“Naw.” He grinned. “I’m the best man. I need a date for the rehearsal dinner too. You game?” He squeezed her fingers and bent to brush his lips to hers. This time, he lingered a few seconds.
Her father cleared his throat. “I don’t care who she rides with. We just need all of us to get to the restaurant.”
Karlie could tell that her dad was done with Drew’s public displays of affection. Her mom was smiling at them like a loon. Usually, Karlie could count on her mom to chide her for her decisions in men, not smile at her approvingly.
“Wait,” Karlie said. “You’re the best man?” So what if it took her a minute to catch up? Things were moving way too fast right now. All this touching and kissing was just throwing her off her game. “How are you the best man? You and Jake weren’t even friends when I left here eight months ago. How are the two of you best friends now?”
“We aren’t,” Drew said. “He and my brother were best friends growing up, but my brother is on active duty in the Navy, and he got shipped out two days ago. Ryan asked me to step up and take his place to be Jake’s best man.”
“Oh,” Karlie mumbled. “That’s so nice of you.”
“Now I will have the prettiest date at the wedding.” Drew was once again tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. Such a sweet gesture, standing in for his brother. Why hadn’t she ever noticed Drew before? Sure, she remembered him from high school and parties around town. He never seemed to even notice her with all the other girls in town throwing themselves at him. How did he need a date for the wedding?
“I think that you are sweet to stand in for your brother,” she said. “I would love to be your date this weekend, thank you.” She smiled at him, forgetting that her parents were still there until they both cleared their throats. “We can leave my car here and I will ride with Drew, but I need to clean up and change before therehearsal dinner. I certainly can’t go like this.” Karlie gestured to her shorts and T-shirt, and her mom nodded.
“Can I shower at the house, and then we can meet you at the restaurant?” she asked her mom as she and Drew got her suitcase and put it into his extended cab.
“Well.” Her mom shifted from foot to foot, obviously nervous. She couldn’t seem to look Karlie in the eyes as she went on. “Your sister is staying with us, along with all her bridesmaids. It’s bad luck for Jake to see her before the wedding, and Jenna wants a traditional wedding.”
“Yeah, that’s worked out since she’s pregnant.” Karlie felt bad the moment she said it. It was going to take a lot of practice not being snarky about her sister’s new situation. Drew coughed, not a real cough but one to grab her attention. She looked up at him as he was closing her trunk, and he was not smiling.
“Sorry,” she sassed. “I’ll try harder to be a little nicer about my sister marrying my ex-boyfriend.” Drew finished loading her things into his truck and returned to her side, pulling her hand into his own, throwing her off balance. “So, where am I supposed to stay?” she asked her mom, already knowing her answer.
“Um, a hotel?” Her mother sounded more like she was asking a question rather than telling her.
“Is there a special hotel in town where the wedding guests are staying?” At this point, Karlie just wanted a quick shower and some place to crash.
Her mother started to twist her hands together, a sure sign that she didn’t want to tell Karlie the next part. “Well, yes—but they are completely booked.”
“Everywhere is booked,” her dad said. “A big convention for NASA is in town.” He went on to explain that she couldn’t even get a rental car, let alone a hotel room.
“Great.” Karlie threw her hands up and let them fall, slapping them against her thighs, forgetting that her and Drew’s hands were linked.
Drew chuckled, “How about you stay with me?”
“Stay with you? Seriously?” Karlie countered. “How can we stay together? We don’t even know each other. Up until a few minutes ago, I thought you didn’t even know my name.” It was adorable the way his brows furrowed, and his eyes squinted as he studied her.
“How can you say we don’t know each other? That’s ridiculous. We’ve known each other since senior year,” Drew challenged.
“Look, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable with me staying at your place,” Karlie explained.
“I want you to stay with me. I have a house, and you can have your own space if you want.” He raised their joined hands and kissed her fingers, one at a time. Her insides felt as though they were melting, and her knees felt weak again. She even stifled her moan because her parents were still watching them.
“Okay, fine. I’ll stay at your place—with you.” She just wanted a shower and to get tonight over with.
“We’ll meet you at the restaurant,” her dad said. Her mother gave them a smile and a wave over her shoulder as she got into the passenger side of the car, and Karlie watched them drive off.
Drew helped her up into his truck after he double-checked that her car was all locked up. It was nice the way that he helped her,even though she didn’t need the help. He slid into the driver’s seat and gave her one of his panty-melting smiles. Yeah, that was nice too. She could get used to those smiles. No, no, no. Karlie needed to remember that she was only there for three days, to be the bigger person and attend her sister’s wedding, and then she was going home to Georgia. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy her date for the weekend first, right? She just needed to remember her new mantra—no men, and that should keep her on track. She would just need to keep repeating it to herself. How could she have thought that living with Drew for the next three days was a good idea? It was the worst idea she’d had in the entire eight months since leaving Alabama. She would need to be on her toes with him and take lots of cold showers. Yeah, another plan—that’s what she needed.
“Buckle up, honey,” Drew said as he took her hand into his own, linking their fingers. “We’ll be at my place in five minutes.” Five minutes to get her racing heartbeat under control. Five minutes to get her traitorous body to behave. Five minutes to silently chant her new mantra. Karlie buckled up, knowing full well that it was going to be a long five minutes.
Chapter Two
Drew couldn’t stop his heart from racing. Karlie had come home for her sister’s wedding. The last time he asked Jake about Karlie; Jake told him that there was no way in hell that Karlie would show her face around town again. Jake had been so smug about Karlie not coming to the wedding that he even laughed about it. “She won’t want to watch the love of her life marry her baby sister. She’s still heartbroken over losing me. That’s why she ran off—all the way to Georgia. The poor girl knows what she’s lost.” Drew had wanted to punch Jake in the mouth for the disgusting things he’d said about Karlie, but he’d made a promise to his brother to be Jake’s best man. So, for now, he’d put up with the asshole.
With the way Karlie kissed him and responded to him touching her, she sure didn’t seem to be hung up on Jake. God, he’d kissed Karlie, and it felt so good. He was still hard from what they’d started on the street before her parents showed up. He didn’t have any plans for stopping, and Karlie seemed to be on the same page. Sex on the trunk of her car would have been good, but he wanted to take his time, lay her out on his bed, and make a feast of her. He’d dreamed about his chance for over sevenyears now.
When Karlie and Jake broke up, Drew thought that he was finally going to get his chance to ask Karlie out. But he wanted to give her a little time to get over Jake and Jenna’s betrayal. He would see Karlie at the local diner or at the movies, but she just seemed so upset he couldn’t bring himself to make a move. Maybe he was afraid she’d reject him, or maybe he just didn’t want to hurt her any more than she already seemed to be hurting. He’d decided to give her a month to get over the breakup, then he was going to make his move. But after two weeks, Karlie was gone. He asked around, trying to find out where she went or if she was coming back.
