Page 5 of Spring Rayne

I feel angry just imagining any of those assholes being anywhere near Rayne. Tucker must feel it too, considering how he's been pining after Sky for all these months.

Glancing at my watch, I realize it's already five o'clock. I want to make sure Tucker and I are the first two guys there. "Pick me up in half an hour. We have a party to crash."

***

"Surprise, surprise. What are you two doing here?" Sutton answers the door with a smirk.

Unable to hide my feelings any longer, I growl, "You know exactly why we're here."

"I might know why you're here." She taps her chin with her finger like she's deep in thought. "But those two poor girls have no idea why you're here." She narrows her eyes at Tucker first. "You, you won't even talk to poor Sky. You have her so tied up in knots. She's a nervous wreck half the time, waiting for you to ask her out." Tucker has the decency to hang his head in shame. Sutton turns on me next. "You're no better. Rayne has only known you for less than twenty-four hours, and you have her so confused she agreed to speed date twenty guys tonight."

"Like hell she is," I growl, stepping toward Sutton before Ryan comes out of nowhere and steps between us.

"Take one more step toward my wife, and I'll kick you out of my house and let her go ahead with her crazy scheme. But for now, I have her talked into only the six of us for the barbecue. So back the fuck off."

With a nod, I step back. "Sorry, Sutton. I'm just not myself these last twenty-four hours."

This is true. I went from not having a care in the world and hanging out with my friends, doing whatever I wanted, to canceling a poker night with my friends to stay home and dream about a woman I just met.

"Apology accepted. Oh, and I convinced the girls to keep their bikinis under their sundresses if anyone wants to use our hot tub later."

I almost swallow my tongue at the thought of Rayne in that tiny bikini. Her soft curves begging for my touch. I hear Tucker's sharp inhale and know he's thinking about Sky in her bikini.

Sutton and Ryan must have seen our reactions as they both laugh. "The girls are out back on the deck. We'll meet you out there in ten minutes." They turn and walk to the living room as Tucker and I make our way to the kitchen, which leads to the deck.

We've been to Ryan and Sutton's house several times since he's good friends with Turner, so we know our way around their home.

I reach for the patio door when Tucker grabs my arm. "D-do you think this is a good idea?" Poor Tucker, his nerves must be getting to him as his stutter appears.

"I think it's the best idea we've ever had." I pat his hand. "I've seen how Sky looks at you. I'd bet money that she's just as interested in you as you are in her."

"W-what if I stutter and embarrass her?" He looks so sad. My heart breaks for my youngest brother.

"Sky seems like a sweet girl. I don't think she'll care if you stutter. But if she does, you'll know she's not the one for you and you can move on."

I wait for him to argue with me, but instead he nods and releases his hold on my arm. "Okay, let's do this."

Sliding open the patio door, I step out onto the deck and find Rayne and Sky sitting at the table, engrossed in conversation. "Hey." Both Rayne and Sky look in my direction. "You two did great today at the hazmat training."

Wanting Tucker to add to the conversation, I give him a quick elbow to his side. "Oh, yeah, you looked good as we hosed you off with our hoses." I inwardly cringe at his words. They sound like a bad porno with all the talk of hoses and getting hosed off. Luckily, he saves the conversation by adding, "Normally, some of the guys act like the victims. And they are not as pretty as the two of you are."

Sky's face turns a pretty shade of pink, almost the same color as Tucker's, after talking more in one minute to Sky than he has in the six months since she's been in Wintervale. And even without a stutter.

Rayne smiles at Tucker, and damn it if I don't want the smile aimed at me. "You'll have to make it an annual event to be our pretend victim."

Shifting her gaze to mine, Rayne's smile falls. "I'm not sure that will be such a good idea."

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

I don't realize I've said the words out loud until Sky answers. "What Rayne means is her husband might not like the idea of her getting hosed down by someone else's hose that isn't his."

My first thought is that Sky is the perfect match for Tucker because she says, "Hose and hosed off," so innocently, just like he did.

The second thought takes me a minute to process. "You're married?" My eyes drop to her left hand, searching for proof that she's taken. Then it hits me. There must be some miscommunication in what Sky is saying; otherwise, why would Sutton be trying to set Rayne up with someone?

Before Rayne can say anything, Sky answers for her. "Not yet, she isn't. But she likes it here and wants to settle down and start a family. And I love having my best friend live so close to me."

My eyes shift back up to Rayne's face, and she seems to prefer being anywhere but here at the moment, given how she's fidgeting in her seat.

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