Page 1 of The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley 2)
“I am not a spoiled brat!”
The man sitting next to me huffed. “You’re sitting in the corner glaring at the rest of us. You haven’t said a word until now. Every time someone mentions doing something fun, you roll your eyes. Yeah. You’re a spoiled brat.”
He was right. I was glaring at everyone and hadn’t said a word for over an hour and I may have rolled my eyes a time or two. I definitely had at the mention of going to a male stripper show.
But this weekend was not going at all as I had planned and, thus, my grumpy mood.
“I am not a brat. I’m just not having any fun.”
My friends and I had planned this big spring break trip to Las Vegas to celebrate my birthday tomorrow and our upcoming graduation from Yale. Since all of our previous spring breaks had been spent studying or doing internships, we had decided that for our last, something adventurous and crazy was long overdue.
I was supposed to be having an amazing time with my girlfriends, making memories that would last a lifetime.
Instead, I was miserable.
The last thing I wanted was to be sitting in our stretch limo, crammed into the back corner because now there were four guys crowded in with us.
My friends, unlike me, were overjoyed to be hanging with this group of strangers. Steffie was sandwiched between two of the men, both of whom were staring at the ample cleavage pouring out of her barely there silver dress. Marian and Alice were hanging off the bad boy, a man wearing a sleeveless shirt to showcase his enormous muscles and plethora of tattoos.
That left me in the corner, next to a guy who clearly had no issue insulting a stranger.
“It’s your own fault if you’re not having fun,” he rumbled. “Your friends aren’t afraid to have a good time. It’s not like it’s hard to find. We’re in Vegas.”
“I’m aware of our location.”
He was right again. The girls were genuinely having a good time, making the most of this night in Sin City, letting themselves go wild. Why couldn’t I? Sad and defeated, I slumped further into the seat.
“This was supposed to be our last adventure,” I said. “A crazy weekend together that we’d remember for the rest of our lives. This trip was for us to spend time with each other, but last night, they all found different guys to hook up with and ditched me. And since I didn’t want to have a one-night stand or get plastered by myself at some skeezy bar, I watched TV in our hotel room.”
“If you want to have a crazy night, you’re going to have to fucking relax. You’re uptight.”
“I am n—” I started, ready to defend myself again, but stopped. Instead, I turned to the window and muttered the truth. “I know.”
I expected him to ignore me now and leave me in my corner alone, eventually trying to steal Marian’s or Alice’s attentions away from his bulky friend. So when he wrapped his arm around the back of my shoulders and turned me away from the window, I gasped, surprised both by his touch and his closeness.
And then I froze.
When the men had climbed into the limo, I’d been so busy glaring at Steffie for inviting them along that I hadn’t really looked at him. And because he’d sat next to me, I’d only glimpsed his profile.
Wow, had I missed out. He was striking.
The vision made my heart pound so hard, its rhythm echoed through my whole body. His hazel eyes were framed with thick, dark lashes. His jaw was covered with a short, dark brown beard. I bet it was soft and would tickle if he kissed the side of my neck—or other places.
His nose was straight with a small bump at the bridge. His hair was shaggy and overly long, but the messy look didn’t make him look sloppy. It was sexy and carefree. He didn’t give a shit if his hair was a mess.
I gripped the hem of my dress to keep my hands from reaching up and threading my fingers through the thick strands. Then I forced myself to inhale. His gorgeous face alone had made me dizzy. He was by far the most handsome man in his group, which was saying something because my friends were not fawning over the other guys for no reason.
“I can help with that,” he said, his mouth turning up at one side in a crooked grin that made my belly dip.
“What?” I was so taken by his magnificent features, I’d forgotten what I’d said.
At my question, his mouth widened into a full-blown smile. Beneath his full lips were perfectly straight, white teeth. I wanted to kiss that mouth. I’d never kissed a man with such a beautiful smile before.
“If you keep looking at my mouth, I’m going to kiss you,” he said.
I studied his lips as he formed the words, unable to pull my eyes away from his mouth. I wanted that. I wanted him to kiss me so badly, my body started trembling. The attraction I felt for him was the strongest, most intense feeling I’d ever had.
“Not yet,” he whispered.
I tore my gaze from his mouth and looked into his beautiful eyes. Rimmed with a circle of dark gray, the centers were sage green flecked with golden brown. Even in the muted limousine light, the colors were vibrant and bold.
“Do you still want an adventure?”
I blinked a couple of times, forcing myself out of my trance. “Yes,” I whispered, surprised at both my answer and that I was actually able to get the word out.
His smile got bigger. “I can do that.”
He might be a stranger, but I felt safe by his side. No matter what we did tonight, it would be amazing just because it was with him.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Emmeline Austin.”
“Emmy. I’m Nick Slater.”
“Have you ever been on a roller coaster?” Nick asked as the limo sped away from the curb.
“Once, when I was younger. It scared me though and I didn’t like it.” I hadn’t been scared of the heights, but the insane speed and violent spins had brought me near to tears.
“Roller c
oaster it is then.”
“Did you not just hear me tell you that it scared me?”
“Sure.” He shrugged. “But this is an adventure. And any adventure worth having is a little scary.”
“How about drinks instead? Or we could catch a show?”
