Page 4 of Fall to Me
I had an inkling if Carter knew where I was going to be, he would follow, because let’s face it, the man is obsessed with me for some stupid reason. I also knew, with Carter and Cal beingbest friends, wherever Carter went, Cal would be close behind. By the end of the night, we were all at the same bar. Ultimately, my “scheming” led to them spending a night together in his nice little hotel room in Chicago . . . which eventually led to their engagement.
Sneaky? Yes.
Successful? Also, yes.
Look, just because I’m jaded and don’t want a relationship ever again doesn’t mean I don’t believe there are good guys out there. I saw what kind of guy Cal was early on. I mean, the way he treated my nephew, Tucker, spoke volumes about his character.
“Well, itworked, didn’t it?” I shoot back with a smirk.
Her eyes soften as she glances across the club, finding her fiancé at our high-top table, laughing with his friends.
“It did,” she admits.
Evie speaks up, telling the bartender to put our drinks on her tab. I toss a couple of twenties into the tip jar as Hannah grabs each of our shots, handing them to us two at a time.
I raise one of my glasses in the air. “Just think, because of all myscheming, tomorrow, you will officially be Aspen Miles.”
“Cheers to that,” Evie calls out.
Clinking our glasses together, we down our shots one after the other. Aspen stacks the empties on the bar, then grabs the mixed drinks, two at a time, passing them out to each of us. We carve a path through the thick crowd toward our table tucked against a railing near the dance floor; a prime spot for people watching. As we near the table, my foot catches on . . . well, nothing. It catches on absolutely nothing. Yet, I still manage to stumble, colliding straight into Carter.
His strong fingers wrap firmly around my elbow to steady me before I fall completely flat on my face. The moment his skin touches mine, heat flashes through me. A surge of energypulses straight to my core. He leans in, and I’m blanketed in the intoxicating smell of his cologne. The scent is woodsy and sexy. Besides the fact that it makes my eyes want to roll into the back of my head, it also makes me want to close my eyes and breathe him in until I forget where we begin and end.
“I knew you would eventually fall for me.”
“More like your cologne damn near knocked me over,” I fire back.
Two
River
Carter winks, and oh, how my heart picks up speed. Not because he winked . . . who do you think I am? Ugh. Okay, fine. But that’s not the only reason. It’s just that . . . he’s so close, and his hand is lingering on my back a little longer than necessary as he helps me onto the empty barstool. Generally, I don’t like to be touched. But lately, when Carter touches me, it hasn’t really bothered me so much. Which is really confusing.
Nate, one of Cal’s buddies from college, who also happens to be his and Carter’s agent, sits across the table, straightening his tie as he gives me a leisurely once-over. And by that, I mean he’s blatantly checking me out in front of everyone. The man’s hot in that dark and mysterious type of way. I definitely wouldn’t want to be left alone with him, but that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna find every opportunity I can to use him to fuck with Carter. A lock of Nate’s thick, black hair slips onto his forehead as he turns his focus back to Carter. His piercing blue eyes gleamwith mischief, and his lips spread into a smile, showing off his straight white teeth.
“It’s only a few blocks over if you want to check it out,” he says, casually steering the conversation back to where they were before I interrupted.
“What’s a few blocks over?” I ask, looking between them.
Nate lifts his glass and takes a slow sip of an amber liquid I assume is whiskey. As he lowers his drink, ice clinks along the edges, and his tongue darts out to catch a lingering drop from his bottom lip. His amused gaze flickers to mine.
“My club.”
Throwing out a hand, I cast a glance toward Aspen. “Well, hell, why aren’t we there instead?”
Before she can open her mouth to answer, Nate leans forward, resting his elbows on the table with his drink cradled between both hands. “Because my club caters to a . . . particular crowd. Didn’t think your sister and Cal’s party needed whips and safe words to go along with the drink menu.”
“Oh.” My brows knit together as I process his words.
Ohhh.
Wait! He just invited Carter. My eyes lift and lock with Nate’s, and he raises one brow with a smirk. Carter in that kind of club, having sex with other women? The thought nearly punches the air right out of my lungs. It makes me sick. My stomach drops and nostrils flare. I’m jealous. I don’t like this feeling. I have no right to be jealous.
Trying to mask my emotions, I sass, “Well, I don’t know about y’all, but that sounds like a damn good time to me.”
“Kitten . . .” Carter growls under his breath in warning.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Don’t youKittenme. And what did I say about calling me that?”
