Wright Kind of Love, page 9
“Oh well indeed.” My hand went to the necklace around her neck. The H Tiffany’s necklace that I’d given to her for her birthday all those years ago. “And this?”
“You like?”
“You know I do.”
“Good. Because it’s my fav.” Harley took my hand. “Come on.” She dragged me to the front of the crowd to watch West and Nora dance.
I could admit that West could move. Not to mention, he and Nora seemed to perfectly fit. I was happy for them. It was an interesting thing to recognize. Not that I’d been against them in particular, but how, over the last couple of years, things had changed enough that I didn’t just loathe the thought of happiness for the Wrights.
I had my own Wright who I wanted to keep happy after all.
The dance ended, and Nora encouraged everyone to come out and have one more dance with them. Harley dragged me onto the floor in front of everyone.
“You’re the one who knows how to dance,” she reminded me.
Ah yes, years of dances I was forced to attend for the Junior League had taught me how to twirl a girl around. So, I gave her what she wanted, tugging her close and leading her around the room effortlessly. Harley’s eyes were wide with wonder, as if she’d forgotten just how capable I was at this or maybe it was just a whole different experience now that we were a couple.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
“This is like a redo.”
“Almost.”
“Almost?”
“Well, this time, you’re already mine.” I spun her out away from me, her eyes shining, her smile wide. Then, I whipped her back in. I kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m not just meeting and getting to know the girl of my dreams.”
“You’re right. This is better.”
“Much,” I agreed.
The music came to a close, and as I had the first time, I dipped Harley dramatically to the ground. She laughed the whole way down, dropping her head back. Then, when she looked up at me again, I kissed her, right there in front of everyone.
I lost myself in that kiss. It was easy with Harley to forget that anyone else was around. To forget the rest of the world even existed.
But as I pulled her back to her feet, the entire world crashed back together.
Because Harley’s four brothers were striding toward us.
My hackles went up. Even when I told myself that in no way were they going to cause a scene at West’s wedding. Nora would murder him before letting him do that. The rest of the girls would certainly intercede. And yet they were still approaching.
Harley took my hand and stood her ground as they stopped in front of us. My heart was pounding. I didn’t know whether I was going to get reprimanded or punched.
What was happening here? How did I keep it from hurting Harley? Because I was done letting anyone else hurt her.
“Sinclair,” Jordan said.
“Wright,” I said with a nod in his direction.
Then, after a long silence, Jordan stuck his hand out. Just as he had at that soccer game where Harley was injured.
The relief must have shown on my face as I put my hand in his and shook perhaps a little harder than necessary. Jordan smirked.
“Scared you?” he asked.
“Don’t be an ass,” Harley said, swatting at Jordan. Then, she threw herself into West’s arms. “Married! You’re married!”
He laughed, hugging her back. “Thanks, sis.”
I shook Julian’s hand next.
“Glad you’re making her happy.”
“That’s all I want.”
“She told me what happened with Ashleigh.”
I winced. “I didn’t know that was going to happen.”
Julian laughed. “Don’t I, of all people, know what Ashleigh is capable of?”
“Fair,” I said, defensive despite my own frustration at my sister.
“But you seem chill, man.” Julian patted my shoulder.
My shoulders dropped again. He wasn’t saying my whole family was like Ashleigh. That we were all terrible. He was…accepting me with Harley.
Whitt was next, putting his hand out. “I didn’t want to like you.”
“The feeling was mutual,” I said with a laugh.
“And I’ll still destroy you if you hurt her.”
“Fair,” I interjected. “I’m not planning to hurt her.”
Whitt nodded. “Good.”
And that was enough.
West punched me playfully in the arm. “That’s for the one I missed the first time.”
I snorted. “Thanks, man.”
“Glad you could come to the wedding. Dude, let’s go eat some fucking food. I’m starving.”
Then, he had his arm around his new pixie wife, and away we went. The night was a whirlwind of food and dancing and cake and traditional wedding things. At the start of the bouquet toss, I grasped Harley’s hand firmly and gestured toward the exit.
Her eyes widened, and she nodded eagerly.
Without a backward glance, we slipped out of the party. Night had fully fallen, and the stars were bright out in this rural part of Lubbock. The vineyards were large and looming to the left of us on the pathway between the barn and cellar. The world was at our fingertips. Like we could pluck the stars out of the heavens for our entertainment.
“So,” Harley said with a smirk, “what kind of music do you like?”
I laughed and linked our fingers together. “Big fan of David Bowie.”
“Oh my God, do you know I always wanted to name a dog Bowie?”
“What a happy coincidence. I have a dog named Bowie.”
“Stop!” she said with a gasp. “We’re fated.”
“Fated,” I agreed.
We continued leisurely down the path and into the winding vineyards. We were the only ones out here. I was glad that we got to redo this moment. To have every perfect part re-created the same, but different. Better.
We stopped at a bench in the vineyard, completely secluded from even the noise of the party. She wrapped her arms around my neck. Her eyes nearly silver in the moonlight. So open, so trusting. All mine.
I slid my hands down her legs and hoisted her up into my arms. She wrapped her legs around my waist. Then, her mouth descended, capturing a perfect kiss.
“I’ll tell you a secret if you tell me one of your own,” I whispered against her lips.
“I have a scar on my hip from ice skating.”
“I have one on my eyebrow from kayaking.” I kissed her again. “Trade me another.”
“I’m in love with my family’s enemy who is way too old for me.”
I chuckled softly. “I’m in love with my family’s enemy who is way too young for me.” My hands slipped up to her ass. “Trade me one more.”
She pulled back just enough to meet my gaze. “Being with you terrifies me.”
I blinked in surprise. “Why is that?”
“Because there’s nothing I want more in the entire world and I’d watch it all burn to keep this.”
My heart stuttered at her honesty.
She bit her lip. “Your secret?”
So, I gave her the truth.
“I feel like I can’t breathe when I’m with you,” I whispered like an admission. “Like everything is so fucking good and so fucking real. That I don’t know how I went a single minute of my life without you in it. Sometimes, I pause and wonder how I got this lucky and how everyone else can’t see it and how I don’t fucking care because I feel it in every inch of my body.”
She didn’t balk at my honesty. She didn’t look like she was ready to run. She looked a hundred and ten percent in this. As much as I was.
“Chase,” she pleaded.
It was all the motivation I needed before laying her out on that bench and laying claim to her body, mind, and soul.
She gasped at the first thrust as I moved inside of her, but she never closed her eyes. She looked directly at me, saw every piece of me, and accepted me for who I was. She wanted this. I wanted this. I would fight to keep it at any cost.
Our body thumped together rhythmically. The only sound other than our heavy breathing. Her fingers traced my jawline before pulling me in for another kiss. A silent promise of her affection. The love that had developed and sharpened to a razor’s edge. And I felt all of it.
As we pushed to climax, everything shattered, dissolving into starlight and reforming into this union. With the woman that I loved with my entire fucking heart.
Part III
Bluff
13
Harley
“I have an idea,” Chase said as we sat in his Porsche.
I reached across the stick shift and took his hand. “Is it that we don’t go to dinner?”
He grimaced. “You read me so easily.”
“You’ve been dreading this all week.”
“Haven’t you?”
I shrugged. Yes, of course I’d been anxious about what was to come, but I didn’t want Chase to see it. Not if I could help it.
“I mean…is it that bad of an idea?”
“It’s the best idea,” I agreed. “But we can’t.”
Chase sighed and started the engine. “I know.”
After the wedding, Chase had been good to his word. He’d scheduled dinner with his dad. Ashleigh hadn’t told him about us. Chase would get to be the one to do it. Not that he wanted to be the one to do it. In fact, some part of me wondered if he was hoping that Ashleigh would just spill the news so it’d all be out there. I was sure he didn’t actually want that, but equally sure he didn’t really want his father to know at all.
I couldn’t blame him. I felt the same about my dad, and I didn’t work with him every day. Holding it in day in and day out must have been torture.
“Are you worried about me being there?”
Chase pulled out of the driveway and veered south toward his father’s house. “I’m worried about it all.”
“You could go by yourself?” I offered.
“Do you not want to meet my dad?” he asked in a teasing voice.
“Would you blame me?”
“Not at all. He’s an ass.” He sighed and stopped at the Stop sign. His eyes found mine. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”
“No, I’m not backing out. I was trying to give you an option for whatever made this easier for you. You were there for me when everyone on my side found out. You don’t have to do this alone.”
“Yet you’re sticking that bottom lip out,” he said, leaning over and sucking it between his teeth. “The pout is too cute.”
“I’m not pouting,” I said, dragging him deeper into a kiss.
His laugh was a rumble. “I’ll turn around. We can stay home. I can order in Chinese.”
“No way. Not after what happened with my family.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
He nodded and continued driving. “I’d understand, you know? I probably should have just told him at work this morning, but I didn’t want to deal with it at the office. So I’d told him I had a girlfriend, but not that you’re a Wright. Am I a coward?”
“No, you shouldn’t have to deal with any of this,” I said with a frustrated sigh. I twiddled the H necklace he’d given me so long ago around my finger. “It shouldn’t even be a big deal.”
“Everything with us is a big deal. Wrights and Sinclairs don’t mix.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Unfortunately.”
“If your family can come around, then so can mine.”
“Are we sure my family has officially come around?”
Chase shrugged. “Probably not, but they’re working on it.”
“Then, that’ll happen with your dad, too.”
“Here’s to hoping.”
Chase flipped on the radio, and Queen blared through the speakers. We sang along together, forgetting the impending doom of his father on the horizon. It was just us living our best life. This was all I’d wanted with Chase for so long when we were apart. This moment right here.
It was over too soon as Chase pulled into the gated community on the south side of town. In a place like Lubbock, there weren’t very many gated areas. Most people didn’t have anything to hide behind their gates, but of course, his dad lived in one. The place was a total McMansion. Two stories with tiered balconies and a circle drive behind another gate with a four-car garage. There was an inner courtyard as well as at least an acre fenced in. I could peek a pergola and swimming pool in the backyard.
“Whoa,” I muttered.
“Yeah. It’s a lot.”
“You grew up here?”
He nodded. “My dad had the house built when I was a kid. It’s like a fortress.”
“Hmm,” I said softly. “Looks more foreboding than welcoming.”
“That’s the point.”
Chase pulled the Porsche through the second gate and into the giant drive. He parked before one of the many garages and cut the engine.
“Not too late to bail.”
“I think it is,” I said, taking his hand and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “We can do this.”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
We got out of the car, and for a second, my breath caught at the sight of him. He was wearing a gray suit coat over a sky-blue button-up and khaki slacks. The Rolex on his wrist was briefly visible as he buttoned the top of his coat. His dirty-blond hair had been styled, and I could smell the scent of his favorite cologne. And though I loved every inch of what I saw, I knew how much of his appearance tonight was nerves.
He was more than comfortable in a suit. I’d never seen one wear him and not the other way around. But tonight, it was close, only because he fidgeted with the length at his wrists and adjusted the collar. I could practically see him wondering if he should have worn a tie.
We were so similar in so many ways. Our fathers were unfortunately one of them. I was glad that Owen was out of my life. That he didn’t have a way to make me this nervous or impact my relationship anymore. I wanted that for Chase, but with the company still controlled by his father, there were still strings attached.
If I could cut them for him, then I would.
Instead, I stood in a little black dress, doing my best to walk the path with him.
“Ready?” he asked.
He turned back to face me, holding his hand out. The other held a bottle of wine. I’d chosen it based on my mom’s favorite vineyard in Willamette Valley. I’d thought it would be better than bringing something local with all the tension we were trying to avoid. This was more of a peace offering.
“Are you?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
I took his hand, and he tucked me into his side. That was going to have to be good enough.
We walked up the entranceway that led to the enormous front door. It had double wrought iron doors, each larger than a regular door. It was as if we’d shown up at the Beast’s castle, trying to rescue someone from the dungeons.
I gulped as Chase rang the doorbell. He squeezed my hand for reassurance.
A minute later, the door pulled open, and a young woman stood on the threshold. She was a stunner. Petite and lithe, like she lived in a ballet class, with classic blonde hair and a narrow face. Her makeup was picture-perfect with neutral lipstick, and she had freshly painted red-lacquered nails. She wore a cream designer dress and nude heels. The spitting image of a trophy housewife.
Except there was no ring on her finger.
Arnold refused to make it official. Despite his late-twenties mistress giving him a child.
“Y’all made it!” Dayna said with a smile.
“Hello, Dayna,” Chase said formally.
He’d mastered the wince that I could feel under the surface. Under other circumstances, this girl could have been going after him, but somehow, she was with a man twice her age.
“Come on in. Dinner is almost finished. Arnold should be out any minute.”
I followed Chase inside, wishing that I were the one holding the wine. So that I’d have something to do with my hands.
“You must be Chase’s new girlfriend.” Dayna held her hand out. “I’m Dayna. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“Harley,” I said, shaking her hand.
“So glad to have both of you over. I know Arnold is as well.”
Chase covered a scoff with a cough. Then, he thrust the bottle of wine toward Dayna. “We brought you this.”
“That’s so thoughtful,” she said. “I’m more of a white wine drinker, but this looks amazing.”
“It’s my favorite,” I offered. “I used to drink it with my mom all the time.”
“Well then, I will have to try it. Arnold prefers red anyway.”
A battle cry rang out from the upstairs, and suddenly, a little kid was throwing his body down the stairs at full speed. Dayna giggled as her son vaulted toward her.
“Silas, baby, what are you doing? Mommy and Daddy have plans. We talked about this. You’re with the nanny tonight.”
“Mama!” he cried, throwing himself on the ground.
She flushed at his behavior and apologized to us. “Sorry about this. He’s such a mommy’s boy.”
“No need to apologize,” I said automatically.
“Always want to see my little brother anyway.”
Chase beamed at the kid. In every way, he should loathe how this child had come to be. His father had ruined their family, and this little boy was the result. But it wasn’t his fault after all. He was the innocent in all of this. And Chase said he was a sweet little boy. So unlike their father, which was probably more indicative of who was actually raising him.
“Chase!” Silas cried, abandoning his mother for his brother.
Chase hauled him up around the middle and swung him in a circle. “Little man.”
“You’re going to get him all riled up,” Dayna said, but with no bite. She was smiling. Her eyes alight at the sight of them. Almost a look like she wished this were her life and Chase wasn’t her little boy’s brother, but father instead.
“Tell me all about what’s been going on,” Chase said.
