by Niki Green
A pain of hurt and loss welled in her throat and nearly choked her. Peyton didn’t harbor any bad feelings toward Willa Tate. What had happened wasn’t her fault. What had happened had happened because it was meant to be. Enough said.
“Have they always been like this?” Cocking her head to the side, Peyton waited for Jocelyn to explain. “You know…” Jocelyn was struggling to put the right word to what the Kiel boys were. Peyton knew she could help her out.
“A little balls to the wall?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
“Pretty much. But they do seem to have mellowed with age.”
“You call them mellow?” The look on Jocelyn’s face made Peyton laugh again.
“Compared to what they used to be. Yeah, they’ve mellowed. Used to be it was Chase, Brent and Jason carousing and arousing the county. Now it seems Chase has passed the ball to the younger generation.”
“Where do Brent and Jason fit into that?”
Shaking her head, Peyton thought about the question. Where did they fit in? Both of them were getting older. Jason was her own age and Brent had turned twenty-eight a few months back. Where did they fit?
“I don’t know. But they fit. Hell, I don’t know what people would do if the Kiels weren’t the Kiels. I know some people who would be pretty put out by that fact.”
“What people are those?” Stretching like a cat in the sun, Peyton watched Jocelyn recline back and relax in the chair next to her own. It wasn’t a bad idea. Peyton did the same before answering her question.
“Mostly females. I can’t think of a single woman in town, young or old, married or not, who hasn’t had a thing for one of the Kiel boys at least once in her life.”
“Including you?”
“Yes, including me. But that was a long time ago and it seems I’ve outgrown my ‘Kiel’ stage.” Peyton took a deep breath and closed her eyes against the sun. It was a stage she was afraid she would never grow out of. Life had been so much easier when they all had been just friends. Their families were friends. Her brother Murphy and Brent’s brother Chase were the best of friends.
Friends—only friends.
That had all changed when Brent had kissed her all those years ago. There was something about his kiss she couldn’t forget. Was it the way his lips barely touched hers in the beginning? Or was it how his tongue traced the outline of her mouth and then invited itself inside? It could be the way his body fit to perfection against her own. It was something, that was for sure.
“I am happy to say that I am now one of the few that is excluded from that otherwise large population.” A white lie never hurt anyone. Did it?
“Sometimes I wonder…” Her voice trailed off, making Peyton turn her head, shade her eyes and watch Jocelyn toy with whatever question was in her head. She seemed to be in deep thought. That made Peyton even more curious than she was already.
“Sometimes you wonder what?” She propped herself up on her elbow so that she had a better view of Joss’s face. Her eyes were shut, her arms were extended and she looked totally and utterly relaxed. Content for the moment.
“Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be Willa.”
“How do you mean?” Curiosity killed the cat, but at least they had nine lives.
“I wonder what it would be like to…to feel like…to be the only person in the room. To be the object of one person’s total and utter desire. To know that no matter who walks into that room, your man’s eyes would be on you and you alone.” She shrugged and covered her face with her folded arms, leaving Peyton to ponder the same things.
How would it feel? What was it like to be Willa Tate—four hours away from being Willa Kiel? To be the object of someone’s desire? Peyton wondered the same thing. But in the place of the someone Jocelyn kept referring to, she placed Brent. How would it feel to be the object of Brent Kiel’s desire once again? It had felt damn good once upon a time, but last night had told Peyton one thing—Brent hated her as much today as he had all those years ago. When she had decided to marry the one person she should have never agreed to marry—his best friend.
“Shit,” Jocelyn rolled herself from the lounger. “I have to go. Everyone has to be dressed and ready by twelve.” Peyton followed her through the house and watched her jog barefooted to the jeep she had driven over. She stopped at the door and turned and asked, “You are coming, right? Please tell me you will be there so I am not totally alone on someone else’s happiest day of their life?”
“I’ll be there. Lucas just so happens to be the ring bearer, or ring bear as he calls it. If I don’t see you before the ceremony I’ll see you after.” Peyton wondered how Brent would feel about her being at his brother’s wedding. Lucas, Murphy’s son and Peyton’s nephew, was the designated ring bearer. Peyton was attending because her sister-in-law Kathleen had refused to. Peyton figured it had something to do with the fact that all the attention would be on Willa and not on herself. Kathleen was a bitch, pure and simple, and Lucas and Murphy suffered because of it.
“I’ll save you a dance,” Jocelyn threw back as she jumped into the jeep and turned the engine over.
“You do that,” Peyton said waving goodbye as she did. Minutes after Jocelyn was out of sight, Peyton remained on the front steps. Her mind was still wondering what it would feel like to be loved by a Kiel—her Kiel. Checking her watch, Peyton returned to the house and went about getting ready for the biggest wedding Millbrook had seen since Murphy and Kathleen’s wedding. What a pretentious show that had been.
But this wedding was different. It wasn’t everyday a Kiel boy got married. Peyton wondered how many broken hearts would be attending the ceremony and the reception to follow. She decided to take a mental count while she was there. That way her thoughts would be occupied by counting and not by the memory of the texture of Brent’s tongue, and how it had once made promises of something more. Something she had always wanted. Something she could never have again. The rock she chose to wear on her finger made sure of that.
Chapter Six
Jocelyn tapped the toe of her cage-style high-heeled summer sandal and waited. Waiting was not her strong suit. The entire waiting thing took patience and she was in short supply at this point in time.
Any minute now.
Any minute now Chase and Brent would appear on the top and second step of the large wraparound porch, signaling for the music to begin and for Jocelyn to make her way to the front. But she wouldn’t be alone. Oh no. She had the honor of being escorted to the makeshift altar by Jason Kiel himself. Asshole, she thought. It took all of her might not to cast the label his way.
She didn’t know why she was paired with Jason to begin with. She should have been paired with Nick or Hayden—they were closer in age. She’d even asked for Hayden to escort her. But Willa and Lillian both had said that it made more sense that she and Jason be paired with each other for whatever reason. Great.
Casting a look over her shoulder, she watched Nick adjust his tie and then readjust it. Nick, sweetheart that he was, had the great honor of giving Willa away. He seemed so proud. Jocelyn never realized that the Kiels were already Willa’s family. It was kind of sad that her own father wouldn’t be walking her to Chase.
Jocelyn’s father had offered to walk Willa down the aisle and give her away, but Willa had refused. She’d told him that he would get the chance one day when Jocelyn got married. Whenever that was. The way things were looking, never was a solid bet.
It’s not that Jocelyn wanted to get married any time soon. She just wanted to date. One date. Was that too much to ask? But dating for Jocelyn was rather difficult with a father like Harrison Reece. And when you added each and every Kiel to that, it increased the difficulty level by ten thousand. At this rate she would die a virgin.
Cutting her eyes to the left, she saw Jason lounging lazily in one of the chairs that had been set up behind the large arbors. The chairs were supposed to be for Willa and her bridesmaids, but Jason seemed comfortable and content occupy
ing one. She had to admit, he looked nice.
They all looked nice.
The black tuxedos gleamed, as did the crisp white shirts underneath them. Chase and his groomsmen had done away with the traditional bow tie and instead substituted a long black tie.
It looked good.
They looked good.
He looked good.
When Jason had made his way behind the tulle-draped arbors that blocked everyone’s view of the bride and the bridal party, Jocelyn almost complimented him. Almost. But then he went and opened up his mouth. “You don’t clean up half bad kid.” It was the kid part that got her. If she didn’t know better she could have sworn he did it on purpose. She was proud of herself though. Instead of retaliating, she just smiled and turned her back to him.
“When is this damn thing going to start anyway?” he grumbled. Jocelyn thought about replying but didn’t. She just kept staring off into the distance and tapping her toe. “Would you quit that already? It’s driving me crazy.” Jason rose from his chair and took his place next to Jocelyn’s right side, all the while pulling at the tie hanging around his neck.
“Ask me if I care.” She’d been good long enough. At least she lowered her voice when she said it.
“You know, if you’re so hell bent on being treated like an adult maybe you need to start acting like one.”
“I am an adult and I should be treated like one. No matter what you or my daddy think.” Their lowered voices never roused any curiosity from the others standing behind the arbor—Jocelyn made sure of that. With a quick look behind her, she saw Nick standing guard at Willa’s side. Willa, who was in deep conversation with her best friend and maid of honor, Blaire, looked radiant.
Her satin dress with the layered bubble hem and the rhinestone detailing fit her like a dream. She was gorgeous. So was Blaire for that matter. Even though Jocelyn and Blaire wore matching knee-length knit dresses with a chiffon overlay and a smocked illusion neckline, she felt like the ugly duckling.
The dresses were short, ending just above the knee, but Blaire’s legs seemed to go on forever and a day. The patent belt that cinched the dresses emphasized her slender waistline and more-than-ample bust line. Jocelyn couldn’t say the same for herself. Even though her waist was slender and her hips were slightly flared, giving her the feminine curves she needed to pull off the dress, her bust was severely lacking. She wasn’t the only one that noticed Blaire. Hayden and Jason couldn’t take their eyes off her. She couldn’t blame them—Blaire was a stunner.
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Jocelyn asked the question without thinking.
“Yeah, she is. They both are.” Jason took a second to run his eyes over his soon-to-be sister-in-law and her goddess of a friend. The fact that he didn’t say the same for her weighed heavier on her than she would have liked, but she was not about to say anything about it.
“Hey…uh…look.” Jason stammered, causing Jocelyn to look at him for the first time since he’d come to stand beside her.
“I just wanted to apologize for what I said earlier.”
“About me cleaning up nice?” Toying with the wildflower blooms of her bouquet kept her hands busy. She needed to be kept busy.
“No. The other,” Jason said as he cleared his throat and looked to see if anyone was listening to their conversation.
“What other? Oh, when you called me a cock tease? Is that the other you were talking about?”
“Would you keep your voice down. I didn’t call you a…a…”
“A cock—”
“Damn it,” he cursed. “Stop saying that.”
“I’ll stop saying it when you take it back.” She gave in to her temper and popped him once on the arm with her bouquet of blossoms, causing three or four to fall to her feet.
“I did not call you—”
She cocked her head, set her jaw and waited as he stuttered and stammered. “Look, I’m not going to get into this with you. I am trying to apologize. Try being a grown-up and accepting it.” She watched as he dusted away the imaginary petal from his jacket sleeve.
“I am being a grown-up. Where do you get off telling me how to act and how to dress? From what I hear the girls you like have on far less than I would ever think about wearing out in public.”
“Been askin’ around have you?”
“No, I’m just saying. Mind. Your. Own. Business.” She slapped him with the bouquet once more for good measure.
“It’s kinda of hard when you keep getting in the way.” Jason offered her his arm. She realized she was holding up the start of the ceremony and took his arm and hooked her hand in the crook of his elbow. They were supposed to walk close together at a paced speed, but Jocelyn’s temper powered her forward. The faster she was away from Jason’s side the better. She couldn’t take it anymore.
This was supposed to be a happy day.
A happy day.
Even repeating the mantra in her head did not stop the tears from forming in her eyes. Maybe everyone would think they were tears of joy instead of the frustration she felt forming in her belly.
“Slow down a bit.” Jason’s whispered tone struck home and she altered her steps, slowing down her quick gait and turning it into a timed stroll.
“That’s more like it. If I didn’t know better I would think you wanted to get away from me.” The tone of his voice was playful and even a bit flirty. Jocelyn couldn’t handle it. He was putting on a show for the audience, playing the part of dutiful escort so well.
As they walked she could see several female guests studying Jason. Some of them raised their hands in slight waves. Jocelyn noticed how they scanned his body from top to bottom and then back up. Once they had finished their appraisal of him they looked to her. One woman smiled sweetly and another set her mouth into a thin line and looked away. The last one Jocelyn could stand to look at actually giggled before turning and whispering something to her friend. The friend giggled too.
The tears threatened to fall even though Jocelyn willed them not to. She closed her eyes for a second, trying her best to stop a single one from falling. When she opened them once more she caught sight of a familiar and friendly face in the crowd. Peyton.
She sat at the far end of a row close to the front but slightly out of the way. Jocelyn saw Peyton lean her head to the side in a questioning manner and lift her shoulder at Jocelyn.
Her body language asked what was wrong. Jocelyn looked to Jason, who was concentrating on a blonde in the third row, and then looked back at Peyton.
She saw Peyton narrow her eyes in Jason’s direction and then roll them. She then looked at Jocelyn, shook her head slightly and smiled. When Jocelyn didn’t return the gesture, Peyton placed the small black clutch purse she was carrying under her arm and lifted her fingers to her face. Without drawing attention to herself, she placed two fingertips at the corners of her mouth and lifted it into a smile.
Jocelyn took the hint.
She smiled.
She remained that way as Jason walked her to her designated spot across from Brent’s. Brent looked up at her. Those dark eyes of his hid everything from everybody. He smiled slightly her way and then returned to scanning the audience.
Jocelyn watched him look over the crowd once from left to right and then again from right to left. Was he looking for someone? She tried her best to follow his line of sight as it went back and forth. She lost track for just a second and then realized his eyes had stopped. No longer were they moving back and forth. They were set on one person and one person only. They were set on Peyton.
The smile that came to her face while watching Brent watch Peyton was extremely real. Extremely wide. And extremely filled with giddiness. Standing on the third step from the bottom, moving slightly with the music, Jocelyn watched Hayden walk Blaire down the aisle. Jocelyn barely saw them. She was too busy singing in her head, Brent and Peyton, sitting in a tree… This might not turn out to be such a shitty day after all.
When Brent caught sight of Peyton
he felt his chest draw up as well as his balls. What the fuck was she doing here? Then he remembered. The half-pint standing at his feet had something to do with it.
Lucas James swayed back and forth from foot to foot as he balanced the white satin pillow on his hand. It was a good thing the pillow was just for looks, and that the actual wedding bands were in his pocket. Standing still was not one of the four-year-old’s strong points.
Brent scanned the crowd looking for the boy’s parents, but only saw Peyton and Murphy in attendance. Murphy’s wife, Lucas’s mother, was, big surprise, absent.
He didn’t care if she was here or not to tell the truth, because Peyton was. And all of Brent’s present attention was on her and her alone.
The dress she was wearing draped every soft curve of her body. Even though it covered more than it revealed, Brent could fill in the gaps. Her legs were toned and tan. Her stomach was flat and made Brent yearn to run his tongue the length of it. That brought him to her breasts. The dress she wore had a deep V dipping in between them—nice. Too nice. He felt the tell-tale beginnings of a hard-on. What the hell was the matter with him?
Last night he’d blamed the alcohol for his impaired state and throbbing cock. What was his excuse today? He didn’t need to get laid. Or maybe he did. Maybe he needed it worse than he thought.
His time spent searching the crowd turned up numerous possibilities of one-night or two-night stands. Hell, some of the women in attendance probably wouldn’t turn down a quick ride in the barn in the near future. But he didn’t want them. He wanted Peyton. That didn’t surprise him. He had wanted her for longer than he could remember.
Peyton with her thick hair. Hair that would skim and caress a man’s stomach as she licked and sucked at his dick.
He couldn’t see her eyes, she was too far away, but he knew that when she was aroused those dark eyes burned—burned for more.
Last night, in his inebriated sleep, he’d seen her eyes, seen them blaze as she’d ridden him fast and deep and hard. Did she still like it hard?
