Falling for Violet

Chapter 1

That awkward moment when you realize you’re falling for the last person you expected and all you can think is “oh crap.”

I’m out front, bright purple Jeep. Violet texted Tripp, her best friend’s younger brother, as she opened the back for his suitcases or whatever he had.

She had zero time to be picking him up, but Sarah was getting married tomorrow and had asked this favor—so she couldn’t say no. The last time she’d seen Tripp was six years ago when he’d had too much to drink and tried to kiss her at a family Christmas party.

He’d barely been twenty then and Sarah’s brother, so she’d vowed to never talk about it with him or anyone. He’d been drunk and had seemed embarrassed the next morning. Since she hadn’t wanted to make things worse, she’d let it go.

I see you. Headed your way.

She gave his text a thumbs up as she scanned the crowd of people exiting the sliding doors from the arrivals level, a rainbow of rolling suitcases in hands. She gave up looking for him when she got an incoming call from her new assistant. “Hey, everything good?”

“Yeah, last minute change with some of the seating,” Oliver said. She listened as he started running through the changes, but everything funneled out for a moment as she realized she was watching Tripp Hart striding toward her with a big smile on his face.

Tripp Hart was…all grown up. In the best ways imaginable.

When did this happen? Why did he look good enough to eat? Why was he wearing a tight Henley? When had he developed muscles to fill it out with?

Oh, noooo. What was happening right now?

Was she sweating? It was summer, that was all this was. Heat. Not her reaction to tall, muscular and oh god, so very sexy.

“Handle it,” she murmured to Oliver before ending the call. She pushed up from where she’d been leaning against the back of her open Jeep. “Tripp!” Oh god, did her voice squeak? What the hell was going on with her?

Seconds later she found herself enveloped in a bear hug by a man with muscles she didn’t remember him having, who smelled like bergamot (the greatest scent in the world as far as she was concerned), and lifted off her feet.

“Are you shrinking?” he asked with a laugh as he set her on her feet.

“Hey, I’m just as tall and terrifying as I’ve always been.” She smoothed a hand over her hair and sniffed slightly, annoyed at the way her heart knocked against her ribs. “And if you dare pat my head, you’ll lose that arm.” That very muscular arm she was forcing herself not to stare at.

He let his hand fall back by his side. “There’s the Violet I remember,” he said as he hoisted his duffle into the back of her Jeep with clear ease. “Not that I don’t appreciate it, but why are you picking me up? I figured Sarah would have you doing a hundred other things.”

“Ah… I don’t know why she had me pick you up,” Violet lied as she pulled away from the curb.

He groaned as he strapped in. “Is it because I was late to one thing over eight years ago?”

“I mean…it was your high school graduation.” She was thankful for her sunglasses as she shot a glance at him.

But only a quick one because the airport in New Orleans was bonkers, especially with the ongoing construction she was certain would never end.

“And you were hungover by the time you showed up to your party.”

“I was eighteen. I’ve grown up since then.”

Oh, he sure as hell had. Lord. She’d never ever thought of him as anything more than Sarah’s little brother, but he sure wasn’t little anymore.

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. And I’m not admitting to anything.

She just asked me to pick you up because you’re her ‘precious cargo.’” Sarah’s exact words.

He groaned again, but grinned. “She’s ridiculous.”

“Yeah, your big sister who loves you unconditionally and would stand in front of a train for you is ridiculous.”

“Damn, Violet. I was just playing.”

“You don’t mess with my bestie. Not this weekend anyway.

” She glanced at her phone as another call came in.

“Sorry, gotta grab this,” she whispered as she answered via her Jeep’s Bluetooth.

Talking to someone else was a good distraction from how hot Tripp was.

And how good he smelled. And the weird way she was wondering how good he’d look without that T-shirt on.

Seriously, something was wrong with her.

Maybe she had a parasite in her brain. She made a mental note to get that checked out next week.

“Hey, Maria, everything okay?” Maria was her favorite florist and her go-to if she had a choice.

Not all her engaged couples chose Maria, but they’d started in this industry together and she loved how much care the other woman put into choosing the right flowers and bouquets.

It really was an art, one Violet was terrible at despite her name.

“I got a cancellation from Sarah for the flowers telling me the wedding was off. Something about the email was wrong and I knew you would have called me anyway if that was the case, so… What’s going on? This a case of a jealous ex trying to sabotage things?”

That little tingle of unease that had been bothering her all week was back—because this wasn’t the first cancellation attempt.

“The wedding is definitely not off. Can you forward me the email? And definitely ignore it. Also, don’t tell Sarah, she doesn’t need to worry about anything right now.

” Violet was Sarah’s wedding planner, but also her best friend and maid of honor.

She would handle all the stress, so her friend didn’t have to.

“You got it. And my crew is heading out soon to deliver flowers for the rehearsal dinner.”

“You’re a gem. Text or call if you need me.”

“You’re not telling Sarah?” Tripp asked once she’d ended the call.

Violet merged onto I-10, cursing the traffic when a semi tried to block her. She sped up and zoomed past him. “No. And neither are you.”

“I thought you had to tell the bride and groom everything.”

She snort-laughed. “First of all, are you needling me intentionally?”

“Absolutely.”

She let out a startled laugh. “Thank you for your honesty. And normally I’d tell the couple getting married if something weird was going on. But this is a different situation. I’m not officially the wedding planner—”

“You totally are.”

“I’m a best friend, who’s also the maid of honor, who’s also helping out with wedding stuff.” Fine, she was the wedding planner, but she was refusing to take Sarah and Ian’s money, so she wasn’t sure it counted.

“Based on all your contacts as a wedding planner.” His tone was smug.

“Why are you messing with me today?”

“You look like you need the distraction. And it’s fun. So who do you think is screwing with the wedding? And does this kind of thing happen often?”

“Ah…before I answer that, do you want to run errands with me, or do you want me to drop you off at the hotel? Answer now before the next exit.”

“I’ll hang with you.”

She turned off her blinker and skipped the exit, thrown off by the weird sense of elation that he’d decided to stay with her. And why had she even asked him? She didn’t have time to babysit him.

Though babysitting was the last thing on her mind considering he was a grown man who looked far too rugged for his own good.

He’d grown into that lanky body, was all muscle and even though his dark hair was cropped close to his head (something she normally didn’t care for) it only served to accentuate cheekbones she’d probably commit crimes to have.

Clearly the military lifestyle agreed with him.

“To answer your questions, this kind of thing does happen from time to time. But almost all vendors have safeguards in place to prevent orders from being cancelled. No one ever just takes an email or even a phone call at face value, they call the couple getting married or the wedding planner. Or assistant. Usually both, to double check and cover their butts.”

“Kind of like two-factor authentication.”

“Exactly. And if anyone is behind this…”

“Franklin?” Tripp asked, annoyance—and a hint of aggression—in his tone.

“Maybe. I know he was upset about Sarah moving on so soon but—”

“But he should have kept his dick in his pants,” Tripp growled. “That loser lost the best thing that ever happened to him, and he has no one to blame but himself. He cheated. No excuse for that.”

Violet grinned at his response, glad to see he was still the overprotective brother.

Even when he’d been a kid, he’d been like that with Sarah.

“You’re not wrong,” she murmured as she pulled into a parking garage on Roosevelt Way.

“So I think I’m tasking you with double duty at the wedding.

If you see Sarah’s ex, you get to help escort him out. ”

The grin he gave was a little feral—and she kind of liked it. Jeez, this was not her normal thing. But nothing about whatever she was feeling right now was normal.

“Who’s Bradford?” Tripp asked when her phone rang again, and her friend’s name showed up on the Bluetooth dash.

“A friend.” Who was dealing with some serious stuff right now according to the rest of her friend group.

She plucked her phone up, texted him to make sure it wasn’t an emergency.

When he responded that he was good, she got out with Tripp but couldn’t help but notice the strange look he was giving her. “What?” she asked.

“Nothing. Just… I’m not that same dumb kid you grew up with.” There was something earnest, almost vulnerable in his tone.

She wasn’t sure how to respond so she linked her arm through his. “You were never a dumb kid.”

He snickered. “Maybe sometimes.”

“Your words—and I know you’re not that same kid.

” She cleared her throat as they stepped out onto the sidewalk, the sun beating down on them.

“For the record, Sarah didn’t think you were going to bail today or anything.

She just wanted someone she trusted picking you up.

” She loved the feel of his roped forearm under her fingertips but tried to ignore how good he felt.

And smelled. Seriously, why did he have to smell like her favorite tea?

“Maybe it was both things. But I know how important this is to Sarah. She never talked about Franklin the way she talks about Ian. This is the one, I can tell.”

Sometimes Violet forgot that Tripp hadn’t met Ian yet.

But he’d been gone so much overseas in the Marines.

He’d spent a couple years in Japan, at least one in Germany, and she had no idea where he’d been for the other years.

Sarah and their parents had flown out to see Tripp on various occasions, but he’d only been home a handful of times over the last six years.

“You’re right. I’m pretty good at judging which marriages will last, and this one…” She trailed off with a smile. “I’ve got a good feeling about this one.”

“Did you ever tell her how you felt about Franklin?”

Violet sighed as they reached their first stop, the bakery handling everything for the wedding. “Eh. I never gushed over him, and if he’d proposed I might have said something. I don’t know, it’s tricky with relationships. It’s hard to be objective when you’re the one in the relationship.”

“And Sarah is stubborn as hell,” he said as he opened the door.

A little bell jingled overhead as a blast of air conditioning hit them.

“Sweet A/C,” he breathed, and the most twisted part of her wondered what it would be like if he talked about her with that kind of reverence.

Seriously, she needed her head examined. This was Tripp Hart, the annoying kid who’d always been around when she’d hung out with Sarah.

Except he wasn’t a kid anymore and as they stepped into the bakery, she found herself irrationally annoyed by a few covert looks thrown his way by other women inside.

She decided to keep hold of his arm because she was feeling weirdly territorial. Thankfully, he didn’t pull away. If anything, he moved in closer to her. And oh, she liked it way too much.

“Hey, think we could get some free samples?”

She laughed at the totally expected question. “Still thinking with your stomach, I see.”

His dark gaze fell to her mouth and for one moment, she swore something sparked between them. Maybe it was her imagination, but a wild energy arced between them as he leaned down a little closer, that delicious scent of his wrapping around her—

“Violet, I’m so glad you stopped by. I just got the weirdest email.” Torn out of the moment, she turned to find Caylee of Caylee’s Cakes stepping out from the back where all the magic happened.

“Weird?” she asked, even though she had a feeling she knew exactly what kind of email Caylee had received.

She was going to get to the bottom of whoever was trying to start trouble for Sarah and Ian. Because no one messed with her best friend.