Aloha, page 109
“But,” Jace cuts in, making me spin towards his voice, “it would mean something to us, and if you want, we can make it real. We talked about it. Worked out the details.”
Jace kisses my cheeks and the tears that are streaming down my face.
Strong hands take my waist, guiding me around until I’m staring up at Reed, who looks like the sun. So beautiful and bright. Almost boyish.
“Say yes, sunshine. Because we want forever.”
Two Christmases ago, I met the men of my dreams. And tonight, I’ll be able to call them my husbands.
“Yes.”
If you loved this naughty fivesome or just want more of this series, run don’t walk to read Tangled in Tinsel, and Knot So Lucky.
A Night With You
Fall in Love Again, Book 3
Willow Winters
Prologue
Aubrey
I can’t help but smile as those fluttering feelings go through me. The little butterflies that just won’t quit whenever Bennet looks at me like that.
“Stop it,” I mutter as I playfully bat his right arm. “Focus on driving,” I tell him, grinning so hard my cheeks hurt and I’m certain they’re bright red as well. His hand lands on my bare thigh and the rough pad of his thumb runs soothing circles against my heated skin.
His charming smile stays right where it is as he glances at me from the driver's seat of his truck and promises he’s doing the best he can ‘when you look like that’.
“If you wanted me to focus on anything other than you, maybe you should have thought twice about that dress.”
“Oh yeah,” I play along, leaning closer to him and letting my hand fall on top of his. His touch does something to me I’ve never felt before.
“Yeah,” he tells me, glancing again at me with those puppy dog eyes. “I love that color on you.”
Love.
That little word has a ball of emotion swelling in my throat but I’m quick to swallow it down and I don’t think my expression changed in the least. Staring straight ahead I ignore the one word I’ve been hoping he’d say and instead I tell him, “well next time I’ll wear a paper bag.”
He chuckles deep and rough and I love it.
Just like I love the way he makes me feel, I love every minute we spend together… I love his flannel shirt that he never buttons. I love the white tee underneath that’s stretched tight over his broad shoulders. I love his tanned skin and the little grooves of his corded muscles, I love his jeans and the sound they make while he’s kicking them off and making my bed groan as we get lost in the sheets every night.
I don’t say what I want though when I glance back at him at the red light before we get back to his place from a long night out.
He winces slightly and then rubs the back of his neck.
“You looking to get a massage?” I ask him playfully and then offer it up rather than tease and torment Bennet. “You could just ask,” I tell him.
He chuckles again and then says it’s just a little headache but he’s more than happy to take me up on that offer.
Before the light turns green, I swear he’s about to say something else… something that brings a shine to his eyes, but the damn thing interrupts us… just like everything else in the small town that was never prepared for a love like ours.
Chapter 1
Aubrey
I can’t shake the nerves from the day no matter what I do. For all intents and purposes, it was a wonderful meeting with the publishers, and the promotion to head editor is something I never expected. As I pull the high waisted floral skirt into place and adjust my white sleeve blouse so it’s loosely tucked in, I know I love my job but I never expected this.
It’s been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. Today feels like so much more. Digging through my makeup bag, I settle on a deep rouge lipstick that will pair well with my heels.
My phone pings and I suppress my sigh and eye roll and opt for a grin instead. The girls are taking me out tonight to celebrate and I wonder if that’s why I’m a bundle of nerves. It’s been a long damn time since we’ve been out on the town and I know they’re going to try to hook me up with someone.
And finding a guy, let alone hooking up with one, is not on my to do list.
The phone pings again on the sink countertop and I glance down at it.
The text reads: You almost ready?
Lauren is always ready early and she knows I’m almost always five minutes late.
I wouldn't be surprised if she walks across the street past her perfectly manicured rose bushes and knocks on my front door within the next two minutes.
Just as I pucker and smack my lips, there’s a knock on the door and I nearly laugh out loud. I know it’s not Lauren though when my front door opens.
“Bree!” I slip the lipstick into my clutch, snag my phone in my left hand, heels in the right. “Let’s go!” Marlena and Gemma both call out.
"I'm coming!" My heart beats even faster on the trip through my house to the entryway, where my friends are checking themselves out in the mirror by the door.I laugh at Gemma blowing herself a kiss in the mirror. Her little red cotton sun dress is adorable. "We just need--"
The front door opens again, and Lauren steps in.
"You did it!" she shouts, and then I'm surrounded by a hug and squeals from my friends, all of them shrieking with happiness.
"Stop, stop, I'm going to get lipstick everywhere!"
My friends release me, laughing. Lauren rolls her eyes. "Please, Bree. You're perfect. I can't wait to get to the bar and show you off."
A shiver runs down my spine. "I don't need to be shown off, I just want to celebrate with you three."
Lauren cocks a brow and Gemma lets out a laugh before sharing a look with Marlena.
I hook my arm through Lauren's, my pulse coming quicker.
“Where are we going anyway?” I question and their answer is easy. The breeze moves through my hair on the way to Lauren’s SUV. She’s always DD. As the seatbelt clicks into place,I feel practically giddy. Maybe there's just something in the air. I'm excited about the promotion, of course, but I worked hard for it. As shocked as I was to get the title of Head Editor, it also seems to fit.
Who knows? Maybe it's tonight that's special. Maybe tonight is the night that I'm finally the person I’ve been working towards being, with nothing from the past holding me back. What is it that people say? It's the first day of the rest of my life.
The bar is lit up from the inside, practically beckoning us to the door. For a minute, as we get closer, it almost feels like high school again. The nights we went to football games and ate pizza at the little restaurant downtown were like magic. We felt like the world was just opening up for us, like anything could happen. Like anyone could walk through the door.
Though at the time, it wasn't just anyone I thought about.
It was someone very specific.
And tonight reminds me of him, even though it's a night out with the girls, and he moved across the country a long time ago.
I try to shake off the memories, and Lauren pulls me closer to her. "Cold?"
"Excited!"
She laughs. "Yeah, I bet! It's been way too long since we went out. Now that you're head editor, you'll have more time for us, right?"
"I'm pretty sure it's the other way around."
"No, no!" Gemma says. "You're the boss. You get to set your own schedule. That means you have to let us steal you away for wine down Wednesdays again."
"She's right," Marlena agrees. "You have to. Or else one day you'll turn around and realize you missed everything."
"Shh," scolds Lauren. "Bree's been here for everything. All the important stuff. Nothing else matters."
I make a silent promise to myself that I will spend more time with my friends. More responsibility at work doesn't mean I can let friendships fall by the wayside. I'm not willing to let any of them get away, not after–
Gemma pulls the front door of the bar open. Noise pours out onto the sidewalk. People talk over one another, music plays, and glasses clink.
"Drinks!" Lauren says over the noise, and pulls me with her toward the bar. A couple attached to each other at the lips veers into our path, and Lauren shoos them out of the way. The man's taller, and the woman has her hands in his shirt, and the way they're kissing is so intense that I don't see him at first.
But then my heart stops and my entire body freezes.
Bennet Thompson.
He stands behind the bar, tall and handsome just like he was in high school, his hands moving confidently on a glass and bottles while he mixes a drink. My heart does a loop in my chest and straight up to my throat. I've thought about Bennet Thompson at least a few times a week since I graduated.
That's what happens when you have a crush on somebody. A crush is different from other kinds of love. It hides in your heart and pops up when you least expect it. Refusing to just go away because it was never even given a chance.
My whole face heats as Lauren pulls us toward the bar. I had no business having a crush on Bennet in high school, because he was dating Pamela. I have no business feeling this giddy at the sight of him now, but what am I supposed to say? I can't tell Lauren to stop, and more importantly I don't want to. I can’t believe he’s back in town.
I want to see him up close.
Oh, God, he's even more attractive up close. How is he hotter than my memories of him that kept me up at night?
He slides the glass across the bar to the woman it's for, brushes off his hands, and looks up.
Our eyes meet.
It's the first time I've looked him in the eyes since he moved across the country and the shock is no less powerful than it was all those years ago. The pale blue of his eyes lights up, and a slow smile spreads across his face. That's the smile of a heartbreaker, right there.
And oh, my heart is going to break. Because just looking at him makes me feel like I'd do anything to be near him, anything to see that smile again.
I'm in trouble.
Huge trouble. The kind of trouble that'll shatter my heart. I just know it. I'll be left with nothing but memories.
A wiser person might turn away and forget Bennet Thompson.
I smile back at him instead.
Chapter 2
Bennet
At first, I think I have to be imagining her.
Aubrey Peters, with her doe eyes staring straight at me and her beautiful red lips parted just slightly, proving she’s just as shocked to see me as I am to see her. All I’ve got on is worn blue jeans and a white tee, and this gorgeous woman’s little black dress and red heels put her way above my league.
There's no way Aubrey Peters is standing in my bar. Or--the one I work at since Steve let me bartend until I get settled back in town. There's no way she's standing there with her arm hooked through her friend's, looking at me with a beautiful blush spreading over her cheeks, exactly the way she used to look at me in school.
It takes great effort not to show every emotion on my face and keep my cool. Her friend--Lauren--says something to her, and the two of them come closer.
She's real. Aubrey is standing there, right in front of me, making my heart race all over again. The bar lights shine down on her hair and men on the other side of the bar turn to check her out, and I’m not surprised by the flare of jealousy straight through my chest. She and Lauren are at the bar in a matter of steps. I lean over to take their order, and I swear there's a magnetic pull between us.
"Hi," Aubrey says. I only half-hear the order Lauren places. My hands move automatically to make the drinks, and suddenly Lauren's gone. It's just Aubrey, leaning in too, her face lit up with surprise. "I didn't know you were back in town."
"I am." I open my arms and gesture at the bar. "This is what I do now."
"Flirt with women?"
I give her wide eyes. "Is that what it looks like I’m doing?"
"You're smiling a lot."
I can’t help myself as she sways back and forth in front of me, "I'm smiling at you."
Even though half the ice completely misses the glass,I keep going on the drinks as if I’m not hot and bothered. Aubrey laughs, tossing her hair over her shoulder, and I want to run my fingers through it. I want it so much I could jump over the bar and capture her in my arms, but I don't. I have more self-control than that.
I've been back for nearly two weeks now, working at the bar all week, and I haven't heard anything about her other than she’s settled down in Cedar Lane. Although a quick glance at her finger tells me my definition of ‘settled down’ might be different from what I thought before.
"What have you been up to lately? You come here a lot?"
She grins, her eyes twinkling. "Working. I got a promotion, actually. That's why we're out tonight."
"A promotion?"
"Head Editor." Bree looks so damn proud of herself, and hell if I'm not proud, too. "I didn't realize they'd give it to me, honestly, but I'm thrilled they have."
"Drinks," I say, wanting to ask her a hundred questions about her new job. About her life since I've been gone.
But she picks up the tray I've pushed across the bar at her with a quick, soft thanks.
"It's good to see you," she says over her shoulder as she turns toward her friends and walks away.
I can't keep my eyes off her.
No matter how hard I try, I keep looking back at her table for the rest of the evening. Just being in the same room with her gives me a high like I haven’t felt since I moved.
A few times, I catch her glancing at me. And each time I let an asymmetric grin slip into place.
The bar is busy and loud. People drink and enjoy themselves without stopping, but no matter how many orders I fill, I can't stop watching her. Nobody in this entire bar is as captivating as this woman, and my heart beats fast just to be in the same room as her.
How did I manage to stay away all this time? The memories flash by, college, a start up company and then selling it before being convinced to come back home for family… life is a wild ride but I never expected it to bring me back to her.
It's toward the end of the night when she comes back to the bar, her eyes bright from a night of drinking. She's confident and beautiful and leans right in.
"I wanted to say goodbye before I left," she said.
"Just goodbye?"
She bites at her lip, giving me a little grin that drives me wild. "I don't know. They've redone the bar since I came last. You could..." Her voice goes low with suggestion. "Show me the back… I heard there’s a game room now or something?" One of her friends calls her name. "Just a second," she says back, her eyes hot on mine.
"It's this way." I play it cool on my way out from behind the bar. I know Steve is working on an expansion, but honestly I just wanted a job to keep me busy and to get back into the swing of things. I tell her, leading the way, "It’s different from how I remember it, but it's nice."
The narrow hall in the back pushes us close together, and Aubrey leans into it a little, her elbow brushing mine.
"Supply closet." I point at one of the doors. "And then back here is where the pool table will go I think, and a little more space for storage."
The space is barren, drywalled and the ceiling is all beams and HVAC systems. “It’s not much to look at but it will be nice I think.”
I flick the light switch but they don’t turn on. “Not quite ready yet,” I comment and then glance behind me, knowing full well the bar is waiting with the faded chatter just barely slipping through.
"Oh." Aubrey steps closer, her lips pursed, looking at the space. She makes a slow turn, her eyes traveling over everything, not moving away an inch. "You're right. It is nice."
"You're nice."
"You're not too bad yourself."
She tilts her face up, just a little, and I take that as a sign that I should kiss her. There's no holding back, now that we're alone in this shadowy back room, nobody watching.
My hands go to her face like we were never apart. Aubrey's eyes flutter closed, and then my mouth is on hers.
Bree's lips are just how I always thought they would be. Soft and sweet, tasting like the last cocktails I made. She dives right into the kiss, her hands going around my neck, and I back her carefully against the wall. Those soft curves. The feel of her. I can't think of anything else.
Somebody moans… not one of us and it’s someone in the office.
My brow rises as the both of us look up and to the doorway.
The sound echoes out of a nearby background, and Aubrey puts her hand to her mouth and laughs. "Oh my god. We weren't the only ones with this idea."
A smile widens on my face as I look down at her. I brush her hair away from her face, unable to stop myself from laughing, too. "Well, it was a good idea I think. Come on. We'll go out this way."
Aubrey takes her phone out as soon as we step outside behind the bar, looking a little rumpled and sweet. "My friends are looking for me."
"You better go find them."
She sways slightly and I wonder what she’s thinking.
“I’m glad you came out tonight Bree,” I tell her and she grins like there’s some secret only she knows. “Even more glad you wanted to see the backroom,” I joke, running my hand through my hair.
Her teeth sink into her bottom lip and she nods before saying, “Same. I’m so glad I got to see you. Maybe I’ll see you again?”
“Damn right you will,” I tell her and then glance back to the bar, knowing it’s waiting on me.
She smiles although her eyes hold so many questions, and I'll be damned if my heart doesn't skip a beat. "How about one more good night kiss?"
I lean down and kiss her, softer than before, and she laughs into it. The sound fills me with something like heat, something like joy, and I'm not going to get too far ahead of myself, no matter how right this feels.
