CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Jack
There must be some crazy beacon when a group of guys heads out to a bar. Women immediately approach us to ask if we’re out for a bachelor party and take it as some sort of challenge to see if they can seduce the groom.
Well, joke’s on them since Ry’s so far gone over Maggie, it’s not even remotely funny. We’ve barhopped and are at our final stop while the girls are off on their own little excursion for the evening.
And I don’t want to admit how much distaste I have at the idea of Sarah being around strippers. Maggie’s never been the type to be into that kind of thing, but who knows what goes on at bachelorette parties. I’m sure they’re having fun and enjoying a lot of laughs. Hell, I feel a smile tug at my own lips, imagining the way Sarah’s face lights up with laughter and the way her blue eyes sparkle.
“What’s with you two?” I turn to find Ry’s quieter cousin, Aaron, eyeing me curiously. “Well, I get him”—he waves toward Ry, who’s currently regaling the small group of women with stories about his early days with Maggie, before turning his attention back to me—“but you’ve got a similar sappy-ass grin on your face.”
Startled, I run a hand over my face, scrambling to come up with something, an excuse of some sort.
Instead, I come up with absolutely nothing.
“Shit,” I mutter under my breath. Because, yeah, I’ve got it bad. She’s got me sporting a stupid smile like some lovesick fool who’d do just about anything for her…
Except, it’s true. I would.
“Ah, so that’s the way it is, huh?” Aaron leans back in the plush chair of the classy whiskey bar we’re in. His smug expression says it all. “You just had the revelation I take it?”
It figures that I’d attract the married cousin who apparently takes pleasure in harassing other single guys.
Taking a swig of my whiskey, I attempt to ignore him, but my lack of response serves as no deterrent. Aaron simply continues. “Tell me about her.” My sharp look only causes him to smile. “What’s she like?”
Knowing the likelihood of him letting this go is slim to none, I heave out a breath, staring into my glass. While I try to think of what to say about Sarah, I feel the upward tip of my lips.
“She’s mouthy, sassy, and funny.” Peering down at my glass of whiskey, I swirl it slightly. “Smart as hell, too.”
“And gorgeous, I assume?” he asks, humor lacing his tone. “With blond hair, blue eyes, and long legs.”
“Yeah,” I say with a sigh. Fuck if I don’t miss her like hell right now.
God, I’m a sad excuse for a best man tonight.
“And when she looks at you, it’s like you’re the only guy who exists?”
Something in Aaron’s tone draws my attention from my glass of whiskey to him. “Exactly.” Except he’s not looking at me but gazing over my shoulder with an amused smile.
A second later, two delicately soft hands cover my eyes and a voice whispers in my ear, her hot breath washing over my skin. “Guess who?”
“Amber! I’m so glad you made it!” I can’t help but tease her.
Sarah lets out a huff, her teeth nipping lightly at my earlobe before dropping her hands from my eyes. “Amber,” she mutters with playful disgust. As she rounds my chair, intent on claiming the available one across from me, I snag her wrist and give a gentle tug, causing her to spill onto my lap.
Her blond hair is loose and falls forward like a silky curtain. Reaching up to slide it back and tuck it behind her ear, I drink in the sight of her. She’s wearing a cute little fitted blue dress that accentuates her narrow waist. The dress has long sleeves which have embroidery and some beads adorning the cuffs with the neckline dipping into a sharp V.
Her eye makeup is heavier than normal, but it makes her blue eyes much more pronounced, and her lips are a subtle shade of red. Her eyes crinkle slightly at the corners. “Hey, Jack.”
“Hey, Sunshine.”
She reaches into her small clutch, diverting my attention, and when I look down to see her extracting a small foil-wrapped chocolate, I can’t resist a chuckle. That ends quickly, though, when I catch the sight of something in my peripheral vision, sparkling in the lights of the bar.
My eyes track from the bottom hem of her dress which hits at her knees, traveling down along her long, silky smooth legs to find her wearing the sparkly shoes I bought her that first day we were “assigned” errands for Maggie and Ry’s wedding preparation. Smoothing a hand down her leg, I smirk. “These are damn fine shoes.”
“Aren’t they, though?” she asks smugly. “Some guy bought them for me.”
I make a sound of faux dismay. “Some guy?”
Sarah presses a kiss to my cheek before huskily whispering, “He’s my favorite guy,” before backing away and unwrapping her favorite chocolate. Removing the small candy from the foil, she reads the brief message written on the inside of the wrapper, and her eyes turn soft. Curiously, I turn her hand holding the foil wrapper toward me to read it.
Make love your main adventure.
Meeting her eyes, I catch sight of something indecipherable in the depths. Casually, I toss out, “I’d say we’ve had a few adventures together so far.”
Shit. What the hell am I saying? She’s going to think I’m saying we love each other. And she doesn’t love me. I mean, I can’t… I don’t… Fuck.
“Yes, we sure have.” Her voice draws me from my thoughts. She takes a small bite of the chocolate and then offers it to me. Taking her wrist in my grasp, I bring it to my lips. Biting into it, I brush my lips against her fingers. My eyes lock on hers, and I hear the slight intake of breath, the way her lips part.
“Holy hell. I think I just got pregnant watching that go down.”
We turn to find Maggie peering at us, her eyes dancing with mischief. “We’re heading home, so you crazy kids be safe.” She leans in to hug Sarah goodbye before kissing me on the cheek.
“Thanks, man.” Ry slaps a hand on my shoulder, shaking my hand, and then gives Sarah a quick kiss on her cheek. As he backs away, grinning, he nods to Sarah. “Don’t let this guy get you into too much trouble.”
Slowly but surely, the rest of our group divides up into the We’re calling it a night or We’re hitting another bar before bidding their goodbyes. Soon, it’s only me and Sarah. When she moves to shift herself off my lap with the intent of taking a seat in the now-available chair beside me, my hand tightens its hold on her hip.
“Stay.” I lower my face, nuzzling her neck. “I like you here.”
I feel the slight vibrations in her throat from her easy, soft laughter. “I like it, too. But…” She trails off, and I raise my head, meeting her gaze in question. “I’d like to head home.”
My stomach plummets while, simultaneously, it feels as though a thousand-pound weight puts immense pressure on my chest because, well… I’d hoped we’d head home together—that we’d end the night together.
That’s what I get for being presumptuous.
“Oh. Yeah, of course.” I make a show of checking my watch for the time. “It is pretty late, now that you mention it. You probably want to—”
“Jack.” My eyes meet hers, and she offers a gentle smile. “I meant I’d like to go home, back to my place.” There’s a brief pause. “With you.”
“With me,” I repeat like an idiot, a dawning smile spreading my face.
“With you.”
And the painful tightness in my chest mysteriously subsides.