Dropping the knife, I caught her in the nick of time as she stumbled to the ground when one of her cowboy boots struck the pavement. “Easy,” I murmured as I steadied her.
Jade straightened, lifting a hand and brushing a few locks of hair out of her eyes. She blew a puff of air to send the last errant lock off her forehead. Stepping back, she sighed. “Thank you. I guess I owe you twice now.”
“You don’t owe me. I did what anyone would do.”
Jade’s gaze was considering as she stared at me in the parking lot with moonlight gilding her hair in silver. “Actually, that’s not true. That asshole got going in the bar and you were the only person who even noticed. Plus, not everyone carries a pocket knife everywhere,” she said, her tone dry.
I felt my lips kick up on one side. “I suppose not. Maybe it’s none of my business, but what the hell were you doing climbing into the dumpster anyway?”
“When I threw the trash bag in, one of my bracelets flew off my wrist,” she explained, gesturing to her now bare wrist.
I couldn’t say I’d considered it much, but I was aware she usually wore a wide silver bracelet on her wrist. I shouldn’t have known that detail, but then every detail about Jade appeared to be burned into my brain without any effort on my part.
“Well, then we should find it. Tell me what it looks like.” Without thinking further, I curled a hand on the side of the dumpster and jumped in.
Jade’s usual guarded expression, for once, subsided. Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open. “Tell me what it looks like,” I repeated.
She snapped her mouth shut, a wondering laugh escaping. There I stood, in the fucking dumpster, mind you, and the sound of her throaty laugh elicited a low pull in my gut. Much as I preferred not to want Jade, I did. As much as I needed air to breathe, my body wanted Jade. Which was why I generally avoided her.
“It’s silver,” she finally said. “About this wide.” She held up two fingers to demonstrate.
Glancing down to where my boots were planted amongst garbage bags, I scanned for a glimpse of silver. When the moon and the dim light in the far corner of the parking lot didn’t do me any favors, I slipped my phone out of my pocket and tapped the flashlight button. Once the bright light came on, I moved it in a pattern over the trash bags, my eyes stopping when the light reflected off something.
I walked a few steps over and reached down into the not-so-pleasant smelling trash. “Got it,” I called, holding the bracelet aloft.
When I straightened, Jade, who didn’t smile very often, graced me with a beauty. Her lips curled at the corners as her smile unfurled and her eyes tilted. “Wow! You found it.”
Stepping back to the edge of the dumpster, I handed it to her before resting one hand on the edge and hopping over to land on the pavement beside her. Jade spun the bracelet in a circle in her hands, still smiling. This time when her gaze met mine, it was almost shy. “That was really sweet, Walker.”
Oh hell. “Sweet” was not an adjective I was usually labeled with. I felt an unbidden smile tugging up the corners of my mouth.
“Well, now I owe you three times. Don’t argue the point,” she said quickly when I opened my mouth to do exactly that.
I did the craziest thing next. “Actually, if you insist, I do have a favor I could use some help with.”
“Anything.”
“I have to go to a wedding, and I could use a date.” I couldn’t believe I actually said that, but the words were out, so there was no going back.
For the second time in my experience, Jade’s mouth fell open. After an electrifying moment of silence, she asked, “A date?”
Maybe I hadn’t thought too much about this, or not at all, but I wasn’t one to back down. “Yep. A date.”
She rested a hand on her hip. “Is this a joke?”
I shook my head slowly, a plan materializing in my brain. “Definitely not. Next weekend. A good friend of mine is getting married, and I’d rather not go solo.” Just as I began to think that I didn’t want to have to explain why to Jade, her question sliced through the pause.
“And why not? You’re not exactly the kind of man who can’t handle a wedding on his own.”
I decided right then and there that I was going to dive into this insanity. I had an itch to scratch, a quite specific itch. She could be my date for the weekend, and we could burn this fire between us to ashes.
If I had to explain why, then so be it. “Look, it’s one of my best buds. I was going to go without a date and say fuck it all, but my ex is going to be there.”
“You have an ex?” Jade interjected, arching a brow so high, I was surprised it didn’t fly off her forehead.
“Yes. I have an ex. We broke up because she screwed around on me with my best friend’s brother. I’m not sure what’s up, but she’s been texting and calling lately. I get the idea she wants another chance. I’d rather her not get any ideas,” I said flatly. I didn’t feel much of anything about it and was more than glad to close the door on that whole mess. It was just I preferred not to have any pitying gazes cast my way during the wedding, and I definitely preferred my ex to consider me off-limits. It would be easier to convey that message if she thought I was dating someone.
Several things flashed through Jade’s eyes, ending with them narrowing in anger. “Oh, that’s not cool. I’m guessing the brother will be at the wedding.”
I nodded. “Yeah. It’s his family. I’m well over my ex, before you worry that’s what this is about. But, I’d prefer for her to leave me alone.”
“I’m your girl,” Jade said, nodding vigorously.
“Okay then. Sounds like we have a plan. Can you handle a long weekend out of town—three days?”
“I’ll make sure I can. I’ll be the best date you ever had, and I’ll make her feel like the cheating bitch she is.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Tell me where to pick you up. It’s next weekend.”
“Here, let me give you my number. Just text me the details. I’ll rearrange my schedule and you’ll have me.” When she said it that way, every cell in my body thought having her would be perfect. “By the way,” Jade continued, her voice cutting through my train of thought. “I would’ve done this even if you hadn’t saved my ass from that fool and then gotten me out of the dumpster and found my bracelet. It’s just the principle, you know?”
“Oh, I do.”
After I entered Jade’s number in my phone, I watched as she strolled back into the bar. Her cowboy boots struck on the gravel with each step and her hair swung at her waist. Electricity sizzled up my spine. Three days with Jade was going to be interesting.
Chapter Three
Jade
“You’re what?” Valentina asked from where she sat at the kitchen table in the house she shared with my older brother.
“I’m going to be Walker’s date for the wedding. His ex screwed around on him with his best friend’s brother. That is so not cool.”
Reflexively, I glanced over my shoulder to see if Lucas happened to be approaching. Lucas was long over what happened with his late wife. Hell, he hadn’t even found out until after she died, which in a way made it all worse. He was stumbling through grief over her death and found out she’d been screwing around.