Wright Together, page 12
“Okay, okay,” she gasped breathlessly. “I get the picture.”
“I could draw it for you.” I pressed our lips together.
She leaned into me with a sigh. “Fine. One room. You convinced me.”
“Can I convince you of something else?”
“What’s that?” she asked, rising on her tiptoes to try to get to my lips again.
“Go to the fundraiser dinner with me.”
She dropped heavily onto her heels. “What?”
“The dinner this weekend.”
“Right. I mean, I’m going. We’re both going. Nora hired a limo for the group.”
“I know. I want you to go with me.”
“What’s the difference?” she asked warily.
“You’d be my date.”
She opened her mouth and then closed it. I waited patiently for her to think it over. I could see the cogs working through her mind, but she didn’t pull away from me. Part of me wanted to push. Maybe at the start of all of this, I would have, but I’d seen her come to me of her own accord now. I’d held her as she cried. We were more than casual. Somewhere between that and dating, and I was ready to take the next step. I wanted her to be ready, too.
“Okay,” she finally said. “Okay, I’ll be your date.”
I sealed her promise with a kiss.
17
Eve
“So, a date date,” Nora said.
I held the cocktail dress up to my figure. Nora had insisted on going dress shopping for the event tonight. We were currently in Chrome, a local designer clothing store, handing off potential dresses to the hovering salesclerk. I wasn’t sure I could afford anything in this place, but here we were.
Now, I was pretty sure she’d only asked me because West had told her about my date with Whitt tonight.
“A date date.”
Nora squealed. “Oh my God, I’m so excited for y’all.”
“It’s one date, Nor,” I reminded her, replacing the dress on the rack.
“You’ve been dating for weeks!”
“No, we’ve been hooking up for weeks.”
She huffed and picked up a green dress. “Try this one on.”
I took it out of her hands and held it up to me. Yeah, this could work. I passed it to the salesclerk.
“That’s probably enough. I don’t even know if any of this is going to fit.” Part of me hoped they didn’t fit so I could wear something I already owned.
“Something will fit.”
“You don’t have boobs,” I pointed out. “Clothes aren’t made for people with giant boobs. Material isn’t supposed to stretch the way it does around these things.”
“Girl, I am so jealous of your boobs.”
“Don’t be. They’re a hassle.”
“Whitt doesn’t think so.”
“Good Lord!”
Nora laughed. “I’m just saying!”
“I know what you’re saying.”
I strode into my dressing room and tried on the first dress—a pink number that I immediately knew didn’t work. Nora stepped out in the cutest little blue minidress. The little pixie looked good in everything.
“But you like him, right?” Nora asked.
I gestured to my dress. “I don’t like this.”
I strode back into the dressing room and tried on more dresses, hating all of them.
Nora sighed. “You know you can talk to me about this. I’m excited.”
“It’s still too early to be excited about anything.”
“It’s never too early to be excited.”
“Not when all my previous relationships have crashed and burned.”
“You haven’t even dated anyone in the last year. And honestly, should we even count Daddy Sinclair?”
I snorted. “Stop calling him that.”
“It’s a perfect name, and I will not stop.”
“Okay. Fine. And no, I haven’t dated since him, just hooked up. It’s not that I’m still upset about him or whatever. I just needed to live in my single era.”
“And now, you’ve found a great guy,” she pointed out. “So, maybe that era is coming to a close.”
I bit my lip. “Maybe it is.”
Nora cheered as I went back into the dressing room for the final dress.
When I stepped out, both of us were speechless.
“That’s the one,” Nora said in awe.
“It so is.”
I didn’t even complain about the price tag. This was the dress.
“Are you nervous?” Blaire asked.
“Excited?” Piper piped in.
“Hyped!” Nora added.
“Y’all need to calm down. It’s a date for an event we both were already planning to attend.” I lounged back in the overstuffed chair and crossed one Louboutin-clad foot over the other. Tried-and-true heels for tonight.
“But it’s your first date,” Blaire said. “You must be feeling something.”
“What did you feel on your first date with Campbell?”
Blaire laughed. “Well, we were in high school. He was the coolest fucking person in the entire school, and he noticed me skating at Sonic. I basically fell over myself about him every chance I got.”
“So…nothing’s changed,” I joked.
“Pretty much.”
“And you?” I asked Piper.
She sighed heavily. “I mostly could not believe I was sinking this low.”
We all laughed. Their enemies-turned-lovers relationship was legendary. We all turned to Nora to get her perspective.
“Oh.” She blushed as bright as a tomato. “Well, we kind of accidentally hooked up a few times while he was teaching me to date.”
“Teaching you to date!” Blaire gasped. “Nora Abbey, do not let your brothers hear that.”
“Oh my God, don’t tell them!” she said to both girls.
Piper laughed. “I was just glad to see you move on from August.”
“Tell me about it,” Nora said. “But once we started dating dating, it was just…” She sighed, going all starry-eyed. “And I want that for you!”
“All right,” I said with a laugh. “I’ll work on sighing heavily like I’m in a cartoon.”
Nora smacked my arm. “One day you’re going to be so head over heels for someone that you’ll understand. I hope it’s Whitton Wright so I can look back on this conversation and make fun of you.”
I shrugged. “If wishes grew on trees.”
The doorbell rang, and all the girls jumped up at once. Even I stumbled to my feet. As much as my bravado showed before the girls, I couldn’t deny that I had butterflies in my stomach. This was my first official date in more than a year. I was glad it was him, but it didn’t make me any less jittery. The last thing I wanted to do was fuck this up. I was becoming more certain that the girls wouldn’t turn their backs on me if it didn’t work, but it wasn’t etched in stone.
Plus…I liked Whitt. A fact I found I could no longer deny. That maybe this date could be the first of many. After all, he kept surprising me. He hadn’t asked about Evie Jo when we were in Midland, and he’d held me the other night after my conversation with Bailey. He didn’t push me to divulge more, and it was nice to feel safe for once.
The door swung open, and in walked our gentlemen. Hollin, Campbell, and West strode through the door. And then behind them, to my surprise, was Harley in a black mesh dress that clung to her every curve. She waved at me with a wide grin on her face. I waved back cautiously.
Then, Whitt entered, and everything else went hazy. I’d been making fun of Nora for her sighing over West. Now, I was here, unable to even form coherent thoughts. He was dressed in a black suit with a crisp white shirt and black tie. He’d gelled his hair back and shaved his sharp jaw clean. I wanted to drag my nails down that perfectly smooth skin to feel it for myself. He stood like a statue as he caught sight of me.
The green dress hugged my figure like a glove. As brilliant green as my eyes with boning running across it to give it structure and put my ample boobs on display. The straps were skinny black leather that only accentuated my cleavage. I opted for a bare throat and shiny teardrop diamonds in my ears.
“Wow,” he said as he approached me. “This dress…”
“A winner?”
“You could say that.”
I grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Thank you. I thought it was the one.”
“It is,” he nearly groaned.
“Hi, I’m Harley!” she interrupted. “You look hot as fuck.”
I laughed. “Thanks. I like your dress, too.”
“Thanks. I told my brother you were out of his league, but he decided to ask you out anyway,” she said with a grin. “Good choice on his part.” She leaned in with a wink. “You can do better.”
I snorted and glanced at Whitt to see him rolling his eyes.
“Harley,” he ground out.
“All right. I did my due diligence. We should get out of here.”
I slipped my hand into the crook of his elbow, and we filed out of the house behind everyone else.
Whitt leaned down. “I’m sorry about her. She’s a menace.”
“She seems sweet.”
“She’s like a sour candy really. Sweet on the inside, but you have to get past the sour exterior.”
“Harley and I have that in common,” I said, deadpan.
He laughed in surprise. “I’m not sure I like comparing you to my sister.”
I bit my lip. “That’s fair.”
We hopped into the back of the limo with the rest of our friends, fitting snug in a corner, Whitt’s arm draped casually across my shoulders. Champagne flutes were passed around even though we were only driving the ten minutes to Wright Construction to use their penthouse restaurant for Jensen’s mayoral fundraiser.
I’d been in a limo once with Arnold when he took me to Vegas for the weekend. I could rate that experience as a one on a scale from one to ten compared to this. I’d never known precisely what I was missing by not having friends like this. And here, in the back of the limo, drinking champagne and enjoying the gentle ribbing about Whitt and me, I could see how my entire life could have changed had someone accepted me.
I finished a glass of champagne and passed it back to a giggling Nora as we drove up to the front door. It was strange to step out onto the familiar pavement. Wright Construction was a staple of the community, and until I’d started working here, I’d never been inside. Now, I was here as a guest for a fancy dinner. All of it felt surreal.
“You ready?” Whitt asked, holding his arm out.
I took a deep breath and then nodded, agreeing to so much more than he could know. “Let’s do it.”
The group piled into the elevator and took us up to the restaurant that Wright was famous for. It took up the entirety of the top floor of the building with windows around the entire perimeter for a spectacular view of the sunset as it fell over the Texas Tech campus.
Nora sighed in delight next to me. “The campaign event planner is spot-on.”
The place had transformed from the business locale it typically was used as to an elaborate and elegant dinner party, complete with a dozen circular tables decorated with fresh flowers. Waiters, dressed in black suits, carried trays of champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Hollin snagged a little finger sandwich and held his hand up to stop another waiter carrying champagne. Piper rolled her eyes at him, but she took the proffered glass.
The rest of our group took drinks, too, and then headed across the glossy hardwood floor to the table with our names written in calligraphy on small white cards. I swayed lightly to the soft classical music coming from a string quartet. My stomach flipped as I looked around the room—the fancy party, the abundance of florals, and all the important people in town. I couldn’t believe I was here.
“This is incredible,” I told Whitt.
“Jensen knows how to throw a party. That’s for sure.”
“I need to go talk to the planner,” Nora said with wide-eyed wonder.
West laughed. “I’ll go with you.” He grinned at his brother before disappearing after her.
“He’s smitten,” I said.
“No shit.”
I laughed. “Why do you sound disappointed?”
“I’m happy for him. He’s like a lost puppy when he’s in love.”
“It’s cute.”
“I think so, too,” Harley said. She smacked Whitt’s arm. “You could use a little more lost puppy in your life.”
He grinned at his sister. “So could you.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m nineteen. I don’t need to fall in love.”
“College guys suck anyway,” I told her.
Her eyes roamed the already-busy dinner party. “Tell me about it.”
“Whitt!” a voice called over the increasing chatter.
Whitt turned to find Jordan and Julian standing in a group with other people from Wright Construction. They waved him over. He glanced down at me in concern.
“I’m a big girl. I’ll be fine. Harley and I will get to know each other.”
Whitt paled. “That’s what I’m worried about.”
Harley and I laughed at the same time. But Whitt shook his head and walked over to his brothers.
“Well, I like you already,” Harley said. “Though you’re waaay too good for him.”
It was my turn to give her a skeptical look. But Harley barreled on, like she hadn’t said something entirely unbelievable.
“I mean, look at you. You’re hot as fuck.”
“Thank you.”
“Drink?” Harley asked, snagging champagne for the both of us.
“Aren’t you underage?”
“I won’t tell if you won’t.” Harley winked at me.
I laughed. “Just don’t let your brothers see you.”
“Trust me, my entire life is getting around my brothers seeing anything I’m doing.”
We chuckled at that. I wasn’t going to parent her. I had done worse at her age. If a few glasses of champagne were the worst she could do here, then I thought she’d be fine.
We were chatting about her trip back to Seattle for the summer when a tall figure appeared before us. He was all tall, blond, and undeniably handsome. He looked so much like a younger version of his father. Charming and relentlessly good-looking. My heart beat in my throat at the sight of him—Chase Sinclair.
This was a problem that I hadn’t foreseen. Of course the Sinclairs were going to be in attendance. Did Chase’s appearance mean that Arnold would be here as well?
“Hello, Eve,” Chase said. His voice was only slightly strained at the edges when he said my name.
He knew that I’d been with his dad. Everyone knew. Great.
But his gaze slipped from mine to land on Harley, and something shifted in them. From discomfort to desire, like a light switch. An almost-hypnotic, restrained look to him. With one hand clenched at his side, as if he needed to physically hold himself back.
My eyes snapped to Harley and saw a coquettish expression on her face. This was not the first time they’d met. The memory of them dancing close at Jordan and Annie’s wedding came back to me. Whitt and I had left before the night ended. Had something happened between Chase and Harley in our absence?
“Harley,” he said with a tip of his head. His voice rough, like a shackle around his throat.
“Chase,” Harley said, all unbothered cool girl in her voice. All flirtation in her look.
“It’s good to see you both.”
“You, too,” I said as I sized up what was going on. “Is it just…you representing your family tonight?”
“Indeed. Just me.”
I relaxed despite the awkwardness. What a relief.
“Maybe you can save me a dance later,” Harley said.
Chase swallowed. “Perhaps.”
And then he excused himself and disappeared back into the crowd.
I whipped around. “He is ten years older than you.”
Harley arched an eyebrow. “And? Didn’t you date his dad?”
“Obviously,” I said, waving away the fact. “But I don’t have two older brothers who would probably kill him if they saw what I just saw.”
“And what did you see?” Harley asked with an interested glint in her eye.
“That he was barely holding himself back from attacking you.”
Her smile vanished, and her gaze slipped from mine. “That’s not true. He’s not interested.”
I raised my eyebrows. “That’s not what it looked like.”
“Trust me, Chase Sinclair has no interest in me,” she said with a sigh that made it sound like a tragedy.
Jesus, what the hell had gone down with them?
I didn’t have a chance to ask before Whitt returned, snaking an arm around my waist, and Jensen stepped up with a microphone in hand to welcome everyone to the fundraising dinner for his campaign.
18
Whitton
Eve was in my arms as we twirled on the dance floor. My fingers holding her narrow waist. Her arms draped across my shoulders. The night was beyond perfection, starting with the delicious dinner—steak braised in some indescribable sauce with whipped potatoes and an array of colorful vegetables, the rolls fresh and slathered in butter, the wine perfectly complementing every bite, and we’d shared our desserts: mine a decadent chocolate explosion, complete with raspberries and a dollop of whipped cream, and hers a perfectly fired crème brûleé with a swirl of rosewater caramel—and ending with us dancing in the middle of the room with our friends.
If only my sister wasn’t still drinking.
“Should I say something to her?” I asked Eve.
“You’re hovering. She’s fine. She’s had two glasses of champagne all night, and she ate a full meal. We have the limo, so she’s not driving home. And you know she’s in college, right? Because I’m pretty sure we all drank in college.”
“Yeah, but…”
“Maybe hold that thought and consider kissing me instead.”
I laughed, taken off guard by her boldness. “I could do that.”
