“Let’s not think about her. You did good tonight. We’ll try to drink less next time.”
She settled into my arms and said nothing.
I toed open her bedroom door. The room was spotless with just as many plants as the living room. I hadn’t been in here. It was her private sanctuary. I could see her eye for design in every aspect of the place—from the wood bed to the fluffy white comforter and pillows to the shaggy brown-and-pink rug.
I lowered her gently onto the bed, the mattress dipping inward as her weight sank into it. “There you are.”
She looked up at me with those starry-blue eyes. I hadn’t realized when I set her down how close we were. I was still leaning over her. Our breaths mingled in the space. Part of me wished that I were drunk enough to give in to that look right there. I could claim her lips, pull her lush body against mine, and teach that dirty mouth all the ways I could make it moan.
“West,” she whispered, “I had a good time.”
I swallowed. “Me too.”
She reached forward, brushing back my hair from my eyes. “Are you going to cut your hair?”
“I haven’t decided. Should I?”
“I like it both ways,” she said, dragging her hand down my cheek.
She drew me in closer. So close. I breathed in the Tiffany’s perfume she sprayed on herself every morning. Our lips nearly touched. I could practically taste the honey on her lips.
Then, her eyes widened a fraction, as if she, too, realized how close we were. Then, she burst into laughter.
I jerked backward and laughed, too. “Dear God, you’re drunk.”
“I really, really am. Oh my God.” She ran a hand down her face. “You should get to bed. I probably won’t even remember this in the morning.”
I cleared my throat. “Get some sleep.”
“Hey, West,” she said as I got to my feet.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for a good night. It was what I needed.”
“Anytime,” I told her.
Then, I hastened out of her bedroom. That had been fucking close. So close that her perfume still lingered on my shirt. I could smell her all over me. I pushed down my erection as I hurried down the hall to my room. I wasn’t going to be able to sleep without taking care of this.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about her crawling around on the ground, talking about sucking cock, as I came in the shower later.
8
Nora
“Have you heard anything from West?” Annie asked. She leaned against the table at the center of the Wright Vineyard barn. Annie was in residency as a doctor at the local hospital, and her fiancé, Jordan Wright, came over to peck her on the cheek.
“Any word?” Jordan asked.
“I just texted to ask,” I told them both.
Today was Campbell’s big surprise birthday party. We’d worked it all out that West would hang with him in the studio until we got everything set up, and then Blaire would drive him over. They had their reasons all straightened out, but I’d still barely had enough time to make the barn presentable.
My phone dinged.
On my way now. Blaire just came to get Campbell.
“Clock is on,” I called. “Fifteen minutes. Everyone to your positions.”
Annie hopped up and grabbed her two best friends, Jennifer and Sutton. Jennifer was the photographer for the winery, and I worked with her regularly for my weddings. Sutton Wright had been Annie’s bestie since high school, but we saw a lot less of her since she had two kids—Jason and Madison. Mostly because Madison was a walking tornado.
Piper strode over to the table with her sister, Peyton, and her newest roommate, Eve Houston. Eve was a big reason that Piper’s winery had been saved. She was friends with Hollin and had joined our rec soccer team, The Tacos. She had a man-stealer reputation that the lot of us thought was ridiculous. And even though she’d been living with Piper and Blaire for a while now, she was still hesitant around us, as if expecting all of this to be a dream. We always told her we didn’t deal with the bullshit slut-shaming, and I hoped one day, she’d feel like she fit in.
Peyton grabbed my hand. “This is incredible. You’ve done a great job.”
“Thank you.”
It was so wonderful, having Peyton in town. She’d married Annie’s brother, Isaac, last year when she returned from New York City to take over the Lubbock Ballet Company.
“I have news, too, before Campbell gets here,” Peyton announced to the girls.
Piper and Annie grinned. They apparently already knew.
“I’m pregnant!”
All of us careened forward, pulling her into a hug and issuing our congratulations.
“It’s a girl. We’re calling her Autumn,” she announced.
“Aly and Autumn,” Jennifer said. Aly was Isaac’s seven-year-old daughter from his first marriage. “Perfect.”
“I love the name!” I gushed.
“Thank you,” Peyton said. “I didn’t want to overshadow Campbell’s surprise, but I have all of you here.”
“We’re so happy for you!” Annie said, giving her a crushing hug. “I can’t wait to have another niece.”
We all gushed over Peyton for a few more minutes. Then, the door to the barn burst open. Everyone froze, as if anticipating Campbell even though my alarm said we had three more minutes.
Instead, Weston Wright strode into the barn.
“He’s right behind me,” he announced.
My heart galloped at the sight of him. We hadn’t talked about what had happened at the bar last night. Or how drunk and horny I’d been when we got back. I remembered enough of the interaction to be embarrassed at the thought of it all. Had I crawled on my hands and knees and made blow-job jokes? Had we almost kissed? That still felt fuzzy in my mind. That couldn’t be right. Weston had made it clear that he wasn’t interested in me. My own behavior was cringeworthy, considering that fact.
I’d had a crush on him when we moved in together. We were strangers then, and he was the hot guy who had taken me in when I needed a place to live. He saw me through the worst of what had happened with August. He got me ice cream that time I ran into August at Starbucks. He stayed for our soccer game the day we had to play August’s new team. And a million other littler interactions that made me wonder if this could possibly go somewhere or if I was insane.
And then he’d gone. All of that pulled apart. But now, he was back, and was I crazy for thinking of him like this? He was probably going back to LA, just like Campbell. I didn’t have a job like Blaire, where I could pick up and leave anytime I wanted.
But still…
But still…
“You ready?” West asked when he reached me.
I cleared my throat and nodded. “Yep. All set. He still doesn’t know?”
“No, but he’s irritated,” he said with a chuckle. “He thinks we’re going out to eat and is confused why he has to pick you up from here.”
“Can’t blame him,” I said with a smile. “All right, everyone. Get into position. He’ll be here any minute.”