She rolled her eyes. “Neither. This is mine. Got it for my sixteenth birthday.”
“Nice. You gonna let me drive it?”
She scoffed. “Uh, no. Saw you drinking earlier.”
I held up my hands. “I only had one beer.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’re not driving my car.”
I can’t say I blamed her. I wouldn’t let anyone other than Phoenix drive my truck, and it wasn’t anywhere near as nice as her ride. Nodding my understanding, I walked around to the passenger side and climbed inside.
She pulled away from the other cars parked near the fire and headed back toward the road. I assumed we were leaving the party until she killed the lights and backed into a small clearing between two trees—a spot I had never noticed before, and I had been to many parties in that field over the last few years.
Suddenly, I was conflicted. I was looking to score an easy piece, and I wanted to fuck her, but I didn’t want her to be an easy piece. Well, for me, but not for everybody else, which had never mattered to me before.
Trying to play off my unease, I glanced around the area and said, “Huh, been coming here for years and never noticed this spot before.”
“Yeah, same here. I saw a car pulling out when me and Annabelle got here tonight,” she said and turned off the ignition, followed by the headlights. She leaned over, nipped my earlobe, and whispered, “You coming?” before climbing into the backseat.
“Yeah, baby, I’m coming, and you will be, too. Several times.”
1
Present Time
When I moved back to Cedar Valley, I never imagined I would run into my best friend from high school in a boutique where I was hoping to get a job. Annabelle disappeared the summer after high school and was never heard from again. Honestly, I thought she was dead. To find her standing in a dressing room, alive and well, was a wonderful surprise and couldn’t have come at a better time.
My life was in shambles. I was recently divorced, penniless, unemployed, and living with my parents. However, in a matter of hours, Annabelle had helped me find a job which came with employee housing. I couldn’t wait to move into my new place, and I was thrilled to have Annabelle back in my life. So, when she invited me to her daughter’s wedding, I couldn’t very well say no, especially since her daughter was also my new boss.
Nervous didn’t even begin to cover how I felt as I pulled into the parking area at the Blackwings clubhouse for Ember’s wedding. I was fairly certain I wouldn’t know anyone else at the ceremony other than the two of them, and they were both active participants in the festivities. Well, I knew Phoenix would be there, but I hadn’t seen him in almost twenty years.
The last row of seating was luckily unoccupied, so I quickly took a seat and tried not to draw any attention to myself. I planned to stay for the ceremony, make an appearance at the reception, and slip out as soon as I could do so without being rude.
Attending the wedding of two people who were madly in love with one another was not something I wanted to do after recently realizing I wasted fifteen years of my life in a loveless marriage. Not to mention the prenuptial agreement I foolishly signed without reading first left me with my personal belongings, a car, and absolutely nothing else.
Thankfully, the ceremony didn’t last long and wasn’t overly sappy. If I could manage to get in and out of the reception with the same ease, I could get back to my little apartment to continue sulking about the disaster my life had turned out to be.
Walking into the tent where the reception was being held, I immediately realized I would not be able to slip out as quickly as possible. Why? Because tables were set up, and it was clear a formal dinner would be served. That also meant I would have to sit at a table and socialize, with people I didn’t know. At least they didn’t assign seats. On the bright side, it would probably be the best meal I’d had since the divorce.
I found an empty table near the back of the room and took a seat. With my phone in my hand, I kept my eyes focused on the screen and tried to appear unwelcoming. Apparently, I was doing a good job. Wedding guests continued to file into the tent, yet no one had sat at my table. Just as I thought I was home free, the chair beside me was yanked out, and a large body dropped into it.
“Care to tell me just what in the hell you’re doing here?” a gruff voice said far closer to me than I’d expected.
I jolted, and my head shot up, my eyes locking with a pair of amber ones that had frequented my dreams over the years. “Aaron,” I gasped.
He pointed to his chest. “It’s Badger. And I asked you a fucking question. What the fuck are you doing here, Macy?”
My eyes followed his finger and took in the leather vest he was wearing. So, he was Phoenix’s Vice President. I should’ve known those two were still close. At the very least, I should’ve asked Annabelle about him, but I didn’t want to hear he was happily married with a beautiful family when I was newly single and miserable. Petty? Yes, but it was how I felt.
“Annabelle and Ember invited me,” I said, straightening in my seat and squaring my shoulders.
“You need to leave,” he grunted.
“Excuse me?” I asked, shocked by his audacity.
“You heard me. This is a special day for our family, and it’s not going to be tarnished bypeople like you. Now, get the fuck out before I have some of the boys physically throw you out,” he nearly yelled, rising to his feet.
At one time, I would have stood up for myself and told him off, but my self-esteem was at an all-time low, and I couldn’t find it in me to do anything other than flee.