Wright that Got Away, page 29
I snorted. I would never live this down. “You got to plan the wedding. But considering we did it all in a week, you can’t really blame us.”
“I don’t blame you.” She sighed dramatically. “But do you know what I could have done even with a few months?”
“I do know, and you would have made it a dream, but I’m glad we did it spontaneously. It was better that way. Perfect that way.”
“It was,” Piper agreed.
Nora giggled. “You’re right. But you, missy, will not be eloping when my brother finally proposes, okay?”
Piper went a little green at the edges. “Um, I think we have a while before that.”
We laughed at her and then headed backstage. All our friends were hanging out with the band. It was good to see everyone together like this. Jennifer sitting in Julian’s lap and Jordan arguing with him. West sitting between Viv and Santi while Yorke had his arms crossed and said nothing.
Annie traipsed across the room to hug all three of us at once.
“I can’t wait to hear the new songs live,” Annie said with wide eyes.
She and Jen had gotten an early copy of the new album and played the songs on repeat until they knew all the lyrics by heart. They were officially obsessed with every single song. Though we were all partial to “The One That Got Away.” I certainly was.
“Me either!” Nora said. “I like this album the best.”
Everyone was excited. We were only missing one person. One person who would have been ecstatic for this release.
Honey.
After she’d been arrested, I’d gotten in contact with her family. They’d thanked me for calling the police. They’d apparently been trying to get her help for years, but they couldn’t admit her into a facility unless she was a danger to herself or someone else.
It was unfortunate that it had ever gotten that far. I hadn’t had contact with Honey personally because we all feared that it would make her relapse. But I kept up with her recovery and her family. What had happened wasn’t my fault, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t my responsibility to see that she got better.
I wished that she were here. The old, vibrant Honey who had loved life. Not the one who had hurt herself in my kitchen.
But she wasn’t here. She was with people who were taking care of her.
I even had a new assistant. Though I’d never trust anyone like I had Honey. I’d learned that lesson the hard way.
At least Campbell and I had worked it all out. Life wasn’t perfect. We split our time between LA and Lubbock. We both got frustrated with the distance and the timing, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Speaking of Campbell…
“Have you seen Campbell?” I asked, peering around the back.
“Still in the dressing room,” Annie said.
“Thanks.” I said good-bye to my friends and headed to the dressing room.
I rapped on the door twice. This was where it had all started again. The inspiration for “Invisible Girl” was right at this door. And now, that man was my husband.
“Campbell?”
“Blaire, come in.”
I stepped into the room and quickly closed the door behind me. Campbell made me stop in my tracks. He was in low-slung black jeans and was just pulling on a T-shirt over his rock-hard abs.
“Uh,” I muttered incoherently.
He smirked at me. “Come here, you.”
I grinned and rushed toward him. We crashed together. “I missed you.”
“I was gone for a few hours,” he said as he laughed.
“Still missed you.”
“Missed you too, babe,” he said as he claimed my lips.
“Everyone is excited to hear the songs live.”
“So am I.”
“Mmm, me too.” I kissed him again.
He bit into my bottom lip, and then he wrapped his arms around my thighs and lifted me up around his waist. “Maybe the crowd can wait a little longer.”
“You’re filthy,” I joked.
“You like me filthy.”
He sank into the couch, bringing me down with him. I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a good, long kiss.
“I sure do.”
“So, do you think we have time?”
A gleam of excitement was in his eyes. He still couldn’t get enough of me. And I loved him every single day for it.
“Actually, I wanted to tell you something.”
“More important than a quickie before my set?” he joked.
“You tell me.”
I pulled out a pregnancy test from my pocket and held it out to him. His jaw dropped, and he looked up at me with hopeful eyes.
We’d been trying to get pregnant almost since the moment we’d gotten married that wild weekend in Vegas. But it hadn’t been as easy as it had been that fateful night when we were eighteen and stupid. That had all changed today.
“Babe,” he whispered, “is this…”
He looked down at the two pink lines that confirmed what he thought.
“I’m pregnant,” I told him.
He jumped back up and slung me around in an excited circle. “Oh my God, finally. God, I love you.” He kissed me and kissed me and kissed me. He was near to tears when he finally put me back on my feet. “I can’t wait to start our family.”
I took his hand. “We’ve already had a family for the last year. We’re just adding one more.”
He dropped to his knees and kissed my stomach. “I am the luckiest man in the world. And I can’t wait to meet you in there.”
I laughed and pulled him in for another kiss. We were expanding our family in the best way possible. And I just couldn’t wait.
I might have been the one that got away.
But now, I was just the one.
Thank you so much for reading WRIGHT THAT GOT AWAY! I adored writing Campbell & Blaire’s story. I’ve been waiting for them ever since they were first introduced in Wright with Benefits! And there’s more to come!
Next up is Nora & Weston in ALL THE WRIGHT MOVES. “When I moved in with my brother’s best friend, it was temporary. Weston Wright would be gone for six months, and I’d get the place to myself. Until he comes back and asks me to stay. I want to say yes to a lot more, but I don’t know how to date. Then, Weston offers to teach me. No strings attached. All I have to do is not fall in love with him…or let my brother find out.” Turn the page for a sneak peek!
More Wright on the way:
Jordan & Annie: Wright with Benefits (OUT NOW!)
Julian & Jennifer: Serves Me Wright (OUT NOW!)
Hollin & Piper: Wright Rival (OUT NOW!)
Nora & Weston: All the Wright Moves
See where the Wrights started in The Wright Brother, available for FREE! USA Today Bestselling author Jillian Dodd said it was “hotter than a Texas summer.” I’d dated his brother. He didn’t remember and I wished I could forget…
* * *
Did you catch the easter egg in this book? Court and English have their own love story in: Cruel Desire. Find out all about how she cleans up his bad boy reputation and falls for his charm at the same time.
* * *
Or start at the beginning in the Cruel world with Cruel Money (for FREE!) and meet all the glamorous, backstabbing, and enticing players on the Upper East Side.
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TURN THE PAGE TO READ A SNEAK PEEK OF MY NEXT BOOK ALL THE WRIGHT MOVES…
All the Wright Moves
Chapter 1—Nora
There was absolutely no way that she just said what I thought she said.
No way.
Not in a hundred million years.
Tamara stared back at me expectantly. Maybe even hopeful. But I still could not process a word that had come out of her mouth. Let alone that she was standing in my office at Wright Vineyard at all. Certainly not for this.
“Nora?” she asked with a flip of her bright red hair.
I had no response.
I hadn’t seen my ex–best friend in a solid ten months. And it was for the better since she’d slept with my boyfriend of three years. I’d moved out of our apartment the next day, blocked her number, and avoided her at all costs.
Now, she was here.
And hey, I loved planning weddings. I’d been doing it for years, ever since I’d interned at a prestigious company here in Lubbock during college. Now, I ran my own ship at my brother’s vineyard and got to work with dozens of beautiful brides-to-be.
I’d always envisioned my own wedding. Might or might not have secretly planned the entire thing with my ex, August, while we were together. It was my job after all.
But I certainly hadn’t considered planning this wedding.
My ex–best friend was standing in front of me.
Asking me to plan her wedding.
To my ex.
“Come again?” I said, blinking in confusion.
She thrust the shiny diamond in my face. “We got engaged!”
As if that were the part that I’d missed.
“Right,” I said slowly.
“It happened yesterday, downtown at West Table. He popped the question right there at a candlelit dinner. The entire room applauded for us.”
Whatever she said after that was lost to my blood pressure, which chose that moment to shoot through the roof. Blood rushed into my ears, my heart rate skyrocketed, and everything went perfectly quiet.
Except, you know, my mind.
I couldn’t stop replaying every single thing that had happened in my life to reach this moment. Tamara dating August senior year of high school for a whole three months before dumping him for some football player. August and I reconnecting our junior year of college, and Tamara encouraging me to go for it. I’d had exactly zero boyfriends, and when he’d asked me out, I’d said yes. Yes, yes, yes.
Usually, guys were scared off by two things: Hollin and Campbell. My two older brothers were terrifying in their own rights. Hollin was huge, tatted, and drove a Harley while Campbell was literally the biggest rockstar in the world right now. Add that to the fact that when I got around guys, I turned into a shy, tongue-tied wallflower, and it had never been a good match.
Three years with August. Three years, and I’d been sure he was the one. Whatever that meant. Then last summer, I’d caught him making out with Tamara backstage at an event. Hollin had punched August in the face, I had been spirited away, and suddenly, my life was over. No boyfriend. No best friend. No apartment.
All to land me in this radioactive, boiling hell.
Tamara must have finally realized I wasn’t listening. She’d never been quick on the uptake. “Nora, aren’t you excited for us?” Her voice was syrupy sweet. As if she knew precisely what card she was playing here.
I hated conflict unless it was work-related.
“Um…” I shook my head and cleared my throat.
“So, will you do it? We were thinking a fall wedding here at the vineyard with lots and lots of flowers. You know how much I love fresh blooms. We always used to keep them in our apartment. Plus, August loves—”
“I’m going to stop you there,” I said firmly but kindly.
Tamara’s mouth dropped open slightly in surprise. She was the kind of extrovert who collected introverts to follow her around and pad her ego. She’d lost that when she betrayed me. I didn’t owe her anything at this point. And certainly not the rest of this conversation.
Before I’d gotten my wedding planning gig, I’d worked at Best Buy for eight months and perfected the way to say fuck off with a smile and doe eyes. I was always professional. I was always perfectly nice. But I brooked no argument.
Customer service voice activate!
“As much as I appreciate you coming to the winery today to talk to us about your upcoming nuptials, we’re fully booked for the fall. We couldn’t even fit in one more client.” I smiled at her in a go fuck yourself way, teetering on my signature four-inch high heels and tapping the large brown planner I used for the season.
“Well, what about next spring?” Tamara pushed.
“Oh, that would be lovely. Spring flowers and all,” I said serenely. I pretended to check the schedule. “I’m afraid not.”
“You cannot be booked through next spring.”
“Oh, we’re not. But unfortunately, the vineyard will be unavailable to you at that time. Anything else?”
“You can’t refuse me service,” Tamara snapped.
We were perfectly within our rights to say no to whoever we wanted. And I hadn’t even said no. I’d smiled and looked pleasant. I might have been a wallflower with boys, but I wasn’t going to be pushed around by the woman who had hurt me. Not at work, where I was in my element.
“We’re certainly not refusing you service,” I told her calmly. “However, you’re not entitled to a wedding here, and I don’t think we’d be a good fit.”
“Nora, come on,” Tamara said, reaching for fake tears. I knew that trick all too well. “You’re my best friend. I miss you so much. I hoped this would bring us back together.”
“That’s lovely for you.” I blinked at her and said nothing else.
Tamara’s jaw set. She wanted me to say more. To feed into her ego and give her ammunition to use against me. But I’d cried enough tears at the loss of this friendship. If she had come back in those first few months when I was a broken mess, I might have even relented. Been the trampled dog she’d created all those years ago.
But I’d found out that I could survive on my own. I still missed having her around. I missed our stupid inside jokes and sleepovers and parties. That wasn’t enough to fix this.
Tamara stomped her foot like a child when they didn’t get their way. “Nora, how dare you! This is ridiculous! You’re supposed to be providing a service.”
I opened my mouth to reach for those customer service instincts. Because all I wanted was to tell my ex-bestie to fuck off and never see her face on the property again. Except I couldn’t do that at work.
A knock at the door saved me from saying anything I’d regret.
I turned to welcome the new guest and stilled.
Everything seemed to go into slow motion at the sight of Weston Wright filling up my doorframe.
“West?” I gasped.
He slung a hand up onto the top of the frame and leaned forward through the door. He smirked, revealing the hidden dimple in his right cheek. “Hey, Nor.”
The way he rolled over my name sent a thrill through my stomach. I hadn’t seen my roommate in six months, when he’d left for LA with my brother to record his next album. The house was a temporary fix to the Tamara and August problem. I’d stay until he got back, and then I’d find another place.
Now, he was here.
Right here in front of me and looking somehow even more attractive than he had six months ago. He must have been working out because muscle bulked out from his towering frame. His already-broad shoulders were somehow bigger. The sharp lines of him were evident in the peak of muscle from his heather-gray T-shirt. It hung loose to his tapered waist. In contrast to the fitted black jeans that hugged his powerful thighs. But it all came back to that perfect face. The bright baby blues and razor-sharp jawline with a five o’clock shadow and that damn dimple.
I remembered the first time I’d met Weston. He’d driven into town to see his half-brothers, Jordan and Julian, who owned the winery with Hollin. I’d stumbled upon him with his hair all long and shaggy, blue eyes shining with uncertainty. He looked about as uncomfortable in dusty Wild West, West Texas as anyone I’d ever seen.
I’d been taken in, even then. Friends. We were friends. That was all we’d ever be. Because Weston Wright might be my roommate, but with the help of my brother, he was on the up-and-up in the music industry. There was no way he was staying in Lubbock with all the opportunities open to him now. I would just keep reminding myself of that as I tried not to drool over him.
“West!” I cried as it sank in that he was really here.
I practically tripped over my feet to rush past Tamara and crash into Weston. His arms came around me as he laughed a deep rumble.
“You’re home.”
He released me with another smile. “Yep. Came straight here from the airport. Dropped Campbell off at Blaire’s. He’s been an uptight mess. He needs to get laid so bad.”
I put my hands to my ears. “La, la, la. Do not need to know about my brother’s sex life.”
Weston ran a hand back through his hair, which was nearly back to the longish mess it had been that first day I saw him. He’d cut it super short when he first moved to Lubbock. He’d probably cut off the inch of curl at the ends any day now. “Sorry ’bout that.”
“I know he’s your best friend, but ew.”
A throat cleared behind us. We both turned to find Tamara still standing there.
Her eyes took in Weston like a tasty snack. “Who’s this, Nora?”
“Uh, this is my roommate.”
Tamara arched an eyebrow. “Really?”
Weston stepped forward. “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt a meeting.” He stuck a hand out. “I’m Weston Wright.”
“Wright,” Tamara said with wide eyes. That name held a lot of weight in our small town. The Wrights were Texas royalty. “I’m Tamara.”
West jerked his hand back before Tamara could put hers into his. “Oh.”
Tamara’s mouth dropped open in shock at the insult. But Weston’s eyes went straight to mine. He knew all about what had happened with August and Tamara. We’d lived together after it all went down. I’d been a wreck, crying myself to sleep most nights. He’d been there for me through all of it even though we hardly knew each other then.
