by Kristy Marie
“I mean—” He stares at my outstretched hand and takes it after a beat of awkward silence. “Can I start over?” I plead, trying to bury my head in my collarbone. My first big job ever and I blow it. Sue will never forgive me if I ruin any future business for her.
The McCallister Jameson Foundation hosts huge fundraisers, and it would be nice if we could do more business with them, but my nerves at being in Cade’s house betray me. That’s it; I’m destined to be a waitress for the rest of my life. My hand trembles and I look up to see the handsome stranger who opened the door is laughing.
“Come on, Breck, who has pies.” Oh, great, a new nickname. “I’ll show you to the kitchen.”
A sigh escapes with my smile of appreciation. “Thank you.”
He leads the way and I’m happy to report that his ass looks just as good as the rest of him.
“I’m Mason, by the way.”
I jerk to attention, praying he didn’t just catch me checking out his rear end.
“Hi, Mason. It’s nice to meet you,” I recover smoothly even though my voice sounds timid as I follow him through the halls, heading for what I hope will be the kitchen.
The interior of the house is just as precious as the outside, with light colors and family photos making up most of the decor on the walls. I guess when your foundation comprises of six men, you learn to keep it simple.
“Here we are.”
I take in the clean kitchen with stainless steel appliances. But what grabs my attention is the two guys at the breakfast table with a bottle of Jack between them.
“One pussy for the rest of your life, man,” the blond teases the dark headed stranger with magnificent blue eyes who I happen to know is Theo Von Bremen, the retired two-time Cy Young winning pitcher. I may or may not stalk his Instagram page.
And, no, the whole reason is not because he has an ass I could bounce a quarter off of. Bennett liked his team. That’s the truth, somewhat.
Theo doesn’t answer his friend. Instead, he slams back a shot and then does his friend’s shot too.
“Ah, shit.” Mason touches my shoulder with a groan. “Wait here. I’ll be back in a minute.”
I nod, entranced by the two at the table, and secretly admire the forearm porn going on as they slam back another round of Jack.
“The same tired blow job for eternity.”
Theo, who apparently will have the same tired mouth and pink taco until death do him part, takes another shot while the other hot-ass laughs, continuing to taunt him with fucked up wedding comments.
“What the fuck?”
I jump in response to the familiar voice.
Cade Jameson has entered the building, and holy alien babies, he’s wearing a motherfucking tank top with his dress shirt hanging open. Those delicious pecs toy with my emotions as they flex underneath the snug fabric, taunting me with ridiculous requests like: Bite me, Breck.
Crazy, right?
But Cade has some serious voodoo going on because I take an unintended step in his direction when he snaps, “Are you seriously getting him drunk, Hayes?” Cade charges over to the two drunks and snatches the bottle of liquor from the table before turning and pouring it down the sink.
“Aw! Come on, Major. I was just having a little fun with him. He had some nerves.”
Cade mumbles something low that sounds a lot like stupid motherfuckers.
“Cade.” Theo’s glassy eyes meet mine like he just realized I was here. And then he smirks at me. “Jameson,” he mutters.
“Don’t talk to me right now, Von Bremen. Commander is going to be fucking pissed that you’re drunk two hours before the wedding.”
“Jameson.”
Shoulders hunched, Cade sighs at the sink before straightening and walking to the table, sliding a glass of water in front of Theo. “Drink all of it.”
Theo laughs at the glass of water and tries to lay his head down on the table. “No, no, no. Stay upright,” Cade scolds, his tone laced with exasperation, pulling him up in the chair by his shoulders and then glaring at Hayes. “This is your mess. Sober his ass up right now.”
“Jameson.”
Cade loses his temper, yelling into the kitchen with the voice of a Marine. “What, Theo?”
Silence.
You could hear a mouse burp in China. That’s how quiet it is in this kitchen until Theo snorts and points to me.
“Your jelly girl is behind you.”
Jelly girl? What the hell is with these people and nicknames? First I’m Breck who has pies and now I’m jelly girl? Should I be insulted or flattered that they take notice of me enough to give me a nickname?
I’m going with flattered because I’m an optimist.
And well, the fact that Theo made it sound like it was Cade’s nickname for me—however terrible—makes me feel pretty fucking amazing.
Until Cade whips around and faces me with hardened eyes like the last thing he wants is for his jelly girl to be here.
I blink back at his scowl and swallow. Except, it seems like I’ve swallowed a tennis ball, so I try swallowing one more time before I offer him a hesitant smile.
Mason comes in and places his hand on my shoulder, completely out of breath. “Good. You found them,” he says to Cade. “And Breck.” He smiles at me with a glint in his eye that I’m not sure what to make of until he says, “She has pies.”
Theo, and who I assume to be Hayes, doubles over laughing. I’ll admit, it was a super dumb thing to say, but damn Mason, could you not have kept my little blubber to yourself, you walking orgasm?
I’m about to apologize to Cade when I notice he’s smiling too. He wipes any evidence of a smile off his face, clearing his throat and addressing me for the first time since I’ve been standing here.
“Breck.”
“Hi.” Hi? Really? Where is your inner hot girl? Your inner cool kid?
“Hi,” he says, his voice full of gravel.
Did I bring a change of panties? If I didn’t, these will have to come off. Major Jameson is going to dehydrate my lady parts with that broody look and sexy voice. Damn it. You are a professional, Breck.
“I, uh, I didn’t know what Anniston wanted me to do with all the pies. We have thirty in the back of the van.”
Cade’s eyebrows shoot up. “Thirty?”
I nod and clasp my hands in front of me to keep from jumping his fine ass.
He turns around after a beat and motions with his index finger for me to follow him up the staircase. “I didn’t know we ordered pies. You’ll need to ask Anniston.”
“I don’t want to bother her,” I start, but he shakes his head and continues up the steps. “Don’t worry about it. I need to ask her about some things myself.”
The last part of his sentence sounds like he’s pissed. Surely, it’s not about me being here. Maybe there have been other issues? I’m going with that theory.
“Fifty bucks says he takes another thirty-minute shower today.”
The two guys left behind in the kitchen drunk-laugh. I don’t understand it, but I gather Cade does when his shoulders tense right before he hollers back at them, “Sober up, Theo. Or I’ll run you until you puke it all out.”
It’s assault if I push him down on these steps and tear open his suit pants like an animal, right? I’m asking for a friend, not that I want to do such a thing. But if I was, I blame it on that damn commanding voice he used. I can’t help that it went straight to my clit and vibrated around a little.
“Through here,” he says, directing me through a bedroom door, only rapping once.
Anniston calls out almost immediately, claiming she is decent. Cade pushes through and I trail behind, feeling very out of place in the moment.
“How do I look?”
Anniston twirls around, and I hear Cade suck in a breath before he clears his throat and rasps out, “Like an angel.”
It’s not jealousy swirling around, making me feel like I want to shove him out the door so he can’t stare at her strapless, gossa
mer gown. She does look like an angel, but is it awful that I want Cade to think she looks like a troll? I’m a bitch for thinking it but he certainly didn’t look at me like that when I walked in. Granted, this sexy chef’s jacket hides my best assets, but still, my makeup is on point and my hair is pinned into the cutest French twist that took me over an hour to learn how to do from watching YouTube tutorials. And here Cade is, complimenting her perfect curls and tight body. Okay, so he said she looked like an angel, not that he wanted to dry hump her against the doorframe, but—
“Hi, Breck! You look beautiful!” Anniston swishes toward me, bypassing a scowling Cade. She squeezes me in a tight hug before lightly touching my hair. “Your hair is exquisite. Did you do it yourself?”
And now I feel like a turd. I’ve only met Anniston a few times at the market. She mostly deals with Sue or sends Cade. I like when she sends Cade.
“Doesn’t she look gorgeous, Cade?”
Okay, now I fucking love her. With a confident glance at Cade, I hike up a brow and wait for my compliment. He coughs, eyeing my hair and then trailing down the rest of me at a lazy pace before he licks his lips and admits, “She does.”
Score!
I don’t even care that he had to be prompted. But then he continues and the high I was riding is quickly sucked out of the room. “Not that I mind another beautiful lady in the house, but what exactly is she doing here?” He openly glares at Anniston and they stay silent, locked in each other’s stare as they silently communicate.
“Theo wanted pie,” Anniston finally says, breaking the tension-filled silence.
Cade scoffs. “Theo hates pies. He wanted cookies.”
Anniston shrugs and taps me on the shoulder as she goes back to sit at her vanity. “Well, he got pies. Any other questions, Major Jameson?”
Her no-bullshit tone halts any further arguments from Cade. The only indication he’s still pissed is the twitch of his jaw, but he grinds out one last question. “Do you want her to leave them in the kitchen?”
Anniston turns to face Cade, her eyes going wide. “No,” she states, waging a silent war with Cade. “I want her to serve them at the reception like Sue and I agreed upon.”
I almost expect Cade to stomp his foot, but he doesn’t. He squares his shoulders and inhales a ragged breath before tipping his chin once in understanding.
“Thanks so much for doing this, Breck,” Anniston continues like she and Cade weren’t just silently feuding with each other. “The guys are excited to gorge on your famous pies.” While Cade is glaring holes in her face, Anniston continues to praise me for baking all the different pies so each of the guys could get their favorites. I don’t tell her we made twice as many as she ordered. She and Theo are big names in this town, so we thought she may have more guests than expected and wanted to come prepared.
“It’s not a problem. I’m glad we could help.” I move toward the door when she glares back at Cade. Obviously, they are about to have words. “We’ll get set up in the kitchen. Thank you for this opportunity, Ms. McCallister.” I turn the knob to let myself out, and Anniston acknowledges me with a big smile.
“The pleasure is all mine, Breck. I plan on doing much more business with you and Sue in the near future.”
I swear Cade chokes. But I don’t stay and confirm it because Anniston swings back around to face him and they lock eyes in another epic stare-down.
For some reason, I envisioned Cade and Anniston’s relationship functioning very differently. I may enjoy this wedding a lot more than I originally thought.
“You did this on purpose. Asking Breck to cater the desserts. You know how I feel about her.” My tone is accusing and Anniston damn well knows it. I am beyond pissed. “Thirty pies, Anniston? Are you fucking kidding me?”
She ignores me, touching a strand of hair and smiling at me like she has a fucking secret. “I don’t understand what you mean. How do you feel about her?”
The low rumble in my chest feels volcanic. I’m two seconds from exploding with rage. I don’t want Breck here. She makes my body react in ways I finished warding off several years ago.
“I feel like she’s annoying,” I lie to Anniston, my arms folded across my chest to ease the tension in my body.
Anniston laughs out an amused sound. “Really? Shit, I had no idea. Maybe we should order the hundreds of jars of jam online then. I thought you liked her brand of wholesome ingredients.”
I cut her a look of death and then amend it with a sigh. “You’re being worse than Theo this morning.” A look of pride comes over her face at the mention of her soon-to-be husband.
“Zip me up, will you?” she asks, thankfully changing the subject.
I almost say no and keep with my attitude about Breck being here, but I know resolve when I see it in the hard set of her jaw. Whatever secret Anniston has, she won’t share it with me anytime soon. She has a plan, and whether I like it or not, she’s going through with it. It’s like I’m back in Afghanistan, butt clenched as I take cautious steps into enemy territory, waiting for the inevitable click of a landmine that will change my life forever.
I admit that’s a little dramatic, but after enduring another nightmare and this damn wedding, I’m feeling a bit mopey and a whole lot of pent-up. The shower I had after my run with Theo this morning did nothing to quell my overactive imagination of Breck with those innocent gray eyes and kissable lips. My dick is like Theo when he sneaks carbs and sugar—hyper as fuck. Hard. Soft. Hard. Soft. The front of my briefs has left my skin raw from the amount of pre-cum saturating the cotton material and rubbing up against me. And Anniston fucking invites her under my nose to hang around for the whole damn day?
This can’t be happening.
“Cade?”
Right, her dress.
With a sigh that rivals all the epic sighs of the world, I move behind her, clasping the tiny zipper between my fingers. I screw my lips up in a sneer and glare at her in the mirror, but my heart isn’t in it because she blows me a kiss and I chuckle.
“I hate you sometimes,” I lie, lifting the zipper along her soft curves before releasing.
Anniston turns, fully aware that I don’t mean what I said, clutching my cheeks in her hands as we stand face to face in silence. Her eyes, full of love and acceptance, seem to reach right down into my cold, dead heart and warm it from the inside out. I know what she’s going to say before she says it. “You deserve to be happy, Cade.”
Same argument, different day.
“I am happy,” I repeat for the millionth time.
Anniston pulls me in for a hug. I oblige and hug her back. I know she means well and I don’t want to fight with her on her big day. Anniston doesn’t agree with my “no women” philosophy. Probably because she and Theo think sex solves just about anything. But sex ruined my life.
Sex killed my brother.
I killed my team because of a woman.
And after Anniston changed my life by forcing me out of the ditch and shoving food down my throat, I vowed to never let down the second chance family I’ve gained through her. I don’t need any distractions. Apart from what Theo says, sex does not clear the demons from my head. Well, it’s been so long I can’t remember, but I don’t think it will.
Anniston pushes back and places a soft kiss on my cheek. “Theo wants to hire a stripper for your birthday.” I snort and she continues, lightening the mood. “I voted for a hooker but Hayes said he had girls he could get to do it for free.” She shrugs her shoulders, turning to the vanity and applying a little more gloss to her lips. “You know we like to save money around here.”
After sliding her finger in her mouth, she smacks her lips, verifying no gloss is on her teeth. Theo says the move is total bullshit—the sliding the finger in their mouths to get off the extra lipstick—he thinks they do it to make us think about blowjobs. Had Theo seen that, he would have offered to slide something else between her lips. Trust me, I’ve seen it. He’s not shy about unzipping his pants in front of an audien
ce.
“I appreciate the birthday plans, but a quiet evening at home sounds perfect.”
She rolls her eyes.
Do I know they’ll all do what they want for my birthday? Yep. But there’s no harm in expressing my opinion even if they don’t give a shit.
“Is it time to go?” she asks.
Checking the fitness watch on my arm, I nod solemnly. “It’s time. Are you ready to marry the pain in the ass?”
Anniston smiles big, buttoning up my shirt. “I am,” she says sweetly. I finish tucking it in, foregoing the jacket since Anniston didn’t want anyone formal apart from Theo—I’m sure she has a kinky reason for it—and offer my elbow to my commander of the past year and a half. She doesn’t waste time looping her arm through mine as we head out into the hallway. “I’ll need you to make sure the reception goes smoothly. I might be indisposed for a little while,” she instructs me.
This time it’s me who rolls their eyes. “Of course, Commander.”
Hayes and I have a bet going on how long they’ll last before they disappear. Hayes thinks Anniston and Theo will disappear after they say I do. I wager they will have a little more class and at least wait an hour into the reception. But after hearing Anniston, I think Hayes might be the winner tonight.
“Thad and his girlfriend Audrey are coming. Theo claims she’s knocked up.”
“Why does he think that?”
Anniston tries to mask her chuckle when she says, “Because he says no woman would stay with Thad this long unless she had to.”
Good lord. Just when I think he’s acting like a decent human he says some bullshit like this. “I feel sorry that Thad shares the exact genetic makeup as Theo.”
Theo and Thad are identical twins. They may look exactly the same, but they could not be more different. Where Theo is aloof and rude, Thad is caring and polite. They have a weird relationship that I still don’t quite understand.
Anniston laughs. “He’s only teasing. He’s secretly happy for him, but he would never say something so sentimental and make Thad think he was going soft.”
This I know. Theo shows affection through crude and crass remarks.
