I didn’t so much as flee as stomp angrily through the crowded barn and outside into the chilly night air. My hands were clenched into fists. I wanted to kick something. Mostly my boyfriend.
Bradley’s truck was parked at the back of the lot wedged between two other giant trucks. I unlocked it and jerked open the back door and grabbed for the gym bag. His shirt wasn’t going to fit me, but it would be better than wearing something soaked in wine. Maybe Blaire could work her magic and make it look okay. After all, she was the famous influencer.
I’d just ripped my blouse off when I heard a low whistle and then a low gravelly voice said, “Well, well, well, what do we have here?”
My head jolted upward as Hollin Abbey came into view. Just the sight of him made my knees weak. I wasn’t short by any stretch of the imagination and still he towered over me. He had on jeans and a white T-shirt, revealing the black inky lines of his full sleeve. His beard had recently been trimmed. His hair was a soft blonde and eyes so blue as to reach the endless depths of the ocean. When they caught sight of me shirtless, my breasts half-spilling out of the nude bra, they rounded wide.
I was too angry to be self-conscious. I balled my shirt up, threw it into the bed of the truck, and then put my hands on my hips. “Like the view, Abbey?”
He smirked, the cocky annoying look he always gave me. “Yeah, I do.”
I huffed. “I don’t want to deal with you tonight.”
He leaned against the truck next to Bradley’s, which I belatedly realized was his. He crossed his muscled arms across his chest. I averted my gaze so I wouldn’t stare at the bulging biceps and incredible chest. “Why are you naked out here? If you wanted more people to come to Sinclair, this probably isn’t it.”
“Fuck off, Hollin.” I yanked out a gym towel and patted down my skin. “Bradley spilled a glass of wine all over me. I’m just getting a shirt.”
He snorted. “Smooth.”
“I didn’t think you were coming out tonight. Don’t you have a date?” That was what Julian had said.
He took a few steps toward me. Always in my fucking personal space. “Why? Jealous?”
“Not in a million years.” I glared at him and then went back to rummaging through the bag to find that damn shirt. “I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to be graced with your presence.”
“Don’t worry, Medina,” he said, his voice silky smooth. “I’ll always be around here for you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Save it for your next conquest.”
When I didn’t find what I was looking for, I pulled open the side of the bag. I sank my hand into it, and it closed around a box at the bottom. I froze.
Hollin must have read my change in body language. “What?”
With a gulp, I withdrew the box from the bag, praying to all things holy that it wasn’t what I thought it was. In the parking lot light, the black box was very clearly for a ring.
“Oh fuck,” Hollin said with a wide eyes. “Is that…?”
I gaped and popped it open. A glittering diamond ring peered back up at me. It was…not at all something that I would have picked out for myself. I’ve always liked simple things. I wasn’t one for big displays or crazy jewelry. This thing was almost gaudy.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I breathed.
“Bradley’s proposing?” Hollin asked, his voice low with an edge to it that I’d never heard.
“He sure as fuck better not.”
I closed the ring and threw it back into the bag like it was a grenade with the pin pulled. I shook my hands out. Fear blossomed in my stomach. I had to put a stop to this.
“Sure looks like he’s going to.”
“And why do you care?” I snapped at him.
Hollin chuckled. “Still got three dates with you, babe.”
“You’re going to get three dates with me over my dead body.”
“We’ll see.” All confident as if it was inevitable. He nodded his head at the bag. “What are you going to do about that?”
“None of your business.”
I found the gray shirt I’d been looking for and pulled it over my head. It smelled like Bradley, and for a second, I felt nauseated. He’d bought an engagement ring. He must have thought that I’d say yes. I couldn’t even fathom it. Was this his now or never?
Hollin frowned down at my shirt. “Not that.” He popped open his truck and tossed me a shirt from his truck instead. It was a white button-up clearly three sizes too big for me. It smelled like a musky cologne that made my toes curl in my boots. Hollin. It smelled like Hollin.
For the first time in our long acquaintance, I didn’t argue. I slipped Bradley’s shirt back off and pulled Hollin’s onto my curvy frame. I worked on the buttons, and when I was done, he stepped forward. I stilled, wondering what the hell he was doing. He took my arm in his hands and then slowly rolled the sleeves up to my elbows on one arm and then the other. My body tingled at every brush of his skin against mine.
He grinned. “Tuck it in in the front.”
I did as he instructed with an eye roll. “This?”
He nodded. “You look good in my clothes, Medina.”
I stepped forward, and his eyes rounded slightly in surprise before settling back to his arrogant know it all look. “When we get back inside, you’re going to keep your mouth shut about everything that happened out here.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then I’ll take a baseball bat to your Harley.”
He hissed. “Cold blooded, babe.”
I arched an eyebrow. “You’ve been warned.”
Then I sauntered back inside as if I hadn’t just seen an engagement ring or been completely frazzled by Hollin Abbey of all people.
To continue reading, grab Wright Rival now. Get now!
Also by K.A. Linde
Like stand alone companion novels about one big family—
WRIGHTS
The Wright Brother
The Wright Boss
The Wright Mistake
The Wright Secret
The Wright Love
The Wright One
A Wright Christmas
One Wright Stand (FREE!)
Wright with Benefits
Serves Me Wright
Wright Rival
Wright that Got Away
All the Wright Moves
Like adult Gossip Girl meets Cruel Intentions—
CRUEL
One Cruel Night (FREE!)
Cruel Money
Cruel Fortune
Cruel Legacy
Cruel Promise (FREE!)
Cruel Truth
Cruel Desire
Cruel Marriage
Like scandalous political romance—
RECORD SERIES
Off the Record
On the Record
For the Record
Struck from the Record
Broken Record
Like an angsty romance about a woman torn between her love for two men on her wedding day—
Hold the Forevers
Like angsty second chance romance—
AVOIDING SERIES
Avoiding Commitment
Avoiding Responsibility
Avoiding Temptation