Page 112 of Just One of the Groomsmen
She tapped out an anxious rhythm with her fingers on her thigh, working to keep those thoughts on silent, at least until she could do something about them.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work. If only it was as simple as flicking a switch, like on her phone.
Thinking about her phone gave her an idea. She lifted it and thumbed out a text to Tucker.
Addie:Maybe we should tell them about us.
Tucker shifted at her side, slipping his phone out of his pocket, and she fought the urge to peek over his shoulder while he read her message. A moment later her phone buzzed, and she tipped it so that Easton wouldn’t see.
Tucker:Let’s talk about it later.
In other words, no.
Since her brain hated her, the asshole lawyer’s comment popped into her head:Does that mean you’re someone’s dirty little secret?
The guy was a tool, but right now, covered in dirt and grime, the dirty part definitely fit.
But it’s not like that with Tucker and me. I’m just freaking out. Once we’re alone, we’ll talk about it and the job and everything will be fine.
Then I won’t have these annoying thoughts constantly buzzing at me.
Ford pulled up to her house first, and of course Tucker couldn’t get out with her without raising suspicion, and he clearly still cared about that.
“Night, guys. It was fun.” She shot Easton a smile. “It also makes me sorta worried about the safety of the town, considering you couldn’t even catch four fake fugitives.”
“Next time I’m going to pepper spray you and see how funny you still think you are.”
She laughed and scooted out his side—she couldn’t just brush past Tucker and keep on pretending her chest didn’t feel too raw, her emotions too close to the surface.
He’d see right through her, and she needed to gather her wits and figure out how to curb feeling hurt over things they’d both agreed on.
But if he wanted to continue to keep them a secret, that made her wonder if he thought she wasn’t worth taking a risk.
And if he didn’t, why was she factoring him into her decision about applying for a job?
“Poker tomorrow,” Shep reminded her. “We’re gonna cram in all the fun this weekend.”
“Sounds good. It’ll also give me a chance to check on your ankle. Once the swelling goes down, I’ll give you some exercises to do to get you up and running ASAP.” She climbed out of the truck and dragged her tired, dirty self into her house.
Admittedly, now that she had to clean up the mud she tracked in, she better understood why Tucker’s and her parents had yelled and lectured so much over it.
In order to prevent as much future cleaning as possible, she kicked off her shoes, stripped down to her underwear, and left the messy pile in the entryway. She padded into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and stepped underneath the steady stream of warm water.
A few minutes in, she swore she heard her name. Weird, especially since she should be alone in her house.
She pushed the curtain aside and paused to listen. Yep, definitely hearing things.
She turned back to the spray of water and began to sing, the way she only ever did when she was in the shower.
…
Tucker froze in the doorway of Addie’s bathroom. The front door had been unlocked, and while they lived in a safe town, he was going to mention he’d feel better if she locked it.
Of course at the moment, he was extremely glad she hadn’t.
He’d never heard her sing before, and he loved hearing her so uninhibited, slightly off key or not.
Plus, her shower curtain was sheer enough that he could see her sexy profile. Since he didn’t want to scare her, he called her name again. “Addie? Did you hear me come—”
