Everybody's After Love (8 page)

Nodding slowly, unable to speak, my hands move to his waist looking for something, anything to steady myself and stop this shaking. The location I selected isn’t the best idea as my pulse increases even more. Before either of us can speak again, I see Paulie walking toward us.

“Don’t say anything,” I whisper as we both pull apart.

Bentley nods as he turns to my brother and his friends. His dimple returns and I try to follow his lead, planting a fake smile on my face. Reaching us, Paulie shakes Bentley’s hand and the two make small talk, Paulie’s completely oblivious to my nervous habits that he normally picks up on so easily. I must be getting good at the fake smiles and such.

As the two men talk and I stand safely between both of them, it takes me awhile to realize that Bentley’s hand is resting in the small of my back. It’s slightly odd considering we barely know each other, but at the same time, I notice my body start to calm at his touch.
How can a man have such opposite effects on me?
Bentley’s deep, rich, and completely sexy voice catches my attention. 

“I’ve got an extra ticket to the game,” Bentley says to my brother. Disappointed, my smile starts to fade as I think I’m about to be alone with Doug and Smitty. “I was wondering if it’d be okay if I took Jules.”

Snapping my head up to look at him, my jaw drops. “Really?” I squeak and can’t help but think that I probably sound just like Bri’s annoying voice.

Paulie laughs at my response. “Well, I think you have your answer. Have fun, sis.”

The shaking returns as I’m excited about being at the first game of the season. I keep repeating that to myself rather than the real reason—spending more time with Bentley. Exchanging goodbyes, Bentley and I head into the stadium and take our field box seats along the first base line.

Holding the tray of nachos we’re sharing, I question, “Why didn’t you ask Paulie to come?”

He shrugs as he bites into a chip. “You’re a much cuter date.”

I giggle as his compliment and elbow him. “Seriously!”

His dimple fades and a sincere look takes its place. “I wasn’t about to let you out of my sight with that tatttooed ex of yours around.”

My heart races at his comment. The sincerity of it and the fact that he knew who Kevin is completely confuses me. I watch his finger move toward my face and I assume it’s going for my jaw so I’m surprised when his rough finger touches the corner of my lip.

Grinning, he pulls his finger back. “Cheese,” he says and licks it off.

I smile and he nods toward me before he turns his attention back to the field. “I like your shirt. I’m a fan of bedazzling.”

My smile turns into laughter and I throw my napkin at him, which makes him crack a grin and join me. His arm slides around my shoulders as the first pitch is thrown out. Maybe walking down the aisle with him won’t be so bad after all.

***

Well, this is certainly a surprising, yet pleasant turn of events. Bri had mentioned that the Rossi siblings would be at opening day but the chances of finding them in the crowd of thousands of fans were slim to none. With my arm around Jules’ shoulder, my grin gets a little bigger and I decide to call it fate. Surprising me yet again, Jules snuggles against me and I pull her closer. I’m enjoying her affection way too much and her jasmine perfume is tempting me in ways that it shouldn’t.

Halfway through the second inning, she looks up at me. “I can’t believe you made Bri buy me a dress,” she says, a hint of entertainment tugging at her lips.

“I promised I would and I don’t break promises, Jules.”

“Big words there, Bentley Ladner,” she comments with her eyebrows high.

“Trust me,” I respond and squeeze her shoulder.

Her eyes go wide. “Wow, even bigger words you’re going to have to back up.”

She’s right, these are words I shouldn’t be saying. I don’t even know her and I’m already making big commitments that I shouldn’t. The last time I made a commitment to a woman it burned me in more ways than one. But I want to say these words, make these promises, have Jules trust me. Honestly, I just want Jules.

Pulling her closer to me, I whisper in her ear, “I’ll back them up, don’t worry.”

Her blue eyes turn up to me and she shakes her head laughing. A bold move on my part, but I’m not concerned and she shouldn’t be either.

CHAPTER 9

Typically the sun and margaritas equal total relaxation. Today, however, my enjoyment is being interrupted by a group of sorority girls. I’d made it through four years of college without ever having to endure this pain, but now it looks like I’m making up for that missed experience over Memorial Day weekend.

It’s becoming ever so clear that this group of twenty-one and twenty-two year olds believe that the proper order of life is marriage immediately following college. I don’t think any of them have ever been single a day in their lives. Squeezing my eyes shut under my sunglasses, I try to block out their voices until they address me directly.

“Jules, you’re twenty-four, right?” Nikki asks in her condescending tone that she’s perfected.

“Mmhmm,” I respond, hoping she’ll drop the subject, but she doesn’t.

“So why aren’t you married yet?”

Letting out a long sigh, I sit up and face her. Honestly, marriage has never been on my radar. Sure, I’ve dated here and there, but most of them have been real “winners” like Kevin. The kind to pass the time and have fun, not really to have and to hold ‘til death do us part. I don’t need a man to complete me. I can do everything myself and when I can’t, Paulie takes care of it for me.

Pushing my glasses up, they rest on top of my head, holding my brown hair out of my face. I narrow my eyes as I respond to her. “Because I don’t need a man to fulfill my life.”

Nikki gives a wicked grin and looks over her shoulder at her posse. “Maybe she’s just not into guys,” she says and they all laugh along with her.

Laughing with them, I nod and raise my eyebrow. “Is that an offer, Nikki?”

Her faces turns bright red as her smile fades and mine grows. Her comment was dumb, but her response to mine really shows her ignorance. A soft hand touches my bare shoulder and I look up to see Bri has rejoined us from inside her parents’ lake house we’re staying at.

“Bentley and some of his friends are down on the dock. Want to go for a boat ride, Jules?”

The butterflies dancing in my stomach don’t really surprise me when I hear his name. It’s been almost two months since we hung out at the Cards’ game, but it wasn’t the last time we’ve been in contact. After exchanging numbers, random texts from him have been brightening my days ever since. The texts are anything from funny stories about his day to this or that questions about which I like more, plain or peanut M&Ms. Obviously, the answer to that is peanut butter.

“Yeah, that sounds like fun,” I answer and she grabs my hand, pulling me to the dock before I can snag anything other than my flip flops. Behind me, Nikki lets out a disgusted sigh, which satisfies me.

“It’s his new motor boat. He’ll take us water skiing or tubing if we want. It’s him and his two friends, Jason and Adam,” Bri explains and my stomach sinks at the thought of water skiing. Hopefully, I’ll be able to be an innocent bystander and watch everyone else.

When we get to the dock, Bentley has his back to us. My pace picks up when I see him shirtless and wearing a pair of red and white plaid board shorts. It’s the first time I’ve seen him without a shirt and I’m a bit shocked to see how toned his back is. Bri calls to him and he slowly turns his tanned back away from us, giving us both a welcoming wave and stepping off the boat to come greet us.

My heart races as I see that his pecs and abs match his well-defined back. Suddenly, I feel almost naked on the swaying dock in just my navy and white chevron bikini and sunglasses. Looking at Bri in her swimsuit cover, jealousy hits me and I wonder if she’d let me borrow it. I stand there awkwardly as Bentley meets us, his eyes hidden by his Mizzou visor and Oakleys. He pulls both Bri and I into a bear hug and squeezes us tight.

Pulling away, his lips are almost on my ear when he says, “Good to see you again, Jules.”

His rough hand delicately slides from my hip to the small of my back as he turns and guides us back to the boat. I glance up at him from under my sunglasses as he nods at his sister now a few steps ahead of us. She fills him in on the remodeling their parents have done to the lake house.

I don’t know too much about boats but from the other ones at the dock, I can tell Bentley’s is brand new and decked out with all the tricks. It’s not surprising knowing his background. However, the more we’ve chatted over the past month, I know that Bentley now runs his family’s landscaping business, but he’s been buying it from his dad since he retired so he can actually call it his own.

Taking my hand to help me on board, Bentley gives it a squeeze and shows me his dimple. His woodsy, mulchy scent is distracting me until his deep voice says in a low voice so only I can hear him, “No, Daddy didn’t buy this for me.”

My cheeks blush a bright red, but I shake my head laughing. “You won’t let it go, will you?”

His hand still on my back, he shakes his head no as he steps into the boat behind me. Bri grabs my hand and pulls me to sit at the front of the boat with her. Glancing over my shoulder, I see Bentley untying the boat from the dock as Jason and Adam help.
My goodness, someone tell me how I ended up on this boat full of hotties.

I pull my hair up into a high bowtie bun as I turn my attention to Bri who begins to tell me about the last time they came to the lake and water patrol stopped them for not having enough life jackets on board. Glancing around, I count six life jackets in sight so we should be good today.

My neck, sun-kissed and warm, is suddenly hit with a chill and I jump at the shock of the cold beer bottle on my skin. Spinning around, Bentley smiles above me, offering a Corona. With his sideways grin, he pops the top as he hands it to me.

“You girls sit back and have fun,” he says, giving me a wink as he moves behind the wheel and starts the engine.

Bri lifts her eyebrows at me and smiles. “Trust me, this will be a much better time than hanging out with Nikki.”

I laugh and nod, surprised by her comment. “So why are you friends with her?”

Bri shrugs as the boat roars to life and Bentley drives us into the center of the lake, water spraying back on us. Bri yells over the engine, “Our moms have been friends forever, therefore, making us friends forever, too.”

Somehow knowing that Bri feels the same way I do about Nikki, makes me like her just a little bit more. Bri flips her hair over her shoulder and leans back to catch some more rays. I take a long pull from the beer bottle, enjoying the speed of the boat while at the same time being totally relaxed.

The sun mixed with the alcohol and I’m almost enjoying a little siesta when the boat slows. Bentley parks the boat on single dock along the bank and announces, “Fishing time, ladies!”

Bri groans beside me, but I lean up, remembering the last time we fished together. Turning my head in his direction, our eyes immediately lock and he grins as he reaches into the small compartment behind the steering wheel.

“Come on, Jules, I got you special bait.”

Standing up, but I shake my head and protest, “I am
not
touching any worms.”

He laughs and holds out his hand, which I gladly accept as we step out of the boat. With two fishing poles in hand and me holding the tackle box, we walk hand in hand to the bank where he sets down our equipment. Reaching into the tackle box, he messes around with something as I stand there awkwardly in my bikini and flip flops.

Squatting below me, he looks up and smiles, holding a fake worm in his hand. “Got these special for ‘ya,” he says and dangles one above his mouth as though he’s going to eat it.

My stomach drops as he does this. “Ew! Don’t do that!” I screech and bat the worm away from him.

Laughing, he grabs my hand. “It’s a gummy worm, Jules. Brianna would never touch real worms either so she always fished with gummy worms. She found that the red worms draw the biggest fish.”

It’s exactly something Paulie would do for me as well. Like the time we went to our great aunt’s birthday party, Paulie knew they’d be serving German chocolate cake. I hate coconut with a passion, reminds me of toenails. When the dessert was served, one piece of regular chocolate cake magically appeared.

I roll my eyes. “Why didn’t you say so?”

“More fun to watch you squirm,” he replies as he baits my hook.

The wind blows through the trees around us and even though there’s hundreds of people on the lake, Bentley’s found the one spot that no one knows about. He gets our lines ready and casts the first one. Facing me, he reaches out and his thumb runs over the small tattoo on my collarbone. “Cute.”

My skin tingles under his touch which lingers for a second longer. Swallowing hard, I nod and mumble thanks. He swipes his thumb across it again and our eyes meet. My heart pounds loudly in my ears, wondering if we’ll catch any fish.
Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m thinking.