Page 110 of Just One of the Groomsmen
Tucker halfway expected the hostess to examine their mangy group and turn them away, but she greeted them with a flirty smile and led them to a table. Ford made sure to mention that it was their friend’s bachelor party, and she promised they’d take good care of them.
“Is there any way we could get a bag of ice?” Addie asked. “Or a cup if you can’t wrangle up a bag?”
The hostess seemed to notice Addie for the first time. Her ponytail had turned from brown to dusty gray, and heat and a smug sense of pride wound through Tucker when he thought about how he’d been partially responsible for that and the caked-on mud on her sexy backside.
His competitive nature demanded they win the game, but he’d temporarily forgotten that when he’d had Addie pinned underneath him in the field, her enticing mouth his for the taking.
Right until being trampled by cattle had become a reality.
The four-wheeler had stirred them up and made them nervous, and so he and Addie had made their big break for the base.
Easton and Shep had come flying down the road, a cloud of dust kicking up behind the four-wheeler. Tucker had screamed for Addie to run, even though she needed no prompting, and Shep leaped off the back of the four-wheeler like some kind of crazed stuntman.
He’d landed wrong on uneven ground, but all of them had crashed and burned plenty through the years. Since Shep was the king of the fake-out, Tucker and Addie had run to base.
They’d only realized he’d truly hurt himself when he remained on the ground, a grimace on his face.
“I’ll, uh, ask if we can do that,” the hostess said.
“You’ve gotta get some ice on it now,” Addie said, herI’m-dead-seriousexpression aimed at Shep. “If you have to limp down the aisle, Lexi’s gonna kill us.” She glanced at Ford. “Back me up here.”
“Ice your damn ankle, Shep.”
The two of them had combined their sports medicine and paramedics skills to determine it wasn’t broken but sprained, thank goodness, but when they’d suggested they cut the party short, he wouldn’t hear of it.
Not because of their dinner location—which Ford had picked out after it’d been made clear there would be no strippers—but because he’d had a great time so far, busted ankle and all, and he’d insisted on one last night with his boys before he married the “most amazing girl ever” in two weeks and had to become an official grown-up.
The hostess brought a lumpy bag of ice, and Addie lifted Shep’s leg up on her chair and held the makeshift ice pack over the swollen bump. Three waitresses arrived to take their order, and there was a lot of mutual ogling on the other side of the table between Ford, Easton, and the waitresses.
A few glances drifted his way, but he kept his gaze solidly on Addie. This situation had potential for disaster written all over it, and he was trying to be respectful, not to mention Addie was the only girl he wanted right now, and he wanted her to know that.
One of the waitresses kept giving her quizzical looks, so Addie winked at her.
Tucker covered his mouth with his hand to keep from busting up. It also made him think of the night she’d broken into the houseboat and winked at him while drunk.
That night it was more of a twitch than a wink, but both times were just as damn cute. He placed his hand on Addie’s knee and gave it a quick squeeze, figuring he could get away with it between the table and other distractions.
The waitress Addie had winked at circled the table, and at first he thought she must be into Addie’s flirting. Only then she leaned her entire body against his side and asked for his order in a low, husky voice.
A muscle flexed in Addie’s jaw, but she managed to keep her cool.
As soon as the waitress left, Addie shifted closer. “Did she have to shove her boobs in your face while she took your order?”
Tucker met her fiery brown eyes and whispered, “Yours are way better. Especially in that sexy black bra. Or without a bra. It’s all win.”
“And now I’ll never trust anything you say.”
“It sounds like I’d better pay them more attention tonight, so you see just how big of a fan I am.”
“Mm-hmm,” she said, and he could tell while she was trying to be cool with the situation, she was far from it.
Every time the waitresses came over and flirted with him, Addie’s shoulders tightened even more, and it was the first time since crossing lines that things were a bit weird and tense because of it.
During the entire meal, he could hardly relax, afraid his gaze would accidentally drift and Addie wouldn’t believe him. Not that he blamed her for being irritated—if a bunch of ripped dudes were paying special attention to her right in front of him, he’d hate it, too.
Worse, toward the end of the meal, she seemed more sad than mad, and he’d take pissed over that any day.
It’ll all be okay once we’re alone again. Then I’ll follow through with my promise and prove she has nothing to worry about.
