Page 90 of Love Me, I Dare You

Being a part of a festival I’ve always loved to attend as a child was a dream come true. With the event being the perfect marketing strategy for Honeybees over the years, I’m excited about what it will mean for Stingers Tavern now that we’ve added the beer garden.

“You doing all right, B?” Monroe asks as she shimmies up beside me, trying to sneak a taste of the peach buttercream I’m using to frost the cupcake currently in my hand. I swat her hand away, though not before she snags a finger of frosting, shoving it into her mouth and nearly moaning as she pulls it out.

I hear Jase clear his throat as he walks into the kitchen. “I don’t want to know what’s going on here.”

“Oh, lighten up Jameson,” Monroe teases, taking a cupcake this time and not being shy about it as she nearly stuffs the entire thing in her mouth, intentionally licking her lips and fingers clean when she does.

Jase stares in disbelief and I can’t help but laugh at the dumbfounded look on his face at her response. Officially in her second trimester of pregnancy, she is no longer having anymorning sickness and her cravings for sweets has nearly tripled since last night.

Luckily, she’s not yet showing, but you wouldn’t be able to tell in the loose fitted Honeybees T-shirt we designed specifically for today paired up with a pair of flared jeans and cowboy boots. Billie, Brynn and I are wearing the same shirts, only ours are cropped, since we aren’t growing a human inside of us.

“What are you doing here, Jase? Shouldn’t you be at the town square setting up for the festival? We have two hours until it’s set to begin.” The festival is a three-day weekend event, but the first night is always the busiest.

With a shake of his head, he looks away from her and meets my question. “I came back to pick up some of the empty kegs I had stored out in the barn. We’re expecting twice as many people as last year’s event, so it’s better to be prepared than to run out of beer before the end of the night. Are you going to need any help to transport all of this?” he asks, staring at the trays of cupcakes neatly stacked in the plastic storage containers we’ll be using to transport them.

“Nash is supposed to stop by with Monty’s truck to help us take all of this over.” Just as I say it, my phone rings in my pocket, an incoming text from the man himself.

Nash: Good morning, Angel. Hadn’t texted you because I know you’ve been busy. I’m on my way to pick you up. Should be there in the next fifteen minutes.

I can’t help the smile that creeps up my lips at the relief he hadn’t called me because he didn’t want to bother me. If I hadn’t been so busy, I definitely would have obsessed about why he hadn’t reached out since we’ve spent almost two weeks exclusively texting all day long.

Jase grunts, though he doesn’t comment or ask why his best friend is the one that’s helping me. “Well, I’m leaving in fifteen minutes. Just need to shower, change, and then I’ll head out. Let me know if you change your mind.” he chances a glance back at Monroe, who is currently on her third cupcake. Luckily, I anticipated this happening and planned ahead, making two extra batches just for us to enjoy.

Something about the way he watches her seems different this time. Jase is aware of Monroe’s pregnancy. He was there the night we all met up at the bar after closing and decided we’d respect Monroe’s wishes of doing things at her own pace. None of her brothers were happy with the idea, but they also knew arguing with her wouldn’t solve anything. Especially since Billie and I made it known we wouldn’t allow them to piss her off or make her cry anymore.

But Jase sat in silence, only there because of his rekindled friendship with Nash, and because we were in the bar he co-owns. In the years since Monroe and I have been friends, I’ve always suspected she was sort of into my brother, only I know after what happened with Nash and I, she would never do something about it.

Regardless of being single for the last few years, Jase had a long-term-girlfriend, Indy, who moved away two years ago when they just couldn’t keep up with the long distance relationship. He didn’t seem to beat up about it anymore, but for nearly a year, he wasn’t quite himself. I almost felt like maybe they rekindled their relationship and that would explain his sudden secrecy with the out-of-town trips he’s been taking nearly once a week.

Billie saunters back into the room, her gaze flicking back between Monroe and Jase, who are now standing suspiciously close to one another. Jase takes a step back and exits theroom without another word, while Monroe busies herself with washing her hands in the kitchen sink.

I haven’t told either of them about my conversation with my parents last night, but I know they can sense something isn’t right. I should be ecstatic that the day has finally come and the stress of it is nearly done with, but all I can think about is the knot in my stomach I’ve had since I woke up this morning. Something about today just doesn’t feel right.

It’s like the air is thick with indecision, and at any moment, something might snap that tension.

“Nash is on his way,” I say, setting down the last batch of the cupcakes before reaching behind my back to untie my apron. Before either of them can respond, there's a loud commotion coming from the front yard, yelling and arguing, along with the blaring horn of a car.

Billie’s smile widens in an oddly smug and proud way. Like she’s keen on something Monroe and I are not. “Sounds to me like Nash is already here.”

Without being able to stop and get a look at myself in the mirror, horrified by the idea I’m covered in flour, I step out onto the front porch of my family’s home to find my father in the middle of the driveway where Nash has just pulled up.

Staring in awe as he hops out of Monty’s sleek black Ford F250—looking every part the sexy, rebellious cowboy he’s never been—my mouth goes completely dry. Those butterflies I seem to feel anytime we’re in the same room swarm around, making my heart race with excitement.

Someone is saying something behind me but I can’t hear them, my eyes glued to the tight dark blue wranglers perfectly fitted around his muscular ass. The black dress shirt he’s wearing with the top three buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up just below his elbow, molds to his broad chest and strains along the muscles of his forearms and biceps.

The ink on his tan skin gleams in the bright sunlight reflecting down on him, but it’s the black cowboy hat with matching Tecovas on his feet that makes me swoon.

As if Nash Bishop wasn’t already every woman’s wet dream come to life, this version of the man leaves me absolutely speechless. The wide, dangerously seductive smile that creeps along his lips when he sees me has me done for. I can hear more whispers from everyone who’s now gathered on the porch behind me, but as I step down onto the cobblestone path leading toward the circular driveway he’s parked along the edge of, my eyes are fixed on him.

Ignoring my father, Nash saunters toward me, his smile dropping slightly when he notices the audience that’s formed behind me. I’m not sure who’s here, other than Billie and Monroe, who followed me out, but I know Brynn is nearby and has yet to head out for the festival.

My heart rate quickens with every step he takes, closing the distance between us until all the air is sucked out of my lungs by his lips. With one hand on my lower back, teasing the skin showing over the waist of my jeans, Nash pulls me into him, craning his neck until he lowers his face to mine. Angling his lips, they crash against mine, gentle and not the usual obsessive need to devour me as they tangle with mine.

There’s so much I want to say to him at this moment, to convey how much he means to me. With his lips, Nash washes away my earlier worries, reminding me he’s here now and regardless of the reasons he left, it shouldn’t matter. I’ve spent too long without him. I don’t want to waste any more time.

Leaning up on my toes that are still in my pink fluffy slippers, I deepen the kiss, taking in every needy stroke of his tongue against mine. My father clears his throat, reminding us both he’s standing a mere five feet from us and I’m so incredibly mortified,I don't want to pull back from him and risk a glance in his direction.

Nash exhales a breath of a laugh as his lips release mine. “Let’s get your sweet ass and all those cupcakes in the car, Angel.”

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