by Piper Lawson
She pushed off the tree and brushed past me, following the photographer and the rest of the bridal party across the grass.
I cursed under my breath, rubbing the back of my neck as I trailed after.
38
Ethan
“I’m going to keep this short. Not because I don’t like to talk, because anyone who knows me knows that I do.” A few people laughed, and I took a sip of water before lifting the mic again.
Speeches were easy. Getting up in public, being what people expected—that was simple. But today I wanted to do it. It meant something to be able to be here with my family, looking into their happy faces. Even if my smile was forced.
I glanced down at the words I’d written, preparing myself to read them out. But I felt someone’s attention out of the corner of my eye.
Jordan watched me, her face unreadable.
“Here’s the thing. Dylan might be my little brother, but he’s way faster to figure things out than I am. He knows what he wants and he goes after it. He doesn’t let anything get in his way. Not circumstances—chasing his girl across the country. Not work. Not ego. Dylan figured out sooner than the rest of us exactly what he needed to be happy, and he made it happen.” Dylan and Lex looked at each other, and I couldn’t resist flicking my gaze to Jordan, who was sitting up a little straighter. “To Dylan and Lex. Two people. One life. No regrets.”
“No regrets,” echoed around the room, which was decorated with tiny white lights and lots of greenery and pale pink flowers. But the face I was watching was Jordan’s, the words on her lips, before I was forced back to my seat at the long head table.
The speeches gave way to the first dance, and I sat in my chair, the dutiful brother and best man. When the invitation went out for other couples to join, I escaped.
It was too hot in there.
I descended the front steps of the building, which had a breathtaking view of the vineyard, then continued out into the vines. It was dark out, and the plants crept around one another.
“This place is amazing.” I would’ve known her voice anywhere, even before I turned to see her come up behind me. “Apparently these vines are a hundred years old. They look kind of insidious in the dark.”
“They’re not insidious. They’re organic.”
My eyes sought out the light, straining in the dusk to make out the shape of her face, her body. One of her braids had started to come undone. I wanted to tuck it behind her ear.
“I figured weddings would cheese you out.”
Jordan paused, reaching out to pluck a grape off the vine. Tossing it lightly in her hand. “When I see Lex and Dylan, I get it.”
“You gonna have one someday?”
“If I can find the right guy.”
“How will you know?”
“I dunno. Maybe we’ll have the same taste in cake.”
She rubbed the grape against her dress, then popped it into her mouth. Then made a face. “Oh, God.”
“Sour?”
“Worse. I think it was green.”
I laughed, realizing it was the first time I had all week. “I’m glad you’re here. I wasn’t sure you were going to make it.”
“I had some things to look after. Apparently Evergreen’s going to be in business awhile longer. They got this big contract.”
My gut twisted in anticipation, but I kept my voice level. “Really? That’s incredible.”
“Mhmm. But the most incredible part was that it was my idea.”
I squinted into the darkness. “Interesting.”
“Uh-huh. So I had to stick around and help to convince some of the staff it was legit and they could take their jobs back.” She took a deep breath. “Ethan, how the hell did you swing that?”
“I gave up something that didn’t mean what I thought it did.”
“Which was?”
“I backed out of the condo gig.”
She grabbed my arms. “You worked your ass off for that deal!”
“Yeah. But sometimes it takes a moment like that to realize what’s most important. No regrets, right?”
Jordan cursed. “You won’t regret not doing that condo?”
“Not as much as I’d regret letting you go.”
My eyes had adjusted to the dark and I could make out the smooth lines of her face, her full lips. The confusion was something I sensed more than saw.
“So what,” she ventured, “that was an apology?”
“No. That was a gift. Here’s the apology.” I took a breath. “I’m really fucking sorry. And I want you to know…that place in La Brea…if you still want it, I can get it for you. You can have it this week.”
Her eyebrows knit together. “I thought someone already rented it.”
“Doesn’t matter. If that’s what you want, I’ll get it for you.”
I’d already contacted the new renters, and learned they’d give up the store if I was willing to subsidize the rent on their next space.
Liberally.
Jordan brushed past me to start down the row of vines. I turned, falling into step beside her.
“I’ve been thinking about our LA plans too. Lex and Ava and I’ve been talking, and we might’ve called it quits too soon. But, I actually think that store might be too small.”
“What do you mean?” The back of my neck prickled.
“I was thinking about my business plan. The ambitious one. I showed it to Lex and Ava, and they thought it had merit. And I agreed to put some of my own savings in to mitigate the risk.”
It was my turn to blink. “You didn’t want to spend your trust fund.”
“I’m not spending it. I’m investing it. I can grow it, and still donate it later. I’ve actually been in touch with the owners at Montana. They’re keen to move it and have said they’d take a discount if we can move in this month. Plus, Kent helped me find three other boutiques that will take our clothes to make up for the ones that pulled out. And they’ve already placed orders for fall.”
“You don’t have a manager.”
She paused, turning to face me. Her pale face glowed in the light from the moon overhead, her expression unguarded. “Yeah, we do. Me.”
My heart kicked, a base drum against my back as I sucked in breath. “So you’re coming to LA. You’re staying in LA.”
“I told Lex and Ava I’d try LA for a year, during which I can train up an assistant manager. The whole retail thing…it’s my baby. I’ve always wanted to do something different than my father. He’s happy to make decisions behind the scenes. But I like to be on the front lines. See what our customers see.
“Besides, this way Dylan can move into the apartment in New York. Newlyweds need their space and all.”
Her words were slow to sink in, but when they did, I felt them in every pore. Every cell of my damned body.
I wanted to grab her. Kiss her, something. Anything. She might not be mine, but she was going to be here. That was almost as good. Three hundred and sixty five fucking days to wear her down.
“I need a place to live, though,” she went on. “Can you help me find something?”
I tried to keep my cool. “Depends what you’re looking for. How do you feel about ocean views and tropical fish?”
She cocked her head, considering. “Favorable.”
“Roommates?”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Depends on the roommate,” she decided, recovering.
On a surge of adrenaline, I stepped closer. “He’s one of the top five realtors on the Westside. He can cook, he benchpresses two-twenty…”
“Sounds like he doesn’t need a roommate.” She tilted her head up to meet my gaze, those eyes swirling in the half-light.
My hand found her waist, my fingers digging in just enough to let her know she wasn’t getting away. “He also just lost a big gig, so his ego might be suffering.”
“And let me guess—that can be fixed with sex.” Just the feel of her body against mine had me springing to attention.
“You’
re the fixer, you tell me,” I managed.
“Maybe we can work something out.” She smiled and the weight on my chest evaporated.
“Thank fuck. Because I can’t deal with the girls in there—” I gestured to the building “—hitting on me. It’s ridiculous. I can’t even take a leak without someone asking me out.”
“It sounds terrible.” Her smile fell away. “This week, Ethan…I needed that time. But you helped me realize I can do this with Travesty. And that I can face my own mistakes. I like how you push me. And make me laugh at myself. And when I’m with you…I feel like I’m enough, just the way I am.”
My chest tightened, but it wasn’t with fear or frustration. “If you had any doubts about your capabilities, this should set them at ease.” I held up my phone, clicked on an email. “Your party sold out half the building in one night. And raised more than a hundred grand for charities.”
Her jaw dropped. “Seriously? Shit. Who knew water was so sexy?”
I raised an eyebrow, and she laughed, her cheeks flushing a gorgeous pink.
“Maybe Axe would let us have one more time in the pool before it sells,” I murmured. Unable to stay away from her for another second, I bent in, my lips brushing her jaw. She arched her neck on a laugh.
“My hotel room has a shower.”
“Mine has a Jacuzzi,” I bit out. “Which is way too far away.”
She exhaled on a laugh. “You realize we’ve only had sex a few times. I mean, maybe it’s all downhill from here.”
“Oh, no. And I’ll prove it to you. In fact, I’m going to have to carry you to brunch because you’re not going to be able to walk.” Jordan’s eyes widened, and desire clashed with satisfaction in my gut. I glanced toward the main building.
“What time do you think we can skip out of here?”
“You’re the best man.”
“Not right now. Right now I’m a very bad man.”
Her mouth curved, and the need to taste it nearly overwhelmed me. “I won’t tell. But we should probably stay until the end.”
“In that case, can I dance with you?”
“Mhmm.”
“Eye fuck you across the room?”
Jordan considered. “Sure.”
“Text you pictures of my cock?”
“We need to draw a line somewhere.”
I laced her fingers through mine and tugged her down one row of vines, then two.
I couldn’t remember feeling as much emotion as I had today. The low of being without Jordan. The high of my brother’s wedding, being around family and friends. Then the relief of Jordan showing up, telling me it wasn’t over. That this crazy unlikely thing between us that I’d come to cherish wasn’t over.
Music wafted from the building just up the hill.
“Hey, I know this band!” Jordan murmured as I pulled her close.
“Did they buy you a guitar?” I whispered against her mouth.
“Nope. Did you party with them?”
“No.”
“I appreciate your honesty.”
“I love yours. Hell, I love everything about you Jordan. I just fucking love you.”
I swallowed her surprise, craving the feel of her lips. Her mouth opened under mine and I groaned, claiming her in a kiss full of desperation. It’d been way too long since I’d held her against me. I never wanted to know what that felt like again to be without her.
She pulled back. The little noise in her throat said she didn’t want to. “I need to know something.”
I stared at her, incredulous. “Wait. That wasn’t enough for you?”
“No. What was that commercial you did?”
I groaned, dropping my head back to stare up at the sky for a long minute. But eventually I caved, whispered in her ear.
Her eyes went round. “You’re kidding me.”
“No.”
“I’m looking it up on YouTube right now.”
I pulled her harder against me. “No, you’re not.”
“I need to see—” Her words turned into a gasp as I grabbed the phone out of her hand and tossed it behind me.
“You really don’t.”
She laughed as she kissed me.
“Ethan,” she murmured against my mouth.
My chest tightened. “Yeah?” I hadn’t expected her to say it back, but hell, I was hoping for it.
“I think I fucking love you too.”
Hearing the words made me grin so hard it hurt.
“You better love me, Jersey. Because I don’t show my junk to just anybody, you know.” I grabbed her hand in mine and tugged her back toward the building.
EPILOGUE
Jordan
“Hi. This is Jordan Briggs for Emily Marcus. She left a message about doing a feature on the new Travesty store on Montana Ave. I just got off a flight from New York.” I paused, spotting my bag on the carousel. “Yeah, I can hold.”
I wedged the phone between my ear and my shoulder, getting ready to tackle the bag as it swung around the corner. I jumped on it, grunting as I hauled the thing off.
I got it halfway.
Fuck running. I need to go to the gym.
I nearly fell back when the bag lifted easily as high as my waist, without my help. I let go and turned to see it set on its side like it weighed nothing.
Somehow I’d cut off my call. But I didn’t care.
“Can I help with that?” Eyes the color of the ocean warmed on mine when I looked up. Dressed in a button-down shirt and jeans, Ethan wasn’t the most casual guy in the arrivals lounge—or the most dressed up. Still, people looked at him.
Including me.
My breath stuck in my chest as I stared at the sexiest guy I’d ever seen. “It’s kind of late if I say no.”
“That’s why I waited until I was done to ask.”
Ethan flashed his grin. Any hope there’d been of resisting was gone when he stepped into me.
“Hi,” I murmured. It was the only thing I could think of when he was within arms reach.
Especially when his hand found my waist, sliding right underneath the hem of my shirt to stroke my bare skin.
“Hi,” he breathed a second before his mouth came down on mine.
Airport kisses are stupid. I mean, I get that there’s a time for them. Family reuniting after years-long separation. Or the big declaration at the end of a cheesy romcom.
But I’d been back in New York for all of a week.
The way Ethan’s lips crushed mine, demanding and a little possessive, was overkill.
So was the way his tongue demanded entry to my mouth.
And when he pulled my hips against his—
“Stop,” I panted, pushing back enough to see his gaze, hungry on mine. “Let’s get out of the airport first.”
“You New Yorkers are so damned uptight.” Ethan glanced down at my bag. “This everything you needed from home?”
“Yeah. Well, plus some stuff I had shipped.” Cleaning out the apartment had been easier than I thought, especially since Lex and Dylan were on honeymoon. I’d packed everything up, sent some boxes to my dad’s for storage, and most of it to Ethan’s.
“Ahhh. So that’s what the massive FedEx crate was that was delivered to my door yesterday. I thought it might contain circus animals or a baby grand piano or something.” He shook his head. “I didn’t know what I was getting into with you, Jersey. I thought you were low-key. Had no idea you had so much of a footprint.”
“You regretting your offer?”
“Not a bit.”
Ethan grabbed the handle of my suitcase and I kept my mouth shut. I’d learned he liked to do those things. And I tried to pick my battles.
“Your dad still giving you a hard time about your accommodations?” he asked as we strode down the hall.
“He doesn’t understand why I won’t stay in corporate housing.”
“You have two bedrooms and an ocean view,” Ethan said, exasperated. “Any other dad in the world would be thrilled to have his daugh
ter dating me.”
“Oh really.”
“It’s a fact.”
The week after the wedding, I’d told my dad I was moving to California for the year. “Thrilled” was not the word I’d use to describe his reaction. When he found out I was moving in with Ethan…
Yeah. We were still working on it.
“Maybe we should show him your commercial,” I teased.
“No way.” Ethan hesitated. “Unless you think it would help?”
“Probably not. Though it has its appeal.”
“Admit it. You totally got off to my toothpaste commercial the other night.”
“Get off to twenty-five seconds of you smiling at yourself shirtless in the mirror? That’s tacky.”
I had.
Twice.
“Any news on the development?”
We crossed to the parking garage, and I wondered for a moment if my bigger suitcase would fit in the i8.
“They’re starting to build, I drove by it the other day,” Ethan commented. “Dom’s almost forgiven me—the bonus I gave him helped—and really, I’m glad Mick took it. I think it’s keeping him out of trouble. I wouldn’t have had a second left for my clients. Or to help you set up the store.”
“Oh, was that an offer?” We had most of the plans in place for the big launch even before I’d flown to New York for the week to get my things organized and pack. “You know most of the displays are done. We’re stocked. I have someone helping part-time when I can’t be there…”
“But you’ll still need me for the launch.”
“To do what?” I considered the opening event we’d planned for two weeks from now.
“Lift heavy launch objects.” Ethan got the suitcase into the car then flexed once more. “What, no reaction?”
I blinked up at him. “What do you want me to say.” I deepened my voice. “Oh Ethan, I need your giant muscles to lift the scissors for our ribbon cutting. I can’t wait to see you lift those paper gift bags for the first fifty customers. I—”
“Fuck, stop it already.” He groaned as he rounded the car, sliding in the driver’s side while I got in the passengers side. “You know what sarcasm does to me.”
