The Wedding Agreement (23 page)

Alex debated with himself all the way back to the ranch, then all the way home. When they arrived at his house, he'd finally made up his mind. He sent Nina to take a shower, and then called Scott. “Hey. I need a favor.”

Confession

Cass hadn't realized how much she'd needed a night out with the girls until they'd forced one on her. She suspected that they were trying to get her mind off things. Her “wedding” was supposed to be in two days, and she had to admit that she was struggling a little bit. Even though there was never going to be an actual marriage, there was still supposed to be a solid friendship—and maybe a promise of something more down the road. But that was all gone now, having evaporated with one misinterpreted e-mail that she wished she'd never laid eyes on.
Ignorance is bliss and all that crap.

They'd all gone to dinner and then barhopped for a while. The girls drank, danced, and laughed their way through the evening. Cass had never been more grateful for them. Until they turned up at Nothing Gold. How could the girls have overlooked the difficult memories this club would dredge up? Looking
up at the building, her mind flooded with thoughts: when she'd first seen Alex, the immediate attraction she'd felt, the food tasting where Alex had told that other couple about his meeting her here, how he'd felt about her. And while she hadn't been sure at the time whether the feelings he discussed were real or not, she knew better now. He'd felt it—they both had—and now it was gone.

“You coming?”

Cass' attention snapped back to the girls in front of her. She wasn't even sure which one had spoken. “Yeah. Yeah, I'm coming.” Because even though she didn't want to go in, she had to. It almost felt like a penance she'd assigned herself. She'd forced herself to walk away from Alex, but she wouldn't walk away from the good memories this place held—even if they'd hurt her like hell.

They walked into the crowded club after showing the bouncer their IDs. Cass started to turn toward the bar, thinking that was where they'd logically start.

Until she heard Quinn say, “The guys are over there.”

Um, what?
Cass whipped around and grabbed Quinn's arm. “What do you mean, the guys are here?”

Quinn's eyes widened. She raised her hand to point at Scott, Tim, Xavier, and Alex. “I mean, the guys are here.”

“What the hell? Why didn't any of you tell me they'd be here?” Cass was pissed. The club she could handle. The club and Alex, she couldn't.

The girls all looked at one another before Simone shrugged and said, “I guess we all thought that one of the others had mentioned it. Why? What's the big deal?”

“What's the big deal? Are you kidding me right
now? I was supposed to have a fake wedding with the real love of my life on Saturday. We talked about coming here for a joint bachelor/bachelorette party to celebrate the nonimpending nuptials. And you're really asking me what the big deal is?”

The girls looked at her like she was one precarious step away from toppling off a high-rise. She probably was. Lauren was the first to try to talk her back from the edge. “We didn't know the whole thing about the joint parties. When I told Scott we were all hanging out, he said for us to meet him here later. I'm sorry. I really didn't think anything of it. Do you want to go somewhere else?”

Cass rolled her eyes. How could they go somewhere else? She'd tried so hard to act normal around Alex the few times she'd seen him. She couldn't go running out of the club like it was on fire now. It'd make the strain between them even worse. “No, I just . . . wasn't prepared. I'm fine. Really. Let's go over.”

The girls looked like they didn't believe that she was truly okay, but they kept their mouths shut and led the way to the table. Once they arrived, hellos were exchanged, and even though Tim and Scott were there, Quinn and Lauren made no move to go to them. Instead they remained firmly on either side of Cass. Her little army was flanking her, and she felt some of her annoyance at them melt away.

Conversation flowed naturally, though both Cass and Alex remained mostly quiet. A few drinks helped loosen her up, and she felt her posture relax. It also gave her the courage to steal a few glances at Alex.
Jesus, he looks good.
He wore dark-rinse jeans and a hunter green henley that hugged him in all the best places. She wanted to touch him. Or lick him. Or hump him.
Maybe I need to slow down on the drinks.
Especially since the alcohol was beginning to convince her that Alex was looking at her too. Each time she snuck a peek at him, it seemed as though he quickly diverted his gaze from her. The game of is-he-or-isn't-he-looking started to wear on her already frazzled brain. “Let's go dance,” she basically commanded before walking toward the dance floor.

The girls wisely followed. Cass wasn't sure how long they stayed out there, but it was long enough that she felt her buzz begin to burn off. Even as she sobered, she couldn't help but look over at Alex from time to time as she swayed to the music. At one point, he looked like his hands were fiddling with something, his brow furrowed in concentration. As his hands stopped moving, so did Cass' body. She stood stock-still in the middle of the dance floor and stared at Alex. Who was now staring back. The look that passed between them was the realest and rawest moment they'd had in almost two months. So much so that it caused Alex to leave the table and stalk toward her.
Wait. He's coming toward me. Shit.

Alex invaded her space, his eyes seeming to search hers for . . . something. She wasn't sure whether or not he found it, but he grabbed her hand and led her off the dance floor anyway.

And she went.

They ended up in a corner of the club where it was slightly quieter. Alex lifted the hand that he'd been holding and opened her palm. He placed a knotted straw wrapper in it.

She looked down at it, then up at him, utterly confused.

“Nina told me that if you tie a straw wrapper in a knot and it doesn't break, someone you love is thinking about you. Since I'm pretty sure Nina is asleep,
dreaming of ponies right now, that only leaves one other person who could be thinking about me.” He moved closer to her. “After I tied it, I looked up, and you were the first person I saw.” He smiled and ran a hand across her cheek before cupping her jaw. “And since you're the only other person besides Nina who I love, I need to know: were you thinking about me, Cass?”

Cass was pretty sure her brain was short-circuiting. “Did you just say you loved me?”

He rubbed his thumb over her skin. “Yeah. I should've said it a long time ago. Because even though you hate me, you still deserved to know.”

“I don't hate you.” Cass' voice was so low, Alex probably barely heard her. But from the way his eyes brightened, she knew he did.

“Answer my question, Cass.”

It took her a second to remember what his question had even been. “You could've tied that stupid knot at any point over the past months, and it always would've been me who was thinking of you.”

Alex's expression softened at her admission. “I've been thinking about you too.” He somehow crowded even closer to her, bringing his other hand up so that he cradled both sides of her face. “I can't stop thinking about you. I know I fucked up. I know I hurt you. And I can't promise that I'll never do it again, because sometimes I'm an idiot. But I swear, if you can forgive me, I'll try my best to be everything you deserve. I love you, Cass. With every fiber of my being. Please give me another chance to get it right.”

Cass was speechless. She knew this was one of those moments that would change the trajectory of her life. And she was scared. Because admitting what she
really
wanted and allowing herself to have it could
result in more pain than she'd be able to survive. But . . .
Fuck it. Some things are worth the risk.
“We both screwed up. We both got so much so wrong. But I love you, Alex. More than anything. And I want to fix it. I want us to finally get it right.”

The kiss he pressed to her lips was full of passion and promise. She allowed herself to get swept up in it, despite the very public setting they were in.

But all too soon, he was pulling back. “That night when you told me I needed to be more present with Nina, you said that I was trying to win her over with grand gestures.”

“Alex, I didn't—”

He pressed a finger to her lips. “One second. Just let me get this out.” He lowered his finger and replaced it on her jaw. “You were right. And I realized the other day that while I was quick to offer those gestures to Nina, I never offered any to you. And while I don't want to be a highlight reel–only guy with you, I think you deserve at least one truly memorable and over-the-top display of my feelings for you.” He gave her a quick kiss before dropping to one knee.

Is he doing what I think—

“Cassidy Mullen, I love you. I'm not entirely sure when it happened, but at some point all of our pretending became real for me.” He had one of her hands clasped in his, and with the other he dug into his pocket and withdrew a ring.
Her
ring. “When I bought you this, you told the salesman that my proposal was a spur-of-the-moment decision I made because you were sick and I was scared of losing you. And while I did have to have a little bit of a plan in order to get you here, I
am
still scared to lose you. I need you, Cass. My life just doesn't feel right without
you in it.” He smiled at her, and it was full of love and honesty. “So, what do you think? You wanna marry me in two days?”

She took a deep breath in an attempt to keep the emotions from overtaking her. “Put that on my finger and get up here.”

Applause erupted around them as he put the ring back where it belonged and stood to kiss her. Cass had forgotten people were even there, and she forgot again as soon as Alex took control of her mouth with his.

“Is that a yes?” he asked in between kisses.

“Yes, it's a yes.”

They probably looked ridiculous as they stood there, kissing one another's smiles, but that didn't matter. Eventually they separated and rested their foreheads together. “Are we really going to get married in two days?” Cass asked.

“I think it's only fitting.”

“How are we ever going to get everything organized in time?”

He smoothed his hands down her back. “Most of it's already planned. And the rest will come together. Even if it's not perfect, it'll be perfect for us.”

“We should probably get out of here and make a list of things we need to do. We need to get a license, and, shit, I need to tell my parents. That's going to be an interesting conversation. And I need flowers and a dress and—”

“Cass?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we worry about all of that tomorrow? I think our night is better spent getting reacquainted.”

Cass hugged him closer. “What the hell are we waiting for?”

*   *   *

They were barely inside Cass' apartment before they were ripping clothes off each other. Alex couldn't believe Cass had actually agreed to marry him. Sure, he'd obviously gone in there with that hope, but he wasn't sure how she'd actually respond. And now here he was, about to make love to her. He was a lucky son of a bitch.

In their haste to leave, they hadn't even said good-bye to their friends. He bet they were as shocked as Cass by what had transpired at the club. When he'd called Scott to see if he would help arrange a get-together with the girls, he'd made Scott swear to not tell anyone else about his proposal plans. He wanted to make sure Cass knew before any of the other girls. He now also wanted her naked beneath him. “I can't believe you're going to marry me. I want to taste every inch of this body that's going to become mine on Saturday.”

“I've been yours for months.”

Impossibly, her words made his dick get harder. He wanted to consume her. To burrow inside of her and never leave. They fumbled their way to her bedroom, shedding the last remnants of clothing before falling onto the bed. His hand kneaded her breast roughly as his lips nipped along her neck.

Cass moaned. “Don't tease me, Alex. I need you.”

“I need you too. Always.” And with that, he thrust into her. What was happening between them wasn't quite the lovemaking he'd imagined. It was a claiming. He put his arms beneath her knees and pushed her legs back so he could drive deeper into her. His eyes locked with hers as he pumped into her wildly.

She tilted her hips so she could meet him thrust for thrust. “Mmm, I'm close.”

So was he. As much as he wanted it to last, his
cock had other ideas. He sucked one of her nipples into his mouth and lowered a hand so that he could massage her clit.

She let out a guttural moan as her body shook with her release. He continued to fuck her through it, teasing her clit until she rode out her climax. He followed soon after. And as he emptied his release inside of her, he felt all the pain and uncertainty drain out of him too.
This
was where he was supposed to be. With Cass, he was home.

Sliding onto his side, he pulled her to him. He pressed his nose into her hair and breathed her in. She melted against him, and her breathing evened out before he spoke. “You'd better not fall asleep. I said I was going to taste every inch of you, and that's a promise I intend to see through as soon as I recover.”

“I'll hold you to it,” she murmured. Suddenly she turned to face him, burrowing her face into his neck. “I love you so much. Thank you for not giving up on me.”

He let his hands roam all over her body. “There's no giving you up. You're it for me.”

She pulled back slightly and looked at him as though she were trying to memorize him. “You're it for me too,” she whispered.

He took her mouth in a kiss that was sweet and filled with love.

“We should probably get some sleep. We have a busy couple days ahead. Plus, you're going to need to be in top form tomorrow.”

“Why's that?” he asked as he settled more comfortably.