“Here’s your meat.”
He snickered. “You said it like that on purpose.”
I absolutely did. “Is it my fault your life is filled with things that could be dirty like wood and meat? Very phallic too. Interesting.” He growled and I ignored the way my nipples tingled, the slickness gathering at the top of my thighs.
“Maybe there’s something about me that makes your mind automatically go to sex.”
I laughed. “You definitely have that romance book hero vibe going on, but the truth is my life is pretty much sex and cocks, tits and pussies too. Of course, I have to be creative with what you call them otherwise it gets stale, but you get what I’m saying.” I was rambling and I knew it, I always did when I got nervous. But watching Norah talk animatedly with Mae helped ease my anxiety. “What?”
“You just…never mind. Never mind.”
I shrugged because as much as I wanted to know what he was going to say, I didn’t, because I wouldn’t be able to unhear it. “Okay.”
“Hey you two, get over here.” Mae waved us both over as Norah took a seat under the gazebo. “Norah’s going to work on her play while we have our first prosperity ritual rehearsal.”
“Right now, Mae? After you’ve given me three glasses of moonshine?”
She waved away my concerns. “You needed to loosen up.”
Nash and I spent the next thirty minutes letting Mae put us in different positions with long-winded explanations I was destined to forget. “Mae, how long is this ritual?”
She grinned. “It’s thirty minutes long and I need you guys to always be touching.” She put my hand in Nash’s. “Like this, but if that’s difficult then find a way to stay connected. Always connected.” She walked us through the entire ritual, most of which was incoherent to me. “And then we’ll finish here right in front of me. Nash will wrap his arms around you and tilt you back Vivi, while you look up at him with love shining in your eyes. This will all end with a kiss, but we can skip that part now because I want you to focus on staring at each other. Now.” With a clap of her hands, Aunt Mae ordered me to stare deeply into Nash’s eyes, so blue they looked as bottomless as the sea.
I noticed the moment his pupils dilated, darkened to a midnight blue that I was powerless to turn away from. “You have flecks of gold and silver in your eyes.” That breathy voice that sounded exhausted from too much sex, was mine. Yep.
Judging by Nash’s smirk, he’d heard it too. “Thanks?”
“It’s pretty,” I assured him and yeah, I got more pleasure than I should’ve out of his put off expression.
“Pretty? Seriously?”
“That’s perfect! Remember this moment, oh damn, stay just like that!” Mae rushed to her phone and snapped a few photos while Nash and I shared a laugh. “With the kiss, this will be perfect.”
Oh shit, the kiss. I couldn’t kiss Nash. No way in hell could that happen because then I’d want more and I might beg for more, like for him to drive deep and make me come. Hard, fast and out of control.
“We done, Aunt Mae?”
“What? Oh, yes. Would you look at the time! I have another engagement so I’ll be seeing you both real soon. Good luck with your masterpiece, Norah!”
“Thank you, Aunt Mae! Good look with your…thing.”
And with nothing more than a coy smile and a wave, Mae escaped into the house and left before we’d even gotten the food off the grill.
Nash
Vivi looked so deep in thought, so engrossed in what she was doing that I hated to disturb her, but I’d taken a lot of shit in town for this sugary caramel macchiato that I had insisted was for her. I didn’t want to be a liar. That was my story and I was sticking to it.
“Knock, knock.”
Her head popped up, a tangle of curls stacked on top and glasses on her face. “Come in.” She waved me over and turned back to her laptop, typing quickly and then saving the document, I assumed anyway. “Good morning.”
“Is it, but you look kind of…,” I didn’t want to be rude, but she didn’t look like she’d slept at all.
“Ragged? Haggard?” She laughed and ran a hand through her hair, unearthing two pencils. “Why the hell do I even have pencils? I’m totally digital. Paperless.”
I shrugged, but I didn’t think she really wanted an answer. “You just look like you’ve been up all night.”
“I have,” she admitted on a sigh. “I was writing. A lot.” The smile she wore said it was a good thing, but I wasn’t sure if I should ask.
Then I remembered we were friends. “Were you worried about it?”
She nodded and gifted me with a smile when her effort to remove the elastic band from her hair was successful. “I was. I’ve been working on this book for a long time and I was worried maybe I didn’t have another one in me.”
“I’m glad you do. Even if I still don’t know your pen name.” I would find out, as soon as I had the time to play online sleuth.
“In due time, grasshopper. What brings you by and with a bribe no less?”
I slid the coffee across the table and took a seat. “Can’t two friends enjoy a cup of coffee?”
She gave me a long look, studying me carefully to see if I was full of shit or not, before she leaned back and nodded.
“Sure. What are you working on?”
“Today? Nothing. I just finished a table large enough for twenty, along with twenty chairs. Some of my best work,” I told her, honestly.
“Do you feel lost when you finish a piece? I always feel a little nervous, and like a piece of me is out there when I publish a book.” Her words were so honest and spoken so freely that I envied her ability to be so open to a virtual stranger. “Is that weird?”
“Not at all. I guess maybe that’s what this funk is. I just thought I felt restless because I’m between jobs again.”
“Come on, Nash. That table was easily twenty grand, you’re not worried about work. You create these amazing things with your hands out of things provided in nature, that’s as personal as it gets. I’m not saying cry about it, but acknowledge it. It’s okay, I promise not to have your man card revoked.”
She made some good points, but I wasn’t much of a sharing my feelings type of guy. “My man card could never be revoked.”
She snickered. “If you say so, tough guy. Thanks for the coffee, but for future reference, dark roasted and black is how I take it.” Still, she ripped the lid off and took several big gulps. “That stuff is crack!”
Another laugh bubbled up out of me. “You are a strange cupcake, Vivi.”
She froze and then smiled and I ignored the tingling behind my zipper. “Thanks, Nash. So, do you have, like an agent or manager, or someone who gets you those big commissions?”
I didn’t know what she was getting at so I nodded. Slowly. “I do.”
“I’d like to place an order. For a headboard.” Her expression was unreadable, but I didn’t think she was joking. “How much, at least an estimate?”
“You’re serious?”
“Yeah. I mean I don’t know much about art, but I like what I’ve seen of your work, and this way I’ll use it every day which allows me to justify the cost to myself.”
She really was a strange woman, but in the best way possible. “If you’re serious, I’ll do a sit down with you and ask you a few questions.”
“Sure. Want to do it now?” She was eager and adorable with her wide smile. “No, of course, you don’t. Sorry.”
“Stop apologizing, Vivi. Want to come to my workshop?”
She laughed. “Is that like showing me your etchings?” Her laughter grew uncontrollable and I continued to stare at her like she was out of her mind. Because there was a good chance she was.
“Not quite, but maybe I’ll let you see my carvings.”
“Ooh, even better. Okay, let’s go!” She stood, looked down and shrieked. “First, I’ll go put some pants on and then we can go.”
“Don’t go putting pants on to please me,” I told her honestly, but
even I could hear the laugh in my voice.
“Oh, hush up, Nash Boudreaux. I like writing outside in the fresh open air.” She turned away giving me a long glimpse at a barely covered ass thanks to black lace shorty things that showed off half her ass cheeks.
“Looks like some of your underwear’s missing, Vivi.”
“Some lucky guy took a bite out of me,” she said over her shoulder as she climbed the steps. I let my gaze roam over her behind. Just because she was my friend didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy the view. And I did, soaking up every last second until she disappeared.
I figured I had a few minutes before Vivi returned so I reached for her coffee, determined to see what the fuss was all about. It was sweet as hell, but also strong. “That’s damn good.”
“Oh, that’s the perfect blackmail photo. Better be nice to me or else,” she sang playfully before shoving the phone in the back of her denim shorts. “Let’s go treat me like a real customer.”
“You are a real customer, Vivi.”
“Right, but you know what I mean. I’m also a friend, not that I expect you won’t do a good job otherwise, it’s just…I’ll shut up now.”
I laughed. “Don’t on my account. This is highly entertaining.” Her word-vomit was charming and the fact that it embarrassed her only made me like it more.
She tried to look stern and annoyed but failed, epically. “Jerk.”
“Want to try that again with more conviction?”
“Nah.” She smiled. “I’m just going to tell you every idea I ever had about my headboard and let you sift through them all to figure out which one I really want.”
That sounded like pure hell. “Or you could be reasonable, and remember that we’re friends.”
“True, I could. But what would be the fun in that?”
“Careful, Vivi, or you’ll end up with obscene things hidden in your headboard.”
She gasped and then laughed. “Seriously? Because that would be pretty damn great. Like The Garden of Earthly Delights! Oh that would be so cool!” And already she’d taken my punishment and turned it into what sounded like a pretty great work of art. “Is that insane?”
“Not at all. It sounds doable, but we should still talk,” I told her and opened my workshop door.
“I trust you. I just want it tall and intricate and beautiful, but if Billie needs you to make him a new guitar or something, definitely do that first.” She pointed a finger at me and then realized where we were and suddenly I no longer had her attention. She was looking at the finished and half finished pieces all around. “This is all yours?” She ran a finger along every newly sanded piece, reverently. “It’s so beautiful, Nash.”
“Thank you.” It was nice to hear that people appreciated my work, but the awe and reverence in her voice made me feel like a fucking rock star. “That means a lot.”
“You should probably come to my bedroom too, right? To take measurements and stuff.”
“Right. But first we need to figure out what wood you want used; style and all those details.” She nodded and sat down much too close to me while she answered my questions, giving as much detail as she could while deferring to me on certain things.
“I like the details on your bookshelf, that slightly gothic feel, if that helps.”
“It does.” I couldn’t help but smile. Vivi was so much like I remembered, but also so damn different it was hard to remember we’d been friends once. That I’d been an idiot and rejected her.
“Okay, then. I can’t wait!” She looped her arm through mine. “Come on, let me buy you lunch. Or even better.” She turned and began walking backwards. “I can whip up some sandwiches and my homemade potato chips and we can day drink.”
“You know, Vivi, I think we’re going to be the best of friends.” Even though I was mostly joking, I had a feeling it just might be true.
Viviana
“Oh my goodness, Viviana Stark, is that you?” I heard the voice and it sounded vaguely familiar, but I hadn’t heard it in at least a decade. Maybe more.
I turned and saw Maddie Trenton, one of my closest friends in high school, unearthing herself from a stack of clothes inside High St. Fashions.
“Maddie Trenton, you haven’t aged a day.” Seriously, other than a few extra curves, you’d think we tossed the old cardboard hats the first time just a couple years ago and not more than ten years ago. Her thick blond hair was shorter now, stopping at her shoulders and her brown eyes sparkled prettily when she smiled.
“Oh please, I’m a train-wreck and we both know it. I heard you were back in town.”
“I am. Chicago was not what I thought it would be, so I came back here. What about you?”
“You’re standing inside the second love of my life,” she said proudly, gesturing to the store and all its contents. “The first is running around here somewhere, and he’ll probably put something you don’t want in your basket.” We both spotted the blond curls bobbing from side to side between stacks of dresses. “That’s Max.”
“Wow, he’s adorable. You’re married?”
“Ha!” She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Nope, I’m a cliché. Got pregnant junior year by my boyfriend and he told me to get rid of it, so I got rid of him instead.” She sounded breezy about it, but I imagined it was hard at first.
“His loss. This place is great, and I just need something…new.” That’s why I’d gotten out of the house today, because I needed to go into town and be surrounded by people. Make some other change in my life other than geography.
“Well, I’m not sure about your sense of style, but I do have a few things that would look good on you.” She whirled off and picked up a few pieces of fabric and then a few more. “Your color is so great. The perfect kind of pale for jewel toned colors.”
I rolled my eyes, because she’d always been the fashionista, looking more on trend than anyone in Belle Musique. And she was currently piling her arms high with pretty dresses and other frilly things I would never need. Probably. Although if I ever wanted to get laid this century then I probably needed some date night outfits.
“Okay, Maddie, let’s not go crazy.”
“Sorry! I have a tendency to go a little crazy with clothes.” She pulled me towards the back and gave me half the stack. “Start with the dresses and work your way back. The blue one will be extra fantastic on you!”
When Maddie left me in the fitting room I took a deep breath and looked at my reflection in the mirror. With each day that passed it felt good to be home, and reconnecting with an old friend like Maddie made it more enjoyable. “It’s so good to see you, Maddie,” I told her when I stepped out of the fitting room in the blue dress. She was right, it was pretty great on me.
“You too. Being a single mother and a small business owner means I don’t get out a lot. Friends have been pretty hard to come by,” she admitted, sadly.
“Yeah well, I spend my days at my house. Alone. Writing. I love it, but other than Nash and Norah, my social life has been nonexistent.” That was the truth, even if it was sad and pathetic.
“You’re a writer? How did I not know this?”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know, I suppose Aunt Mae didn’t manage to tell everyone.” Maybe she really was ashamed of my work. “After a bunch of drama and headache, I published a book and it did well. And then another and then another. Maybe I’ll finish Sweeter Nothings before the summer ends.”
“Sweeter Nothings? Sweeter Nothings! Holy shit, Vivi, you’re Sasha Roundtree? I love that series!” She squeezed me in a hug that was either meant to kill me or disarm me. “Congratulations, honey!”
“Thanks. I’ll get you a copy as soon as the hardcopies are ready.”
“That would be so great, Vivi! I can’t believe you’re here!”
I had a hard time believing it too. “You should come by for a meal and bring the tyke with you.” I tossed three dresses and a few items of lingerie on the counter and paid. “Here’s my number. Call me to let me know a good da
y for you to come for a visit, but now I have to meet Aunt Mae for lunch.” With a hug for her and a hair ruffle for Max, I rushed off towards the diner.
“So you didn’t forget about me,” Aunt Mae said with a sniff as soon as I dropped my bag on the empty side of the booth. “I was starting to worry.”
“I stopped into High St. Fashions and ran into Maddie. Did some shopping,” I told her and motioned to the bags shoved to my left. “I got you something.”
That had her sitting up tall and trying her damnedest to look indifferent. “A bribe?”
“No, a gift. But if you see it as a bribe, Aunt Mae, I wouldn’t feel right about you taking it.” I dangled the carrot in front of her and then I dangled the oversized pashmina from my finger, enjoying the way her eyes lit up.
“It’s beautiful.”
It really was. “I saw it and it made me think of you.” She took it when I offered the scarf, and ran a hand up and down the silky material, reverently.
“Such a sweet girl. I forgive your tardiness.”
“I’m not tardy, but I am hungry. Shopping always makes me hungry.” That was probably why I didn’t shop often. I was more of a needy shopper rather than a recreational shopper. So I didn’t have a lot to base that statement on, but it sounded right. I opened the menu that hadn’t changed much at all since I last sat in one of the dark green booth seats.
“So Vivi, what’s going on with you and Nash? You always did have a sweet spot for him.”
I groaned and smacked my hands on the table. “Aunt Mae, no. Nash and I are friends.”
Her lips pursed, but I paid attention to the twinkle in her eye because that’s where the mischief would be. “I’m going to help you find love, Vivi. I know you were put through the ringer with that nonsense in Chicago but it’s all behind you and your words have come back to ya, focus on the good stuff. And open yourself up to the possibilities. Friends make the best lovers.”
“Mae, please. Just focus on your paying customers.”
“Oh, I don’t mind. You’re my baby girl.” She flashed that loving, affectionate smile that had meant so much to me when my own mother took off and I couldn’t hold on to my frustration. I loved the crazy old girl.
Accidentally Hitched: An Accidental Marriage Romance Page 4
