Chapter 6
SI X
I SMELL TROUBLE
Ryder
Standing across the gravel parking lot under a large oak tree, I continued doing what I had been doing all day: watching Caroline.
It was hard not to watch her. No matter how hard I tried, my eyes traveled back to her. She was magnetic and beautiful. Especially when she was in work mode.
When Stephen and Miles told me they were getting married, and how tight the timeline was, I knew Caroline would make it happen. That was why I’d sent them her way. They were getting the best wedding planner ever, and she was getting a new, exciting client.
I’d met Stephen and Miles freshman year of college. They’d walked in on me hooking up with one of their fraternity brothers in a bathroom at the frat house. The guy hadn’t come out yet, so he very quickly shoved me off him only for my head to collide with the counter behind me.
Miles and Stephen stayed behind to make sure I was okay, and the rest was history.
Now, we were planning their wedding .
On the other side of the parking lot, Caroline was talking to the owner of the third venue, Susanna, and saying her goodbyes. I leaned against her car, waiting for her and thinking about how amazing it would feel to take my damn dress pants off. I’d lost my jacket on the way to the third venue and kept checking to make sure I hadn’t started sweating through my shirt.
With graduation imminent and a corporate job calling my name, I had to learn to love a suit and tie. Or at least put up with it. My interview had gone well, and I was one step closer to securing a job after graduation. I had two more interviews scheduled for later that week. One of which would require me to move several states away.
Although I was in the second to last round of interviews, I hadn’t told anyone about that possibility. It was the highest-paying position, and they were willing to help me relocate. But I wasn’t going to get my hopes up until I had an offer in my hands.
Honestly, I was exhausted. Between preparing for finals, interviewing, and helping plan two of my best friends’ wedding, I didn’t have a lot of free time. But seeing Caroline made me forget about everything else.
She waved to Susanna and dropped her sunglasses onto her nose. Her long legs ate up the distance between us. Even over gravel, her stride was sure and confident.
“I thought you’d already left,” she said, unlocking her car and tossing her papers and bag into the back seat.
I smiled and tilted my head. I knew she was lying. Her eyes had darted in my direction several times while she spoke to Susanna. It was hard to miss when I’d been staring at her the entire time.
“No, you didn’t,” I said casually, and she flashed me her standard annoyed look I’d grown so fond of. Especially since it often held a little hidden humor behind her blue-gray eyes. “So, it’s definitely the last venue, right? It has to be.”
Caroline closed the car door and leaned her shoulder agains t it. “Yeah, I mean, I have to check with the grooms first, but I think they’ll agree. It meets all their requirements and then some. And they have the exact wedding date they wanted.”
“You’re really good at this,” I said, motioning to the venue behind her. Underneath the shade of the tree, she pushed her sunglasses on top of her head and smiled.
“That was nothing. Just wait until the day of the wedding when the pressure is on, and something inevitably goes wrong.”
“I’m excited to see you really in action then.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you are,” she said, ignoring my obvious attempts at flirting. But I didn’t want to let her go that easily. Our conversation the other night wasn’t enough.
She reached for the handle of the driver’s side door I was leaning against. When I didn’t move, she shot me a warning look that didn’t make me flinch.
“I can’t stop thinking about our conversation the other night,” I said, intentionally dropping my voice a little bit.
Wide, surprised eyes met mine, but she stayed silent. Her blonde hair fell just past her shoulders in pristine, loose waves and brushed the top of her tasteful cleavage. She was always so put together no matter the occasion—no hair out of place and makeup, if any, flawlessly applied—but the black top, light wash jeans, and heels were particularly perfect.
“And I need to ask you?—”
“Ryder—”
“Do you still think I’m dangerous, Caroline?”
She was silent. Her eyes bounced between mine then narrowed as she asked, “What?”
I shook my head immediately. “I know you heard me, but I’ll ask again. Do you still think I’m dangerous?”
There was an acute defiance in her eyes before she glanced away. Her jaw tensed, and she shook her head, tightening her grip on the door handle. But I was tired of hearing her deny it. I didn’t want her to hide from it .
Taking a risk, I reached for her hip. Like I should have guessed she would, she skillfully stepped out of reach.
“For once, please tell me the truth. If this really is as one-sided as you try to make it out to be, then that’s fine. But only tell me that if that’s really what you believe.”
She stayed silent, unmoving. It was eerie how well she did that. Looking at you, or better yet through you, with expressionless eyes that didn’t bely any of her thoughts. I tried to be patient, but with each second that ticked by, the more anxious I grew. Fuck , maybe I had made a horrible mistake and a gross miscalculation.
My heart was steadily beating faster, and my palms began to sweat. I prepared myself to walk away when she took a breath and straightened. In anticipation for what she might say, I stopped breathing altogether.
“Yes, you’re still…trouble.”
A triumphant smile slipped across my face, and I stepped forward, only to be stopped by her outstretched hand in the middle of my chest. Fuck, her touch felt good. “That doesn’t mean we need to do anything about it, though.”
So close , I thought. “Why?” I didn’t even think about the question. It was an automatic response.
“Why? You’re really asking me why ? I feel like the ‘why’ is pretty clear.”
I reached up and covered her hand on my chest with my own. It felt good to touch her again, and I was thrilled when she didn’t tug her hand away immediately. Concerned she would see my excitement and immediately think better of it, I kept my reaction locked down.
She glanced down at my hand covering her’s and furrowed her blonde brows in confusion. Like she felt this strange pull, too, and didn’t know how it happened or what to do about it.
“Just give me one legitimate reason why I shouldn’t kiss you right fucking now. Especially when my entire body is telling me to do exactly that,” I said honestly. The desire was nothing new to me, but naming it, vocalizing it, was something completely different.
Caroline finally tugged her hand away. She grasped it with her other, rubbing them together like she wanted to rub away the memory of my touch.
“Because your mom is?—”
“No.” I stopped her immediately. “That excuse became mute the moment I found my mom and my best friend in bed together. And don’t give me any crap about an age difference either, because a decade is barely any time at all.”
“Fine,” she said resolutely, doing the opposite of what I expected and stepping closer to me. She was tall, but she still had to tilt her head slightly to look me in the eye. I straightened and uncrossed my arms. She was close enough that her chest brushed against mine, and I could see the few freckles along her nose and cheeks. “Because I can’t give you what you want, Ryder. I won’t.”
I reared back, and she took the opportunity to pull open the car door. She didn’t say anything else and closed the door in the next second.
I took a step back out of the way as she backed out and drove off, but I watched her the entire time. Her tires kicked up dust and loose gravel, and I had no clue what to think.
I merely stood in the middle of the parking lot and knew I’d have to set the record straight. All I wanted was her.