Clutched (Wild Riders) (16 page)

“This is Nora's house. Well, Nora and Georgia's house,” he told me.

The infamous Georgia.

I'd heard a lot about her from Brett. Mostly, how miserable he was without her when she ended their relationship a few weeks ago. Luckily, she came to her senses and showed up at the expo in a grand gesture to win him back. I was glad that they worked it out. Brett was damn near impossible to be around during their short time apart.  “My brother and Brett are here,” he said. “Working on some wedding stuff or something.” He paused. “I thought maybe you'd like to have dinner with us before I drop you at the motel.”

He thought I'd like to have dinner with his friends and family? My confusion about what exactly this weekend was about was mounting. Car rides I could handle. Dinner with his friends and family might put a little pressure on the wall I was trying to build up between the two of us. The one that I was trying to hide behind. Along with my heart.

“Besides, I'm over the whole thinking thing. I just want to get out of this truck and eat,” he said as stretched his legs out of the truck and stood up. “We're here now and we have a wedding to attend tomorrow,” he said with a smile. “Might as well make the most of it.”

“Okay,” I agreed as we walked up to the front door.

The wind was blowing again. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, it would breeze in and try to steer me in a different direction.

Just go with it.

W
e walked into the house and Chayse was immediately swept up into a bear hug by Nora.

“I'm so glad you're here,” she told her. I stood there, feeling like chopped liver, until my brother and Brett finally acknowledged me.

“Hey buddy,” Reid said with a grin from his spot on the sofa. “How was the drive?”

Brett waggled his eyebrows and looked over at Chayse and back to me.

I shook my head. I should have never told them about being into her. You ask your brother and friend for advice and they suddenly can't wait to make you feel uncomfortable about it. Assholes.

“Isn't it bad luck to see each other before the wedding?” Chayse asked Nora.

“Luck, schmuck,” Nora replied. “We're about as nontraditional as they come. Right, baby?” Nora said giving Reid a wink. My brother was sitting in a chair across the room, fully engulfed in a sea of shiny paper and ribbons.

“Right,” he said, giving her a grin. They were sickeningly sweet. A part of me was jealous. Jealous that I couldn't act on my impulse to flirt with Chayse and wink at her.

Chayse and Georgia were formally introduced and then the Bennett sisters pulled her toward the bedrooms.

“It's so nice to officially meet you,” Georgia said.

“I'm sorry we didn't get a chance at the expo,” Chayse told her. “I was a little preoccupied with kicking Reid's ass and all.”

“Easy, girly,” Reid teased as Brett coughed the word “burn.”

Chayse wrinkled her nose at Reid and gave him a smile.

“It's always nice to find another female that can keep these animals in check,” Nora told Chayse. “They'd be complete savages if we weren't around.”

Reid and Brett protested with a simultaneous “Hey!” but I kept my mouth shut. I knew that Nora was right. The Bennett sisters were the best thing to happen to those two.

“You have to see Nora's dress,” Georgia said, grabbing Chayse's hand like they were old friends. “It's so pretty.”

“Okay,” Chayse said, flashing me an overwhelmed smile and a shrug as she was ushered away. I figured that Chayse McCade cared as much about wedding dresses as I did. It gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling to see that Nora and Georgia were so welcoming to her. I'd come to the conclusion that Chayse wasn't really all that into having friends. Hoffman was the only one she really talked to at Mill Valley and no one had ever come to visit her. Not even her own mother. Her dad didn't count seeing as how he had to be bribed to be there. At least if I couldn't be there for her the way I wanted to, then she'd at least have some new friends.

“So what's the deal, Romeo?” Brett asked when the girls were out of the room. “You two still star-crossed lovers?”

“No. Maybe. I don't know,” I told him as I fell on the sofa next to him. Reid was sitting across from us, leaning over the coffee table trying to tie tiny bows onto some sort of card. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Wedding programs,” he answered as he fumbled with a tiny pair of scissors.

“The things you do for love.” I laughed as he struggled.

“It's like he's got two left hands,” Brett added. “I finished my pile in record time.”

“I'm sorry my fingers aren't as delicate as yours, Sally,” Reid teased. “Some of us are men,” he said, holding up his hand and wiggling his fingers. “You know what they say... the bigger the hands...”

“The bigger the ego,” I inserted, earning a laugh from Brett and the finger from Reid.

“Nora loves these hands,” he countered, tossing the finished program into a basket. “Just ask her,” he paused and looked over at me. “How the hell did I become the butt of this conversation? Weren't we talking about Hoyt and his drama?”

“We were,” Brett said. “What's the deal?”

“I don't know,” I answered. “There's really no deal. Pilsner made it perfectly clear that nothing can ever happen between us.” I sighed. Something had already happened between us. The whole thing was making me miserable. “It sucks, but it is what it is. I had to bring her here, but that's as far as anything can go. I'm just a glorified chauffeur.”

“Yeah, well, I think you should tell Nick to eat a dick,” Brett offered. “You are both consenting adults. If you want to date her, fuck her, hell, if you want to marry her... it's your business.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I held up a hand. “You're jumping the gun, pal.” I laughed. “I like her. And, she's smoking hot, but I'm not sure where it goes beyond that. Let's not go saddling me down like Martha Stewart over here,” I said, nodding at my brother. Reid shook his head.

“I'm just saying, you should be allowed to do whatever you want.”

“Try telling that to Pilsner.” Every time I thought about Nick and his warnings, I felt my blood boil. But then, me being the rationalist that I was, wondered if the reason I couldn't stop thinking about Chayse was because I wasn't supposed to be. She was my forbidden fruit. Just dangling there in front of me all sexy on a dirt bike begging me to take a bite. Sinking my teeth into her would be fun, but would it be worth it? I tried to tell myself no, but every time I was around her she'd smile or say something cute and I was done with being rational.

“I will,” Reid said.

“Me too,” Brett added.

“I appreciate the support, guys.” I really did. Knowing that my brother and Brett would go to bat for me gave me that all the feelings that guys dare not talk about. “But it is what is.” I shrugged. “She's doing so well. I don't want to make things complicated for her when her career is taking off.  And mine. Nick's working on getting me another rider.”

“That's good,” Brett said. Reid nodded in agreement.

“We'll see,” I said. “Our careers have to come first. For now I'll just babysit her like I was asked to do.”

“I think it's great that you're focusing on your career and all, but take it from me,” Reid said. “That's not the only thing that matters. I wasted years not being with Nora because I thought I couldn't do both.” Reid had sacrificed his relationship with Nora to pursue his career. It took him seven years to realize that he'd made a mistake. “If you think there's really something between you two, you should go for it.”

The girls walked through the living room before I had a chance to respond to my brother. The three of them were smiling and laughing. Nora whispered something in Chayse's ear that had her cheeks turning red. She looked at me and a smile touched her lips. I felt my chest constrict around my heart. Maybe my brother was right. Maybe I was wasting time by not just telling her how I felt. But, how could I be sure that risking everything we had with Throttled was worth it?

“Where ya going?” Brett asked, reaching out to grab Georgia's hand. “Come over here.”

“We'll be right back,” Georgia said with a giggle as she pulled her hand free. Brett gave her his best set of puppy dog eyes and we watched the three of them go into the kitchen. Whatever it was they were involved in seemed to be a lot more fun than the conversation we were having.

“You don't
babysit
a girl like that,” Reid leaned over and whispered.

“No you don't,” I agreed, not being able to tear my eyes away from Chayse.

* * *

W
atching my brother and Nora exchange vows might just have been the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. The two of them smiling as they placed rings on each other’s fingers, vowing to love only each other until the end of time. I was starting to understand why Nicholas Sparks was so successful, not that I'd ever admit it out loud. Up until this exact moment in my life, I would have sworn that the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen was a new dirt bike. That was a lie. The most beautiful thing I'd ever seen was sitting in the second row.

As I spent the morning at the winery where the wedding was being held upholding my best man duties, Chayse had apparently spent the day getting ready with some kind of evil fairy that knew exactly what would drive me out of my mind. The short dress she was wearing with long lace sleeves fit her like a glove. The deep red color reminded me of all the sins I wanted to commit when I looked at her. Each and every curve she had to offer had been taunting me since she walked into the venue. Her hair was a mass of curls, gathered to one side and spilling down her shoulder, showing off her delectable neck. Her long, slender legs were on full display and her feet were tucked into a pair of black stiletto heels that I would have given my left arm to have digging into my back.

I thought my dreams about her were hot before. Hell, my daydreams were now X-rated. I'd spent the night before going back and forth in my head about what I was going to do. I kept telling myself that nothing could happen between us. I even told my brother and Brett that, repeatedly, despite their encouragement that I sack up and go for it. They were terrible influences.

As I glanced around the room, forcing myself not to stare at her while the preacher talked about trust and commitment, I saw Nick Pilsner sitting in the crowd. If ever I needed a reminder about what was on the line it was now.

Somehow, I’d managed to convince everyone else that there was nothing going on between us. I just couldn’t convince myself apparently.

* * *

“C
ongratulations!” I said to Reid and Nora as we walked into the room where the reception was being held. As soon as the vows and the thirty second kiss Reid laid on my new sister-in-law was over, we'd walked out of the room and were now waiting for the wedding guests to join us.

It was a nice five minute breather for the five of us. I knew that the rest of night would be a blur of celebration. I was genuinely happy for my brother. He deserved a happy ending. We all did, but I knew that mine was seeming more and more like an impossibility.

“I'm glad you brought a date,” Brett said as we waited for the party to start. He had his arm wrapped around Georgia's waist who was grinning at his mention of Chayse. I knew what my friends were suggesting, but it wasn’t going to happen. She wasn't my date no matter how bad they—and me—wished she was.

“For the record,” I clarified, “she's not my date. I didn't have much of a choice.” I glanced over at the door waiting for her to enter nonetheless. “Pilsner didn't give me much of a choice.”

“Yeah, let me know how that works out for you,” Brett added as he a Georgia walked across the dance floor to the table where we were all expected to sit. My eyes found my
not date
and I swallowed. She looked incredible sitting down, but seeing her walk sexily across the room was even better. Every muscle in my body seemed to tense when I looked at her. It physically hurt to keep the way I felt about her all bottled up. I wondered if she was having just as much difficulty with this situation as I was. The way she was keeping her distance and not letting herself look at me made me think she just might be.

It's better this way.

All was well and good, until I was holding her in my arms on the dance floor. Thanks to my new sister-in-law for that. She'd practically thrust Chayse into my arms so I didn't have to dance alone during with the wedding party.

“You look beautiful tonight,” I told her as we swayed back and forth. My arms were cinched around her waist like I was scared she was going to escape.

“You don't have to say that,” she snapped. “I'm not your date after all. Wasn’t like you had much of a choice, right?”

Shit.

W
rapped in Hoyt’s arms on the dance floor, I forced my mind to replay his earlier comment to Brett over again in my head. My stomach had dropped into the toes the second I heard him speak. I felt like a complete idiot for even considering the fact that maybe, just maybe, tonight he would be different. I'd even let myself get all mushy over the fact that he was staring at me during the ceremony like I was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. All I'd ever be to Hoyt Travers was eye candy.

“She's not my date. I didn't have much of a choice,”
he'd said so casually to his friend. “
Pilsner didn't give me much of a choice
.” As if the time we'd spent together yesterday had meant nothing. He didn't want to be here with me. Right now, the feelings was pretty fucking mutual.

It stung. Each and every word was like an angry hornet with a taste for pain. But remembering them over and over kept me grounded. Kept me from getting lost in the scent of him, the sound of him, and God help every woman who ever came near his rock hard body, the feel of him.

I was stupid to think that when he'd asked me to come with him to his brother's wedding that it was anything more than a work obligation. Of course he'd asked me as way of making sure I stayed out of trouble.

I tried to stifle the chill that wanted to run down my spine in response to his low words in my ear. I wouldn't have agreed to dance with him after what I’d heard him say, but the bride had insisted.