You, Me, and Forever (Blushing)

Things had gone off without a hitch, unless you counted the fact that Susannah had snapped the heel on her shoe right after she walked back down the aisle with Jesse.noveldrama

Luckily, we always kept unopened slippers nearby, and she was able to wear those while we repaired her heel with the E6000 glue I kept in my belt bag.

At the moment, the biggest issue was the maid of honor, Larsa, who was three sheets to Drunkville. Violet was trying to sober her up behind a tree, insisting she drink some water.

I’d enjoyed every minute of watching them say their vows at this particular location, because I knew all weddings moving forward would be different. It would be a new place, and a different vibe. I’d made peace with it.

I hadn’t been bothered the few times I’d looked up to see Phillip watching me. Oddly enough, I’d been more flustered by the new owner of the inn, whose gaze had locked with mine multiple times during the ceremony.

Maybe it was because we’d formed a friendship.

Maybe it was because I still couldn’t get the one night we’d spent together out of my mind. Even if we hadn’t had intercourse, it was the most memorable sexual experience of my life to date.

It didn’t matter, because for whatever reason, having him here comforted me in a way that I couldn’t begin to explain.

The wedding party had been called over. I was standing on the perimeter of the tent, speaking to Violet in the mic, when I saw Phillip walking my way. Angel was beside him, and my shoulders tensed. I told Violet to hold off on appetizers until everyone had their first cocktail in hand and then turned my attention to the couple standing in front of me now.

“Hey, Montana. It’s great to see you,” Phillip said as he moved in for a hug, holding me a little longer than normal, which was very awkward with his fiancée standing there, staring at us.

“Hi, Phillip, it’s nice to see you.” I pulled back and turned toward the woman extending a hand. “You must be Angel. It’s lovely to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Montana. I’ve heard lots about you.”

I sighed. I wasn’t sure how to respond. “Thank you. Congrats on the engagement. It’s very exciting.”

I didn’t feel sad. I didn’t feel angry.

I just felt uncomfortable, if I was being honest.

Like when you walk in late to a party and everyone turns to look at you, and you just want to run out of the room.

That was how I felt.

I wanted to get away from them.

“Thank you. Did you hear how Phillip proposed?” she asked, and I startled at the question.

Why the hell would I want to know how he proposed?

Phillip appeared to find the question equally awkward, since he shot her a look that was impossible to miss.

It was one of those What the fuck are you doing? looks.

“Um, no. We haven’t spoken, so I haven’t heard anything.” I cleared my throat.

“Well, let me tell you. This man remembered our first kiss last year on that very same day, and he took me to the exact place we’d been that night.” She clapped her hands together and smiled as her gaze locked with mine.

Last year at this time, Phillip and I were very much together.

“Angel,” he hissed, and the look she gave him caught me by surprise. This did not appear to be a couple who was happily engaged, at least not at the moment.

I was shifting on my heels, desperate to end this conversation, when a warm hand found my lower back. “Hey, baby. I’ve been looking for you.”

Myles St. James showed up just when I needed him most.

“Hey,” I said, turning in his arms. “I’m right here.”

His hand moved to the side of my neck, and he leaned down and kissed me.

We’re not talking about a casual peck on the lips; this was a full-on make-out session in front of my ex-boyfriend and the woman he’d clearly cheated on me with.

Tongue and all.

And I’m here for it.

When he pulled back, I just stared up at him with surprise.

“Yes, you are.” His voice was deep and sexy.

“Um, er, and may I ask who this is?” Phillip asked, and his question pulled me from my daze.

“Of course you may.” Myles chuckled and extended his hand. “I’m Montana’s boyfriend, Myles St. James.”

Phillip cleared his throat. “Oh, you hadn’t mentioned that you were dating anyone.”

“And who are you?” Myles asked, his hand finding mine as our fingers interlocked.

“I’m Phillip Moon. Montana’s ex-boyfriend of many years.”

Myles smirked and gave him a nod. “Ahhh . . . yes. Obviously, I knew she had an ex, but she’s never mentioned your name, just that the split was amicable and she was happy to be moving forward. And I’m guessing she hasn’t mentioned me because you two don’t have reason to talk anymore, do you?”

Damn. He was so smooth.

“Correct,” I said. “We haven’t talked in months. And this guy keeps me pretty busy.” I leaned my body into him as he wrapped his arms around me, and I rested his chin on my shoulder.

“Very busy, baby.” He nipped at my earlobe, and I squealed.

Phillip’s eyes were wide, and he looked stunned. Was it that hard for him to believe that I could have moved on as well?

Angel reached for a champagne flute when the server passed by with a tray, and she tipped her head back and drank the whole thing.

“All right, well, I need to get back to work. Enjoy the rest of the wedding,” I said, but I refused to look at Phillip. I’d just found out that he’d been cheating on me when we were together, so I was not going to offer pleasantries or attempt to make this more comfortable for him.

I didn’t want to be around him for one more second, and I reached for Myles’s hand, hoping he’d take the hint and tug me away.

“Montana,” Phillip said, just as we turned to walk in the other direction.

“Yes,” I said, the word harsher than I meant it to come out, as I looked over my shoulder.

“I was hoping we could grab a coffee tomorrow and catch up,” he said. “You know, for old times’ sake. Just wanted to see how your dad is doing and fill you in on what’s happening with me.”

My gaze moved to his fiancée, who looked like she was ready to blow at any moment. Her face was bright red, arms folded across her chest, lips pursed.

But before I could answer, Myles kissed my forehead before speaking. “Phillip, I’m going to give you a little advice. Asking my woman out on a coffee date in front of your woman will not sit well with anyone. I suggest you make that your last mistake of the evening, and walk away from us right now.”

Shots fired.

Phillip’s eyes were wide before he took Angel’s hand in his and walked away.

“The fucking balls on that asshole,” Myles said against my ear. “You all right?”

I chuckled. “I am, actually. How did you know I needed you right then?”

“Violet had called me over to cause some interference just as we both overheard his fiancée explain the way that he’d proposed. Your best friend filled me in as to the fact that he’d clearly been cheating on you, and here I am.”

“You’re a real white knight, St. James.” I sighed.

“I think the fact that he just tried to ask you out right in front of his fiancée says it all.”

“I don’t know about that. He knew I’d done the math and quickly figured out the timing of everything. He probably wants to explain.” I shrugged.

“Hey.” Violet came up behind me and kissed my cheek. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“I can’t freaking stand that guy.” She shook her head with disgust. “But listen, why don’t you take off? Things are winding down. You don’t need to see Phillip and Angel for another second. You’ve worked your magic, and the wedding was perfect. Blakely and I have got this.”

I normally stayed until the end of an event, but she was right. It wasn’t necessary for me to be there.

And I didn’t want to be there any longer.

“All right. I’ll take you up on that,” I said, leaning forward and hugging her. She looked completely relieved that I’d actually agreed.

“Love you, Monny,” she said, giving me the tightest squeeze.

“Love you too.”

Myles caught me by surprise when he reached for my hand and led me out of the tent and through the yard. It was getting late, yet the sun was still out, because that’s how we did it here in Blushing.

He came to a stop and dropped my hand before shoving his hands in his pockets. “I’m glad you’re leaving. No sense sticking around to deal with that asshat. You’re probably exhausted, huh?”

He shifted on his feet, gaze searching mine, and if I didn’t know what a cocky bastard he was most of the time, I would’ve guessed that he was a little nervous.

I had no idea why.

“Actually, I’m not tired.” I smiled up at him. “Are you tired?”

“Well, considering it feels like the middle of the day and not almost eight o’clock at night, I’m wide awake.”

“Interesting.” I chuckled. “Does that mean you want to hang out?”

He grinned. “Yeah, Honey Badger. I’d like to hang out.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“We could go back to my place and take the boat out on the water. We could pretend to look at the stars, even if we may suffer blindness from making direct eye contact with the sun.”

My head tipped back in laughter.

Myles St. James was the best distraction.

“Let’s do it.”

We stopped inside and said goodbye to my father, who was in the middle of the chaos. He gave me a quick hug goodbye before we turned and made our way outside.

We walked the short distance to Myles’s house, and I wondered what I was doing by agreeing to go home with him.

We were friends. I enjoyed his company.

He made me laugh.

He made me mad.

He made me smile.

He made me frustrated.

But the truth was that I wasn’t going home with him for any of those reasons. I hadn’t forgotten our one night together. Hell, it was the last thing I thought about every night before I fell asleep.

And tonight, I wanted to feel something different. Something passionate.

I knew he wasn’t staying in town forever. I knew it wouldn’t go anywhere.

But look how things had turned out for me with Phillip. A man who’d grown up here. A man I’d known most of my life.

Maybe forever wasn’t necessary anymore.

After all, everything was changing right now. The inn was being demolished, which meant my business was going through a lot of changes. My father was leaving a job that he’d been at my entire life. A year ago, I’d thought my whole future was mapped out, and literally so much had changed.

So maybe it was time for me to make some changes.

I wanted Myles St. James, and fighting it was exhausting.

I knew that I was playing with fire, but I couldn’t seem to stop.

And that kiss a few minutes ago—it only added to the desire that was coursing through my veins.

We turned the corner and were making our way up the steps to his front porch when a movement had us both turning.

Myles startled. “Good Christ. That thing is still here?”

I laughed as I bent down, and he walked over to me. “Porky likes it here. He’s clearly drawn to you.”

Myles rolled his eyes and bent down on the porch beside me as we both stroked his back once his needles had flattened.

“Are you claiming we have a lot in common?” His voice was teasing, but I looked up to see his green eyes soften as he stroked the little guy.

“You’re both a little prickly.” I chuckled. “Sorry. Porcupine humor was a must. I couldn’t help myself.”

We pushed to stand, and Porky walked down the front porch to a bushy area on the side and disappeared into the lush landscape.

Once we were inside, we both washed our hands, and he moved to grab a bottle of wine. He led me out the back door and onto the dock, where we had the option of a motorboat or a canoe, and he told me to pick. I chose the canoe, because the idea of just floating out in the water right then sounded pretty nice.

The sky was finally starting to darken. This was always my favorite time of year, to catch those brief hours when the sun actually went down for the night.

Once we’d settled in the canoe, he used the oars to move us out to a quiet spot beneath some trees and dropped the oars inside the boat. He reached in his back pocket for a wine opener and shook it in front of me like he’d just done a magic trip.

“Very suave, Moneybags.”

“What can I say? I’m a classy guy.” He uncorked the bottle and handed it over to me to take the first swig.

I took a sip and handed it back to him. “You’re going to watch the sky darken before your eyes.”

“It’s beautiful,” he said as he took a pull from the bottle, but he wasn’t looking up at the sky; his eyes were on me. “Was that tough for you tonight? Seeing your ex?”

I shook my head. “No. I don’t feel anything for him anymore, but hearing the timeline, and the fact that he’d clearly kissed her a year ago, when we were still together—that really pisses me off.”

He laughed. “Well, it’s better to be mad than sad.”

“I feel like I wasted a lot of time on him, you know? I wasn’t all that happy, looking back, but I was loyal to him. And he was out there, going on dates and kissing other women.” I shook my head and pointed up at the sky. “Here we go.”

“I’m glad you left the wedding early. You shouldn’t have to see them, or deal with it.” He handed the bottle back to me.

“I was happy you showed up when you did.”

“Yeah? He seemed pretty bothered, and I fucking loved it. You deserve better, Honey Badger.”

“Thank you. I agree, actually. And that’s my new motto: ‘No settling.’”

“Good. You should never settle.”

“Are you still planning to go home tomorrow?” I asked, because he’d mentioned it a few days ago, and he hadn’t sounded thrilled about it.

“Yep. My parents’ anniversary party. It’ll be a lot of bullshit, and my father will make as many digs as he can get in over the few hours I’m with him. But I’ll suck it up and do it.” His eyes locked with mine, and I saw the sadness there.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“You want to help me, Montana?” He winked, and I squeezed my thighs together in response. The man was ridiculously sexy. Unfairly good looking.

“I do. You helped me tonight. You gave me a real mic drop moment. So how about you let me do the same for you. Name it, and I’ll do it.”

He sat forward and reached for the bottle. “Anything I want?”

“Well, within reason.”

“Hmm . . .” He tapped his chin with his pointer finger. “A pre-home-visit blow job could be a nice way to relax.”

I laughed and took another sip of wine. “Of course that’s where you’d take it.”

“Actually, as much as I would enjoy that, I think there’s something that would be even better.”

“Wow. Better than a blow job. Let’s hear it.”

“Come home with me.” He tipped his head back to look at the darkening sky as if he hadn’t just said something surprising.

“Come home with you? To New York?”

“Yep. I’ve got a plane. I fly out tomorrow. We’d be home Sunday night.”

“Where would I stay?”

His gaze locked with mine, and he smirked. “I have a large apartment in the city. There’s plenty of room for both of us.”

“And what would I be required to do there?” I asked, my heart racing.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. I’m not hiring you to sleep with me.” He laughed. “We’ll go to New York, we’ll eat good food, and you’ll come to the world’s most awkward dinner party that will be pretentious as fuck. You can pretend that you’re crazy about me to distract my father and help me survive it.”

“Myles St. James, are you asking me to pretend to be in love with you?”

“You can do whatever you want. I’d prefer to be distracted when I’m there. It’ll make it easier.”

“I thought you had ladies that you take out in the city. You don’t have someone there that would like to go with you?”

“I have plenty of women I could ask, Montana.” He took another pull from the bottle and then looked at me. “But I’m asking you. The woman I’d like to take with me.”

“Fine. I’ll be your doting girlfriend this weekend.” I sighed. “And feel free to kiss me whenever you want. That was a fabulous kiss tonight.”

He chuckled and put the cork back in the wine bottle and set it down on the floor of the canoe. “You liked that?”

“I did.”

“Come here.” His voice was gruff and commanding.

My eyes widened as I carefully maneuvered myself forward, and he tugged me onto his lap. I had one leg on each side as I straddled him. His hands were on my face, my neck, in my hair. “You’re fucking gorgeous, Montana Kingsley. And you don’t ever have to ask me if you want my lips on yours.”

“What are you saying?” I teased. “I can kiss you anytime I want while you’re here in Blushing?”

“Anytime you want.”

I leaned forward, my mouth crashing into his.

Apparently, I wanted to kiss him right now.