Stupid Love: A Friends to Lovers Romantic Comedy (The Prescotts Book 1)

by Tara Wyatt

  “I’m so fucking hard for you, Lo. That’s it, sweetheart. Fuck, take it all.” He moved his hips a little faster, making her eyes water. She felt like she was both falling and floating with her head hanging over the edge of the bed, Theo’s cock filling her mouth. He let out an anguished moan and moved his hips even faster.

  He slid free of her mouth and helped her sit up, kissing her with a surprising softness given that she could practically feel him hanging on to the edge of whatever cliff he was dangling from by his fingertips. He eased her back onto the bed, then lifted one of her legs and rested it on his muscled shoulder. Just the tip of his cock nudged at her entrance and she writhed, the need to have him inside her obliterating everything else. With agonizing slowness, he pushed inside, the fit almost excruciatingly snug with her leg raised. He held her leg in place with one hand, the other splayed across her stomach, his thumb stroking her clit in maddeningly slow circles.

  But then all of the gentleness seemed to vanish, and he withdrew and slammed back into her, making everything inside her pulse and tighten. With his cock filling and stretching her, stroking the spot deep inside her that always sent her over the edge, his thumb on her clit, she was so, so close to exploding.

  And then the bastard took his thumb away, a wicked grin on his face.

  “No!” she cried, arching her hips up, seeking out his magic touch again.

  He chuckled. “I told you I’d make you beg.” He worked his cock in and out of her, taking his time, seemingly in no hurry. But she’d been dangling on the edge for far too long and she couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Please, Theo. Make me come. Touch me, please,” she moaned.

  He returned his thumb to her clit, massaging and circling as he fucked her harder. “Come for me, Lo,” he ground out, unrelenting in his movements. “I want to feel you come on my cock as I fuck you.”

  “Oh, shit, Theo!” She lifted her arms above her head, her fingertips brushing against one of the pillows, hanging on for life as he rode her hard and deep, sending her over the edge. Everything inside her tightened to the point of pain and then it all exploded in one massive wave of pulsing, throbbing pleasure, all of the tension ebbing out of her as she shook, her hips writhing against Theo’s. He stiffened and she felt his cock pulse inside her.

  God, the sight of him above her, his face a mask of pleasure and release, his muscles straining, sweat slicking his chest, was heady and surreal, even all these weeks later. He turned his face and placed a gentle kiss on her ankle, then carefully slid out of her and lowered her leg down. She lay there in a puddle of melted nerve endings as he disappeared into the bathroom, returning a moment later with a warm washcloth. She gasped when she felt the cloth between her legs as he gently, tenderly cleaned her up.

  A moment later, he helped her up, untied her wrists, pulled the duvet back, and tugged her into bed with him, settling her on his chest. His heart thumped steadily against her check and she traced an idle circle on his ribs with her fingers.

  “Thank you,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “For letting me…I really needed that.” His big hand moved up and down her spine, a warm, gentle caress.

  She kissed his chest. “You’re welcome. Always happy to be of service.” She tried to make her tone light and fun, but she knew she missed the mark by quite a bit. A few beats of silence passed, and then she asked, “So, do you want to talk about it?”

  “No.” His tone was firm, his answer clearly final.

  “Okay.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m being an asshole.”

  She lifted her head and met his eyes. “You’re not. It’s okay. If you change your mind, I’m right here.”

  But after a few more minutes, his breathing became deep and even, and she knew he’d fallen asleep.

  19

  Lauren smoothed her hands down the front of her icy blue cocktail dress, weaving her way between tables and wedding guests and toward the bar at the back of the room. Around her, the reception was in full swing, Beyoncé playing through the speakers as guests danced and drank and mingled. But Lauren wasn’t really in a dancing or a mingling mood, and she was hoping that a glass of wine might help.

  The ceremony had taken place several hours earlier and she’d been moved to see how happy Theo—and all his brothers—were for Aerin, who’d looked absolutely stunning in her form-fitting lace dress that was the prettiest shade of pale gold. Lauren’s throat had tightened at the way Javi only had eyes for his bride, happiness practically radiating off of him.

  Would Theo ever look at her that way?

  She didn’t know. Things had shifted between them and they’d explored new levels of trust and intimacy. And yet…she didn’t feel any closer to him, or to the future she wanted with him. They were in a holding pattern and she didn’t know how to break them out of it without breaking them altogether.

  Shaking her head, she focused on making it to the bar, smiling when she spotted Javi on the dance floor, an enormous grin on his face as he and Aerin danced with his two daughters from his first marriage. They’d been the only bridesmaids during the ceremony and both looked adorable in their pretty burgundy-hued dresses.

  “Whoa, easy there. We almost had a head on collision,” said Theo’s cousin Hudson, grinning and flashing a set of killer dimples at her. God, this wedding was basically hot guy central. Between all of the Prescotts and their perfect DNA and all the cute baseball players from Javi’s team, she had her pick of eye candy. But there was only one Prescott she wanted—the one who was deep in conversation with his cousin Noah somewhere.

  “Sorry,” Lauren said, flashing him a rueful smile. He winked at her and moved aside for her to pass and she hurried the rest of the way to the bar. That glass of wine was feeling more and more important with every single second that ticked by. The room was gorgeously decorated, with crystal chandeliers glowing softly, burgundy and gold fabric swags hanging from the ceiling, and floor to ceiling windows offering a beautiful view of the courtyard and the trees strung with fairy lights. As she watched everyone dancing and laughing and talking, she felt more and more like she didn’t belong here.

  Weddings were about family. About promises of the future. About romance and happily ever after. And every single one of those ideas made Lauren feel like an outsider who didn’t belong. She wasn’t part of Theo’s family. They weren’t together. She was in love with him, but after the way he’d shut her out last night—after the intimacy and vulnerability they’d shared—she was pretty sure romance and happily ever after weren’t where they were headed. Especially with the idea of moving to California looming. She knew she had to make a decision soon—she couldn’t ask Sadie to wait on her forever.

  She stepped up to the bar, leaning her arms on the cool surface of the wood, waiting her turn for the bartender to come take her order.

  “Hello, Lauren.” She glanced over to find Lucian standing beside her, looking handsome in his sleek dark gray suit and black shirt. To be honest, she wasn’t sure that she’d ever been alone with Lucian, and he was even more intimidating up close. Tall and broad and dark. Dangerous, according to what she’d heard second-hand from Theo and Bastian.

  “Lucian,” she said, nodding.

  “What are you having?” he asked, his deep voice smooth, almost like velvet.

  “A glass of white wine.”

  All he did was reach forward, his hand extended. The bartender saw him and hurried over immediately, took his order, which included her glass of wine, and then thanked him profusely when he tipped her generously.

  She took a healthy sip of her wine and then leveled her gaze at him. “Is it true that you’re in the mafia?”

  He laughed, and it was almost magical to see the way laughter transformed his face. When he laughed like that, she could see the resemblance to his brothers. “No.” He nudged her with his elbow in a shockingly playful gesture. “I’m more…mafia-adjacent.” He gestured over his shoulder. “They exaggerate.”

  S
he nodded and took another sip of her wine, and she could feel Lucian’s gaze on her as he studied her. There was nothing sexual or flirty about it, though. He leaned his arms on the bar, taking a sip of his whiskey.

  “Are you having a good time?”

  “Oh, yes,” she said, toying with the stem of her wine glass. “Everything’s been lovely.”

  He turned to her, a little smirk on his face. “Now, Lauren, you’re a talented musician and a total sweetheart but you’re a terrible liar.”

  She felt her cheeks heat. “Well, it’s always a little awkward going to a wedding when you’re not really connected to the bride or groom.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “Terrible. Liar.” Then he glanced around. “Where’s your date?”

  She gestured to the far side of the room. “Talking with Noah. He mentioned that he has a friend going through a divorce and Theo offered to give him some advice.” She glanced around, not seeing them. “Maybe they went to talk somewhere quieter.”

  Lucian chewed on his bottom lip, and she could tell he was wrestling with whether or not to say what was on his mind. After an agonizing moment, he finally said, “He does care about you, you know. He may not be able to show it in the way you want, but he does.”

  Her eyebrows rose in surprise and then she nodded. “I…I know.”

  She could tell from the expression on his face that he wanted to say more, but instead he shook his head. “Regardless of what ends up happening between you and my idiot brother, I want you to know that you can always come to me if you need help or you have a problem. Anything you need.”

  “Is that a consolation prize because you think he’s going to break my heart?”

  He smiled sadly and shrugged. “I hope I’m wrong.”

  She trailed her finger through a drop of condensation on the bar. “That makes two of us.” She picked up her wine glass and clinked it against Lucian’s. “Thanks. You’re like the scary big brother I never had.”

  “Am I really that scary?” he asked, holding his arms out at his sides as she started to back away through the crowd.

  “Only when you want to be.” This evening, he’d been nothing but kind, even if he was “mafia-adjacent.” She had a feeling she didn’t want to know what that meant.

  The wine was doing its job to perk her up a little, and she wanted to find Theo and get him out on the dance floor. She headed in the direction where she’d last seen him with Noah and then spotted a small hallway. Walking down it, she picked up her pace when she heard the sound of male voices in conversation, recognizing one of them as Theo’s. They were coming from a small, windowed alcove that looked out onto the beautifully illuminated pool. But then she heard her name and before she could change her mind, she ducked into the alcove just ahead of the one containing Theo and Noah. She pressed a hand to her mouth, embarrassed that she’d stooped to eavesdropping.

  “…Lauren seem pretty serious,” said Noah. “Maybe we’ll be toasting and dancing at your wedding next.”

  Her heart thundered in her chest as she waited for Theo’s response. It sank when he laughed.

  “Oh, God no. Lauren and I aren’t a couple. She’s one of my closest friends, but I’m single.”

  Lauren felt like she’d been punched in the chest. Everything inside her hurt and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.

  “Oh, I didn’t realize.” Noah sounded surprised, which was cold comfort in that moment.

  “Lauren’s great, but what we have is just a friend thing.”

  She pressed her fingers to her lips and hurried down the hallway and away from Theo and Noah before they spotted her. Her lungs felt like they were going to burst when she stumbled back into the wedding reception. Despite the loud Bruno Mars song pumping through the sound system, she couldn’t get Theo’s words out of her brain.

  I’m single. What we have is just a friend thing.

  She forced herself to keep her head up and to keep walking forward even as her body felt like it was collapsing in on itself. Her legs felt weak, and all she could think about was how stupid she was. How stupid she’d been to think he’d ever change. How stupid she’d been to let herself fall in love with someone who’d never let himself love her back, even if he did love her, somewhere deep down inside.

  Finding an empty table, she sank down into one of the chairs, her head heavy. Her heart already felt smaller than it had ten minutes ago, shrinking until it was nearly invisible. She felt like a complete and utter fool. How could she have let herself get into this situation, knowing Theo the way she did?

  Because she’d let herself hope that they could be more, and now in the space of only a few moments, those hopes were completely dashed. She sighed and slumped back in the chair, sadness and disappointment and humiliation all pulling at her, making it feel as though gravity had somehow intensified. Her eyes felt scratchy, irritated with tears she refused to let herself shed right now. She glanced around, looking for Theo. She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to appear or not.

  “Okay, now you are far too beautiful to be sitting here alone, looking so sad,” came a deep male voice with an appealing drawl. She looked up, her eyes slamming into one of the most gorgeous men she’d ever seen in person—not including Theo, but she wasn’t including him right now because he was an ass. Perfectly styled golden brown curls, piercing blue eyes, just the right amount of stubble framing full lips on top of a tall, broad, athletic frame. Whoa.

  She sat up a little straighter and managed to let out a small laugh. “Nice line.”

  He grinned. “Thanks. Did it work?” He gestured at the empty seat beside her. She smiled despite herself.

  “Sure. Knock yourself out.”

  He sat down with an easy, casual grace. “I’m Beau. Beau Beckett. I play for the Longhorns.”

  “Lauren MacKinnon.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Lauren.” He said her name like it was the most beautiful name he’d ever heard.

  “So, you’re a baseball player? Does that mean Javi is your manager?”

  “That’s right. How do you know Javi and Aerin?”

  “Oh. Um. My…” She trailed off as fresh humiliation slammed into her. “My date—my friend—is her brother.” She couldn’t seem to stop herself from putting emphasis on the word.

  Beau’s eyebrows rose. “Your friend? Not your boyfriend?”

  She let out a bitter little laugh. “Apparently not.”

  He pointed at her, all cocky confidence and charm. “Nope. Not buying it. Not for a second.”

  “You’re not buying what?”

  “That a woman like you is single. How is that even possible?”

  She laughed, slightly less bitter this time. Even though she wasn’t remotely interested in doing anything that involved leaving this table with Beau, she had to admit that it felt nice to be flirted with. “Oh, trust me. It is.”

  He shook his head sadly. “You wanna know a secret?”

  “Um. Okay. Sure.”

  He leaned in closer and she couldn’t help but notice that he smelled really nice. “You are the most gorgeous woman in this room. Hands down. If you tell Aerin I said that, I’ll deny it with my dying breath—because she’d probably skin me alive—but it’s the truth.”

  She blushed despite herself. “Well, thank you. That’s very sweet, I think. Even though you’re clearly trying to get in my pants.”

  He arched an eyebrow at her. “Would that be such a bad thing?” He sat back, giving her the opportunity to check him out. And she did, a little, but then she rested her chin in her hand, blowing out a long breath.

  “You’re barking up the wrong tree tonight, slugger.”

  He licked his lips and nodded slowly. “You got some complicated stuff going on with this ‘friend’ of yours?” he asked, making air quotes around Lauren’s most hated word.

  She snorted out a laugh. “Yeah. You could say that.”

  “Okay. Fair enough.” He leaned in again, this time raising his hand and tucking a stran
d of hair behind her ear. “But if things don’t work out with him, you come find me. Because you’re too damn gorgeous to be this sad. Promise I can take your mind off your problems.”

  “What the hell’s going on here?” Theo’s voice was surprisingly close. Lauren whirled, blood rushing to her cheeks. One look at Theo and her heart leapt into her throat, hammering away. Yes, Beau was very good looking and charming, but Theo was…well, he was Theo. He was the guy who made her laugh and who helped her solve her problems and who always had her back, no matter what. Who brought her a chai latte on a stressful day and came to her shows and held her hair back when she puked. Theo, with his thick blond hair and gentle blue eyes and tall, muscled frame that she knew felt like heaven as he moved above her, or behind her, or underneath her.

  Theo, who looked like he was ready to murder Beau.

  Jealousy unlike anything he’d ever felt before pounded through Theo’s system as he watched the guy sitting beside Lauren tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. The sight of another man’s hands touching her was enough to tinge his vision red.

  “What the hell’s going on here?” he ground out, acid churning in his stomach. Lauren blushed, her eyes fixed on him. Good. At least she wasn’t looking at the asshole hitting on her anymore. Fuck, he felt like a possessive caveman, ready to throw Lauren over his shoulder and drag her back to their room.

  “I take it this is your friend?” asked the man, leaning back in his chair, seemingly completely at ease, which, as far as Theo was concerned, meant his survival instincts were shit. He stared him down, his jaw clenched so tight he was probably in danger of cracking a molar.

  Theo’s lip curled and he barely recognized his own voice when he spoke. “Why don’t you go find someone else’s date to hit on?”