Page 39 of Just One of the Groomsmen
“Meanwhile,” she said, swinging her arms around for emphasis, “y’all go around dating airheaded Barbie dolls more often than not, and do I say anything about it?”
“Youconstantlysay stuff about it. You ask us why we can’t find girls with substance, or you throw out that Barbie insult or refer to them as vapid beauty queens. I can’t think of a single girl I’ve dated who you liked. Same goes for Shep, Easton, and Ford, so don’t act like this is something new.”
“Whatever. That girl you dated in law school wasn’t too bad, and I really like Lexi, and look at how well that’s turned out.”
“Well, admittedly, one of your boyfriends was actually pretty cool.”
“Who?” she asked, and when he raised his eyebrows and gestured to the seat Shep had previously occupied, she scowled at him. “That doesn’t even count. It was freshman year, and considering what’s happened tonight because of it, I can’t believe you’d bring it up.”
She tried to nudge him out of her way, but in these tight quarters, there was no out-of-the-way, so her body brushed his as she moved toward the door.
Heat flared as the curves he’d gotten an eyeful of pressed against his chest, and he whipped up his arm and braced his hand on the opposite wall, barring her way. “I was just makin’ a point. I know how to tell when a guy’s a jerk or not.”
“I guess you better find a mirror, then, so you can see a firsthand example,” she said, and then she ducked under his arm.
He exhaled and scrubbed a hand over his face. She was driving him crazy.
One minute they were having an amazing talk, and the next they were in a huge argument.
This was what he got for letting his thoughts stray so far from where they needed to remain.
She’s just one of the guys, she’s just one of the guys, she’s just…bending over to put her shoes on and flashing more cleavage.
He took a step toward her as she straightened, and he must have had a scary gleam in his eye because she took a step back.
Which only made him want to stalk forward, grab her, and kiss the hell out of her.
He wanted to see if that fiery passion transferred over.
Yep, that was the real problem.
While he didn’t want some jerk to use her or hurt her, he also couldn’t stop thinking about her lips and how badly he wanted a taste of them. Suddenly he was jealous of one of his oldest friends.
Tucker wished that instead of Shep,he’dbeen the one to kiss Addie a few times.
Only that would’ve ruined everything between them, and it had the potential to do so now.
He wasn’t in any position to have a relationship, and if it screwed up their friendship, he’d never forgive himself. No one else was like Addie, and after not having nearly enough of her in his life the past few years, he knew exactly how empty life felt without her.
A good friend would be okay with her dating whoever she wanted, and perhaps even tell her to go have fun getting lucky.
The burning in his gut returned, and while the second part wouldn’t be happening, he smothered his ego and the desire making a mess of his insides and opened the door for her. “I’m sorry, Addes. It’s your business, and I probably shouldn’t have said anything.”
“You’re right, you shouldn’t have, noprobablyabout it.”
“I’ll let it dropafterI say one more thing.” He leaned closer, close enough to take in the smattering of freckles across her nose that drew you right to her big brown eyes. “You deserve better.”
She flinched, and he scolded himself for not leaving it at the apology.
She wrapped her arms around herself, and thanks to his big mouth, he knew she wouldn’t be accepting a consoling hug from him anymore tonight. “That’s for me to decide.”
He nodded and forced words through his clenched jaw. “You’re right.”
Even if I hate it.
Surprise flickered through her features. “Holy shit, I don’t think you’ve ever admitted I was right during one of our arguments before.”
“Not making it any easier.”
