Page 65 of Slide

What the hell was she going to do?

Chapter Seventeen

This wasn’t going to be painful at all.

Adam shut his car door and walked up to Hugh and Shay’s front door. The sun was beating down on the back of his neck, but that wasn’t why sweat trickled between his shoulder blades. He’d tried to get out of the barbecue lunch, but Shay had insisted. How did you turn down Shay, sweet, pregnant Shay? It was impossible. She’d batted those lashed, offered up one of those famous open smiles, and he’d said, “I’ll be there.”

The idea of seeing Lucy again was equally thrilling and pure torture. At least she was out of the apartment above the garage. She’d moved into Shay’s old trailer a couple of days earlier. Hugh was being weird about it. Not happy that Shay had made it easier for Lucy to stay instead of going back to school. Adam had hoped the old adage out of sight, out of mind would be the case. Well, at least make his life a little easier, since seeing her every day had been agony. Of course, that hadn’t been the case, and now he was supposed to sit in the backyard with her and pretend he didn’t want her, that it wasn’t taking everything in him not to pull her into his arms, bury his nose in that sexy spot between her neck and shoulder, and demand she give him the night she denied him when she’d gotten on that bus.

He thrust his fingers through his hair. Who the fuck was he kidding? He wanted more than one night.

He wanted more than just sex.

But he couldn’t have it.

There was no point denying it. He wanted every part of her. Wanted her to relinquish everything that was Lucy Colton to him. The secret places of her soul that she’d never revealed to another person. But to deserve that, he’d have to do the same, and that wasn’t something he could give, to anyone.

“You going in? Or are you going to stand there all night staring at the door handle?”

He spun around as Lucy came up the stairs toward him. His heart fired off one heavy beat that sucked the oxygen from his lungs. Jesus. She was beautiful. She had on a green sundress, a shade that matched her eyes. Her legs and arms were bare, dark hair a soft tumble down her back. It hurt to look at her and not be able to touch.

Lucy stayed several feet away, but that did nothing to stop the electricity firing between them. No, it seemed to intensify with every passing second. Her eyes lifted, connecting with his, and his gut tightened, his groin growing heavy.

Goddamn it.

“Luce—”

The woman moved as fast as a bolt of lightning. Striding past him, she pushed the door open before he knew what she was going to do. “We’re here!” she called into the hall, cutting him off completely.

He wanted to wrap his arm around her waist and haul her back out, drag her up against him, and make her talk to him, look at him. He wanted another glimpse of the woman she’d shown him when they were on the road. He didn’t want to go back to the way they’d been before, carrying on like there wasn’t this huge thing between them. Trying to pretend nothing happened.

After he’d seen her working in that bar, he hated the way he’d felt having to keep his feelings for her hidden from Joe. Trying and failing to ignore the deep sense in his gut that Lucy was his. That those feelings he had that felt so fucking huge meant nothing and would come to nothing was too much to bear.

But he couldn’t leave things like this. If nothing else, they needed to at least clear the air.

Lucy wasn’t going to give him a damn inch, though.

“We’re out back!” Darcey called.

Lucy raced off ahead of him, and was out the kitchen door and stepping into the backyard before he’d shut the front door. Talking wasn’t going to happen today, not when she was going to run every time they were in touching distance of each other, and not in front of all these people.

He cursed under his breath and went out to join them, but pulled up short when he saw the yard. It’d been decorated with flowers. They were everywhere. And there was an arch set up, covered in roses near the back. He walked over to Joe, who was standing with Hugh, who he also noted looked kind of pale.

“What’s going on? Everything okay?”

Joe glanced at Adam. “Hugh’s getting married.” He patted his brother on the back. “Now he’s having second thoughts…ow!”

Hugh scowled at his brother. “I’m not having second thoughts. Idiot.”

“Hang on…what?” Adam shook his head like a cartoon character. “I thought…fall…autumn leaves and all that shit.”

“I said that to throw you off,” Hugh said.

“Yeah, ’cause me and Adam were totally on wedding watch.” Joe shook his head. “Every day Adam would walk into work and say, ‘I wish they’d set a date already.’ Ow! Goddamn it. Quit hitting me.”

Hugh shoved Joe and took a deep pull of his beer.

Adam clapped Hugh on the back. “Why the nerves?”