Too Complicated

  My mouth moved along her jawline, nibbling as I reveled in the sound and feel of the woman in my arms. It felt as if she was always destined to be right here, in this moment, with me … finally.

  The sound of a door slamming had us both jumping apart. Chloe’s hand came up to her mouth, and her eyes were on me. The look of confusion there pushed the lust out of my brain, but before I could speak, Gabe rushed in.

  “Zoey forgot her Jane Austen scarf, and refused to wait until tomorrow to get it,” Gabe said as he picked up the discarded scarf and bunched it in his hand. Catching sight of us, his gaze narrowed and he asked, “Everything okay?”

  Chloe recovered first.

  “Yeah, I was just leaving,” she said after she cleared her throat. Her eyes were still on me when she told him, “I’ll walk out with you.”

  I didn’t say anything, instead deciding to give her the out she needed, and the space to figure out what just happened and whether she wanted to do anything about it.

  Lord knew, I needed the same thing.

  I heard the door shut behind them and leaned forward to brace myself on the back of a chair.

  Damn, that woman had wrecked me more with one kiss than any other woman in the span of my life.

  Now that the cat is out of the bag, what am I going to do about it?

  Chapter Twenty ~Chloe

  “I’m so thrilled that we’re going to do this,” I gushed to Laurel after she told me I was hired.

  We’d met a couple weeks ago to go over what she was looking for and have an interview of sorts, and when she’d asked me to meet her and Jasmine for lunch, I was a nervous wreck wondering whether I would get the job or not.

  It was similar to what I’d done in North Carolina, but I had a feeling it was going to be even more fulfilling.

  “So am I,” Laurel replied with her killer smile. “I think we’re going to be great together.”

  “Yay,” Jasmine cut in as she raised her glass. “Here’s to the two of you going in to business together, and to Ass for suggesting I hook you two up.”

  “To Reardon,” Laurel and I both agreed. I refused to call the poor man Ass. I got where it came from, and that it had started when they were kids, but it was a terrible nickname.

  The mention of his name had a memory of last weekend’s kiss flashing in my brain, and I swear, just thinking about it made me hot all over.

  Who knew he could kiss like that?

  “Whoa!” Jasmine exclaimed, and I knew her eagle eye had caught my hot flash because she narrowed her eyes and pointed her finger at me. “What was that?”

  “What?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

  “That little blushing deal that happened when I mentioned my cousin’s name.”

  Needing to get it off my chest, I leaned in and whispered, “Reardon kissed me the other night.”

  Laurel clapped her hands together excitedly.

  “The party?” Jasmine asked.

  “Yes.”

  “When? Where?”

  “After everyone had left. On the lips,” I replied, not sure exactly what she’d meant by where, but taking a guess.

  “How was it?”

  I thought of those soft lips, that sexy stubble, and the way his strong hand had gripped my hips.

  A breath escaped my lips and I grinned wildly.

  “Really?” Laurel asked.

  “Really,” I replied, fanning myself to let them know just how hot that moment had been.

  “Well, all right,” Jasmine said, raising her hand for Laurel to give her a high five. When her friend did just that, she turned back to me with a look of wonder. “I didn’t know Ass had it in him. Good for him.”

  “I knew,” Laurel said, her voice coming out like a squeak.

  “What?” Jasmine asked, shocked.

  Laurel nodded.

  “It was in seventh grade,” she said, causing me to smile as she tapped her lips. “We were playing Truth or Dare and Gabe dared me to kiss him.”

  “Where was I?” Jasmine asked, obviously offended that something so significant had happened without her knowledge.

  “I think you and Dillon had been dared to swim across the river.”

  “I remember that … Dillon won,” she replied, then brought her eyes back to Laurel, accusingly. “I can’t believe you never told me.”

  Laurel shrugged and said, “I didn’t want you to be mad, or worse, razz us about it for the rest of our lives. It was just a quick peck. We never talked about it again. His lips were soft.” This she said to me, and I had to agree, they definitely were.

  My phone pinged, indicating a text, so I said “excuse me” and checked it, just in case it was Chris.

  I know you’re busy with wedding bus, so how about Monday for that drink?

  I bit my lip, wondering what I should do. I had made a bet, after all, and it wasn’t like Shane liked me or anything. He’d said we’d be getting together as friends, as allies in this small town.

  Coffee at the diner?

  “Who is it?” Jasmine asked, unabashedly nosey.

  Noon?

  “Shane,” I replied, wanting to be honest and make sure they didn’t get the wrong idea, because not only had I just been talking about kissing Reardon, but I remembered what Rena had said about Jazzy and Shane at the fitting. “He won the Jenga game, and we’d agreed to meet for coffee … as friends.”

  I watched Jasmine for a reaction, but she gave me nothing.

  “Cool, he’s a good guy.”

  My phone pinged again and I said, “Sorry.”

  This time it was my sister.

  Gabe said YES to Comic Con. Tell Rear!

  “Crap!” I exclaimed. Not about Comic Con, I knew that would be cool, but I’d kind of been avoiding Reardon since the kiss.

  “What is it?” Laurel asked, her voice full of concern.

  “Oh, nothing like that,” I assured her. “It’s just that Zoey wants us to go with her and Gabe to Comic Con, and I’d told her that I wanted to tell Reardon.”

  “What’s crap about that?” Jasmine asked. “He’s going to be crazy excited.”

  “I know, and that’s why I told her I’d tell him, it’s just, I haven’t seen him, since … you know.”

  “Since you played tonsil hockey?” Jasmine asked with a grin.

  After a bark of laughter, I replied, “Exactly.”

  “You could call him and tell him,” Laurel suggested.

  “But then I wouldn’t get to see the look on his face.”

  “It’s going to be epic,” Jasmine agreed. “Can I be there with my camera?”

  I thought of how excited he would be, and how he’d made me feel with one kiss, and decided it was time for me to act like a grown woman and talk to him.

  I was absently running my thumb over my lower lip as it turned up at the corners, when I heard Laurel let out an exaggerated sigh, snapping me out of my thoughts.

  “I wish I could find a man to put that look on my face,” Laurel said dreamily.

  “Me too,” Jasmine said, propping her head on her hand as they both stared at me.

  “Oh, shut up,” I replied, but couldn’t stop myself from laughing with them.

  It felt great to have friends, even if they were making fun of me. I was finally starting to feel like I belonged here. That’s what worried me the most. What if I took a chance with Reardon, and ended up messing things up with one of Cherry Spring’s favored sons? Would I go back to being an outsider?

  Was it worth the risk? Was he?

  Chapter Twenty-One ~ Reardon

  When I’d received the text from Chloe asking me to stop by her house, I was elated. I’d been trying to give her space, and who was I kidding, trying to wrap my head around what had happened at the bar that night.

  I’d been just about ready to reach out myself, when she did.

  I arrived with a bottle of wine in one hand and a fresh loaf of bread from the local bakery in the other. As my mama had taught me, you never show up to som
eone’s home empty-handed, especially when they just moved in.

  The door opened and the site of Chloe momentarily took my breath away.

  Her hair was down, her face fresh and free of makeup, and she had a cleaning rag in her hand.

  “Hey,” she said easily, and the knot that had taken up residence in my stomach eased.

  “Hi,” I replied, then pushed my hands out and said, “These are for you.”

  “Oh, thank you,” Chloe said, then held up the rag. “Can you bring them to the kitchen? I’m all dirty from unpacking and cleaning stuff off.”

  Deciding to just go for it and bring up what was plaguing me, rather than begin with idle chit-chat, I looked at her back as she led me and began, “About the other night…”

  Chloe stopped and turned, her face flushed.

  “It was totally my fault. It was late and we’d been drinking. I shouldn’t have touched you.”

  “No,” I argued, wanting to state my case before she blew the whole thing off as a misunderstanding, or worse, a mistake. “Look,” I said, putting the items on her counter and taking her hands in mine. “I know the kiss was unexpected. There was a moment, so I took it, and, Chloe, I don’t regret it at all, if that’s what you’re getting at. Do you?”

  “No,” she said with a shake of her head. “But,” she added, causing that knot to tie itself back up. “We’re friends, and I don’t want to ruin that. That being said … It was, amazing, and no, I don’t regret it.”

  I breathed out a sigh of relief, and I knew my grin was so big it bordered on maniacal.

  “Still,” Chloe began again, and my stomach dipped nervously. “I’m worried about how intertwined our lives already are. What happens if something happened between us, and things went bad? Not that I’m assuming off of one kiss that something’s going to happen, but still, I’d hate to ruin things not only between us, but Zoey and Gabe, or me and Gabe, or you and Zoey … See?” she said, taking a breath and removing one hand from mine to clasp the back of her neck, her eyes widening as she spoke. “There are so many risks.”

  I chuckled a little at her panic, a little pleased that she’d obviously put so much thought into this, and that she was beginning to care about me and my family enough to worry about the possibility of a fallout.

  “There’s a lot in there, so let me start with this,” I said, running my thumb over her hand in what I hoped was a soothing manner. “You’re not crazy in assuming that I do want to pursue whatever this is between us. I have for a while, and that kiss just solidified my feelings and helped propel this along. Second, I understand your concerns, and agree that ours is a very unique situation, but we are all adults, and we are friends, so I suggest we take things slow. Feel things out, and then go from there. How does that sound?”

  Chloe gulped some air in and nodded.

  “That sounds good.”

  “Good,” I said, my smile more carefree than it had been since she’d come back into my life.

  “So, was that what you wanted to talk to me about?”

  Chloe’s face lit up and she shook her head.

  “Actually, no, it wasn’t. If I’m being honest, I was leaning more toward pretending nothing happened,” she admitted. “I seem to be a bit of a coward where you’re concerned.”

  “Don’t be,” I said, bringing the hand I still held up, then turning it so I could lay my lips gently on her palm. “You never have to be afraid to say anything to me.”

  Chloe’s eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment as she watched what I was doing, but she shook it off and brightened again.

  “You’re never going to guess what we are going to be doing next Tuesday,” she taunted, and I grinned, happy to play the game.

  “Well,” I began, putting a finger to my lips and looking toward the ceiling as if in deep thought. “The wedding is Saturday, so we’ll probably be sleeping it off Sunday. Hell, it’s an open bar, so maybe still recovering on Monday … Tuesday, hmmmm … Well, your answer wouldn’t be going on our first date, because you weren’t planning on talking about the kiss with me, so … fishing?”

  “Fishing? Why would we ever go fishing?”

  “It’s a good a guess as any.”

  “No,” Chloe said with a laugh. “It’s not. In fact, it’s the worse guess ever.”

  “Okay, so you’re not a big fisher. Noted.”

  Chloe punched me in the arm and said, “We’re going with Zoey and Gabe to Comic Con.”

  Shocked, I said, “Get the hell out of here.”

  “No, I live here,” Chloe quipped, then jumped up and down and I swear to God, I was seconds away from doing the same. “I’m serious. Me, you, and Chris are going to join them on their honeymoon, yeah, I know, but we’re going!”

  I clutched a hand to my chest, sure that it was either about to leap out or break down. I’d never felt this excited in my life.

  “We’re going … to Comic Con?”

  “Yup,” she said with a nod, and I don’t know if it was the excitement, or her stunning beauty, but I had the sudden insane need to feel her lips on mine once more.

  I pulled her to me and captured her laughing mouth with mine, and when her laughter turned to a groan, I felt it with every fiber of my being.

  I kissed her until I needed to pull away for fear I’d never be able to stop.

  “Wow,” she said dreamily, as her eyes fluttered open. “That was even better than the first time.”

  “I have a feeling, with us, it’s just going to keep getting better.”

  “Slow,” Chloe reminded me.

  “Slow,” I assured her.

  Chapter Twenty-Two ~ Chloe

  The rustic signs were perfect, the sun was shining, and the outdoor setup looked amazing. The twinkling lights in the barn looked magical, and the centerpieces and decorations were exactly what Zoey wanted.

  She was going to be thrilled with the way everything had come together.

  I took one last look around the barn, the party planners and servers bustling around as if I weren’t even there as they worked to be ready on time, and smiled even as my eyes filled.

  My sister deserved this, and I was so pleased that she was getting everything. The wedding, the man, the baby, and the life she never knew she wanted.

  Lifting my delicate lavender skirt, I hurried back toward the house, knowing they were probably about ready for pictures of the bridal party.

  Just inside the door I stopped, then my eyes not only filled with tears, but a few spilled over.

  “Mom,” Chris whispered, rolling his eyes.

  “You look so grown up,” I breathed, trying my damndest to pull myself together.

  I reached out to touch his lavender bow tie, running my finger along the satin material as I looked up into the face of my boy, who had one foot in the door to becoming a man.

  Chris sighed, but rather than jerk away like he often did now when I embarrassed him, he leaned in to give me a quick hug and pat on the back and muttered, “I love you.”

  I was still standing there, feeling that hug, that pat, and the sentiment behind it all, when he shuffled around me and walked away. With my hand clutched to my heart, I made my way upstairs to where the ladies were stationed for hair and makeup.

  I heard the laughter before I turned into the room.

  “Then there was the time Gabe was at the diner with a bunch of his football friends, trying to look all cool while the girls fawned over him…” Serena was saying through her laughter.

  “And, we pantsed him,” Jasmine finished with a loud guffaw.

  “You did not,” Zoey replied, her face barely above a whisper as she looked at the other women with a mixture of awe and censure.

  “They totally did,” Serena replied, and I couldn’t help but smile at the sight before me.

  Three amazing women, smiling and laughing, one of them seconds away from one of the happiest moments in her life.

  Zoey, her long, dark hair down and flowing, contrasting beautifully with the
gorgeous wedding dress she’d chosen, her very round belly barely noticeable underneath the yards of fabric.

  Serena, looking fresh as the spring, with her rich chestnut hair up in a sophisticated knot, the lavender of her dress bringing out the soft tones of her sun-kissed skin.

  And Jasmine, a funny, sexy siren whether in a bikini on the beach, or a fitted dress that hit her mid-thigh and showed off an impressive amount of cleavage, her red hair framing her face with thick curls.

  They were quite a sight, and I took a minute to enjoy the picture they made before breaking up the fun and saying, “Time for pictures.”

  Zoey’s bright, happy eyes found mine, and the smile that hadn’t dimmed in the last twenty-four hours was infectious.

  “Gah, you look amazing,” she gushed for the third time since the last curl had been secured at the nape of my neck. “I want a dozen pictures of you in that dress.”

  “This day is about you, not me … You and Gabe,” I argued, still worried that the dress was too much.

  “Oh, bah,” Zoey said with a wave of her hand. “It’s about all of us. Family and friends, coming together to celebrate the fact that I found the most amazing man on the planet, and I’m keeping him. The rest of it’s just icing.”

  God, I love my sister.

  “Well, the icing looks amazing, just like you’d pictured. You’re going to love it, Zo.”

  “Really? You went out and saw it?” she squealed. “I can’t wait.”

  “You’re almost there,” I assured her. “The guys already took their shots, so after ours it’s go time.”

  “Then let’s get those pictures out of the way so I can go claim my man and get this barn dance started.”

  We followed the photographer outside, letting her move us, stage us, and keep us smiling until our faces were ready to crack, and then it was time.

  Our parents had come up for the wedding, but were only staying two days, which wasn’t surprising. They had to rush back for a backgammon tournament, or some such nonsense, but at least they’d showed. Even though she hadn’t said anything to me, I knew that having our father walk her down the aisle was important to Zoey, so at least he was giving her that.