Page 18 of Just One of the Groomsmen
Now that she’d scored, her exhaustion hit her all at once, and she let her body go limp.
For two whole seconds before realizing she was straddling Tucker’s chest and his face was buried between her boobs.
Face flaming, she quickly rolled off him, glad the setting sun left them in semi-darkness. She waited to see if he’d comment—hoping he wouldn’t.
Even though he’d been the first guy close to her boobs in a very, very long time.
Let’s not go down another embarrassing path just to get away from this one.
Besides, she had date number two with the dentist, which she supposed meant she should start referring to him by name, and fingers crossed, maybe her dry spell would end.Oh holy crap, it’s been so long, I think I’ve forgotten how to even be intimate with a man.
Not that she’d ever really rocked at relationships and everything they entailed.
Her awkwardness surged forward on dates, all the unsolicited advice she’d received through the years choosing then to mess with her head.
She wasn’t a total novice, though. Just out of practice.
After what seemed like a blink of an eyeandforever, Tucker shifted to his side and propped his head on his fist. “I’d like to challenge you to a rematch, but I think I need a week or so to recover.”
“How handy for me. I just so happen to be here every week.”
“Because you coach soccer. How didn’t I know that?”
“I guess it doesn’t come up a lot in conversation, ’specially since we haven’t had much chance for that lately. I love it, though.”
“You’re good at it.”
“Thanks.” She rolled onto her side to face him. “So, you’re back in town, for quote,a while.Care to give me more details? I promise to keep them close to the chest”—a weird beat passed as she remembered how close he’d recently been to her chest and she quickly plowed on with the rest of her sentence—“I mean, I won’t reveal them to anyone. Even if Lottie employs waterboarding. I’ve got a cyanide capsule in a false tooth and everything.”
“Wow. That’s a lot of dedication to information she’ll just pry out of someone else.”
Addie shrugged. “I’d rather go out honorably than rat out my friends.”
Tucker sat up and raked a hand through his hair, sending a couple of the waves off in different directions. “It’ll be longer than a while, actually. I needed a break from the lawyer thing, and I’m not plannin’ on going back.”
“Rumor has it you were fired.” She doubted it was true but withheld saying so in case it ended up being accurate.
He laughed, the sound on the mirthless side. “I’m sure they think that. Screwup Crawford couldn’t make it in the big city.” He ran his fingers along his jaw. “Maybe they were right about that, but I wasn’t fired. I quit. The crazy hours and the fact that my job consumed my entire life just didn’t seem worth it anymore.”
Addie pushed to a seated position and scratched the spot on her leg the grass kept tickling. “I could see that. Honestly, it always was hard for me to picture you behind a desk.”
“Trust me, I made it work.”
Sputtered laughter escaped her lips. “Humility was never one of your crosses to bear.”
His grin widened and then faded a little as his blue eyes met hers. “I also hated that my job made me a liar so often.”
She tucked up a knee and looped her arms over it. “Probably a might shortsighted on your part,” she teased, “considering all those liar/lawyer jokes.”
Tucker pinched her side, and a strange tug pulled in her gut, throwing her off for a second.
A fraction of a second, really.
“I mean how it made me a liar when I told you I could make it home for things,” he clarified. “Or that I’d call.”
“I get it,” she said, shrugging it off, the way she’d tried to when it’d happened and disappointment set in.
“You shouldn’thaveto get it.”
