Don't Call Me Sweetheart

by Codi Gary

  A brief fling wasn’t worth her job or her chance to start a new life, and she had to keep telling herself that.

  A flash of blue caught her eye and she saw Brent on the side of the dance hall, holding Kendall in his arms. He seemed to be comforting her, and unease made Marley’s stomach churn a bit.

  Stop it. He’s going to be her brother-in-law. There is nothing going on there.

  Clearing her throat, the two broke apart and Marley smiled awkwardly. “Sorry, guys, but Sonora is getting us together for some dance number.”

  Brent ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, sure. I’ll see you two in there.”

  Marley kept her gaze on Kendall, who was wiping at her eyes as Brent disappeared inside. “Do I look all puffy?”

  She did a little, but Marley wasn’t going to tell her that. “No, you’re beautiful. You ready to go in?”

  “I guess.” Kendall fell into step beside her, but just as they reached the porch, she blurted, “Is it wrong that I think my sister is a horrible person?”

  No, because it is the truth.

  “Sisters fight. You two will make up.”

  “Sometimes I wonder how a guy as great as Brent can stand her.”

  Marley stopped with her hand on the door, and turned slowly. Don’t ask. Don’t you dare ask.

  “Kendall, do you have feelings for Brent?”

  Kendall’s cheeks turned crimson, and Marley had her answer.

  “If I say yes, are you going to tell Sonora?” she asked, softly.

  “No. And you don’t have to tell me anything. I shouldn’t have asked in the first place.”

  Kendall shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. “You’re so nice. I honestly cannot understand what you see in Sonora.”

  Twenty thousand dollars and a way out of Sweetheart.

  Marley squeezed Kendall’s shoulder. “Sometimes people lash out because they don’t know how to cope with their emotions.”

  “Or she’s just a heinous bitch.” Kendall sighed and cracked her neck before blinking her tears back. “Okay, I’m ready to face the dragon.”

  Marley pulled open the door and immediately, her gaze went to Luke. He was leaning against the wall, watching Sonora and Delores go back and forth, his dark eyes missing nothing. It was probably his cop face, and her stomach knotted up just imagining him storming an armed hostage situation or a spousal dispute. They’d been having so much fun dancing and talking that she’d almost forgotten she was supposed to be keeping him at arm’s length.

  Even if he hadn’t been the best man, it would have been stupid to get involved with him anyway. He put his life on the line every day. Why would she want to risk falling for someone who literally ran toward danger?

  Sonora was suddenly in her face, taking the folder from her. “Thank you. Now we can get started.”

  Sonora spun around on those skinny heels, and Marley’s fists clenched.

  “Are you sure?” Kendall said.

  Marley turned toward the other woman, confused. “Sorry?”

  “Are you sure you aren’t just pretending to be my sister’s friend? Most of Sonora’s friends are vapid, narcissistic whores.”

  Marley burst out laughing. “Tell me how you really feel.”

  “I mean it. You’re funny, down to earth, and seem to care about other people. So what in the heck do you see in my sister?”

  As good of a liar as she was, Marley couldn’t come up with a single reason. Luckily, they were interrupted by Sonora yelling at them to get the lead out.

  This time when she found herself in Luke’s arms, she tried to just relax and pretend he was any other guy. Of course, the minute he took her hand, the tingles racing up her arm made a liar out of her.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Nothing, why?”

  “Because you’ve got a little wrinkle in the middle of your brow, as if you’re thinking too hard.”

  Marley found herself trying to unwrinkle her forehead, and when Luke laughed, she grinned sheepishly. “Well, that’s an embarrassing tell.”

  “Actually, I think it’s pretty cute.”

  “Wrinkles are cute?”

  “When they’re on you, yeah.”

  A ball of warm pleasure settled in the pit of her stomach and spread out through her body. Until she remembered she wasn’t supposed to like Luke.

  “You shouldn’t say things like that to me,” she said as he spun her around.

  “One thing you’re going to find out about me over the next seven weeks is I’m a really honest guy, and I don’t hold back. Even when I should.”

  Marley giggled a little. “Even with Sonora?”

  “Fine, I hold back a lot with her, but only for Brent’s sake.”

  “So, you do have restraint. You could stop being inappropriate.” He dipped her back over his arm and she added, “You just choose not to.”

  He pulled her back onto her feet, and leaned down to press his mouth against her ear as the song ended.

  “Believe me, being this close and not kissing you is taking all the restraint I have left.”

  And with that, he let her go and walked away, even when Sonora shouted at him to come back.

  Well, that was a bit dramatic.

  Chapter 9

  Later that night, Marley was convinced if she had to do the chicken dance one more time in her life, she was going to start clucking. This was her thirty-fourth wedding in seven years, and although the people, the menu, and maybe even the floral arrangements might change, there were three things you could count on.

  Someone was going to get drunk and piss off the bride.

  At least three guests were going to cry.

  And the DJ was going to play the damn chicken dance.

  The song ended and Sarah Bailey-Newman, the bride at this particular shindig, wrapped her arms around Marley and hung on her like a noose. Sarah was a nice girl, the daughter of a highly religious and conservative Christian movie producer.

  And obviously, she’d kicked back one too many champagnes, the only alcohol they’d been allowed to serve.

  “I like you soooo much! You did such a good job and I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  Marley wrapped her arm around the other woman’s waist and checked the room for her parents or the groom. The last thing she wanted was for Sarah’s parents or her equally stiff groom to notice her current condition.

  “I like you too, sweetie, but why don’t we sit you down, get you a little water and maybe a cup of coffee?”

  Sarah made a scrunched face. “I hate coffee.”

  “That’s blasphemy, but I’ll let it go this once.”

  Sarah weaved against her, giving her a puzzled look. “What?”

  “It was a bad joke, never mind.”

  Marley half dragged, half carried Sarah to the bridal suite. The wedding and reception had been held at Lovers Lane Vineyard, because they had a beautiful chapel a hundred yards from the reception hall. If she could just let Sarah sleep it off for an hour, maybe nobody would notice.

  “So, how many glasses of bubbly did you sneak?” Marley asked.

  “Hmm, four or five?” Sarah lowered her slurred voice. “I think the server liked me.”

  Oh, Lord, now was not the time for Sarah to start noticing other men. When she’d first met the nineteen-year-old bride-to-be, she’d been so excited, filled with childlike wonder. The closer they got to the date, the jitterier she seemed to get, though and more than once, Marley had asked her if she was sure she was ready. Sarah had waved her off, and made excuses that she was just tired, but Marley wasn’t so sure.

  And tonight, she’d gotten hammered in the full view of her parents.

  Yeah, she was definitely a happy camper.

  Marley opened the door to the salon and laid her on the c
ouch. When Sarah promptly burst into tears, Marley was thrown.

  “Sarah, what’s the matter?”

  “I…I love Ryan, I really, really do, but…”

  Marley waited for her to finish but she just cried harder. Marley wrapped her arm around her shoulder and hugged her close. “But what?”

  “Do you promise not to tell anyone?” Sarah asked.

  “Sure.”

  Sarah sniffled, wiping at her eyes and dragging black mascara streaks across her cheek. “I’m not a virgin.”

  Marley sensed that was probably a big deal, but had no idea why.

  “That’s okay. Did you and Ryan…”

  “No, it was with some guy at camp three years ago. I didn’t even know Ryan then. He knows what happened and he’s fine. That’s not the issue.” Sarah took in a shaky breath. “I hated having sex. I only did it twice but it was terrible. What if I don’t like it with Ryan either?”

  Marley almost laughed aloud at the ridiculous situations she was thrown into while working for Something Borrowed. Breaking up fist fights. Having to chase a camel the bride had insisted on riding until it took off with her.

  But giving a sex talk? This was a new one.

  Marley thought about what she could say, and finally, settled on the truth. “To be honest, most women hate sex the first couple of times. It usually hurts and is messy and if you don’t have really strong feelings for the guy, it can be brutal.”

  She thought back over the handful of partners she had, trying to find the right ray of sunshine, and her mind kept straying to her kisses with Luke.

  “But when you are with a guy who knows what he’s doing and cares about you, who wants to know what you like and please you, then sex can be amazing. You just have to tell Ryan and don’t be afraid to be bossy.”

  Sarah giggled. “I’m not very assertive.”

  “Every woman should get assertive when it comes to sex.” Marley patted her knee. “I’ll get you that coffee.”

  Marley left the room and grabbed a bottle of water from one of the tables. After she’d poured a cup of coffee, adding a bit of cream and sugar, she snatched up a piece of cake and juggled the load back to the bridal salon.

  When she found the door closed, she kicked a couple times with her toe. “Hey Sarah? I got the coffee and even a slice of cake. I figured you hadn’t eaten so—”

  She heard Sarah giggle inside and then the door was opened by a disheveled Ryan, looking more relaxed than she’d ever seen him.

  There was no way…she hadn’t been gone that long.

  “Hey, Marley,” he said, grinning.

  “Hey. I brought Sarah some coffee, water and a slice of cake. Do you want to…”

  “Yeah, sure, I’ll take it.” Ryan reached for the items, and she noticed his jacket was gone, and the buttons of his white dress shirt were undone. The collar was also hanging open, revealing about five chest hairs.

  Marley had to bite her lip not to giggle.

  She handed all the items off to him, and he set them down on the table. The door widened to reveal Sarah, holding up her obviously loosened wedding dress and blushing prettily.

  Marley had a feeling that Sarah’s opinion on sex was slowly changing.

  “I’ll just leave you two alone and probably call it a night.” Marley smiled, turning the lock on the door. “I wish you both nothing but happiness.”

  The way Ryan looked at Sarah, as if she was everything he’d ever hoped for, made Marley warm to him even more.

  She snuck out the side door with a doggie bag from the caterer, and a bottle of champagne. After the night she had, she figured she earned a night to eat, drink, and take a long, hot bubble bath.

  She stopped off at the Love on the Corner gas station on her way home. She needed to fill her tank up, and there was a Red Box movie rental outside. She was exhausted, but too wired to sleep and she’d seen everything worth watching on Netflix at least twice.

  Plus, she really wanted an assortment of Hostess products. It was that kind of night.

  Marley pulled up to pump four and hopped out, fighting with her fluffy purple bridesmaid dress. It had an eight-layer petticoat underneath that was a pain in the ass to drive in, but she’d forgotten to change before leaving.

  She walked into the store, and made a face when she saw Darren Weaver at the coffee maker, chatting up Marsha Thornsby. Marsha worked nights behind the register, and didn’t seem to mind Darren’s attention one bit.

  Thank God. Maybe he’ll ignore me.

  Darren glanced her way, and his whole face lit up.

  Damn it.

  “Marley. Lookin’ sexy.”

  She snorted. She looked like she’d just stepped out of a prom scene in a bad 80s movie, with her poofy dress, puffed sleeves and French twist, but it had been what Sarah liked and her father had approved.

  “Darren. Lookin’ stupid.”

  His face flushed scarlet, and even Marsha snickered.

  Marley grabbed one of the arm baskets and headed to the snack food area. Starting with the orange cupcakes, she tossed item after item inside.

  When she ran out of room, she turned around and bumped into Darren.

  “Jesus, stalk much?”

  Darren, who had always been more of an annoyance than anything, grabbed her arm in a painful grip.

  “Why are you such a bitch to me?”

  Fear prickled her skin, making the hairs on the back of her neck rise up. “Maybe because you won’t leave me alone.”

  The door chimed, but Marley couldn’t see who had come in around Darren.

  “I’m just flirting with you,” Darren said.

  “This is not flirting. This is harassment,” Marley said.

  “I just don’t understand why you won’t give me a chance. I’m a nice guy—”

  “Clearly, because nice guys bruise the crap out of women’s arms just to get a point across.”

  He released her, and threw up his hands. “Fine! I can take a hint.”

  As he turned around, she couldn’t seem to stop running her mouth. “Obviously you can’t or you’d have stopped asking me out after I broke your nose in eighth grade.”

  Darren mumbled something and slammed into the person coming down the aisle behind him.

  “Watch it,” Darren snarled.

  “Sorry, dude, my bad.”

  Marley recognized Luke’s deep voice before she saw him standing there holding a bag of pork rinds. He was wearing a blue T-shirt, cargo shorts and sandals.

  “You know the beach is hours away, right?” she said.

  He gave her a look with one eyebrow raised. “But you got a river and besides, it’s hot outside.” He nodded toward the front door as it chimed, signaling Darren’s exit. “Friend of yours?”

  “A nuisance actually.”

  “Speaking of odd clothing choices…I thought you were a wedding planner? What’s with the prom dress? Costume party?”

  Marley rolled her eyes. “I am twenty-eight years old. All of my friends are getting married right now, so I’m expected to be in the wedding. You know what they say, always a bridesmaid.”

  Luke nodded. “Got it. So, you having a party or just a diabetic coma?”

  “What, a girl can’t like junk food? We’ve got to all eat salads and carrot sticks?”

  “Whoa, easy! You’ve got like fifty snack cakes in there. Being funny over here.”

  Marley hated that he was so damn charming. “Well, I don’t find you funny at all.”

  “No?” he said, a challenge in his voice.

  “No.”

  “Fine, just for that attitude”—before she could react, he’d snatched a package of chocolatey goodness from her basket—“I’m confiscating these Ho Hos.”

  “Oh hell no,” Marley cried, jumping for the white package, which he now
held over his head. She tried to bring his arm down by hanging on it but he was too strong. “Give me the Ho Hos and no one gets hurt.”

  “Nah, I’m gonna keep them. They will go great with my Funions.”

  “Okay, that’s disgusting and it was the only pack left!” She pulled a clear package from her basket and tried to bargain. “Take the Twinkies. I have like six of them.”

  Suddenly, he stepped into her, still holding her cakes above his head. “And what else?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “This is a ransom demand. I’ll release the Ho Hos in exchange for the Twinkies and…”

  His gaze dropped to her mouth and suddenly, she was holding her breath, waiting for him to finish.

  He leaned over and her eyes fluttered, waiting for him to kiss her, swaying into him like a bird in a trance.

  But the kiss never came.

  Instead, he dropped the Ho Hos back into her basket, snatched a Twinkie and Zinger and brushed her cheek with his lips, whispering in her ear.

  “Until next time, sweetheart.”

  She was too blown away to say a word as he walked away, taking her snack cakes and dignity with him.

  Chapter 10

  Since being back the last few days, Luke had really started to hate L.A. From getting stuck in traffic, to the rude ass people giving him shit for the uniform he wore, he was ready to bust some heads.

  As he suited up in the station locker room, he found himself actually missing the quiet, goofy town of Sweetheart. The two lane country roads, no honking horns or city lights at night.

  Marley.

  He slammed on his helmet, done with thinking about her. What the hell was wrong with him, obsessing over a woman who had no interest in being with him?

  Besides, his life was here, seven hours away from Sweetheart and even if she was interested, there was no way he was going to do a long-distance relationship anyway. Those always ended in heartache.

  Their team leader, Sergeant Dan Voight came into the room, his dark eyes snapping as he took up the whole entryway with his linebacker shoulders. In his mid-forties, Voight’s black hair was going gray at the temples, but that was the only sign of his age. Luke was convinced the man didn’t know how to smile, but he’d never tried to push Voight’s buttons. “Yo, we got a call to Wells Fargo on West Olympic. Bank robbery in progress, with hostages and shots fired. Let’s go!”