw, and if Dane thought you might be settling for second string then you can’t blame Chris for having the same thoughts.”
She certainly could blame him. After all they’d said and done this week he ought to have known better. But love could make even a smart man like Chris think stupid things. She’d make sure he never doubted her again.
Right after she kicked him in the balls.
Isn’t that what he’d said he wanted? A woman who could submit without shame and kick where it counted when he needed it? He needed it now. And badly.
“Where is he, Seb? I need to talk to him.”
“He went for a walk on the beach. Maybe you should give him some time,” Seb suggested.
“That’s the last thing he needs. I need to set him straight as soon as possible.”
“I’ll go with you,” Dane offered. “We can tell him together.”
“No, Dane. This is between me and Chris and how he jumps to conclusions.”
Dane reg
arded her steadily. “I guess if you’re going to make a life with him then you’ve got first dibs on working this out.”
“Thank you for understanding.” She turned to Seb and smiled. “You and Amanda have fun. I’m going to talk to Chris.”
She didn’t wait for anyone to reply, flying down the gangplank and across the dock to the beach access. Pulling off her shoes she didn’t slow down, determined to catch him and clear this up once and for all.
She’d thought she’d gone in the wrong direction when she finally spotted Chris throwing rocks into the waves. He didn’t even turn around when she neared him, so lost in his own thoughts.
“Seb said you came out here.”
He whirled around, his jaw tight. “Did he? What else did Seb say?”
She took a few steps closer and Chris didn’t back away. Good sign. “He said you saw Dane and I in each other’s arms. That’s not what you saw.”
He crossed his arms over his chest but didn’t smile. “Really? Funny, that’s how it looked to me. My girlfriend and my best buddy wrapped around each other in the fucking moonlight.”
“No.” Susie pressed her hand to his arm, her voice urgent. “What you saw was Dane and I hugging. He wanted to talk to me because he feared that I was going to hurt you. After we talked, we said we were friends and hugged. That’s it.”
“Hurt me? Is he psychic?” The scorn in Chris’s tone unraveled her already stretched to its limit composure.
Slapping at his shoulder ineffectually, she yelled in frustration. “I love you, you big dumb stud. I don’t love Dane. I’ve never loved Dane. You and Amanda were right. He was just a representation of what I thought I’d lost. All those things you gave back to me. I love you, but you’re almost too stupid to love.”
“Well, I love you too.” Chris’s loud voice boomed in the silence. “And seeing you together punched me in the gut. You can’t say you wouldn’t have felt the same.”
“I would have felt the same.” Susie kept her tone purposely soft to quiet them both down. “I can’t imagine how hurt I would feel if I saw you with someone else, especially a good friend. But you have to know deep down that neither Dane or I would ever do that to you.”
Diamonds and Revolvers Page 8
