by A. D. Ryan
“Oh, shit! She responded!” Kyle exclaimed excitedly, piquing my curiosity.
When I rounded the corner my eyes went wide as they fell upon the two men sitting side-by-side on the couch, huddled over … son of a bitch! My phone! I was across the room in a flash, ripping the phone from Kyle’s grasp as he laughed with Gavin.
“What the hell are you two doing?!” I shouted as I started flipping through my received—and sent—messages. The first one I saw was Madison’s final response about how I didn’t join her in the shower.
I looked up from the phone to see Kyle and Gavin wiping tears of laughter from the outer corners of their eyes as they continued to howl. They had been dirty texting my girl? What was worse was she was texting back … thinking it was me. It bothered me that they had tricked her. I quickly tapped out a message to tell her the truth, because I knew Kyle would bug her about it later; this way, at least she was prepared.
I hit send and scrolled through the messages leading up to that last one and found myself smiling at them; apparently Madison was good at dirty texting. After a few minutes, she still hadn’t responded, so I sent her another message to make sure she was okay. If Kyle fucked this up for me, I’d kick his ass.
I laughed loudly when Madison told me it was actually Willow texting, which caught the attention of Kyle and Gavin who came barreling into the room as I sent another message back.
“What’s so funny?” Kyle asked, peering over my shoulder.
Kyle groaned. “Aw, man! Well that just took all the fun right out of it!”
After telling Madison I’d see her soon, I put my phone in my pocket and returned my attention to Kyle. “All right, let’s get you ready to get married.”
We spent the next little while tidying up before getting into our tuxes. I had just finished buttoning my shirt and adjusting my tie when there was a knock on the door.
“I’ll get it,” I announced. We weren’t expecting anyone, so I definitely hadn’t been counting on Kaylie standing on the other side of the door.
I held the door firmly so she wouldn’t be able to enter the room. “What the hell do you want?” I demanded, glowering at her.
“Lilah asked me to bring this to Kyle,” she said, her tone confident and unwavering as her eyes glanced behind me.
I looked down into her hands and saw a small black box wrapped with a shiny, silver ribbon. “I’ll make sure he gets it.” I took it from her. When my fingers brushed her hands slightly, my stomach convulsed as I fought the urge to wretch. I wouldn’t let her see how deeply her mere presence affected me. She would never get the satisfaction.
I turned from her, ready to slam the door in her face without another word when her bony fingers wrapped around my wrist, sending my flesh crawling all over my body. “Jensen, can we talk?”
“No,” I told her shortly. “We have nothing to talk about.” Her fingernails started to cut into my wrist as she refused to let go of me. I glanced down at her hand before I looked back up and glared daggers at her. “You’d be wise to remove that hand.”
“Or what?”
I yanked my arm free and leaned down until our faces were inches apart. Beneath my skin, my blood boiled with rage, and all I could hear was the loud pounding of my pulse in my ears. “Here’s how today is going to go, Kaylie. We’ll walk down the aisle to appease my sister. We’ll smile for photos, break apart, stand by her and Kyle and watch as they get married. After that, we’ll walk down the aisle once more before we congregate outside so people can talk to Lilah and Kyle about how gorgeous the ceremony was—or whatever the fuck it is people talk about at these things. Then, you’re going to leave me the fuck alone. Are we clear?”
“Is this about her?” she inquired in an arrogant tone, her eyes narrowing in a way that made me believe she saw this whole thing as one giant competition. The sight of her made me sick. Every time I looked at her, all I saw was the woman who tossed our future away like trash without discussing it with me first. All I smelled was her betrayal.
I shook my head in disbelief, my nose wrinkling in disgust as I assumed her intent. “You leave Madison out of this,” I snarled venomously. “Just …” I sucked in a sharp, irritated breath and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Just go.”
After I slammed the door shut, I fisted my shaking hand into my hair and tugged violently, fighting the urge to scream in frustration.
“Whoa, Jensen,” Kyle said, joining me in the entry. “What’s got you so tightly wound? Who was at the door?”
“Kaylie,” I ground out through clenched teeth, the pain from the force of my bite starting to tingle throughout my mouth.
Whispered curse words were heard before Kyle spoke up again. “Shit, dude. I’m sorry.”
I shook my head, trying to force myself to remember why I was here—Kyle and Lilah’s wedding. “It’s fine. She was looking for you. Lilah wanted you to have this.” I tossed the box at him before taking a deep breath. “I need to get some air. I’ll be out on the balcony.”
Once outside, I leaned on the railing and took a few cleansing breaths. Even after all these years apart, it pissed me off that Kaylie still had the ability to get under my skin. It was frustrating, and I hated myself for letting her affect me this way. I leaned over the railing, clasped my hands together, and pressed my forehead against them. Eventually my heart stopped pounding angrily, and when I looked up, the sun glared off the roof of a truck as it pulled into the lot below. Actually, not just a truck. Wayne’s truck.
I watched as the truck stopped in its spot and the door opened before Madison’s denim-clad legs appeared. From the fourteenth floor it was hard to really see her, and all I really got a glimpse of before she disappeared into the hotel was that her blond hair had been pulled off to the side. Knowing that Madison was back at the hotel calmed me, and I felt any and all stress from my interaction with Kaylie disappear.
When I went back into the room, Kyle was showing Gavin the new watch that Lilah had given him. The patio door closing caused them to look up, and Kyle grinned. “You all right?”
I nodded once, returning his smile before pointing to his watch. “Let’s see.”
Kyle thrust his arm out as I approached, smiling like a four-year-old on Christmas morning. “Pretty sweet, huh?”
After he showed off the features of his watch—also listing the benefits of said features—we finished getting him ready for his big day before I decided to head downstairs. Just as I was walking out the door, Kyle called out to me.
“Hey, can you take this to Lilah for me?”
I took a breath and instantly felt my anxiety spike. “Um, sure.” Kyle beamed and handed me the small jewelry box. I put it in my pocket before I slipped out into the hall and took the private elevator down to the ninth floor.
The closer I got to our door, the more excited I grew. Madison had kept her dress under wraps since the day she bought it—initially because she didn’t even know what she bought it for. But even after I asked her to the wedding, she refused to let me see it. It was really very mean … okay, not really.
As the door came into view, I grabbed my wallet from my back pocket and found my key. The smile that formed on my lips was almost painful as I wondered what I would find on the other side. I slid the key into the slot and waited for the green light before pushing it open. I made it three steps into the room when I heard her throat clear.
Chapter 7. My Present
I turned sharply and found her in the narrow hall between the entrance to our room and the bathroom. Her hands were on her waist, her right leg bent so her left hip popped out, and her bottom lip was pulled between her teeth. The bright blue fabric of her dress really made her already sparkling eyes pop, and it hugged every damn curve of her body before resting right above her knees. The low neckline had me struggling against the urge to rush the short distance between us and ravage her.
“Wow,” I said breathlessly. “You look incredible.”
Releasing her lip, she started to rot
ate slowly … taunting me. “You think?”
Holy fuck. As she continued to turn counter-clockwise in front of me, I noticed how the dress tightly hugged her ass before I noticed the silver zipper that stood out against the color of the dress. It ran the entire length of her dress. From top to fucking bottom.
Speaking of zippers.
I found myself more than just a little turned on, and was suddenly straining uncomfortably against my pants. Swallowing thickly, my eyes moved up her body as she completed her turn, and I smiled as I took in the detailing of her hair. While the dress screamed sexy vixen, the small bow fashioned out of her own hair was both adorable and classy.
I closed the space between us and wrapped my arms around her waist before I lowered my face to hers and kissed her softly. “Stunning. That dress is just … Damn …”
“Well, you look pretty damn lickable yourself,” she whispered seductively, poking my chest for emphasis.
My lips found hers again, kissing her greedily as my fingers curled into the bare flesh of her back above her dress. Slowly, I moved them down until I had the zipper between my fingers and started to lower it.
“Mmmf,” she mumbled into the kiss before pulling away. “And just what do you think you’re doing?”
I shrugged, smiling crookedly because I knew it made her melt. “We’ve got about twenty minutes before we have to go.” I said, moving the zipper another couple of inches while my other hand moved down and cupped her perfect ass. Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment, and I lowered my face to her neck where I started trailing the tiniest of kisses down and over her shoulders.
She moaned when my mouth moved down her chest and kissed the swells of cleavage that her sexy-as-fuck dress exposed, and I pushed my hips forward so she could feel what it was she did to me every damn day. “Jensen,” she whispered through a breathy sigh.
The sound of her calling out my name spurred me on, and my hand left her backside before hiking the skirt of her dress up. Her skin was so soft beneath my fingers as they ghosted over her creamy, white thigh to the juncture between her legs. My thumb had barely grazed the fabric of her panties when she flattened her hand against my chest and pushed me away. The way her chest heaved as she took in several deep breaths and licked her kiss-reddened lips had me aching for her touch.
I tried moving forward again, but she kept me at arm’s length and shook her head. “Sorry, baby,” she cooed, taking a chance by reaching behind her with both hands and re-zipping her dress. “We have to go.”
My eyes widened as she sidestepped away from me and grabbed a small black purse, dropping her phone and some of that lip shit that tasted like sugar into it. “But—”
Her eyebrow arched as she turned her head and eyed me over her shoulder. “You coming?”
“That’s not funny,” I told her, narrowing my eyes playfully as I realized she was likely getting me back in some twisted way for all of the unwelcome interruptions in the past twenty-four hours. It wasn’t fair—especially since none of them were entirely my fault.
With a giggle, she shrugged and pulled the door open. “It kind of is.” Once we were in the hall, she turned to me. “Like you said yesterday, you don’t want our first time being rushed. So, let’s enjoy the evening and then later, I’ll let you do whatever you want to me.”
“Whatever I want?” I repeated, several ideas coming to mind—some of which I wondered if she would actually allow.
Her head snapped back as she suddenly realized that “whatever” really could mean whatever. “Uh … within reason,” she clarified quickly, and I laughed before pulling her back into my arms and kissing the tip of her nose.
“Come on,” I said, sliding my hands down until they reached hers. She threaded our fingers together before turning toward the elevator.
We rode in comfortable silence down to the banquet hall, my thumb tracing lazy back-and-forth patterns over the skin of her hand the entire time. When we walked out, we were lost in a sea of people from last night’s dinner. Kyle and Gavin were already in the room, Kyle schmoozing with guests and Gavin hitting on Bethany. It appeared that she was interested, laughing at his jokes and all. Mom and Dad found us shortly after we entered and came over to talk.
“Oh, Madison!” my mother exclaimed elatedly. “You look exquisite. That color is just … Well, it’s simply marvelous.” I smiled as I watched my mom pull Madison into a warm embrace. It was then that I found myself trying to remember Mom ever showing that sort of affection for Kaylie. I couldn’t.
“Janet’s right, Madison,” Dad spoke up with an affectionate smile as he pulled her into his arms and hugged her also. “You really do look beautiful. Jensen’s going to have to fight off all the single men.”
They were both aware that Madison and I weren’t together, but they treated her like we were. I was completely taken aback by their instant connection with her. I knew my dad had never been close with Kaylie, but I figured it was just because he was my dad and that would have seemed inappropriate. But as I watched my parents with Madison in that moment—and even thought back to how engaged they were in getting to know her better the night before—I knew that there was a reason they treated her differently.
They never really liked Kaylie. They only tolerated her because she was what I thought I wanted.
But they saw something different in Madison. Something I tried not to see because she didn’t want more. They saw how happy she made me, and in turn, that made them happy and willing to welcome her into our lives.
Momentarily lost in my silent revelation, I hadn’t even noticed that the three of them were staring at me expectantly. My parents both had a small amount of concern in their expressions while Madison seemed to hold a glimmer of knowing in hers. Unable to contain the smile that grew on my face, I leaned forward and pressed a firm kiss to her temple.
“I’m sorry. I must have zoned out for a moment,” I apologized. “What were we talking about?”
“We were just wondering how everything went this morning with Kyle. He seems to be pretty relaxed,” Mom said, gesturing to Kyle as he stood in a sea of people somewhere behind me.
I nodded, pulling Madison even tighter to me as I continued to bask in my happiness. “Yeah, it was great for the most part.” They all eyed me curiously. “Oh, no. Nothing to do with Kyle. Kaylie stopped by to drop off a gift from Lilah.”
The eye-rolls exchanged between my parents weren’t missed. The contempt they seemed to be harboring toward her almost mirrored my own—almost like maybe they knew something.
Madison wrapped one of her arms around my back and rested the other above my heart. “So, when does everything start?” That was the thing about Madison; she was always so in-tune with my feelings that as soon as she sensed I was feeling a little off, she was quick to try and take my mind off of whatever it was that bothered me. It was almost like she cared more than a friend would.
“Soon, actually,” Dad announced after checking his watch. “I should go and see how Lilah is doing. Jensen, why don’t you remind Kyle of the time so we can get started?”
Nodding my response, I looked down at Madison. “I’ll see you soon,” I told her, cradling her face with my right hand before kissing her softly.
I watched as my mother stepped forward happily, looping her arm through Madison’s. “I’ll keep her company, darling.” Madison returned my mother’s gesture by bending the arm my mother held and placing her other hand on my mom’s. My heart swelled at seeing Madison accept them as much as they accepted her.
After finding Kyle and Gavin, we went to the back room where we were to meet the ladies—well, one lady … and Kaylie. Kyle was trembling, his dark eyes conveying exactly how much he was anticipating marrying my sister. His complete and utter devotion to her only further assured me that she was in the best of hands.
As Gavin and Bethany struck up their previous conversation, I went off to find Lilah. I knocked on the door to her private sitting area three times before opening it a crack. �
��Lilah?” I stepped in and found myself completely speechless. There, in the middle of the room, was my baby sister. She was absolutely breathtaking in a strapless wedding gown, its skirt full of hundreds of roses made out of the same fabric as the dress. The smile on her face only made her more radiant.
“Oh, Lilah,” I said softly, crossing the room and hugging her tightly. “You look so beautiful.”
Laughing, she returned my embrace. “Don’t hug me too tight! You’ll wrinkle me.” Once we ended our hug, she did a twirl. “Do you think he’ll like it?”
“I’ve already told you, he’s going to love it,” Kaylie said from right behind me.
Because I was still looking down at Lilah, I kept the scowl I felt forcing its way to the surface hidden. “Kyle would love you in anything. In fact, he’d probably be okay if you walked down the aisle in a burlap sack,” I teased, completely ignoring Kaylie’s presence.
“Ew!” Lilah exclaimed with a laugh, punching my shoulder.
“Oh,” I said, suddenly remembering the gift from Kyle in my pocket. “Kyle wanted me to give this to you.”
I handed her the velvety box and watched as she opened it. Her eyes lit up and she gasped, reaching down to touch the delicate necklace. It had three square-cut diamonds set in white gold; I think they were meant to signify past, present, and future.
Lilah picked up the necklace and examined it. “It’s so pretty.”
I had just taken the necklace to help Lilah put it on when Kaylie stepped forward. “Let me help you,” she said, reaching for it.
My head snapped toward her, and I smiled while simultaneously glaring. “I got it. Thanks.” Lilah lifted her long hair as I stepped behind her and helped her put the necklace on, the bottom stone resting on the edge of one of her exposed chest scars. “There you go,” I told her.
