Page 6 of Unexpected Forever
He laughs and lifts a hand to ruffle my hair, but I dart away before he can mess it up. He heads toward the table where our mother sits.
I stand along the wall, watching the partygoers eat, chat, and mingle. I’ve waited tables and bartended for so long it’s second nature for me to watch and observe what someone might need.
“You know we have wait staff tonight, right?”
I glance over to see my cousin Emma walking toward me with a smile. “Yeah, but I can’t seem to help myself.”
“I know what you mean.” She stands beside me and gazes around the room. “Tonight, I’m here as a guest, not the owner, and I can’t help but go into owner mode and make sure everyone is safe and having fun.”
She turns her head and looks down at my dress. “That dress looks amazing on you.”
I glance down at the curve-hugging gunmetal gray sequined cocktail dress I decided on after thirty minutes of debating. It’s short, leaves part of my back bare, and is not my normal attire.
“Thanks. I’ve never worn it.” I sigh. “Not sure why I bought it anyway. It’s wasted on the men here. I just wore it to feel pretty.”
That isn’t totally true. There is one man that I wouldn’t mind if he noticed my dress.
She moves closer and gives me a one-armed hug. “Well, you look gorgeous.”
I return the hug then pull back to check out her shimmery black wrap dress. “Now, this dress you got on? I’m surprised Shane doesn’t have you in some locked room trying to peel it off you.”
“Oh, he tried!”
Her laugh is smooth and cultured. That’s Emma. She’s kind, beautiful, a badass businesswoman, and engaged to a sexy billionaire.
She’s also a recovering alcoholic. Her addiction almost cost her everything, but she managed to climb out of the depths and find a new job, a new life, and a new love.
I want to be like Emma when I grow up.
She pats my shoulder. “Listen, do you have a few minutes? I know this is a party and all, but since I have you here, I’d like to talk business with you. If you’re okay with that.”
My stomach drops, but I stand straighter, trying to appear cool. Because that’s how Emma would do it. “Of course.”
I follow her through the crowd, but just before I leave the room, I glance over my shoulder to find Nate staring at me from across the room.
And in a way that tells me he’s noticed my dress.
My blood runs hot through my veins and I quickly glance away. Of course, I have to be on a man sabbatical when my celebrity crush rolls into town, looking at me like he wants to devour me.
Good-time Charley would have climbed him like a tree and loved every minute of it.
But I retired her, put her away. I refuse to be the only Reynolds child in town that hasn’t made something of herself.
I keep my focus on Emma’s back as we leave the noisy room, moving into the quiet lobby, and I hope she can’t hear my heart pounding in my chest.
Something in my gut tells me tonight is the beginning of a new adventure.
TWO
nate
There areseveral reasons why I shouldn’t watch Charley Reynolds from across the room like she’s a fucking buffet and I’m a starving man.
Not only is she my sister’s best friend but she also has three brothers.
Including Aidan, who carries a gun like it’s his job—because it is, being the sheriff of Madison Ridge.
She’s at least a decade younger than I am, which is a little younger than the women who usually catch my eye.
