by Piper Rayne
Her eyes held a glimmer of hope. “You really don’t think it’s a big deal?”
“Nah. I’ll behave. Besides, my cousins are already going to be there since most of them work at the distillery.”
“That’s true. I really don’t want to go with Sherman’s cousin. All he ever wants to talk about is his turtles.” She pulled her sundress on over her head.
I helped her yank the hem down even though the fabric kept sticking to her wet skin. “It’ll be fine. I promise.”
“And this”—she pointed at my pile of clothes, then at the water—“no one needs to know about this, okay?”
I grabbed her hand and held it to my lips. “It’s our secret.”
“Seven o’clock at the distillery, Saturday night.” She gave me a bashful grin as she tucked her panties and bra into her bag.
“I’ll be there.” And if luck was on my side, maybe we’d repeat the events of this afternoon. Though, somewhere indoors might be better. Either way, I was already looking forward to spending more time with her, with or without our clothes. Being with Tori fed something in my soul, a hollow place I didn’t know existed.
“See you then.” She slipped on her shoes and climbed the path back up to where we’d left our cars. I tugged on my pants and watched her go, already looking forward to when I’d get to see her again.
Chapter Nine
Tori
I spent the rest of the night tying narrow satin ribbons into tiny bows to finish Bailey’s wedding favors, but I didn’t mind. Deacon called me when he got back from a night out with his cousins, and we spent hours getting to know each other.
He confessed how out of place he felt when he moved back to LA, how much he’d missed his family and how his mom had guilted him into staying with her, even though her priorities revolved around her new husband and less on a thirteen-year-old boy who needed her. My heart ached for the boy he’d once been. No matter how mad I got at my sisters or frustrated my mom made me, we were kin, and we had to stick together. That’s what family did.
I told him about my job, how much I loved making a difference in the lives of the kids I worked with, and all the places I wanted to show him once we made it through the wedding.
Friday we carved out a little time together, and he stopped by to pick up the three dozen moonshine kiss cookies I’d whipped up to satisfy my end of our deal. He couldn’t stay long since he had to get to the wake, but he stuck around long enough for me to find out just how his beard felt skimming the inside of my thighs.
In the short time we’d spent together, Deacon had given me more orgasms than I’d had in my entire last relationship. I wasn’t sure whether that was more a reflection of his undisputed talent or a reminder of just how sorry my love life had become. Either way, I was happy to be on the receiving end and couldn’t wait to find out what else he could do with his tongue.
Saturday afternoon, I arrived at the distillery with plenty of time to spare. Not even Mother Nature would dare mess with Bailey’s plans, so the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Wispy clouds hung low in a bright-blue sky while a warm breeze ensured we’d all be comfortable for the outdoor event.
Though I felt like twelve bridesmaids were a bit of an overkill, I was determined to keep my mouth shut and my opinions to myself. It was her day, and I was going to enjoy myself. All the hard work we’d put in over the past twelve months would be worth it.
I was especially looking forward to the moment when I’d get to introduce Deacon as my date. That would keep my mom and her gossiping friends, a group I’d nicknamed The Biddy Squad, off my case for a while.
My commitment to being cheery lasted right up until the vows were exchanged and the bride and groom joined the wedding party for pictures. The champagne had been flowing freely for over an hour by then and talk turned to my mom’s favorite topic: how to find me a husband.
I’d heard it from her friends before… “you’re such a nice girl, Tori. Let me fix you up with my niece’s best friend’s stepdad.” Or… “my brother’s newly single. He’s only a few years older than you”—that usually meant at least a decade. Tired of hearing everyone’s unsolicited advice, I cracked under the pressure. I’d been planning on waiting until the reception to introduce Deacon as my date, but I couldn’t stand it one more instant.
I walked away from the wedding party while they were discussing whether I’d make more beautiful babies with Sherman’s cousin Toby or one of Sawyer’s brothers. I’d already ruled out dating any of the Stewarts since my sisters had gone out with all of them at one point or another.
I caught sight of Deacon sitting by himself in the very last row of chairs. He had on a dark gray suit that made the color of his eyes stray more toward blue than green. He looked like he could have been getting ready for a photo shoot for the sexiest man alive instead of being my date for hire for the small price of a homemade pie.
His lips quirked into a sexy smile when he caught me heading his direction. Made me want to grab onto his arm and make a beeline for the parking lot. I’d been daydreaming, and night dreaming, about our time together at the swimming hole. I couldn’t seem to get the super sexy, semi-stranger out of my mind.
“Hey, can you come with me for a few minutes?” I whispered.
“Sure.” He stood, buttoned his suit coat, and took my hand. “You look beautiful, Tori.”
I didn’t have time to bask in the glow his compliment elicited. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
“Thanks.” His fingers twined with mine. It felt natural, like my hand was meant to be held in his… like we fit together. But that was ridiculous. He’d be on a plane back to LA in less than a week. All I could do was enjoy him while he was here. Oh, and take advantage of showing him off to my family and hopefully shutting them up once and for all about my inability to find my own dates.
“Do you mind if I introduce you to my mom and sister real quick? The Biddy Squad is giving me grief and trying to figure out whose baby I need to have.”
“The Biddy Squad?” He smiled, a devilish grin that made me wish the next few hours had already passed and we were headed back to my place instead of straight into the viper’s den.
“That’s what I’ve been calling my mom and her friends. They’ve made it their personal mission to make sure no one enters their thirties without the benefit of a lifelong partner.”
Deacon’s laugh made my pulse spike. If only he could stick around. I wouldn’t mind hitching my wagon to his kind of train to see where things might lead.
We stopped at the edge of the recently formed receiving line. Thankfully, I wasn’t required to take part since I was only a bridesmaid and not the maid of honor. I introduced Deacon to Sherman first. “Sherman, this is Deacon Raines, my date.”
Deacon slipped an arm around my back and reached for Sherman’s hand. “Nice to meet you. Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” Sherman released his grip, already moving on to the person behind us.
Bailey was next. “Deacon, this is my sister, Bailey.”
I couldn’t help but grin as my sister turned to face Deacon. Her eyes widened and her mouth formed a little “o.”
“Hi, Bailey.” Deacon took her hand. “Congratulations. Tori’s told me so much about you.”
My just-married, as in, seriously, just-married-less-than-a-half-hour-ago sister flushed at his attention. She shook his hand and seemed to struggle with something to say. I’d never seen her tongue-tied before. Though, I’d also never introduced her to someone who could be on the cover of GQ.
We turned to my parents, and I was about to get The Biddy Squad off my back, at least for the rest of the evening, when everything went to shit. Cole Bishop came out of the kitchen and noticed his cousin making his way down the receiving line.
Cole’s gaze bounced from Deacon to where Sawyer stood sandwiched between my mom and the best man. He headed our way and the look on his face made every muscle in my body tense.
Sawyer stepped out of
line, blocking his path. “I told you, I’ve got this event under control. Go home, Cole. We don’t need any Bishops ruining the party here tonight.”
Cole spread his arms wide. “I’m not here to argue with you, Sawyer. Just want to know what the hell my cousin is doing with his arm around your best friend’s sister.”
Sawyer’s head swiveled. I squeezed Deacon’s hand, wondering if she’d go for the jugular or aim a swift knee to his groin first.
“His cousin?” Sawyer gave me a look that could have broiled me to well-done in an instant. “Are you telling me you brought a Bishop to your own sister’s wedding?”
My palms went clammy and Deacon tightened his grip. “Wait a sec, I’m not a Bishop.”
“Not a Bishop?” Cole scowled. “What the hell does that mean? You’re one of us, man, aren’t you?”
“Well, yeah, but I—"
“You what?” Cole’s brow furrowed, his expression a mixture of anger and hurt.
I’d been wrong to underestimate the power of a generations-old feud. The hate between the Bishops and the Stewarts would never fade away. It was like a festering wound that could never fully heal.
“I’ve gotta say, he might not sound like a Bishop, but he sure as hell looks like one.” Sawyer narrowed her eyes.
“Not that it matters because the feud between all y’all is asinine as hell, but in Tori’s defense, she didn’t know I was related to the Bishops when we met.” Deacon blew out a frustrated breath. The angrier he got, the more he sounded like he’d never left Tennessee.
“All y’all?” Sawyer gloated. “Maybe you do sound a little bit like your backwoods cousins after all.”
Cole’s hands fisted by his side. Everything was about to spin out of control. I could sense the tiny wobble in the universe about to throw my whole world off balance, but had no idea how to stop it. The worst part was, it was all my fault.
Bailey, who’d been letting her bestie act as her outspoken mouthpiece, finally found her voice. “How long have you been dating the enemy, Tori? You’ve been canoodling, consorting with the other side right under our noses all this time?”
Deacon turned to face her. “Don’t y’all think this is getting a little blown out of proportion? We just met the other night on the plane. We’ve barely had a chance to get to know each other.”
“You met on the plane?” Bailey looked at me, her big blue eyes full of accusation. “So y’all have known each other a total of what, three days? Was Sherman’s cousin not good enough for you, so you had to find a fake date to your own sister’s wedding?”
My knees buckled, and I grabbed onto Deacon’s arm. A fake date. There it was, right out there in the open for everyone to see.
“It wasn’t like that.” I wished she could understand. She’d never suffered the humiliation of being The Biddy Squad’s pet project. Never known what it felt like to have an entire town making snide remarks about her biological clock running out of time and ovaries that were on the verge of expiring.
“Then what was it like, Tori?”
I stood there, speechless, the collective anger of my entire family making me spineless with shame and wishing I could melt into wooden floorboards and disappear.
“Can we talk about this like reasonable people?” Deacon asked.
Cole crossed his arms over his massive chest. Sawyer cocked a hip and set her jaw.
Bailey tossed her bouquet on the ground. “I can’t believe this. My wedding is ruined.”
Sherman put his arm around her, and she turned into him, shielding herself from the horror of a reception gone wrong.
Stunned, I turned around in slow motion, my fingers releasing their grip on Deacon’s hand. Everyone stared at me, their eyes filled with pity. Humiliation wrapped its strong arms around me and dots swam in front of my vision.
Everything seemed to flip into fast forward then. I ran from the building, leaving my family behind. I didn’t have a car at the reception, had no idea where I was going. But one word bounced around inside my head: Flee.
Chapter Ten
Deacon
I ran after her. “Hey, Tori, wait up.”
She didn’t slow down. How could she move so fast in heels that high?
I reached for her arm to stop her. “Slow down a sec.”
“Slow down?” She whirled around. “You said it wouldn’t be a big deal. That the feud was some stupid thing that nobody ought to care about. Now I’ve gone and ruined my sister’s reception.”
My heart jumped into my throat. She was right. I’d said those things, and I’d meant them. “I’m sorry. Let’s figure this out. Is there somewhere we can go to talk?”
“You don’t get it, do you?” The disappointment in her eyes dug into me.
“I can fix this.” My fingers squeezed hers. I didn’t want to let her go. Something inside me had shifted over the few days I’d spent in Beaver Bluff. We barely knew each other, but being with Tori had tugged something loose inside me. Opened up a part of me I’d sealed shut the day I left Tennessee and moved back to LA. I didn’t want to see it end.
“It’s too late.” Her anger dissipated, making way for disappointment so heavy I could feel the weight of it between us.
“Let me talk to Cole. I’ll smooth things over.” I wanted to fix this for her. I’d been in her shoes. I’d been the one everyone talked about, the one everyone ribbed about being single. I could take it, but I could tell it had worn her down. We might joke about The Biddy Squad, but for once she’d wanted to put them all in their place. I’d promised to help, and I’d ruined it.
“It’s not a big deal.” She pulled her hand away from mine and lifted her gaze. The resignation in her eyes leveled me. “Why don’t you go back to Cole’s? I need to figure out how to fix this with my sister. I can’t be the reason her wedding day is ruined.”
“You want to meet up later?”
She squashed any hope of seeing her again with a shake of her head. “I think it would be best if we didn’t see each other again before you head back to California.”
“Come on, you can’t be serious. You’re going to let a little feud stand between you and—”
“And what, Deacon?” Her mouth flipped into a deep frown. “We had a little fun. My fake date didn’t pan out the way I’d hoped and you’re heading home in a day or two anyway, aren’t you? No need to make this into something bigger than it is.”
I could take a hint. I shrugged, determined not to let her see my disappointment. “Take care, Tori.”
She didn’t respond. I hesitated, tempted to give her a quick kiss on the cheek before I left, but decided against it. Coming to the wedding had been a mistake. I took a last look at the woman who’d rocked my carefully constructed world, then turned my back.
She didn’t want me. No need to stick around when she’d made that perfectly clear.
I left her standing at the edge of the gravel parking lot. Then I turned and walked away. That was one thing I knew how to do.
Tori
I didn’t go back to the reception. Couldn’t bring myself to suffer the humiliation of going from feeling on top of the world to feeling like I’d been buried under everyone’s disappointment. There was no way I could face Bailey. Going back in would only make things worse. With me gone, maybe the reception would go on as planned. The appearance of Deacon would be a blip on the horizon of her happily ever after.
Fifteen minutes into my walk home, I abandoned the ridiculous shoes. Why hadn’t I listened to my gut?
A tiny part of me knew that bringing Deacon to the wedding would be a bad idea. But the bigger part had convinced me I deserved to enjoy an evening free from the snide comments and obvious stares. It sometimes seemed like the whole damn town felt sorry for me. Like they were ready to write me off as a reclusive spinster, destined to become one of those eclectic older women who collected crocheted doilies at the same rate as feral cats.
Just once I wanted to prove them wrong.
I wanted to stay in B
eaver Bluff. Couldn’t think of anywhere better to settle down and raise a family. Despite the inconvenience of the ongoing feud between the Bishops and the Sawyers, it was a great place to live. And not having allegiance to one side or the other, I’d avoided getting caught in the middle.
Until now.
Now I might be better off doing what my best friend from high school did… leaving. She’d peeled out the day after our high school graduation and hadn’t looked back. Hadn’t been back to visit either. Maybe that’s what I needed to do… find a place to make a fresh start… where I could be myself and not worry about trying to make everyone else happy for a change.
The second I got home, I traded my over-the-top bridesmaid’s dress for a pair of comfy pajamas and pulled out a pad of paper. What would I tell one of my students to do in a situation like this? I was so good at helping twelve- and thirteen-year-olds figure out their problems, but had always had a hard time transferring all of my knowledge to my own life.
I drew a line down the center of the page and titled two columns. One for reasons to stay in Beaver Bluff, and one for reasons to find a fresh start where I could put myself first for a change.
Deacon
I didn’t want to spend any longer than necessary in Tennessee. Not now that I’d single-handedly ruined a wedding and chased the one woman who’d made me laugh in the last three years away. After changing my flight to leave early the next morning, I sat down to review all the paperwork regarding my cousins’ inheritance.
As I read over the conditions of the will, my stomach growled. I’d been looking forward to some authentic Tennessee barbecue at the reception. Too bad the drama couldn’t have held off until after I’d filled my belly. Cole’s fridge was bare, except for the half a pie I hadn’t gotten around to eating yet.
I sat back down at the table, fork in hand, and demolished the rest of Tori’s pie. Damn, the woman was right. She sure as hell could bake.
